After a trying week, I just shamefully typed "I want to leave Christchurch" into the search field of my browser and this piece popped up. We've only lived here 5 years, most of that time spent optimistically riding out the quakes. We bought our first house in January 2011. Not long after, amidst drains that wouldn't drain, toilets that didn't flush, and the near constant rumble of aftershocks, my family in the US gently suggested that we might consider moving there temporarily 'while things settled down.' We stoically brushed them off. Surely the worst was over. Last month we put our art and photos up on the walls for the first time, feeling fortunate to have our repairs more or less complete. But now the backyard is covered in a layer of silt and mud and the fences are damaged. We left town for the weekend instead of cleaning up. I feel guilty for secretly being overwhelmed, because the water didn't even reach the house.

Over 5 years, we've become established here -- but in reality, in life, we're just starting out. Is this where we want to be? I thought I was prepared to wait the wait for future Christchurch, but today I'm just not sure.