Escape from the madding crowd
5:00AM Sunday September 09, 2007
By Nicola Shepheard
Mike King has found his Elysian Fields. They're an hour-and-a-half north of the city where the working man's comedian grew up. Here, the men - and the women - wear gumboots and Swanndris, even if they're millionaires.
But the thing is, you don't have to be a millionaire to live here. At Waipu, a town of 1500 and growing, you can still get a four-bedroom renovated villa for less than $370,000 (try tripling that in inner Auckland).
King moved here with wife Rose Nathan and 9-year-old daughter Alexandra from Auckland's Mt Albert two years ago. "We love it. If I had my time again I'd have moved here 20 years ago," he says.
They're typical of the human trickle flowing out of Auckland into the provinces, in search of that elusive trifecta - lower living costs, job opportunities and just enough urban amenities and diversions. Yesterday's hicksvilles, dull farming towns, and dodgy backblocks are today's desirable real estate. Organic cafes, yoga classes and bars have sprouted where once you could find only pubs, RSAs and ladies' walking groups.
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