(UPBEAT MUSIC) Auckland ` Tamaki Makaurau ` the City of Sails, the place desired by many. And you can see why ` the beaches,... Not bad! ...the shopping, the restaurants, the people. But there's the other stuff ` (DRAMATIC MUSIC) the traffic,... Come on! ...the house prices,... Whoa! ...the noise, the people! Aucklanders are packing up and moving out every day. And this show is about that. I did it, and I never looked back. Come with us as we follow escapees swapping the pavement for the paddocks. For richer, for poorer; for better or worse, we are moving out. We're just winging it, really. We probably made a big mistake. We're not keeping a door open in Auckland, and there's no fallback option. Copyright Able 2017 (SERENE MUSIC) Laingholm ` on the mighty Manukau Harbour ` just out of Auckland City. For most city dwellers, this would be a dream location for escaping the rat race ` the beach, the bush, a safe environment for the kids to run around in. This is where most of us would escape to if we were moving out. (UPLIFTING MUSIC) TV producers Kerry and Kiel, and their tamariki ` 13-year-old Api, 11-year-old Kiki, and 8-year-old Noah ` all moved out here from the city seven years ago. So... why would they wanna leave this place? (BARKS) We managed to buy this seven years ago, and the price, you know, of houses in Auckland, obviously, has risen, and so we're able to sell at a good price and buy at a much cheaper price outside of Auckland. So, I mean, essentially, that's reducing debt, which is stress (LAUGHS) on us. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. And so one of the big motivators is stress. The house is a bit small; the mortgage is a bit big. Now Mum and Dad feel a bit stuck. We're never gonna afford a bigger house in Auckland ` the kind of house that we want. We're at a point where we want to slow down a little bit and really figure out what it is we wanna do. Building on to their bungalow would be disruptive, could be uneconomic, even if they could find a builder. And that's why Api's had to move into the sleep-out for his own space. But there are benefits to living here, in spite of the close quarters. Finally! (BOTH LAUGH) The whole area is wonderful, and our children have had a wonderful childhood growing up here. I mean, they've still got lots of childhood to go, but it was wonderful at the beginning, to start with. Oh, how was the interschool athletic thingy? Good? It's a dead-end street. That was a real plus, cos our kids ride their bikes down. You know, at the end of the street is the dairy and the park and the beach. And now they've started having dinner dates ` like burgers down at the fish and chips shop together and hanging out with one another ` and I think that's been really cool. (BICYCLE BELL RINGS) (DRAMATIC MUSIC) So they've outgrown their house. But there's more behind their potential move than that. Kerry and Kiel have found themselves extremely time-poor, courtesy of the ever-worsening Auckland congestion nightmare. (TENSE MUSIC) Kiel was working late last night. Great work, guys. We're on, kind of, day-night shoot last night, so we wrapped at 10.30. Good. Cut. I had to wait for him because we had to watch down work that we both had to feedback on. Got home at about 11. Got up this morning to get the kids ready for swimming at 6. So I picked up the children from swimming and then had to drop them off at school. I had to get the car to Onehunga to get in the shops, so that was about an hour-trip, waiting-in-traffic kind of thing to get out there. I think it's probably a total of about four hours in the car today. We'll be finishing today at 10.30 tonight. Yeah. So I have to hang out with the kids between 3 and 8, and then I have to work. So I've still got a 10-hour day of work to do. Just feels like you spend half your life in the car. And action. Na te nui o nga mahi hanga hotaka pouaka whakaata a Kerry raua ko Kiel, kaore he nui nga wa mo a raua tamariki, whanau ano hoki, otira nga parekareka katoa o te noho ki Laingholm nei. When we came out here, it felt very country and slow, you know, compared to Auckland. Hardly ever really see my brother, and he's just in Mt Wellington. You know, because he's busy; we're busy. I feel like we're getting sucked back into that race. Auckland vortex. Between them, Kerry and Kiel can waste up to 30 hours a week in the car. They want to kick their mortgage, go freehold somewhere, and chop their crazy lifestyles down a gear or two. A lot of people want to make a move` And again, I think it's luxury. We are in a position` To have the chance to do it` ...a really, really lucky position to have the choice to do it. So for Kerry and Kiel, they feel as though their house is too small; the commute to work is too big; their jobs are so demanding that their family life is being squeezed to death. They feel trapped, and they want out. But where? It started when we kind of started thinking of moving out of Auckland. We looked at Tauranga, where the rest of Auckland is going. (BOTH LAUGH) Yeah! What's the asking price? 