Christchurch may not be New Zealand's biggest city but ask anyone who lives here and they'll tell you it's the city with the biggest personality.
The population isn't huge but the city's heart is and those who have chosen to make Ōtautahi their home wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
Today, senior journalist Anna Leask meets some of the people of Christchurch - the ones who've lived here all their lives, the ones who've come back to settle and the ones who chose the Garden City over all others to carve out a new chapter.
The local: Melissa Mason
Everything Melissa Mason could want in the world is right here in Christchurch.
Family. Friends. Career. Home.
She's never thought seriously about living anywhere else and has loved growing up here and then raising her own family in the Garden City.
"I think part of it was because I was born here, I've always been here, and I'm a creature of habit," she said.
"But also I think, why would you want to live anywhere else - everything is here, I love it.
"We used to holiday on the Gold Coast and a few times I didn't want to come back. My husband at the time said we could move there if I really wanted to but I actually couldn't do it - I couldn't leave my family and Christchurch."
Melissa attended Marian College and left when she was 16 to train as a hairdresser.
For the past 17 years, she has been self-employed, working out of Visage Hair Company in Riccarton.
She has two daughters - Mackenzie is 20 and is a student at Otago University and Luca is 13.
She's extremely close to her parents and siblings who have moved back to Christchurch from overseas in recent years.
The tight-knit family unit along with her close group of friends are things Melissa would never think to leave.
"I remember when all my friends started going away on their OEs and I just thought - nope, that's not for me, I couldn't think of anything worse than dragging a backpack around like that.
"And as I said, I'm a creature of habit, I'm happy doing my thing, I'm settled and it's just easy here."
Melissa has travelled - Australia, China, Bali, the US to name a few holiday destinations - but she's never had the itch to relocate.
"Everything I need is here, nothing is too far away and it's pretty cruisey," she said.
"I've worked for myself for 17 years so that is a massive part of it.
"Even after the 2011 quake, to leave Christchurch and set up somewhere else again - no way ... I've had some of my clients for the last 20 years and I love going to work and catching up with them.
"Through work, I have a good community too and I really just enjoy seeing my people ... I love it."
Away from the tools, Melissa loves to spend time with friends - exploring cafes and restaurants, entertaining at home or going for walks.
"I like to try different places but I have my favourites ... Mexicanos, you can't go wrong, and I absolutely love Francesca's Italian Kitchen," she said.
"We live near Bottle Lake Forest so it's great to get out there and walk, and sometimes Luca will come and bike alongside me.
"I also love the walk at Taylor's Mistake - sometimes Mackenzie and I will do that and then stop at a cafe in Sumner afterwards."
Melissa said across the board, from activities to hospitality, Christchurch was a child-friendly city which had been important for her with her daughters.
"You can just take the kids anywhere," she said.
"And there's so much great stuff to do ... we can go into the city and Luca loves Rollickin Gelato, and we can jump on a Lime scooter and go around.
"Luca loves Adrenalin Forest too, it's all just kind of here for us - everything feels so close, we can drive to Hanmer and go in the hot pools, walk up Conical Hill and come back all in a day; we don't even need to stay the night.
"Stuff like that is so handy."
Melissa and Luca are regular visitors to Dunedin too and either drive or fly to spend time with Mackenzie when they can.
"It's things like that, that's why Christchurch is the best place for me," she said.
"It would be great if we had more concerts - we need that stadium so we don't need to go to Dunedin, Wellington or Auckland for live shows.
"That would be amazing ... But otherwise, everything you could want is right here."
The returnees: Rachael and Michael Louth
Early on in their relationship in London, Rachael and Michael knew they'd probably settle back in New Zealand.
They loved the big city - the never-ending social life, the ease of travelling around on the tube, being so close to everywhere they wanted to visit and tick off their bucket lists.
But they both wanted a slower pace, more space, cleaner air and a more affordable place to put down their roots.
Michael was born and raised in London and Rachael in Christchurch.
Their upbringings could not have been more different but they were both sure of where their futures lay - New Zealand's mainland.
Rachael attended Riccarton High School and studied business at the College of Education, then worked for several years in a freight forwarding role before embarking on her big OE in early 2009.
She met Michael later that year and by the end of 2010 they were planning to come back to Ōtautahi.
"We planned to come back for a year or so and see if Mike liked it, then go back to London for a year or two and get the last of our travel done," said Rachael.
"We got back to Christchurch about a month after the quake and it was quite hard for us - there weren't many job prospects and there was pretty much no social life.
"Coming from London, that was rough."
Michael said once things calmed in Christchurch they felt more settled and he loved it here.
