(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! (SIREN WAILS) ...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've probably made a big mistake. We're not keeping a door open in Auckland, and there's no fallback option. Copyright Able 2017 (PLEASANT GUITAR MUSIC) Botany ` in the heart of East Auckland ` a comparatively new suburb full of brick-and-tile dwellings for mums and dads and kids. Mace, Alyce and their 2-year-old son, Axel, rent a three-bedroom house in a quiet, tidy street. I'm Mace. Hi. I'm Alyce. And this is Axel. (COOS) We met just through mutual friends. And so I was originally from Masterton and moved to Wellington, and he was friends with the flat that I was staying at. So we met at a party. We've been together for 12 years now. We've been married for two. We moved to Auckland four years ago, and, yeah, we've sort of settled here and everything. Are you gonna hug doggie? I'm a pre-school teacher. I'm a zookeeper at Hamilton Zoo. (FUN MUSIC) At this point in time, I'm dealing with small carnivores and small primates. You've been waiting for me, haven't you? For example, that is red panda,... Now you, Jamuna. Ah. Watch the fingers. meerkats, tufted capuchins, and ring-tailed lemurs. Ah, no more left. That's it. Taihoa ake! E ki mai a Mace ko te Whare Kararehe o Kirikiriroa. Engari kei Tamaki Makaurau ke ratou e noho ana. Anei ra te tino toa mo te whakatere waka. (UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC) All right, guys. See you in 11 hours. Say bye-bye! Bye! (LAUGHS) Give a wave! (CRIES) No? I leave here at 20 past 6, hopefully. That's about the latest I can leave. Time for the morning commute again. Be so much easier if I didn't live half a country away from where I work. From here I'm heading out to the Southern Motorway, through some of the backstreets of Botany, and then I'm driving. How many muppets have had an accident on the motorway today? MAN ON RADIO: Newstalk ZB Auckland. Timesaver Traffic. WOMAN ON RADIO: Break down, Greenlane East. Heavy at times on the South Western southbound at Hillsborough. The North Western, slow, Westgate... It's not always a pleasant drive. From there I'm pretty much on motorways almost all the way through to Hamilton. You get to certain points along the trip where you've got roadworks; everything drops to single lanes. You know, you've got diggers and things flicking stones all over the place. (LIGHT, GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC) Hour and a half. All right. Off to work. You guys are all good today. Was it good? Did you eat all your chippies first? 'Usually, on a Sunday, he gets stuck coming through Huntly. It just stands still.' And so on a Sunday, if he's working on a Sunday, he won't get home until half past 7, 20 to 8. He won't have had Saturday off, so I've had the whole weekend just trying to sort the house out and be supermama and do all that. So it's, yeah... It's hard. Kaore nga taraiwa nui i tino pa kino ki a Mace me tona noho whanau; heoi ano, he kaupapa nui rawa atu. (SOMBRE MUSIC) We're spending about 350 to 400 a fortnight just for his petrol. So that's not mine, as well ` going to work every day as well. So, yeah, it's pretty... We... We would like to have that in the pocket (LAUGHS) rather than in the petrol tank. Ahakoa kei te whai mahi nga matua e rua, na te nui o nga utu i Tamaki i papa toea ke ai te kohi moni mo tetahi whare, haunga ano nga utu tarewa. We've been together for 12 years now and been married for two. So for the last 11 years that we've lived together, we've been renting. So we're long-term renters. The rental situation, we're like, 'There's no point in trying to find a better house 'or a different house or a different neighbourhood, because the cost of renting anywhere else is... (BABBLES) ...astronomical. What we pay for rent here, we sort of forgive, because it's in Auckland, you know? It's kind of like, 'Well, we have to.' When we were younger, we had a great little pub on the corner. We used to love just playing pool and having a few drinks, watching the rugby at the pub. Occasional expensive restaurant, just to` why not? Cos there's lovely restaurants in Auckland. Now, as I said, the cost of just parking in the city and then having Axel, those things, just don't` We don't get out the house, you know? Like, (LAUGHS) you can't get out to go down to the pub or enjoy the things that Auckland does have on offer. