1QQ2
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Life in New Zealand, Unfiltered

A personal blog by Mardy — leaving Japan, chasing love, and building a life across the ocean.

About 1QQ2

Mardy left his job as a new graduate in Japan and moved to New Zealand to follow his girlfriend. What started as a working holiday became a full life abroad. This blog captures the journey — the work, the visas, the relationships, and the everyday moments in between.

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Working Holiday

Real experiences from a working holiday in New Zealand, from arrival to visa transitions.

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Work & Career

Finding jobs, navigating hospitality, and building a career in a new country.

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Love & Relationships

International dating, moving for love, and interviews with Japanese men in cross-cultural relationships.

Key Milestones

Exploring New Zealand

From Rotorua's free natural hot springs to Wellington's best cafes, Mardy shares firsthand recommendations for getting around New Zealand — including tips on free car rentals through Transfercar and cheap flights via Grabaseat.

Overhead flat-lay photograph of a map of New Zealand spread across a wooden table, surrounded by a compass, a notebook with handwritten notes, a pen, and a cup of coffee. Warm wood tones, cream paper, and muted navy map details. Map preview — New Zealand

Popular Topics

Close-up of a steaming natural hot spring pool surrounded by native ferns and moss-covered rocks, with soft morning light filtering through trees. 1

Rotorua's Free Hot Springs

Discover the Kerocene natural hot springs — a free, local alternative to the paid thermal parks. Mardy visited in October 2017 and shared the experience.

A barista's hands pouring steamed milk into a ceramic cup, creating latte art, with an espresso machine and coffee beans visible in the background. 2

Becoming a Barista in NZ

An interview with a Japanese expat who landed a barista job in New Zealand within three weeks — without fluent English. The secret? Instagram networking.

A stack of official-looking forms and documents on a desk, with a pen resting on top, beside a passport with a New Zealand visa sticker visible. 3

Partner Visa: The Full Guide

A step-by-step breakdown of the New Zealand partner visa application — from the document checklist to the evidence Mardy actually submitted.

A dog sitting on a grassy lawn looking at the camera, with a leash and a tennis ball nearby, warm afternoon sunlight. 4

Pet Sitting with Pawshake

How to earn money and improve your language skills by caring for pets through the Pawshake platform — a side gig Mardy explored in late 2017.

Thinking about a working holiday in New Zealand?

Read the Guides

Browse by Category

Guides and news about New Zealand, including city tips for Auckland and Wellington, local brands like Kathmandu, and services like S.L.I.C.E. and Grabaseat. Mardy also covered the Spookers haunted house — one of only two in the Southern Hemisphere.

Practical advice on finding work in New Zealand: barista jobs, pet sitting through Pawshake, and reflections on customer service and difficult customers. Includes interviews with other expats who found their footing.

Personal essays on Japanese workplace culture, interview etiquette, seniority systems, and making friends across age groups. Mardy also wrote about the value of money versus praise and the experience of returning to his university to speak with students.

Interviews with Japanese men in international relationships, Mardy's own story of moving to New Zealand for love, and commentary on societal pressures facing couples. The category also touches on broader relationship dynamics.

Travel tips for New Zealand and beyond: Wellington cafe recommendations, cheap mobile phone usage in New Caledonia, and guides to renting cars and campervans affordably through services like Transfercar.

Many travelers begin a working holiday overseas with little more than a backpack and a loose plan, only to discover that the journey gradually reshapes their ambitions and sense of home. The appeal lies in combining paid work with extended travel, allowing a slower exploration of a new country while earning enough to stay mobile. Stories from these seasons often highlight the contrast between early uncertainty and later confidence, as everyday routines give way to lasting memories and meaningful friendships formed across cultures.

Arriving in a distant country as a newcomer carries a particular mix of excitement and hesitation. Language barriers, unfamiliar streets, and shifting time zones can make the first weeks feel disorienting, yet those same pressures tend to sharpen awareness and encourage resourcefulness. A working holiday period becomes a kind of extended orientation, where small daily choices about transport, food, and housing build into a deeper familiarity with the rhythm of an unfamiliar place.

