Dennis Trembath came to Dunedin to work at Speight's Breweries after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and his wife Margaret and sons Michael (18), Andrew (16) and Hamish (14) joined him last year.
''It's great for the boys here. It's a big house, with a big property,'' Mr Trembath said.
''Fairfield's got a nice micro-climate, too. You don't get the cold easterlies blowing through here. It's usually a couple of degrees warmer here than in town.''
The family has also added a new member, ''a bitser mutt from the pound'' called Max.
''The boys have always wanted a dog, but we never had a big enough property in Christchurch. Out here, there's the space for a dog to run around,'' Mr Trembath said. The family quickly became involved in their new community and Mr Trembath is now president of the Brighton Surf Life Saving Club.
Hamish is also a member of the club, while Michael and Andrew are members of the St Clair Surf Life Saving Club.
Andrew was a member of the New Zealand under-20 team which competed in the International Surf Rescue Challenge in Japan last month.
He also won the MVP award for being the most successful male competitor at the New Zealand surf life-saving championships in March this year and broke the New Zealand record in the under-16 200m swim with obstacles and the under-16 100m rescue medley last year.
''We're quite involved in surf life-saving and often have the Canterbury club come and stay here. We've also got the space out here to store the surf trailers.''
The Trembaths are a close family, even when it comes to work.
Mrs Trembath works at Contact Energy, across the street from her husband, in Rattray St, Dunedin.
