The largest city on the South Island is most definitely Christchurch, the city in which we are currently residing. The abbreviation for the city name that we see everywhere is "Chch". Since Sean and I have had a lot of free time, we have been able to walk around and explore a lot. Sadly, because of the huge earthquake last year in February, most of the city center is completely closed off to the public because it's too dangerous as there are still aftershocks daily.
Christchurch is located about halfway down on the east coast of the island with a population of about 345,000 people. The wider area around the city and including Christchurch is called Canterbury. It's considered to be the most English of New Zealand cities and its symbol is a huge cathedral in the center square. Walking around in the parts of town that are still open, it feels like you are walking around in a little version of Britain.
Because of the earthquakes many local residents have left the city completely. The paper estimated that about 5% have relocated permanently. Many people lost their homes and thus rental and apartment prices have skyrocketed over 50%. The daily tremors, soaring property prices and a less-than-fully-functional city does not bode well for working holidayers like Sean and me and we are thinking that after we get our tax numbers we will look for work in other cities.
The locals that we have talked to about the earthquakes are either in denial and don't like to think or talk about them or are in full support of rebuilding and earthquake relief. There is a new program downtown next to the "Red zone" called ReStart which has painted old shipping crates and used them to make hip new bars, coffee shops, banks and shops. Even with all of the energy and creative innovation in cleaning up this city, the local paper, The Press, estimates that it will take 15-20 years to rebuild.
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