Affordable Manawatū: Experiences of new residents to be used to help lure others
Ann and Perry Rosales have moved their family from Auckland to Palmerston North for the cheaper housing, small commutes and good schools and activities for their three children. From left, Tristan Rosales, 11, Ann Rosales, Mikaela Rosales, 6, Isabela Rosales, 3, and Perry Rosales.
Manawatū is consistently ranked as one of the most affordable places to live in New Zealand, but is that enough to trade in big-city living for provincial life? Paul Mitchell reports.
Manawatū is becoming as much defined by house prices as it is by rivers and wind turbines.
Palmerston North, the seventh-largest city in New Zealand, has been crowned internationally as the country's most affordable. The average Manawatū home costs 6.6 times the average salary in the region. Only Taranaki has a more affordable ratio.
The view from Palmerston North's Esplanade of the Manawatū River, Fitzherbert Bridge and Tararua Range. There's no lengthy traffic delays here.
The numbers affirm what locals already know: Manawatū is an advantageous place to live. In the context of an Auckland housing crisis, the allure to outsiders might seem emphatic.
But Manawatū isn't seeing as much population growth as similar regions. For example, Northland's 2 per cent population growth in 2017 was twice as much as Manawatū's.
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The Festival of Cultures is one event in Palmerston North that draws a big crowd.
It's clear affordable houses alone won't attract new residents, Central Economic Development Agency chief executive Linda Stewart said.
The agency hopes to capitalise on the region's affordable reputation by turning to the stories of new residents and finding a sales pitch that resonates with others battling back in the big smoke.
Stewart said they want a campaign that highlights Manawatū's strengths, from the education and health sectors to a thriving arts scene, and casting a spotlight on new residents' experiences may be the most effective hook.
With a bunch of activities for children to try, Manawatū is known as a great place to raise a family.
For Ann and Perry Rosales, it was a better life for their three children than Auckland could provide.
The family moved to Palmerston North three months ago.
They still loved the big city, but when almost every activity they wanted to do meant at least an hour's travel in the car, the daily grind made for too much lost time, Ann Rosales said.
"We've got kids, and we'd rather spend time with them than in traffic."
They considered moving somewhere closer, like Tauranga or Hamilton, but Palmerston North's schools and lifestyle won out.
"People in Auckland are fighting for good schools. They're buying very expensive houses just so they're in the right school zones."
A home in Auckland Grammar's zone would easily cost $2 million – a home near Palmerston North Boys' High goes for less than a quarter of that price, she said.
"And it'll have a huge section, which you never see in Auckland, four bedrooms, and be a really nice house too."
Ann Rosales said her family were loving exploring the broad range of outdoor activities in Manawatū.
For Nix Jaques, the lure to Manawatū was love. She moved down from the City of Sails to be with army engineer Awanui Melbourne, stationed at Linton, in 2017.
A television producer for Three's Marae DIY, Jaques can work from home. Compared with Auckland, Palmerston North is a "bite-sized" distance from anywhere the show takes her.
Everything Auckland had was available here, there was just a little less of it, and Manawatū had a few things the big city didn't, she said.
Friends gave her a hard time about the move, so she sparked her own mini-marketing campaign.
She made sure she sent regional fare up north for birthday presents – Foxton Fizz, Pohangina Valley wine, Pork Chop Hill T-shirts – and promoted Palmerston North's restaurants, art deco buildings and landscapes on Instagram.
"I love the landscape here ... the way the light strikes the Tararua Ranges on occasion. I'm always in awe of that aspect of living here."
When a friend was in town, Jaques gave her a full tour of the region's attractions.
"She had a ball. By the end she said 'I want to live down here'. So there's one convert."
- Stuff
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