A second straight win in the national Quality of Life Survey and a jobs market bucking the trend have people looking south. Here\u2019s what\u2019s drawing them.<\/p>\n
Dunedin can make a strong claim to be New Zealand\u2019s happy place.<\/p>\n
\n In October, the southern city topped the national Quality of Life Survey
\n for the second consecutive time. It found 83% of participants from across \u014ctepoti rated their overall quality of life highly, securing the city the top spot among seven participating centres.\n <\/p>\n
This is a compelling reason, believes Sian Sutton, acting manager of Enterprise Dunedin, the city\u2019s economic development agency, for professionals thinking about a change to make the move south. <\/p>\n
And there are more, she says, citing her own story as a Queenslander who moved to Dunedin 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m one of the people who chose to live here, so I don\u2019t just speak with the authority of the work I do, but with the authority of someone who came from Australia and discovered Dunedin and thought, \u2018This is a pretty good place to live\u2019,\u201d says Sutton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason we consistently top the Quality of Life survey is because you get all the benefits of living in a city \u2013 great arts and culture facilities, beautiful parks, amenities for families and children \u2013 but you don\u2019t get any of the negatives like traffic congestion, extremely unaffordable housing, a lack of perceived safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the perfect balance of lifestyle and the ability to get a really good job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dunedin\u2019s economy is a micro-climate all its own, Sutton says. Data from Infometrics shows the city\u2019s unemployment rate is currently sitting at around 3.9%, a ten-year low, whilst the national rate has climbed to 5.3%, a ten-year high. <\/p>\n
The city\u2019s GDP per capita has also been staking a claim to Dunedin\u2019s dynamism, having grown at twice the national rate between 2017 and 2026. That\u2019s despite not having huge population growth, which is an important driver of GDP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a really impressive stat that tells us Dunedin has a significant proportion of high-value jobs,\u201d said Sutton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe contributor to those jobs is an emerging professional services and tech sector in the city. What we hear from people moving from other parts of the world or New Zealand is that there are fewer barriers in Dunedin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an easier, lower entry to have your own company \u2013 so we\u2019re seeing a lot of tech jobs, a lot of game development jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
In more traditional sectors, the Dunedin Hospital project is creating jobs across the construction industries. It\u2019s a lengthy undertaking with a long-term payoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen that hospital opens, we\u2019re going to see a cluster of digital interactive health enterprises that are able to work with the university\u2019s medical school, so there will be a supplier ecosystem that offers new ways of dealing with health issues in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not all about work; lifestyle ranks highly too. Sutton says Dunedin really comes into its own for those who are thinking about starting a family or buying a home.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you get into child-rearing years, let\u2019s say 30 to 50, coming to Dunedin is ideal because of affordable housing, access to nature, strong recreation, public safety, as well as cultural facilities like our museums and art galleries and the really strong schooling system \u2013 and a great university that means your kids don\u2019t need to leave home as soon as they finish high school.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Sutton, a \u201cmoney can\u2019t buy\u201d attraction is the proximity to nature and wildlife.<\/p>\n
Dunedin has some of the rarest species on the planet, such as the hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin), and it\u2019s simple enough to get to the peninsula in around 15 minutes, or take a stroll through the bush in the town belt or along the harbour during your lunch break.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a lot of large cities, you\u2019re not able to get to nature as quickly. I still pinch myself when I\u2019m walking on the beach and I\u2019m the only person there except for a couple of sea lions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ask out-of-towners to describe \u014ctepoti in a word and you\u2019ll likely hear a few cynical mentions of \u2018Scarfies\u2019, \u2018party town\u2019 or \u2018cold\u2019. For the decade-long Dunedinite, there\u2019s another side to those stories.<\/p>\n
\u201cMyth #1 would be that we\u2019re just a student city. I would say students bring energy and colour to the city and make it an interesting and exciting place,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut beyond the students, there are people of all different age groups who are interested in all different types of pursuits.\u201d<\/p>\n
The world has heard the music, but something that isn\u2019t talked about as much is Dunedin\u2019s growing culinary scene, says Sutton.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last 12 months we\u2019ve had a number of great new restaurants \u2013 and this is coming from someone who spent a decade in Melbourne, so I\u2019m fussy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sutton says there\u2019s a misconception that Dunedin doesn\u2019t get sunshine or long daylight hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s light \u2018til 10pm in summer, which extends your day,\u201d she says. \u201cPlus we\u2019ve got some of the best surf beaches. There\u2019s so much space to surf here and the waves are incredible in every condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
To find out more about making Dunedin your home, visit www.dunedinnz.com<\/a><\/p>\n