Head to the regions for a better life
More and more people are ditching the expensive cities to find a first home in the regions, writes Gill South.
‘‘Everything I would consider buying [in Wellington], was going for over $650,000, even stuff I wouldn’t consider buying.’’ Billy van Uitregt
The country’s Covid-19 lockdowns last year sent many young Kiwis scurrying back home to the regions – and also caused a lot of New Zealanders to question why they needed to be in the big cities with their expensive property markets.
Billy van Uitregt, a Victoria University geography lecturer and self-declared ‘‘Maussie’’, (Ma¯ ori Aussie) had always planned to live in Whanganui in the longer term.
But the accelerating house prices in Wellington last year, and the determination to have somewhere to live in future lockdowns, with a backyard and space to himself, triggered the move early.
Van Uitregt, born and raised in Australia, was house hunting in Naenae in Lower Hutt, with a budget of $650,000 last year.
‘‘Everything I would consider buying, was going for over $650,000, even stuff I wouldn’t consider buying,’’ he says.
The academic has ended up buying a pretty, well-maintained villa in Whanganui’s Aramoho for $450,000.
‘‘It’s a really gorgeous old house. It’s got a big kitchen and dining area which opens out onto a deck. There’s a bit of a yard with fruit trees, and it fronts the Whanganui River.’’
Van Uitregt didn’t just pick Whanganui out of a hat. His late mother grew up in Waverley, in Taranaki, where there are lots of
Nga¯ Rauru and he’s getting to know his Whanganui wha¯ nau in the region.
‘‘That’s what I’m here for. I came to New Zealand from Australia to connect with my Ma¯ oritanga. My long term plan was to live in Whanganui, my research interests are here, and it’s where my whakapapa is,’’ he says.
The size of the town suits him –
he doesn’t like big cities – and in Whanganui, you can get to most places in town within 10 to 20 minutes.
But he does have to commute to Wellington. In the first university trimester, he’s managed day trips, getting up at 4am to beat the traffic, and, in the coming second and third trimesters, he will rent a room in a Wellington flat, enabling him to be on campus
three days a week.
Like most, van Uitregt found buying a house traumatic and after moving in three or four months ago, he’s allowing the dust to settle.
To help integrate, he has connected with his marae, and he has a ‘‘morning cuppa’’ with a research group in Whanganui during the week.
He’s also getting to know the
art scene in the town, his aunt, Tapirioterangi Pirikahu, is an artist and drags him around, willingly, to the art exhibits in town.
Accepting things won’t initially be perfect
Auckland-based life and health coach Rachel Goulter, who is from Whanganui, says it’s an adjustment to make this sort of move.
‘‘It can be like a pipe dream, and then you get there, and you need to hold onto that feeling of excitement,’’ she says.
It doesn’t have to be perfect at the start. Remind yourself what your loves are. Things like sport and community activities can help you integrate, she says.
If you are working remotely, work from a local coffee shop part of the day, or if you’re doing research, do it at the library. This will help you get to know the locals, she says.
Be aware of what’s going on in your town and learn about its history, she adds. ‘‘Ask the locals about the good things to do. People always want to talk about the good stuff,’’ suggests Goulter.
Returning to a very different ‘home’
For those going back home, don’t expect it to be the same place you left.
Former Trade Me marketer Joe Roberts has been looking at his former home town, New Plymouth, with different eyes, as a home buyer, after he returned there to work in local insurance firm, the HTL Group.
‘‘I came back with preconceptions about what areas I would and wouldn’t consider, and that changes. There are a lot of places I didn’t think I would like, which I’m looking at quite happily. I thought I’d be way more picky.’’
Roberts, one of the last of his friends from school to come home after more than 10 years away, has money saved and is a cash buyer for a house in the $430,000 to $480,000 range.
There’s no way he could have bought in Auckland, says the 28-year-old.
‘‘I looked into the possibility of buying in Auckland, but every bit of research I did, I was nowhere near able to buy by myself,’’ he says.
‘‘Buying in Auckland was unfathomable, without being leveraged up to [my] eyeballs at 28,’’ he says.
House hunting in New Plymouth is not a slam dunk, even though he’s a cash buyer.
‘‘It’s still super competitive. You’ve still got to be able to act super quickly,’’ says Roberts.
His plan is to bring in friends as flatmates when he buys and he’ll charge them reasonable rents.
He wants to be active in the community – and in local business circles. ‘‘I genuinely feel quite attached to Taranaki. I’m proud of it and want to help the region,’’ he says.