"I always thought I wouldn't mind moving abroad but New Zealand, I never thought about that," he said.
"If anything, I thought I would live in Australia because when I met Rach I'd just come back from a year there.
"But I said I would come and give it a try and see how it goes - and I loved it ... Christchurch is home now, definitely."
As they took off for London in 2013 the couple were both sad to leave and knew they would definitely be back to settle.
"We wanted to save some money for a house and we could earn more in London, and it was easier to be based there with the travel we wanted to do," Rachael explained.
"We got away somewhere in Europe once or twice a month and still managed to save."
They came home to get married - with Michael's family all travelling here for the occasion - and then built their first home.
"We were at an age where we wanted a bit more space and our own home," said Michael.
"My sister had a tiny two-bedroom flat in London that cost more than our build ... that's just crazy.
Rachael added: "There's no way we could have possibly bought a place in London.
"And Michael wanted somewhere with a backyard, somewhere we could have pets - we could not have done that in London either."
The couple now live just out of Christchurch city with their daughter Sadie, 3, and their cats Cleo and Cornell.
Both of them love the lifestyle, the vibe of the city, the opportunities and activities.
Rachael's parents and sister live a five-minute drive away and they regularly catch up with friends across the city.
"I don't miss London - it was great at the time but now we're getting older we didn't want to be out every night, we're happier to be at home or catching up with friends at their places," said Rachael.
"We were getting pretty over that London lifestyle, we love that Christchurch is such a settled place."
The couple said they never entertained living anywhere else in New Zealand - Christchurch was always it for them.
"The weather is great here, it's cold in the winter and hot in the summer - it's not rainy like Auckland or windy like Wellington," said Rachael.
"And it's so easy to get around."
They both love the city's beaches and parks and regularly take Sadie out on walks and adventures - bear hunts, as she calls them.
"There is heaps of stuff for families and kids - the museum is great, the Margaret Mahy playground ... we go to the library every week for story time and Sadie goes to gymnastics at my gym," said Rachael.
"Most of my friends that went away have come back and settled here and that's really cool, we meet for brunches or walks or the botanic gardens or other parks for picnics - it's a great city for catching up with people and there is always great stuff going on.
"There's also new places popping up all the time - and we have the best rugby team ... we just need a bloody stadium now."
Rachael said Christchurch was by far the best city in New Zealand.
"It's not too big but it feels like a city," she said.
"It's close to all the great things like Hanmer Springs, Tekapo, Queenstown, the mountains - you can just drive there.
"It's a cool place ... it's a bit like Melbourne really, it's got that cool vibe, you can walk everywhere in town and there's so many little pockets of things where you can eat and do things."
Michael said one of his favourite things about Christchurch is the landscape.
"I look out the windows at work and on one side I can see the Southern Alps and on the other, the Port Hills," he said.
"I do miss things about London - family, obviously and the old buildings. I loved walking among them, and there's none really like it here.
"But Christchurch is a big city with a small city vibe and that's cool ... I love the beaches, the fresh air, the fact our money goes a lot further here and there's not much traffic.
"I hope Christchurch just continues doing what it's doing."
The newby: Suzy Morrison
Suzy Morrison has lived all over the world - Hamilton, Auckland, Dunedin, China, London.
But Christchurch is the place she feels most at home and she wouldn't consider leaving now that she's here.
Before moving here in 2020, Suzy had only been to the city for fleeting visits and it didn't leave any kind of lasting impression.
"Definitely move here," she said.
"I definitely recommend it ... Christchurch is so full of things to see and do, we love it here."
Suzy and her husband Mark met in London and when it was time to come back to New Zealand he was adamant they come to the city where he was born and raised.
"Mark was just so passionate about Christchurch, he loves it so so much," she laughed.
"He even said that there was a point when we started dating that he loved Christchurch so much and he wasn't sure if I would ever move here and he debated whether to chose Christchurch over me.
"When he told me I said 'you can't choose a city over your soulmate' - but when we came back I could see why he thought that, it's awesome here."
When the Morrisons returned to New Zealand they started off in Auckland.
"When we left London, where we lived came down to who got the first job - and I won," Suzy said.
"We were there for two years and then we moved down just before lockdown."
The couple and their son Nico, now 2-and-a-half, lived with Mark's parents to start and then purchased their own home.
Suzy now works three days a week for Fonterra and Mark does about 30 hours a week as an auctioneer for Harcourts.
She said in Auckland there was no chance either of them could have worked a week less than 40 hours - financially it just was not an option.
But in Christchurch, it was both possible and easy.
The family often get away for weekends and love the outdoors and exploring new places.
