When Suzie Jones and her husband moved to Roxburgh, a tiny town in Central Otago, a neighbour dropped a lamb roast to their front step to welcome them.
Another neighbour apologised that he had not managed to mow the lawn for the couple before they moved in.
That is what Roxburgh is like, Jones, a long-time Aucklander, says: friendly and familiar.
“We lived in our house [in Albany] for 18 years. I knew the neighbours on all boundaries. But I have met more people in Roxburgh in two years than I did in Auckland for 20,” she says.
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“If someone gets Covid in Roxburgh, there is a team that turns up with bread, milk and hot meals.”
The town of about 600 people on the banks of the Clutha River in Teviot Valley, Central Otago, is probably best known for its stone fruit, stark Grahame Sydney landscapes, and of course the world-famous-in-New-Zealand Jimmy’s Pies.
But more recently, it is also known for bucking the house price drop trend.
Of the 27 towns or suburbs that defied the downward trend with price increases between June and September this year, Roxburgh had the biggest rise, with a 10.5% jump to $505,800 from $457,850 in the previous quarter, according to data from CoreLogic.
Harcourts real estate agent Brigitte Paterson, herself a fifth generation Roxburgh resident, is not surprised prices have held there, as she says it is affordable anyway, particularly for city-siders selling up and going rural.
“So, they are selling for big numbers in the main centres, and they come into this valley and buy a good quality home for $700,000 or $800,000, with a bit of land, and they can put some money in the bank,” she says.
A real estate agent for the past 16 years, Paterson says she often sells to people moving for a quieter lifestyle.
“It is definitely people who are disenchanted with how busy main centres are getting and are looking for a piece of genuine country life.
“The climate is great and it is beautiful. It is just a bit of a hidden jewel, away from the Queenstown, Wānaka, Cromwell scene, where things are hectic.”
For herself, she says, Roxburgh is home. “And it has always pulled me back. It is a wonderful, friendly uncomplicated place to live.”
Paterson says she has sold to “a good number” of Aucklanders in the past few years, and one such buyer was Jones and her husband.
Jones, who is in her late 50s, says Roxburgh feels safe.
“It is easier to list the negatives than the positives,” she says. “The only thing I occasionally miss is the convenience of Uber Eats.”
Covid lockdowns showed the telecommunications company director that working remotely full-time was possible “but more importantly that lifestyle and becoming more self-sufficient mattered”.
She and her husband also love the Central Otago landscape, some of which Jones is documenting on her Instagram account.
“It has breathtaking unpolluted night skies, the Otago cycle trail at your doorstep, stunning Mata-Au (Clutha) river and Roxburgh’s own unique microclimate,” she says.
The climate allows the region to grow a “diverse range of offerings, from cherries, apricots, paeonies to saffron, and even a couple of gin distilleries”, Jones says.
When they moved, they experienced a “welcoming committee”.
“Neighbours introduce themselves, so in a very short time you make great friends, people you can rely on and trust.
“It is definitely a case of everyone helping each other out from feeding sheep dogs, lending a trailer or dropping off a hot meal when a neighbour has Covid.”
Jimmy’s Pies owner Dennis Kirkpatrick, 75, has lived in Roxburgh for over 60 years and was not surprised to hear the property market is still climbing. He has noticed that homes remain on the market “for two or three days”.
“It is a small town, one of those where everyone knows what everyone does and people keep an eye on you. The other thing about Roxburgh is it is a going-through place, not so much a destination,” he says.
If you do need to spend time in a destination, he says, it is less than two hours to Queenstown, Wānaka, Dunedin or Invercargill.
He finds the climate, which is known to be extreme, agreeable.
“You get a good cold winter and you look forward to summer, and then you get a good hot summer and you look forward to winter.”
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