Wellington – live, work and play   19 Jul 2005

Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast describes her home as a capital city, a smart city and a beautiful city built around the harbour.

"It’s unexpectedly cosmopolitan and offers many, if not all the benefits of a much bigger centre – but without the major hassles."

It’s creative, innovative, smart, a good place to do business, internationally competitive, fun and vibrant," she says.

While you might expect this kind of comment from a city’s mayor, it’s also a sentiment shared by all Wellingtonians.

There’s a certain vibe about Wellington. Wellingtonians know it and those who visit feel it – it’s the reason people move here. They want to take advantage of the lifestyle, the jobs, and the fun.

In recent years, Wellington’s economy has diversified into globally competitive sectors such as finance, IT, medicine, software development, multi-media, film and fashion.

Once solely reliant on corporate institutions, insurance companies, Crown companies and state-owned enterprises, Wellington’s cutting-edge research and development capabilities are now unequalled in New Zealand. There are many business and employment opportunities and, with the lifestyle the city has to offer, Wellington is attracting people from all over the world. Take Dr Mark Hussey, a medical registrar from Sussex, England, currently working in the emergency department at Wellington Hospital. Hussey now chooses to call Wellington home and says he’s here for the long haul because it’s such a great place to live and work.

"Wellington’s a top city and the fact that I can work in a world-class hospital emergency department and then at the end of my shift head out for a surf is brilliant.

"There are excellent outdoor sporting opportunities literally five minutes from my house. I can run, swim, surf, kayak, mountain bike and road bike among some amazing scenery, and I’m only four hours away from snowboarding and skiing."

And it’s not just the outdoors Hussey loves. The restaurants and cafes, bars and pubs have also been given the thumbs up.

"Wellington is vibrant and alive with lots of good bars and restaurants to play in – it’s a city on the up."

Wellington employers are also welcoming the qualities that those with international job training bring. Whether ex-pats returning home or new migrants to the country, their fresh approach and global perspective is invaluable to employers such as Wellington based Synergy International Ltd. Established 13 years ago, Synergy is now one of New Zealand’s leading software development companies.

Employing more than 230 staff and currently experiencing another growth surge, Desiree Keown, General Manager, Marketing for Synergy says, "Sometimes I think we are like the UN – we have people from so many places. We value the wealth of experience and differing perspectives people from around the world can bring to the company.

"Many have had the opportunity to work on large-scale projects for global companies – that is a huge benefit when you are bidding for international work.

Wellington City boasts theatre companies, opera houses, concert halls, a purpose built sports and event centre, a state-of-the-art new stadium, two universities and several other tertiary providers. Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand is a national treasure, the Museum of Wellington City and Sea offers insights into Wellington’s past, and the City Gallery is highly regarded for its provocative exhibitions.

Every day life is easy and straightforward, principally because of Wellington’s "boutique city-village" scale and accessibility. Most people’s daily commute time is brief (no more than 20 or 30 minutes, but usually less).

Indeed, many Wellingtonians walk to work and home again. And there is enough time in the evenings to take the dog for a walk, the children to the playground or even have friends over for a drink.

• If you want to find out more about how to live, work and play in this creative and innovative city then visit www.Wellington.govt.nz or email [email protected]

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