"You can do so much more here - in Auckland we were often hemmed in by the traffic ... if we wanted to go up to Matakana to the markets for example, how many other people were going? How long would we sit in the car? Would we even get a park?
"But here you can just go. And on long weekends or public holidays you don't need to take an extra day off just to get out of town because of the traffic.
"I feel like there's just so much more you can do here and you can fit more into your day because everything is so easy."
The family love to adventure in the Port Hills, Okains Bay and Akaroa, Castle Hill.
They love the parks and pools and beaches and the fact they are just an hour away from a skifield.
"There's so much new stuff here, Nico loves QEII and the Christchurch School of Gymnastics is amazing.
"The library (Turanga in Cathedral Square) is another one he loves, they have a big Duplo area and Nico can spend a good two hours in there playing without getting bored or hungry.
"The facilities in Christchurch are just top-notch - that's the upside of having to rebuild I guess, everything is purpose-built and new and fresh and clean.
"We also love going to Riccarton Park Market and New Brighton Beach - you can park right there and you don't have to walk for 10 minutes and then call your friends to find them, you can just go in and get on with it.
"And, my husband loves to mountain bike so we head to the adventure park a lot."
Unlike other big cities, Suzy said, Christchurch offered a lot more for a lot less.
"My niece and nephew came from Auckland and we got out the whiteboard and made a list of all the things we could do - (Orana Park) zoo, Willowbank Wildlife Reserve ... We worked out what day we would do each thing.
"I'd never have thought to do that in Auckland, it's too stressful ... but in Christchurch, you can do two or three activities in a day and you're not exhausted from all the driving and parking,
"The overseas airport was a big drawcard for us too. We did think about moving to Tauranga but when we made a list of pros and cons, Christchurch won for the airport - my parents are in Australia and we can visit them so easily, and get to the airport from home in so much less time."
The Morrisons say they have "so much more" time on their hands in Christchurch, so much less stress and they have a much better quality of life and balance.
Gone are the days of sitting in traffic, being exhausted all weekend and running out of time in the week to see friends and do things as a family.
"It's the best place to live, I would definitely recommend it," said Suzy.
"It's easy here, it's always developing ... there is so much to do but it's not overwhelming and everything is really relaxed.
"We are definitely settled here, we definitely love it - and there is so much more we want to explore."
The travellers: Khuma Kadariya
When Khuma Kadariya touched down in New Zealand from Nepal in 2008 she had no plan as to where she would settle.
A friend suggested Christchurch, promising a beautiful city with beautiful people.
After spending six weeks in Auckland Khuma and her husband boarded a one-way flight to the Garden City - and have never looked back.
"It's really just the best place to come and live - it's a cooperative place, it's so relaxed and has more of a community feel than a city," she said.
"I love the vibe here, people's attitudes are great."
Khuma met her husband in Nepal.
She was born and raised there and he in Bhutan.
He was living in Nepal as a refugee and met his future wife when he started working at the school where she taught.
"We met and fell in love and married," she said.
"Then, because my husband is a refugee, we got offered the opportunity to resettle in New Zealand.
"A friend said this would be a really good country for us to live - and we came here in 2008."
The couple spent six weeks at the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre and during that time they had to work out where they would start their lives in New Zealand.
"We didn't know where to go, then my husband's friend was already here in Christchurch that's where we chose to be," she said.
"When we arrived it was so cold, it was July and all the trees were bare with no leaves, everything looked so white and frozen, that's all I remember.
"It took us two or three years to really settle - everything was so different here and we didn't know that many people, we had to learn the language and there was lots of struggle.
"But now we want to stay here forever."
Khuma said Christchurch was by far the couple's favourite place and they would not consider relocating.
Their daughters Hishela, 14 and Chadani, 11, were both born here and they have carved out a great life.
"They love it here, this is their city," said Khuma.
"We have been to see a few other cities and we just feel that Christchurch is the best place to live.
"It's a lovely city - people look after each other nicely, the people are friendly and the environment and the nature are amazing.
"I really feel like it's our home."
Khuma works for Christchurch Resettlement Services helping other new residents navigate their new lives here.
She was proud to say that in her experience Cantabrians were kind, helpful and caring.
"I love that Christchurch is not that big, there are lots of opportunities for jobs and great schools," she said.
"There is a lot to do ... and if you can't drive there is really good public transport.
"We love to go swimming and there are many beautiful parks - and the city itself is just beautiful; it has changed a lot since the 2011 earthquake but it's become a lot stronger, and it's so much better now."
Khuma has no regrets about her choice of new home.
"Christchurch is a beautiful city with beautiful people," she told the Herald.