395. Holy haka! Tauranga is so beautiful, and we visit there and we love it, but we were starting to see that we would kind of still be buying the same sort of house we already live in. Yeah, so we just started looking further afield. One region that seemed to jump off the screen was Taranaki. No traffic, and a much bigger bang for your housing buck. Even more so in the South Taranaki town of Hawera. (LIGHT, LIVELY GUITAR MUSIC) (MOODY MUSIC) Action. Film and television creatives Kerry and Kiel have a passion for their work... Good. Cut. ...and their kids, of course. But living in seaside Laingholm, on the outskirts of Auckland City, means the whanau is struggling to make everything work. Katahi te poroheahea o to ratou mahere ia ra, ia ra. Probably a total of about four hours in the car today. And they want to slow down the pace... Feels like you spend half your life in the car. ...and live the Kiwi dream. Now they've decided to set sail and move out of Auckland. People leaving Auckland often bank on the fact that when they get to their new provincial home, they'll be freehold. But places that are within striking distance of Auckland, like Tauranga, for example, have become way too expensive. So Kerry and Kiel are looking further afield for their new home. Look, I'm gonna show you... Ah. ...a four-bedroom, two-bathroom place. Wow. Kaore i te tini nga motoka, a, ka whai take te putea ki konei. Kei te taraiwa au ki Hawera ki te tutaki i a Kerry raua ko Kiel. Tuatahi ko taku tino hiahia he tirotiro haere ki Hawera kia mohio mai he aha raua i whiriwhiria tenei taone. (LIVELY MUSIC) Kia ora. (LAUGHS) Ahhh! Kia ora. Mmm. Hawera! Yeah! Beautiful, eh? Hawera. The sun's not quite here today, but that's OK. Tell me how you guys ended up with Hawera. Because there would've been a process to get to this point, right? Yeah, there was definitely a process. I guess it kind of started off with our budget. You know, what were we gonna end up with once we sold in Laingholm. Kerry and Kiel expect to get about 800,000 for their old place. But just half that gets a whole lot of house in Hawera. And in terms of options, have you got a couple of options that you're looking at at the moment? Yeah. We've got a couple, eh? Yeah. Yeah. We're looking at a few. Yeah, there's a few. Obviously a villa. Yeah, yeah. There's probably about four villas that we're interested in here that have lots of space and room. And we're looking under the 400k. OK. Yeah. Yeah, so, unfortunately, that knocks out a couple of really really big ones. How many people live here? Um, there's around 11,000, is the population of Hawera. Um, which is great, and that's a good sort of solid number and a solid little buzzy town. There's lots of things going on, which is really cool. But there's one other hugely significant attraction for Kiel ` his whakapapa to Parihaka, just half an hour from Hawera. Na te haerenga mai i Tamaki i te ra nei i whai wahi ai ki te haere ki te tuhonohono ano ki te pa. I think this is for people that are coming back in and re-engaging, reconnecting with communities. This sort of activity is really, I think, an excellent way to become engaged again. Yeah. What's really interesting is that it has that kind of ancestral connection. Kumara. Kumara. Kei nga taha o te kumara. My great-great-grandfather, Arawhena Graham, was sent from the Waikato by King Tawhiao to Parihaka to be part of the movement there. I want to be able to really begin a solid connection to my Maori roots. I really want us a whanau to be able to spend some time there. (LIVELY MUSIC) So it looks as though Kiel and Kerry have picked Hawera as their chosen destination. Ka taea a raua mahi teneki, a, me pumau hoki ki to raua whanau me aua ahuatanga katoa. He nui nga kaupapa hei tutuki ma Kerry raua ko Kiel ki Taranaki. But how about the kids? Back in the Auckland, Laingholm