Downside of the Upside

I crossed the 3-month mark over a week ago. My first term at Vic is winding down. I'm almost completely moved in (just gotta get that wireless router set up so that I can move my computer into the office and set up my studio in the living room). So I'm starting to feel settled. I've also started to hear back from the Lucky Few who know about the blog. Thankfully, you've gotten a good feel for many of the things I've liked about New Zealand.

It's not all roses, however. I've tried to emphasize the good things, mainly to keep a positive attitude and enjoy myself as much as possible. But now I'm starting to think that the Lucky Few might have been misled to think that there's nothing wrong with NZ. So I think I'll occasionally post on what is not great about life here.

But before getting into it, let me be clear. So far, my all-things-considered judgment is that things have gone well. I'd probably even give it an A-. Great people, good tenure(equivalent)-track job, attractive city, etc. I haven't been able to say that before, and it sounds nice even just to write it now. That said, here are some things that put the minus in the A-.

We can roughly divide the not-great items into three groups. First, there are the little things that I simply like to winge about (add that to the Words I Like: winging is what Kiwis call whining). I've already posted on two such things: crap TV and chips. Second, there are the things that are worse than the US on what must be some objective standard. I'll leave it to all the lay aestheticians to decide if there really are such objective standards. Finally, there are things that are negative, but only because they're the cost of the positive things here. They're the downside of the upside of life here. Without further ado, here are a few things in the third group.

1. Hangovers. I love the nightlife here. It's incredibly vibrant, and I've been lucky enough to fall into a group of folks who contribute to the vibrancy. But I also end up staying awake until 6am and drinking too much. No-sleep+alcohol=no good.
2. Lack of productivity. See #1. I'm actually getting more done than any time in the last 4 years, because my courseload has gone from 9/year at CSUB to 6/year at Oxy to 3/year here at Vic. (That is, I'm getting more done in terms of both teaching innovation and research.) Really I haven't taken full advantage of that yet, because I've had so many new preps (then again, I also had a ton of new preps at my previous stops). But the social life is good enough that I'm not getting enough done! Okay, that might be winging, since when I was at Bakersfield I would have killed for that problem. (We're pulling for ya, D-Bo!) But still, downside of upside.
3. Lack of productivity, part 2. In addition to enjoying the carnal things in life, Kiwis also more generally value quality of life in balance with work. The standard work week is 37.5 hours. And finally being on the tenure (equivalent) track has made me much, much, much more relaxed than I've been in years. So there are lots of incentives here to enjoy life. Gotta crank up the effort a bit, though.
4. Material well-being. Things are much more expensive here, on the whole. The one notable exception is real estate, which is fairly affordable (to buy, but not rent, oddly) for a city with so many things going for it. But almost everything else is expensive, especially food, beer, gas, and cigarettes, my four main sources of pleasure, directly or indirectly. More broadly, material objects aren't as well-constructed, the level of service is arguably lower than in the US, etc. However, this is the downside of an upside: higher minimum wage, shorter work week, less comsumption-oriented culture dampening demand. I guess that's why Julie and Ann tell me I'm pathetic for regretting the lower level of material well-being. But what can I say?...I'm an American.