Former Napierite Bobby Kerins is one of the recent horde to have flocked to Central Hawke's Bay to take advantage of the district's affordable house prices and enviable outdoors lifestyle.
Mr Kerins and his fiancee moved from Napier to Waipawa a year ago after buying a home. But he found meeting people in CHB to be a struggle initially, so turned to social media to help others in the same situation.
"We had been here two months and only really met our neighbours. I run my dog most nights and can sometimes go a whole week without seeing anybody at all. It's such a quiet place."
Looking around at the sheer number of "sold" signs going up on houses in the district, Kerins said he knew a lot of new arrivals in CHB must be in the "same boat".
"If you are working fulltime and not a pub sort of person . . . there's not many other ways to meet people, really, and I would say it's the same in every small town. But these days, social media is a great tool in bringing people together, so I decided to give it a go."