Jo McDonald Hooker tells Ashley Campbell why she and her husband Larry have embraced the suburb of Mt Wellington and its surrounds since moving there over three years ago.
Three-and-a-half years ago Larry and I went hunting for something a bit bigger than his Onehunga bachelor pad.
He'd been looking in the area close to his work in Ellerslie when a house in Mt Wellington, not far from the Sylvia Park mall, came up for sale.
He was the first person to see this house when it went on the market and bought it 10 minutes later.
For Larry being close to work was supremely important because he hates traffic.
His new job as a manager with Goodman Fielder is moving from Ellerslie to the central city soon - so that will be interesting! But I've been doing the commute for three years, so I'm sure he'll cope.
Neither of us had lived in Mt Wellington before, and, with our families in Epsom and Mt Roskill we originally thought it was miles away from anywhere. But after living here, we now realise it most definitely isn't. We are only 15 minutes away from almost anywhere we need or want to go. Family and friends are all close by and we live in a great house with character in a good street in one of the last affordable neighbourhoods.
It's not a bad commute to work with clients as a marketing mercenary - well, marketing contractor.
In 3 1/2 years here we've really come to appreciate the many advantages of living in Mt Wellington.
One of the most visible is having the Sylvia Park mall almost literally on our doorstep. We can see it out our kitchen window. We do all our grocery shopping in the Pak 'n Save and, leading up to our wedding in November last year, I spent a lot of time buying wedding magazines from Borders. I also sometimes indulge in a facial and a massage from About Face and we're both particularly fond of dining at Wagamama.
But it's not all just large stores and malls, there's also a lot to be said for Dale Dairy, just down the road. The family who own it are lovely and they're always looking out for everyone in their neighbourhood. And they don't laugh at us when we visit, hungover, to get supplies.
Mt Wellington and its surrounding suburbs also contain more than enough restaurants and bars to keep our circle of friends happy.
We really like Post House, just five minutes away in Ellerslie. We have a large group of friends in the area we call the Mt Wellington Massive and we congregate there.
About once a fortnight, we gather for food, drinks and company, usually during the week. It's a pretty good place to spend the night.
Larry also likes the ribs at The Flying Moa, which we go to every now and then just to change things around a bit.
Mt Wellington has its fair share of places to get outdoors, and I really like the Panmure Basin. It's a good place to go for a walk and it feels a lot safer than other places I've been to. That's probably because, even at night, it's well lit. A girlfriend and I used to walk around it and even when it's dark it feels safe.
Jo and Larry's picks
* Post House, 124 Main Highway Ellerslie, (09) 579 2303. For socialising with friends.
* The Flying Moa, 65 Lunn Ave, Mt Wellington, ph (09) 570 2800. Larry recommends the ribs.
* Wagamama Sylvia Park, 286 Mt Wellington Highway, Mt Wellington, (09) 579 1949. For consistently good food.
* Dale Dairy, 2 Commissariat Rd, Mt Wellington, (09) 579 9724. For friendly service.
* Panmure Basin A safe and peaceful place to walk.
