OK, for all those bad-mouthing Christchurch, New Zealand, please get a map, TALK to anyone who actually LIVES here and learn that it is not a depressing, “Oh, woe is me,” city. For those looking for night life there’s Club 22 up on Papanui, the left just before The Phoenix. Lower on Papanui, there’s Aikman Ave. with a few places on both sides of this street [for younger AND older party-goers].
For those looking for great biking and hiking treks, There’s Summit Road, just above the panoramic Victoria Park, where you can take a few hours or a couple of days on Single Track trails with views on both sides of peninsula similar to those up at Queen Charlotte] or for the less aggressive, there’s Bottle Lake Forest Park about a 20-min ride northwest of the City proper.
There’s live Irish music at Speights on Bealey every Tuesday night, while at Fox and the Ferrets’ they host decent live bands alternating Fridays [The Palms] and Saturdays [Westfield/Riccarton Mall]. The Craig is not far from this one, with small pub/gamer atmosphere but decent bands. And for those who can research a bit, there’s so much more LIVE music and action in this wonderful city. So for those bagging Chch, get out and explore or go back to Queenstown!
For those of you following, in November 2011 my 10-year P4L were to land in Christchurch, working my way down to just outside of Queenstown, buy a house / property, work for about six years, and then travel to my next destination, potentially, somewhere in Southeast Asia. Those imploded nearly upon arrival like the liquefication of the 12 foot deep fault that ran through Christchurch. 
Do Epic Shit 