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) We've finally decided that it's time to say goodbye to Auckland. The honeymoon's over. It's been good for a couple of years, but it's just time to move on. Our little boy, we want him to grow up in a place where he's got more than 5m2 of grass out in the backyard. We are moving to the Waikato. (UPBEAT MUSIC) Kei tawhiti ke nga utu i Kirikiriroa mo Alyce raua ko Mace. Engari he nui tonu nga hapori ahuwhenua kei te rohe o Waikato hei whiriwhiri ma raua. Me te aha, he kounga tonu nga ahuatanga o aua hapori. All righty. Let's have a wee look, see what properties are going... in the Waikato. So after an extensive search, um, we looked at Morrinsville, Cambridge. Cambridge would be nice, but... Yeah, so you've got nothing in our price range in Cambridge, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Te Awamutu, Huntly, even Putaruru, further down. Either half a million to a million dollars... or auction. But some of them were so difficult to get` like, through Hamilton, the commute was just gonna be silly. Some of them just didn't quite fit for what we were looking for. What about this one in Morrinsville, hon? Four bedrooms. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Yeah, yeah, that one looks good. And we fell in love. Like, Morrinsville was just a beautiful little town. The Crazee Cow Cafe. (LAUGHS) OK. (LAUGHS) That's cute. He pai tonu a Morrinsvile mo te whanau. Ina te nui o nga whare e taea ana e ratou. It's quiet; it's family-friendly; it's only a half an hour to the Hamilton Zoo. I'm impressed. But then again, I'm not exactly the bank manager. * All righty. Let's have a wee look. Husband and wife Mace and Alyce have decided it's time to kiss Auckland goodbye for the sake of their sanity, their bank balance and their 2-year-old son, Axel. Kei te hiahia te whanau i tetahi whare i Morrinsville. Morrinsville is kind of like the old New Zealand. Everybody there seems to take a bit more pride in what's going on around them. It seems to be a well-presented place, and it just has a good feel about it. He ngawari te utu; he wahi harikoa; a, he haurua haora anake te tawhiti ki te wahi mahi a Mace, ara, ki te Whare Kararehe o Kirikiriroa. I'm Louise Van der Sande, team leader of Carnivores and Primates here at Hamilton Zoo, and I'm Chris' manager. Can I have that back? You have very sharp claws. Thank you. Mace has been here a few months now. He's still the new kid on the block, really. But he's picked up working with our small primates pretty naturally. No climbing me. He's obviously very committed. He's fitting in really well, and he's really enjoying the job, I think. He's pretty dedicated and pretty enthusiastic about his role. Mace obviously lives in Auckland. It's a hell of a commute for him. Most of our staff are from local areas ` Pirongia, Te Awamutu, Hamilton. He's always here on time. But I can imagine it'll get... a bit tedious after a while, so hopefully he will look at moving closer before too long. Because my job's transferrable. Like, I'm really lucky. We have to go where his job is, so for me, yeah, should be able to find work as a kindy teacher in Morrinsville or in one of the towns close by. (CURIOUS MUSIC) Mehemea ka taea ranei e Mace raua ko Alyce tetahi whare ngawari tonu te utu, ka whai rawa ano te tokorua nei; ka whai wa ano hoki mo raua ano. 'Ruff! He was too tall.' A lion! Rawr! Rawr! And story time's over. That enough? Before the end of the book? (COW MOOS LOUDLY) Well, I'm driving into Morrinsville right now. This place is a classic New Zealand farm town. You've got the main street down the middle, with shops down there; streets either side; This place coming up on my right has been selling farm equipment since after the Second World War. And out the front of it is one very, very,... very big cow. Kei te tutaki au ki a Alyce raua ko Mace ki tetahi whare kawhe i te huarahi matua kia rongo he aha ta raua e whai nei. Engari me whai tunga motoka i te tuatahi. (CHUCKLES) Oh! Kaore i te pera i a Tamaki Makaurau, ka tupono ki tetahi tunga motoka i waho tonu i te whare kawhe. Kaore he take pea o aku tini kapa. No parking meters. (LAUGHS) Hey. Hi! Hi! How's it going? You must be... I'm Alyce. Hi. Hi, Alyce. How are you? Nice to meet you. And... Mace. Mace. And? Axel. Axel! Can I join ya? Yeah, come on in. All right. So, Morrinsville. Morrinsville, yeah. There are cows, everywhere. I spotted a few as I was driving in. Yeah, aren't they cute? This is also the Crazee Cow Cafe. It is, yeah. So I think they do farming around here in a big way (!) A little bit, maybe (!) A little bit of a theme going on, yeah (!) (CHUCKLES) And somewhere that you think that maybe Axel might even like as well? Oh, anywhere with some green spaces for him to charge around would be a good place, yep. Yeah, cool. So where exactly are you at in terms of looking for a house? A little bit