Finding work abroad is often described as a discipline of patience and persistence. Hospitality, retail, seasonal agriculture, and skilled trades tend to welcome travelers, though each path demands its own mix of adaptability and stamina. Job listings, local networks, and recommendation from fellow travelers frequently matter more than formal qualifications. Over time, a working holiday maker learns to read between the lines of postings, recognize fair employers, and negotiate confidently in a second language.

Visas shape the timeline of every international adventure, and understanding their conditions is essential for staying compliant and stress free. Working holiday schemes typically set an age range, a national limit, and specific work or study permissions. Extensions, second working holiday visas, or skilled migrant pathways may open up later, but the rules shift regularly. Keeping records, noting expiry dates, and researching the next stage well before the current visa ends helps travelers avoid interruptions to their plans.

Relationships formed during a year abroad tend to carry a special intensity, shaped by shared discovery and limited time. Bonds with fellow travelers grow quickly because everyone is in the same transient situation, while connections with locals can deepen through workplaces, sports clubs, or community events. Distance eventually becomes a factor, and maintaining ties across time zones requires intention and effort, yet many travelers report that friendships forged abroad remain among the most enduring of their lives.

Cross cultural romance introduces its own set of considerations, blending excitement with careful communication. When partners come from different language backgrounds, the everyday work of translation often falls on both people in turn, not just the one who moved overseas. Family expectations, future residency choices, and long term career plans all enter the conversation sooner than they might otherwise. Honest dialogue about priorities early on can prevent misunderstandings later, especially once the novelty of relocation gives way to ordinary domestic life.

Daily life in a new country reveals its character through small routines rather than headline attractions. Grocery shopping, public transport maps, local holidays, and neighborhood cafés become reference points that gradually feel like home. Weather patterns shape weekly plans, while regional accents and colloquial expressions add color to conversations. Travelers who settle into these rhythms often find their sense of belonging deepen, even as they remain aware that their presence in the country is conditional on circumstance and visa status.

Career development during a working holiday rarely follows the path that was originally imagined. Many participants discover strengths they had not previously recognized, from customer service and teamwork to project coordination across cultures. Others decide that their original profession suits them more than they thought and return home with renewed focus. Either outcome is valuable, since the experience clarifies which environments allow a person to thrive and which routines feel draining when repeated over long stretches of time.

Personal growth abroad tends to happen quietly, through repetition rather than dramatic moments. Handling a difficult landlord, navigating a hospital visit in another language, or simply cooking a familiar meal with unfamiliar ingredients all build confidence. Reflecting on these experiences later reveals how much perspective has shifted, particularly regarding independence, resilience, and the ability to start again. A working holiday, in this sense, functions as a measured interval between life chapters rather than a mere extended vacation.

Keeping a blog about life in a new country serves a dual purpose, both as a personal record and a way to connect with readers considering similar steps. Writing about visa applications, job hunts, friendships, and small setbacks transforms scattered memories into a narrative worth following. Readers often appreciate honesty more than polish, valuing the small details that reveal how a place actually feels to live in. Over time, such accounts become a quiet archive of growth and a useful reference for anyone planning their own move abroad.

More from 1QQ2

Beyond the practical guides, Mardy's blog is also a space for reflection. He wrote about crying to Lana Del Rey songs, questioning why shop staff must stand all day, and the strange experience of being a Japanese person in New Zealand navigating perceptions of Chinese identity. The blog ran on Hatena Blog and built a small but engaged readership.

Follow Mardy on Twitter @rym_nz and Instagram @mardy413 for updates.

New Zealand Map

Overhead flat-lay photograph of a topographic map of New Zealand's North Island, with Auckland and Wellington marked by small pins, surrounded by travel ephemera — a boarding pass, a car rental key, and a notebook. Interactive map — explore locations mentioned on the blog