Medicine in rural areas (Greymouth specifically) is a lot better than other parts of the world in terms of work-life balance and just the workplace being enjoyable in general. With boots on the ground, it’s fantastic here. The cost of living is lower. Everyone is out hiking most weekends.
Everyone is very friendly and I’ve already had several people offer to go hiking or kayaking with me. It’s not true of every town for sure, but there are lots of conveniences to be had. There are two supermarkets here. I just bought a car in town here. There is a general goods “big box” retailer (very much like Walmart). There is a home improvement hardware store.
There is a large gym and pool in town. Almost all of the city conveniences are here, but housing is half the price, you are 2 blocks from the sea, the climate is super moderate, there is no rush hour, and it’s a really fun kind of medicine. The small communities still have festivals and fun events every few weeks. There’s not a “night life”, but there are several craft-brewery type pubs that are fantastic to grab some chips and a quick bite or have cocktails with friends in the evenings or on weekends.
There is an i-site at the train station that has lots of information about tourist things. And, there are even rental cars here. The medical community here is probably 60% migrants from Asia, and the Commonwealth. They’re very welcoming as everyone has been there in terms of being new in New Zealand and trying to figure it all out. Granted, most of the coast isn’t like Greymouth. Greymouth is better and specializes in being great. It is a fantastic mix of being big enough to have conveniences but also having the advantages of small town life.
And, you are still only 3 hours from Christchurch if you want to get something that’s not here. If you want to see glow worms, the locals know all the secret tours and places you can go see them. Wiatomo is amazing, but you don’t have to be in the North to see cool Kiwi things.
You can be in the lovely South, away from the masses of people, and have a fantastic quality of life. Most of us migrating from North America (and everywhere else I’d guess) are looking for better quality of life. That is here in the south and in the rural settings. I’m incredibly happy I chose the West Coast. By virtue of being somewhere that is unpopular, we’re also insulated against a lot of the stressors and problems that exist in cities. That feeling of safety and friendliness that was so prominent when I visited, is definitely preserved here.
Several of my coworkers have worked in Hawk’s Bay area and other similar more rural areas. It sounds like the same good things I see here are there, except add in wine-tastings. Nelson, is the same. Gorgeous, small town life, tracks right there, and wine tasting. You’ve got domestic airlines right near there and you can have quality of life (and prices) that aren’t present in the cities.
Greymouth also has a fantastic coffee shop (like Starbucks, but better), a cell phone store, an electronics store, a furniture store, etc. If people are worried about shopping or whatever, they don’t need to be. 🙂 local tracks are minutes away (in 15 minutes you can be at 3 of them).
The hospital is nicer than most hospitals its size in the states. The wards are busy. Anaesthesiologists and surgeons have been nice and approachable. Medical doctors have a friendly great rapport with staff. Orientation is a bit chaotic but they are supportive and nice. The ER is very busy, but they appear to work well together and the doctors seem approachable. There is a lot of clinical education support and shift level support. The medicine is really safe. They do a lot of dual checks and the culture is very safety oriented.
I chose Greymouth because it ticked all the boxes for a mix of conveniences and peaceful outdoors.
