Big city lights don’t compare: I did the move to the big smoke - and hated it

Whanganui Chronicle multimedia journalist Te Kakenga (TK) Kawiti-Bishara is happy to be home after his Auckland stint. Photo / Bevan Conley

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Leaving behind Auckland’s high rents, crazy wake-up times for a two-hour work commute and my wild young adult party antics to come back home to Whanganui was worth it.

Looking back, I think I made the right choice at the right time to get away from the big smoke.

I feel like it’s every teen’s dream to leave the provinces after school and hit up the big cities for the nightlife, money and bright lights.

Like every dream though, it comes to an end after eight hours of a good time.

Mine came to an end after eight months. And I left the place with no hesitation, happier than ever.

I have recently returned from Auckland after a whirlwind year of training to become a journalist.

And what a whirlwind it was.

I had a go at presenting, reporting, capturing and writing stories for a range of big media organisations who were all part and parcel of developing the young, Māori multimedia journalist who contributes to the daily Whanganui news you get today.

I lived in a relatively new area called Flat Bush, a news story in itself as 3000 more houses were going up around me.

My iwi affiliations are Ngāti Tūwharetoa of the central plateau, Ngaati Hauaa in the mighty Waikato and Ngāti Hine of the staunch Northland and Whanganui, through many connections.

This district, from the mountains to the sea, is one I call home.

Well, I’m five months fresh into my new job here at the Whanganui Chronicle, and I can say it feels great to be back with our awesome people again - the ones I grew up with, the ones who raised and taught me and new friends here at the Chronicle.

I could say I’m more appreciative of life now that I’ve gone back to my roots - and am not too reckless about it these days.

Upon the completion of my journalism course, Te Rito, in February, I was tasked with applying for proper journalist jobs from a pool of just over 30 options. One of those was a multimedia journalist role at the Chronicle. I applied for this, as well as similar jobs at other organisations.

Following graduation from the course, you would’ve seen me packing my bags right up until my early morning flight on a Sunday, ready to start my new job here at the Chronicle the next day.

Time moves quite slowly in Auckland. There’s not much time to do your daily tasks because half the working day is spent just getting to and from work.

So, I wasn’t really prepared to move my life at such short notice when the rush of packing and darting up and down a three-storey house carting everything I owned consumed my sleep pattern.

Living in Auckland did that to me; it deprived me of energy, so getting out fast with no dramas was the goal.

My flight was scheduled for some ridiculous time, early on Sunday morning. Auckland had just come out of its first battering in the 2023 floods, so I was unsure if I was going to leave the ground at all.

Now that I’m home, working in a smaller newsroom, I’m able to relax a bit more knowing I’m employed somewhere quieter and a lot calmer able to serve my people.

This report was produced under the Public Interest Journalism initiative, funded by NZ on Air.