is pretty much all they've ever known. I've lived her for about eight years, and I don't really wanna move, because I've been here basically my whole life, so,... (SLURPS) yeah, I don't really feel like moving. CHILD: I was a little... upset. It was upsetting because then I would have no friends. And I was also shocked and confused in why we were moving or why we had to move. CHILD: My friend's two houses up the road, then my other friend's probably about four houses down the road. And at the end of the road, there's the beach, the dairy, the playground. Yeah, I think I'm gonna miss that. (THOUGHTFUL MUSIC) It's not just the local friends and schoolmates the kids are gonna miss. The family's been a fixture of the Piha surf community for years. A, me poroporoaki i a ratou te whanau i te hunukutanga atu. (THOUGHTFUL MUSIC CONTINUES) KERRY: It's actually gonna be really sad to leave, because we joined this club when the kids were really young. And so they've made so many good friends, and so have we. KIEL: It'll be really interesting to see how the kids react to a new club and a new place and new faces and stuff. I think it'll be good for them. Um, you never really know, I guess, do ya? Tae rawa mai ki tenei ra, he whakaaro noa iho te hunukutanga atu i Tamaki Makaurau. Engari i te hokitanga atu ki te kainga mai i Piha, kua pataihia te patai ki ona tamariki. We're thinking very, very seriously about selling our house and moving out of Auckland. (POIGNANT MUSIC) I said, 'Do I get my own room?' (LAUGHS) Noah, do you wanna talk about how you're feeling... or why you're upset about it? Will we still be going to the same school? You won't be able to go to the same school, darl. Um, when they told me, I started crying, cos it was, like, my first time moving. So I didn't really know what it was like. Do you want the teddy? (SOBS) A cuddle with penguin? (UPLIFTING, FLOWING GUITAR MUSIC) Inaianei, kua oti ke te hokotanga o te whare i Laingholm, a, e whakarite ana te whanau katoa kia hunuku whakatetonga. Engari, kei reira tonu nga amaimai a Kerry raua ko Kiel. Might be the risks. It may be difficult` Loneliness? (BOTH LAUGH) The risk would potentially be that, I dunno, if we do find that we have to be in Auckland more than we think, I think, you know? Yeah. That would be the biggest risk and how that might affect` The children. ...the day-to-day family life. Mm. If one of us or both of us are away and we need someone else to look after the kids for an extended period of time. That would not be ideal at all. (RELAXED, FLOWING MUSIC) From anyone that I've heard of who's done the move, they've all said it's been` None of them have regretted it. ...the best thing they've done! I haven't heard anyone say, 'Oh, yeah, we left Auckland 'but really felt the need to get back into Auckland.' Yeah, yeah. We're just winging it, really. (CHUCKLES) Um, we've probably made a big mistake. Bye. A big mistake or the best move they could've made? (MOODY MUSIC) Film and television makers Kerry and Kiel have had enough of their stressful city lives in Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland. Hell traffic,... We were about four hours in the car today. ...and a house that just wasn't big enough for their family of five, and the dog. But it's the three kids that are going to have to make the biggest changes. We're moving... out of Auckland. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) So, it's been a couple of months now since Kerry and Kiel have moved to Hawera in search of the good life. Engari, kia maumahara tatou e rua nga tino putake o te nekehanga nei. Te mea tuatahi, e ahei ana raua te haria i wa raua mahi ki wahi ke; tuarua, me pehea nga tamariki i a ratou i wehe ana. Last time I saw the kids, they weren't too sure about the move. Engari taihoa kia kite mena kua huri aua whakaaro. Their bungalow in leafy, seaside Laingholm sold for $800,000. In Hawera, they've upsized to a four-bedroom villa with more space for everyone. Hello? Hi! Hey! How are you? All good. Hi. It's beautiful! Yes! This is the house. Yeah! Come in. Yeah, give me the tour. This is the hallway. Beautiful. It's really big. High ceilings. Uh, yeah, it's gorgeous. This is the boys' bedroom, which looks like a boys bedroom. It looks every part a boys' bedroom. This is the guest room, which I'm still working on. So, this is the big lounge room, and there's Api. And, yeah, we're kinda still putting stuff up and still sorting stuff