online. Yeah, yeah. But we're just wanting to have a closer look around and, yeah, get a feel for it. Well, I don't know if you picked this place or not, but there seems to be a real estate place right next door. So why don't we leave our coffees here for a second and we'll grab Axel and just have a look at some places in the window, right? Great. Sounds good. OK, let's do that. (UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC) All right, so these are a good cross-section of what's available at the moment. What's your price range? Well, it's our first home, and we want a little bit of 'wriggle' room. Yeah. So if our circumstances changes, like we add another addition, then our budget isn't going to be too stretched. So nice and low. Nice and low ` low is the way to go. So this one` Say, for this one for example, here, for a three-bedroom, it's 435. Is that in the kind of ballpark, or are you thinking`? I mean, down here, there's a three-bedroom for 359. Yeah, definitely under 4. OK. So if that's the criteria, I guess even on this window alone, there's already a few options that you could go in and have a look through, right? Yeah. Yeah. No, absolutely. Are you looking for big gardens? Uh, we would like a bit of space for him to be able to run around` To run around, yeah. But it's Morrinsville, so that's kind of a given. (LAUGHS) Yeah, yeah. And what's your handyman skills like? Are you looking for a do-upper or are you looking for a 'move in and everything's all ready'? Um, I think definitely more on the 'move in and liveable'. All right. We got plenty of time to live. OK, point taken. Point taken. Well, is there anywhere else that you'd like to show me that you've come across yet? Actually, there is. There is one spot that we've found that we'd like you to see. Cool! All right, lead the way. He 12 katoa nga papa rehia i Morenawhira. He 7700 nga kainoho o konei. A, ka whai wahi te katoa. This is a pretty sweet place right here, yeah? Yeah. We found it when we came to Morrinsville for a bit of an explore to see what was here. So we've got pretty much everything a small child would want. We've got a swimming pool just over there. Yeah. We've got the little park to play in. Just over that wall is a bunch of sports fields. This side, we've got some tennis courts. There's a bushwalk over there. Pretty much, it's a great place for a small boy to come and burn off a whole bunch of energy. (LAUGHS) And look at him. He's loving it too. Yeah, yeah. Hours or entertainment here at the playground. He hasn't seen a swing like that before. Yeah. I get the feeling that you've pretty much decided that Morrinsville would be a good place to bring up a family, right? Yeah. It's nice and quiet. It reminds us of where we grew up in the past. Very similar feel. Kia pai te rapu whare mo koutou, te whanau. Good luck on finding a new house, and hopefully I'll see you in the new house, maybe, sometime soon down here. Yeah? Awesome. Yeah, that'd be great. Yeah. All right, good luck. Ko te ahua nei kua tau te ngakau a te tokorua nei i tenei kainga hou. Engari ano, i Tamaki, kaore raua mo te kotiti. Since we last, um, (TUTS) had a chat with you, we've` um, excited to... tell, uh, our... We've got some news. Yeah. (GIGGLES) So, um, we found a house in Morrinsville. Oh, what about this one in Morrinsville, hon? Yeah, that one looks good. The price itself was pretty good. It's right in the bracket where we're sort of looking to buy. The neighbourhood seemed to be quite nice when we were down there. It's was pretty quiet. Big, wide streets, nice houses around it. And, yeah, so we're just in the process of getting the financial bit out, and hopefully, in the next few weeks, we'll be out of Auckland and off to our life in our first home. (UPBEAT MUSIC) Kei te rapu a Alyce raua ko Mace o Tamaki Makaurau i tetahi huarahi e puta e ratou i Tamaki Makaurau. Kei te hiahia raua kia noho mai a Morenawhira hei kainga hou mo raua. Kei konei te katoa o nga ahuatanga e hiahiatia ana, a, e tata ana ki te Whare Kararehe o Kirikiriroa. Kua kitea tetahi whare, a, ko te putea anake te mea e tami nei i a raua. It's really close to the countryside. Really nice that Axel, you know, he'll have that semi-rural upbringing where we might be able to have an orphan lamb in the backyard, you know, and he can bottle-feed the lamb and he can have that experience growing up as well. What we're used to in Auckland is so compact and so... (TUTS) small. (LAUGHS) Just, you know, like, tiny, tiny little areas. So even though it's a smaller section ` it's not a quarter acre like my parents' have, for us, it's, um` It's close enough to those big, wide open space that we kind of wanted. ...of what we have now. So we're really happy. Yeah. Heoi ano, te taha ki te putea. Ahakoa te turanga mahi motuhake ta Alyce raua ko Mace, me te utu moata mo te whare, kaore nga peke mo te tino whakapono mai. Getting into the house is not proving as easy as we would've liked it to be. Oh, just ongoing... A whole bunch of stuff. Everything! We just needed` It seems that as soon as we've provided one set of documents, they've come back to us and said, 'Well, now we need you to provide another set. And another set.' Like, literally every couple of days. Oh, you got the other stuff emailed off. Yep. Extra statement they needed. 