Little Ellie Findlay finally has everything she wanted in life - her own backyard.
It is a simple pleasure, but one that has been a long time coming for her and her parents, Grant and Patsy Findlay, formerly of Auckland.
• Out-of-towners pushing prices up
• No regrets about affordable living
The family decided to move to Dunedin last year, when faced with the eye-watering prices and soul-destroying commutes standing in the way of home ownership in New Zealand's biggest city.
They were already paying well over the cost of a rented home in Dunedin for a tiny two-bedroom unit in Auckland, positioned at the end of a row of three other units, Mr Findlay said.
The epiphany to find a family home arrived one day as Mr Findlay watched his daughter, who turns 3 next week, bang on the glass sliding door one day, demanding to be let outside to play on a shared driveway.
"It just clicked. I was like, ‘What are we doing? This is just ridiculous','' he said.
But equally ridiculous was the prospect of paying for a proper family home in Auckland, which would have required a move to the outskirts of the city and hours spent commuting to and from work each day, he said.
"[It] would have been a nightmare, because you wouldn't really see your daughter during the weekdays,'' he said.
"To get to a family home in Auckland just seemed completely beyond reach, really.''
It was a prospect that also did not appeal to Mrs Findlay, who worked part-time while caring for the couple's daughter.
"The quality of life would have been horrible for all of us. I would have hated it just as much as him.''
Instead, the couple decided to look south when a job opportunity opened up for Mr Findlay in Dunedin.
They arrived last January and, for just $245,000, bought a small family home with two bedrooms, a sleepout and - crucially - a nice, grass-covered backyard.
They were paying less for their mortgage than they had been in rent in Auckland, and the city's friendly residents, lifestyle and short commutes were an added bonus, he said.
"I love being down here,'' Mrs Findlay said.
