Originally from Sheffield, the family were among 34 people who became New Zealand citizens at a ceremony led by Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull at the Municipal Chambers yesterday.
Lisa Fortes said after swapping city life in Britain for a year in Balclutha, the opportunities offered by Dunedin attracted the family to their new home.
''We wanted a better life for the children and ourselves.''
Benefits of Dunedin life included ''lots of sporting opportunities'', the Dunedin Botanic Garden and ''fantastic golf courses''.
The family was firmly ensconced in the community, with Emily (20) attending Otago Polytechnic, Laura (14) Otago Girls' High School and Dominic (12) Balmacewen Intermediate.
Mrs Fortes taught chemistry at King's High School, while Mr Fortes was a care worker at Frances Hodgkins Retirement Village.
However, it was the size of the city that made it the perfect fit, Mrs Fortes said.
''The best thing about Dunedin for us is it has a bit of everything.
''It is small enough that you always see someone you know, and big enough that it has cinemas and good events.
''We just really like Dunedin. We've fallen in love with it.''
Other new citizens are: Miss Silky (India), Victor and Mary Ampoloquio (Philippines), Katie Barns (Australia), Mareike Barton (Germany), Emily Crossen (Britain), John Dalgarno (Britain), Peter Dean (Australia), Scott Gordon (Canada), Leimanu Hotesi (Tuvalu), James Kenny (Ireland), Hepisipa Lavulo (Tonga), Jeanette Lee (Malaysia), Diane Milne (Australia), Emma Molander (Sweden), Zemelda Naidoo (South Africa), Dhrupad Siddhanta (India), Pamela and Neil Stock (Britain), Nurul Sultan (Singapore), Jasmeen Tan (Malaysia), Juliane Tautz (Germany), Tina, Paul, Genevieve and Bronwyn Tunster (Britain), Kwi Varsanyi (Malaysia) and Aristotle and Myra Velasquez (Philippines).