'Yeah, no, we're definitely on tenterhooks waiting for the final builder's report to come back.' Yeah, fingers crossed and` Pretty much we've done everything that we can do` Keep calm, carry on. So the next time you guys see us, we'll be in a much smaller town, about an hour and a half that way, in a much bigger house. (CHUCKLES) (UPBEAT MUSIC) Penei i etahi atu tokorua piripono, kua mau i a Alyce raua ko Mace tetahi whare nui tonu, a, he heke iho i te $350,000 te wariu. Kua eke ki te wa. The trip is gonna be about 40 Ks instead of 112 that I'm doing now, and it's gonna drop it from about an hour and 20 minutes down to, hopefully about half an hour. So all of those aspects are gonna make things so much easier. Next stop ` Morrinsville. (SQUEALS) Bye! Bye-bye! (HORN HONKS) (FUN MUSIC) So, back in Morrinsville ` in the beautiful, eh, a little bit cloudy Waikato. And I'm here to see Alyce and Mace, because I've heard a wee rumour that they've bought themselves a house, and I'm keen to see it. Gidday, gidday! How you doing? How are you, man? Morning. Hey. Hi! How are ya? Good, thanks. How are you? Good. Gidday, mate. Say hi! Oi. The new house. Yeah! New house. In Morrinsville. Yeah. Welcome. Well, I'm after the house tour, so (CLICKS) lead the way. Come on in! Cool! A very big kitchen, comparatively, right? Makes it much easier to both be in there at the same time. Yeah. And the cat's already found the cat's place in the kitchen too. He's located his food bowl, the most important part of his life. Yeah. (LAUGHS) OK, and what's through here? We're gonna use this part as the lounge. And then this is gonna be more of a family area. The rooms are all down the back, yeah? BOTH: Yeah. So this is... Axel's room. Yes. Wow. Whoa! Yeah. Yeah. (GUFFAWS) Talk me through it. Unfortunately that came with the house. Mm. Um` It's not staying! Hey, that colour was loved by somebody once upon a time. Just remember that. Have a bit of respect (!) What colour are you gonna go for? Right up here. We've got an idea for a nice dark blue ` Dark blue. to go along with the little boy's room that it's going to be. (LAUGHS) Yeah. I raru i te wa i hunuku, korua? Were there any problems with the move? Uh, so, nah, everything went pretty smoothly. On moving day, movers are getting everything into the truck, nearly` the house is almost empty, and I get a phone call and, yeah, found out that the house was settled on that particular day. I'd hedged my bets, so, yeah. (LAUGHS) Would you say that you took a wee bit of a gamble? Little bit. I was pretty confident that the house would be settled on that day. So, yeah, we just thought, 'Oh well. We own it; let's move in,' you know? (LAUGHS) He aha te take mahi? What are you doing in the work situation? What's happening there? Well, my commute's halved. I got here a lot quicker this morning. Half the time. Only 40 minutes! And, um, actually, I've just been offered a job yesterday at a beautiful little kindergarten in Hamilton. So it's nice, quick 20-minute drive from here into the east side of Hamilton. And you've not decided on a place for the lime tree yet, right? (LAUGHS) Tell us about the lime tree. Oh, our beautiful lime tree. We've had it for how long, babe? About six years now. Yeah. There's some good soil around here, and he'll appreciate actually being able to put some roots down and giving us some limes. Limey's kind of symbolic of your life, isn't it? (BOTH AGREE) It's been moved around in a container, and now you're actually able to put down some roots. Yeah, our precious lime tree. Hey, look, I'm so excited for you both. Big ups on the move. Congratulations for taking the big the move away from the big smoke. But I think that` I can see that you guys are gonna be pretty happy here. Yeah. Oh, no, thank you. He tika tonu te hunukutanga mai a Chris raua ko Alyce ki tenei taone. Ko te mahi tika, I te wa tika. Kaore i tua atu. They've finally found time for the good life, right here in Morrinsville. 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.