When Sarah moved to Invercargill, she never thought of it as a long-term plan, but this city has a way of growing on you. "It's an easy way of life," she says. And while Sarah will always call the North Island home, here's why she and her family are in the South to stay.

Invercargill has excelled my accounting career. My role at McIntyre Dick is one that doesn’t come around very often in public practice accounting firms, so when the opportunity came up, I took it and ran with it and haven’t looked back. I’m potentially a lot further ahead in my career than if I had stayed in the North Island. 

It’s easy to get to know all the other professionals and develop working and social relationships with them at networking events, on the basketball court, at the wickets, or over a beer and an oyster! In bigger cities, it’s harder to have all of these connections. 

And with the average house price at $486,000 compared to the national average of $1,000,000 I encourage anyone wanting to get ahead not to brush off roles in Invercargill - you may just find what you’re after in life.

It’s an easy way of life down here. It takes less than 10 minutes to drive to work or the shops. And you can park at the front door. The city is flat and the streets are wide, you have space, loads of space. 

It gets a bad rep but the weather here isn’t bad, it’s not that cold. It has “snowed” three times in almost seven years of living here. And, because of the fantastic facilities, you can play netball indoors all year round. Plus everything from basketball and squash to rollerblading. There’s even a world-class velodrome.

In summer, swimming at the beach is great. There’s white sand, no stones, and cars can drive onto the beach. And, for the truly outdoorsy, fishing and hunting are in the backyard. Going to bed in summer feels like 6 pm, it's super light outside until 10:00 pm at night!

Invercargill knows how to do good food, and there are some top-notch cafes and restaurants here. And if you’re looking for more, you’re two hours from Queenstown, two and a half from Dunedin, three to Central Otago or Wanaka, or a 20-minute flight to Stewart Island. The Invercargill airport is 10 minutes away, so there’s no need to rush. 

Before the move, I never thought I’d be here long and I didn’t know what to expect. Almost seven years later I have no plans to move back North.