[Ecky]

Some of the darker side that I've seen:

- New Zealand seems to have a certain branding, of being pure and clean and unspoiled. This is partly true, but also partly not. It's stunningly gorgeous here. However, even as large as it is, the native ecosystem is shockingly fragile, and most of the country is overrun with invasive species. I'm of the opinion that people here put forth more effort to maintain and restore native flora and fauna than most (if not any) other place on earth, but it remains that there are invasive mammals that have decimated the native bird population, and it's a constant battle to keep them in check enough to prevent their complete extinction. On the other hand, the fragile native ecosystem DOES still exist, and it's coming back, because people value it. Most continental areas either just seem to accept invasive species as the "new normal", or the ecosystem is not so fragile as for it to be an issue.

- In some areas, there is gang activity. I'm not super informed on what the gangs are about or why they exist, and the overall crime rate is still a fraction of what it was in the US overall, but the existence of gang activity has surprised me.

- The south island supposedly has major issues with downstream river algae blooms, from agricultural nitrate runoff.

- The weather may be mild and not have any large swings, but it's closer to the adage "if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes" than anywhere I've lived. Most days the forecasts show rain. Most days it does rain, if only briefly: a storm will blow in from the ocean, it'll drop rain for 5 minutes, then the storm blows back out to sea, and the sun comes out. In Wellington in particular, it's hard to plan an outdoor activity more than a day or two in advance, and even then nothing is guaranteed. I keep a rain coat in my car.

- It's fairly humid on the north island. The dew point is low, but so is the temperature. It isn't muggy, per se, and any heated building will feel fairly dry and comfortable inside. Heating and cooling is largely unnecessary, but a dehumidifier is a nice addition to any home.

- Most homes here, for whatever reason, simply haven't been built to be air tight and don't hold heat very well. Single glaze is still most common, and often windows have gaps that wind blows right through. Most heating is still resistive, with heat pumps being a relatively new technology. I came from summer in the US, and until I added weather stripping and plastic sheeting over my windows, I was actually a bit chilly unless I was running an inefficient heater all of the time. The flip side to the "breathability" of homes here is that, although I have indoor allergies, I haven't had any since moving.

- Because it never gets very hot or cold here, and the landscape is so rugged, with houses set down in valleys to get shelter from the wind, many places don't fully dry out in winter for days or weeks at a time. I'm tempted to get a pressure washer to clean the lichens from the stonework outside.

- There seems to be much more of a culture of "making do" than I'm accustomed to. I respect it, but it's a surprise coming from the US, where most anything worn or damaged is simply replaced. It doesn't even seem to be about the money, typically.