Home truths

I love Auckland, used to live there: Washington Ave, Glendowie; a Beazley type home without a garage, bought for $22,000 in 1975, sold for $48,000 in 1981 when marriage broke up. Now worth...? As David Slack (Focus, July 23) points out, John Key’s ‘‘blokey legacy’’ is no compensation for allowing the city to be over-run by immigrants, and is certainly a kick in the guts for folks trying to save for a first home or even find one to rent.

However, there’s hope for readers who have skills/careers that allow location flexibility.

After many moves I finally ended up where I least expected: Dunedin, a city with all the cultural amenities of Auckland and with homes of the Washington Ave type going for around the $300,000 mark.

What’s more, the city and environs have lots of Mt Eden-type character homes that will delight savvy renovators. But hurry, the immigrants are moving in here, too.

Ian Williams, Dunedin

Really, I don’t think that David Slack is Slack. He’s just pushing his preset platform ... it’s only natural, but he’s missing the point. Look around: Left, Right, and anywhere in between, today’s political messaging holds no currency for anyone, anywhere.

The Brits, however, have the royal family and their ‘orchestrators’ have struck a rich new vein of credibility with this fresh generation of royals, leaving rotten old regular politics directionless and in disarray.

Meantime, HRH holds on resolutely while the young crop pursue their newly scripted popularity thread. So dust off your Union Jack, Slack, the monarchy is back!

Tony Crick, Dunedin