Linus Merchant has joined the migration out of Auckland. Photo / Paul Brooks
Not long ago, Linus Merchant was living in Mt Eden and working in central Auckland, enjoying a lot of the things a big city had to offer.
Then, after 14 years in the job, his employers decided they'd save money if they outsourced his position, and those of the team he worked with, to the Philippines.
For 42-year-old Linus, that meant making a decision that many of his Auckland friends still don't understand. He moved to Hunterville in the Rangitikei, a place of nearly 600 people.
He sold off his furniture and filled his car with everything that was left, made room for himself, his dog and his cat, and took the road south.
Now you'll find him working part time at BP Hunterville on SH1 and on call at the local bookshop and post office.
I don't miss Auckland at all. When I read in the paper about property prices and traffic, I just laugh.
"You just have to be that little bit more creative in a town of this size," he says. "You may not find that nine to five job that you're used to and you may not be able to pursue the career you once had."
Linus is contemplating looking further afield for more hours of employment, which, for him, means exploring opportunities in Marton, Bulls, or perhaps, Taihape. "But living here is a lot cheaper than living in Auckland."
Originally from Tauranga, Linus was living in Wellington when a job in Auckland came up. He moved north, but the job wasn't for him and he found a position selling ads for the NZ Herald. He stayed on and worked his way up to a production position.
"Redundancy gave me the means to leave Auckland," he says. "Before that, I had a stable job so I had no reason to leave. I always said that if I got made redundant it's not the end of the world, because I can use that money to pack up and move somewhere cheaper. So I did."
Linus intended to move to Whanganui and look for work there, but he first wanted to spend Christmas last year with his mother in Hunterville. Within a week he was offered the BP job, so he stayed.
It's a country lifestyle now, with chickens to look after, space for his dog, Percy, to run in, and gardens in which to explore new areas of creativity and food growing.
"I've been putting in spring bulbs and digging vegetable beds," he says. "I don't miss Auckland at all. When I read in the paper about property prices and traffic, I just laugh." He does miss the people he used to work with but he keeps in touch.
It hasn't taken Linus long to fit into the rural community. His mother, Rexanne, also works at the service station, and because she knows most of the locals, they were acquainted with her son before he arrived.
"There are others here who have moved from somewhere else. They moved here for the same reason - the lifestyle.
"The town is very well organised. They've got a rugby club, a golf course, bowls, there's a gym, the school swimming pool is open to the public, the Settlers' Museum, a public library, ample free parking ... "
There's a lot more, of course, but Linus is still discovering Hunterville.
He finds the history of the place fascinating.
"A lot of the original families are still here," he says.
Most of them have accounts at the BP service station. It is busy. There are full workshop facilities for motor vehicles and small machinery, it's the AA breakdown callout centre, the drop off point for couriers and the preferred petrol station for the Highway Patrol.
"I've lived in the country before and always enjoyed it. I'm just glad to be out of the city. This is the complete opposite of Auckland."
He is looking forward to the Hunterville Huntaway Festival and the Shepherds' Shemozzle in October.