Dunedin

Dunedin is a hilly, student-heavy city on New Zealand's South Island, built around a Scottish heritage and a university that shapes much of its rhythm and rental market. Winters here are cold and damp, and the wind off the harbour cuts through anything less than proper layers, so shelter matters more than people from warmer places expect. The median household income in Otago sits around NZ$85,000 a year, but that figure hides a lot of strain, especially for those outside steady work or student support. A 2018 census-based count identified roughly 140 people experiencing severe housing deprivation in Dunedin on any given night, a number community workers say has almost certainly grown since. The Salvation Army Dunedin runs food and welfare support most days, the Otago Community Hospice and Presbyterian Support Otago offer practical help for those in crisis, and the Dunedin City Mission remains one of the more consistent points of contact for food, clothing, and a warm place to sit for a while. If you're reading this while trying to get through a hard stretch here, know that this city has people in it who show up for strangers, and you don't have to figure out where to go all at once — just the next place, then the next.