Since finishing school and leaving my home in a small country town, I've moved from and between Invercargill, Auckland, Hamilton, Perth, Auckland, Hamilton, London and yes, you guessed it, back to the Tron. I don't really know how that happened, I just kept being drawn here for one reason or another.

I've always found the whole Auckland taking the p..s out of Hamilton thing weird, but I just shrug it off while rolling my eyes. While I would love to experience living in a couple more cities around the world, I am happy here.

Wanna know why I think Hamilton is the best place to live?

1. My husband and I paid $280,000 for our house five years ago. While house prices have nearly doubled, its value is still half the median price of buying a house in Auckland. That's half the mortgage. When your mortgage is this low you have options, flexibility and breathing space. It has allowed us to turn our back on the 40-hour working week to enjoy a better lifestyle.



Kelli Pike and her husband bought a house in Hamilton five years ago. Photo: BRUCE MERCER/FAIRFAX NZ

2. It takes me 10 minutes to drive into central Hamilton if I have a meeting or want to go to David's Emporium (every creative mumma's favourite shop). It costs $2 an hour to park (although strangely this charge is high on Hamiltonians' list of things to complain about). I can get to Auckland or Tauranga in one-and-a-half hours and can be in Raglan in less than 30 minutes.

3. We have an awesome creative arts scene. Due to Hamilton's size it's as simple as driving 10 minutes to support a gig at Nivara Lounge, check out an exhibition at Creative Waikato or check out new and vintage books at Browsers (I'm including a book shop because it is that cool). We also have a music station, The Hum, dedicated to local music, which I think is great.

4. Hamilton Gardens. Seriously. It's the best in the world, free and changes all year round. If you have any visitors from out of town - of any age - it's Hamilton Gardens for the win. It's a crowd pleaser.

Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie scores a try against the Western Force at Waikato Stadium on April 1. Photo:PHOTOSPORT

5. The Chiefs. I'm no rugby fan (at all - it bores me), but the Chiefs are not a bad team to back if you have to choose one. Waikato Stadium is easy to get to and a good sobering walk into our central restaurants and bars for Living on a Prayer, Brown Girl in the Ring or Why Does Love Do This to Me? that ring out on Hood St every Saturday.

6. Doing the Time Warp at Embassy Park is pretty damn cool. OK, that happened once, on Hamilton's 150th birthday but it remains a highlight of my Hamiltonian life.

7. No earthquakes, major storms, mini-tornados or other significant weather situations that could stuff up your day.

So, you can't argue that it's cheaper to live here and easier than Auckland. I'm pretty sure you'll have comebacks about the negatives, but we are no longer the STI capital, so we can skip that old nugget.

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