PHOTO: DAVID UNWIN/STUFF – Ann and Perry Rosales have moved their family from Auckland to Palmerston North for the cheaper housing, small commutes and good schools and activities for their three children. From left, Tristan Rosales, 11, Ann Rosales, Mikaela Rosales, 6, Isabela Rosales, 3, and Perry Rosales.
Manawatū is consistently ranked as one of the most affordable places to live in New Zealand, but is that enough to trade in big-city living for provincial life? Paul Mitchell reports.
Manawatū is becoming as much defined by house prices as it is by rivers and wind turbines.
Palmerston North, the seventh-largest city in New Zealand, has been crowned internationally as the country’s most affordable. The average Manawatū home costs 6.6 times the average salary in the region. Only Taranaki has a more affordable ratio.
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