Hey Auckland,

it's the majority speaking.

You may be big, brash, bold and sexy in your own lunchtime but listen up.

There are 3 million people who live outside of the biggest city in the country. And they DON'T envy you.

I'm out in the mainland this week, writing this from the car north of Dunedin, in Waikouaiti, population 1300. And we've just stopped at Hayley and Corrina's place - The Magnet Cafe. Lovely people. They moved to Dunedin from Tauranga 3 years ago. They love it - they told me. Hayley says; 'It's a cruiser lifestyle aye.' Tauranga was getting 'just so full on.' But Tauranga isn't my focus - it's you Auckland. You have ridiculous house prices and some of the worst traffic jams in the world. You work to pay the mortgage and spend hours getting to and from the office. It's madness.

That is not a quality of life no matter what the international surveys say. We now have $200b worth of mortgage debt - the majority is held in the ridiculously over heated Auckland market.

One of our colleagues moved from Auckland recently to Dunedin. He can't wipe the smile off his dial. He was mortgaged off the planet in Auckland. They lived in a small place with no room for the kids. And no backyard. Now he's living in a spacious house, room for the kids and it cost $245k. It takes him 8 minutes to get to work on a bad day. Car parking is no issue and if you have to pay it's $5 a day max. What costs $300k in the South Island costs $1.3m in Auckland.

We have two NZs. It has never been as stark as this. For every 120 people who arrive in Auckland we provide houses for just 80.

Auckland is a planning disgrace. Successive administrations and officials have opened the door to Auckland but failed to provide the infrastructure. It's driving poverty. The southern motorway has become the country's largest car park. Yet a couple of hours away by plane, here in the south, there is an astonishing quality of life. Affordable houses, jobs, and no traffic jams. You don't need massive salaries here - you are buying a quality of life. If you want a job you can get one.

The scenery is astonishing and you're not competing with thousands to see it. I saw a guy in rural Edendale yesterday pruning his roses in his front yard. His house is on the main road. He was smiling, his roses were beautiful. I watched him for two minutes. He looked blissfully ignorant and happy. The south is truly blessed. It's been like winning lotto for the week. It is a slow, gentle, wonderful place. People appear to have their priorities right.

In Auckland we don't get to dictate the terms. The city controls us. The roads rule us. Our jobs dominate our lives. It's all bloody wrong and screwed up.

I intend to leave Auckland - sooner rather than later.

Promise.



This house is for sale in Palmerston, north of Dunedin with a CV of $125,000

source: data archive