Just a holiday, or for realsies?

I can't think of a time when I've visited Wellington since I've been away that I haven't had a good time. That’s because, aside from a six month stint working here about seven years ago, every time I’ve been back to Wellington in the last eight years, has been a holiday. It’s usually summer, I’m back for a few weeks, and my time is filled with drinking in the sun, not working, catching up with friends and family, eating my fill of Pineapple Lumps, Toffee Pops, mussels, copious amounts of sauvingnon blanc and my parents letting me do whatever I want. This is obviously not a sustainable reality of moving home. In order to counteract this slightly rose-tinted view I have of Wellington, I’m giving myself a bit of a grace period. This does not mean, however tempting, that I will simply pretend I am on holiday for the next few months, spending all my money on eating and drinking, until my parents get sick of me lying around their house and bossing them about. This means taking some time to see if being back in New Zealand, and Wellington, is the right move for me to make before doing anything too permanent – can you tell permanent is a scary word for me? So during this time I plan on experiencing as much of New Zealand life as I possibly can so I can make an accurate decision. The idea to get some temp or contract work over the next two months and suss out job opportunities, as well as whether or not Wellington has enough cool stuff to keep me entertained, should I decide to stay. And maybe doing a wee bit more travelling before I ‘settle down’. That’s a lot of pressure on little ol’ Wellington, I know – but so far, it’s coming to the party. I’ve been back for all of about four days and so far the weather has been everything people talk about when they say (and Wellington folk who don’t currently live here, wince away) ‘you can’t beat Wellington on a good day’ - ok, except for today. But I’ve already been to a bbq, sat in a friend’s garden surrounded by native bush, listened to the cicadas, drunk some pretty awesome feijoa cider, eaten some amazing fresh cherries and strawberries, had a proper flat white, walked in the Botanical Gardens and been for a run around the waterfront. So far so good. The rest of my week is filled with catching up with friends and starting investigating the job situation before heading down to the south island to see some family for a week. Ok, so it’s still looking pretty holiday-ish at the moment. But every time I think about my ex-home of London covered in snow, it reminds me how much I should get out and enjoy this weather – as anyone who has ever been to Wellington will know, it’s pretty unpredictable here. To illustrate this point, I was planning on posting a picture of the beautiful Wellington weather...but the weather shat itself before I got a look in - typical.