KEY POINTS:
210/55 MAHUHU CRESCENT,
AUCKLAND CITY.
Ashley Thomas is a convert to city living.
It's been 18 months since he shifted from Remuera to his city apartment and he says there's no way he'll ever move back to the suburbs.
"I love being so close to everything," says Ashley. "I'm just a minute's walk away from the nearest bars and cafes. And there's so much going on close by."
The ground-level apartment is part of the Hudson Brown complex, which is in the area of town known as Quay Park.
Next to the former Auckland Railway Station, the recently developed area is a mixture of apartments and commercial and retail buildings, and is also home to the new Vector Arena.
The concert venue is about one minute's stroll from Ashley's front door but the soundproofing is so good he's never heard a bar from the acts who have performed there.
"You do hear the hubbub of people coming and going but it's not bad at all," says Ashley, who adds that the Arena's management supplies security guards to stop concert-goers wandering through the apartment complex.
Ashley bought the apartment off the plans, attracted initially by the location and its low maintenance.
He chose his particular apartment largely because it's one of the few in the complex with a sizeable outdoor area.
The courtyard is 24.6 sq m, with ample room for a table and six chairs, a large gas barbecue and lots of pot plants.
Ashley and his partner, Kris Prasertsri, live out there for much of the year.
"It's what set this place apart," says Ashley. "We love it, especially when the sun pours in in the morning."
They recently put a trellis up on top of the wall that encloses the courtyard, which makes the area private.
Ashley's made a few other changes to the apartment, including getting a glass panel inserted between the main bedroom and the living room to bring in more light, and having a fold-down bed built in to the second bedroom. What looks like a large cupboard can be transformed into a queen-size bed.
"It means this room can be used for several purposes," says Ashley. Usually it functions as an office, but when visitors stay it converts easily into a guest room.
The living/dining/kitchen is open plan and has double doors leading out to the patio. The kitchen is small, but there's a surprising amount of storage space.
"Actually I don't need a lot of space for food because there's a big Foodtown just a couple of minutes walk away and I tend to pop in there every day to get something fresh. There's also a great Asian supermarket a few minutes away in Beach Road."
Another thing that appealed to Ashley was the body corporate fees - just $180 a month - which are kept low because there are only two lifts in the block and no pool or gym. It's also been comforting to know that because there are parks either side of the complex, it can't be built out.
Ashley has now fallen in love with another apartment, but it's nearby so he'll still be in the area he enjoys so much. "I can't imagine living anywhere else now."