out, but we're thinking no TV in this room, so we're just gonna hang out with kids and play games and... Family room. True-blue family room. ...do stuff. Family room. This room here is Kiki's room. So, it's a mess, which she'll probably hate that I'm bringing you in, because it's a mess. The beautiful, big kitchen. Mm! And the master bedroom is through there, with an en suite, and in there is the laundry. And room for the dog. And room for the dog. (LAUGHS) And that was already there, which was perfect! So, yeah, this the house. It's very cool. It's very cool. It's really cool. He whare nui rawa atu tenei, me tona patiki nunui rawa atu ano hoki; he patiti ano kei muri tata atu i te whare. A, he haurua noa iho te utu o te wariu of te whare I Tamaki Makaurau. Let's talk about the kids. How are they settling in? Yeah... Good, I think. Good. I dunno. It's the first` I mean, they're happy. Yeah. First day of school is interesting. I mean, it's the... Kiki going to intermediate. She doesn't know anyone, so that was pretty scary. Kiki is missing her life in Auckland and is finding it a little tough making the big move. Well, the neighbourhood was quite friendly. Like, we knew everybody there. So... Do you know any of your neighbours here? We've met, but... (LAUGHS) that's basically it, yeah, so... And it's gonna take some time, though, eh? Met some of them. Yeah. Ka roa pea te wa e ngakau reka mai ai nga matua a Api ko te ruma mo te manuhiri te ruma tika mona. I know that you were keen to get your own bedroom, but that hasn't quite worked out. Ooh. Uh... What happened there? Uh, my sister didn't really want to be sleeping with my brother, so... she was like, 'No, give me my own bedroom.' (CHUCKLES SOFTLY) I'm stuck here with him. So this is the boys' room now. Yeah. Got it. (UPBEAT MUSIC) Kerry and Kiel were most concerned for their youngest son, Noah, but he's literally bounced back. The house is bigger. We have a lot more room. The TV in the school is bigger. Ka pai, koutou! A, ko tetahi painga o te noho ki Hawera ko te patata ki nga oneone nui. A, koira te wahi e tuhonohono ai te taura tangata. It seemed to me, at the first sporting event that we've been to, all the parents seemed to just wanna help the kids. In Auckland, when you do kids' sports and you go along, there's so much competition. But the competition is amongst the parents! (LAUGHS) The parents are all having a competition, you know? Engari kaore ano tetahi o te whanau kia wetewete motuhake nei i ona here ki Tamaki Makaurau. Me oti i a Kiel tana kirimana pouaka whakaata, a ka nui te tawhiti i Tamaki ki te kainga. It wasn't the easiest experience going back and forth. I'm used to the drive now, though. It's five hours, but, yeah, I was doing` Yeah, you can kind of get used to it, and doing it all in one go, which is quite good. This is what a lot of Aucklanders are doing these days ` moving away from the big city, reducing their mortgage ` or even better, paying it off ` and just renting or staying with friends if they need to be up in the big smoke. We just have to do a lot of planning, a lot more forward planning for work, if indeed we want to work in Auckland. Luckily for Kiel, his work can move home here to Hawera with him. And I've gotta say, the future looks pretty exciting for this whanau. We do have some shows that we're pitching that we wanna make here in Taranaki, which is great ` great for us, great for Taranaki, you know, great for the creatives that are involved in that. We want to spend time on making really meaty content ` maybe five-part one-hour dramas. That's the kind of stuff that we really wanna work on and we wanna head in, and we've got a film-feature slate, and so we've got a lot of development to do. 'E tangi ana koe.' (BRIGHT, ROLLING GUITAR MUSIC) Have you met your neighbours? Uh, yes. So we've met Steve, who gave us lots of potatoes that he grew. Is his name Steve? Isn't this Kevin? Oh, it's Kevin! Oh, it's not even Steve. (LAUGHS) OK. I had to cut the hedge. It's not straight. (CHORTLES) I'm not qualified. (LAUGHS) Well, it was definitely a big move ` moving your work and the kids from a place that they loved to a place that they don't even know. Engari kua kitea e tatou mena e piri tata ana e tu kaha na te whanau, ka taea te neke ahakoa ki hea. (PLEASANT, FLOWING MUSIC) Captions by Glenna Casalme. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017 He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho.