It's surely not that easy. Is it?

Today was mostly spent looking at houses. Wendy, our relocation consultant, had arranged some viewings for us and all together I think we saw six places. Some were a little older than we are looking for, but were useful to see just to try and get an idea of that side of the market, whereas others were right up our street.

One in particular stood out for us. It's a new-build in an area called Halswell, got the bedroom space, living space, garage etc that we're looking for. It's lovely inside, done to a high spec, and most importantly it's got a big kitchen island with a gas hob! ;) Also we liked the flow of the house. Being English I am mostly use to a house with an upstairs and a downstairs, with the living area apart from the sleeping area. This house, although being on one level, seems to have that flow. Jo was a little worried about the garden being a bit small, but I think it's a little deceptive, not being landscaped like some of the others we saw, and will be plenty big enough for us. It's got a council-owned reserve across the road from it so won't have a building obstructing the view of the mountains. Yep. You read that right. You can see the mountains. Anyone who knows my love of landscapes and views will know this is a plus point.

But surely it can't be that easy. It can't, can it? It was the first house we looked at after the two exploratory ones near the Beach at Sumner. Are we rushing into things to be considering making an offer on the place when we've only been here two or three days? Half of me says yes, the sensible side of me, the cautious side of me. But half of me says don't miss the chance of a lovely property that I know Joanne and I could really make into a family home. That's the romantic, impulsive side of me. A dream home on the first day. Does it really happen? Can you walk into a house and just know? Or do we need to learn the city and the market better first? Will we regret it if we don't act?

And I still can't get over the way the Kiwi property system works, or rather the way the UK system works after seeing the system here. It is perfectly feasible to expect to be in a new house here only a month after having an offer accepted, and Wendy told me that she's known the turn-around to be only seven days!

One thing we definitely found good was being able to tour around Chch a little today. It's been great having Wendy with us, showing us round, just giving us useful advice about the city and houses and certain areas and schools etc. Plus she's got contacts she'd recommend. I know some people would be unsure, thinking she's getting a kick-back from everyone she recommends or whatever, but the impression we get (and what she's told us) is that this isn't the case. We've no reason to doubt her. She's only been brilliant so far. I must admit, I was a little unsure when Joanne suggested a relocation agent, and I did wonder what we'd be getting for our money, but to be honest, I am so glad Jo talked me into it. It's great to get advice from someone who lives here. From someone who lives here after moving away for a while and then came back too.

After the house-viewing we picked up the car. It's lovely, it really is. And is perfect for nipping round the city, but with a bit of poke for journeys further afield. And despite being a small car, it's still got a reasonable boot. Which is good, as I went shopping this evening, and given it was our first real one and there were some store-cupboard ingredient stuff we needed, I got to use the boot to it's full capacity.

The supermarket was a bit daunting though, especially being there on my own. I just wandered round in a bit of a daze for ages. New brands everywhere. New labels I don't recognise. After being so familiar with products back home it's quite a shock. I have a lot to learn. I found out I'm an easy sell though. If the packaging on a product looks similar to something I recognise from the UK, I'll buy it. The good news is that I am now in possession of HP Brown Sauce, English Marmite (branded Our Mate), and the bonus item, to complete the trio, a tin of Bachelor's Mushy Peas. What's that you say? You can take the Englishman out of the north...?

Back to the house, we're going back to see the one we liked tomorrow afternoon, after a wander round the town centre to pick up some stuff in the morning. We're also going to look at another close by in Halswell. I'm really torn about the house. We've got some further questions to ask, given to us by Shirley and Tom, so we'll see what happens. They've made Jo promise to call them after we view it. It's good to know they're looking after our interests.

By the way, I'm sticking some photos on here, but there's a whole load more of Christchurch here and the collection will only be growing. You shouldn't have to join Facebook to view them.

Finally, if it's appropriate for you, please pray for Jo's health. We've got all this touring and house viewing and organising and stuff to be doing, and she's still trying to fit in working for her old UK company, until the end of the month, on top. I don't know what it will be like once she starts work on the 20th. She's always been susceptible to getting ill when she's run down and overdoes it and doesn't get enough rest (says he who can't sleep at 2:45am) so please pray for strength for her, and also that she knows when to say enough is enough and to take some rest, and that I'd be continuing to make sure I insist she does rest enough.

Time for bed, I think.