[KiwiHopeful]

We went in the opposite direction from what everyone else is advising--go figure, eh?

We considered doing the 'grand tour' upon arrival, but when we really thought about it, it didn't really seem all that realistic for us. The idea of driving around from place to place to figure out where to settle was a bit nerve-wracking, so we picked Chch, sight unseen. From that moment on, there was some clarity at least about that one part of this move.

As Dawn rightly notes, nothing is forever. If we chose wrong, we'll move on. But at least we got our feet under us rather quickly, and that was important to me--especially since I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 year old!