People & Places
Awesome Auckland
When Anne-Louise Hyde looks out of her kitchen window, she gazes across a harbour to regenerating Kauri forest.
With such a peaceful, naturally beautiful outlook, it's easy to forget she lives in NZ's largest city.
In fact, Anne-Louise says she doesn't really live in Auckland: She lives in Titirangi. Officially the West Auckland suburb of Titirangi is still part of Auckland but Anne-Louise, who now works from home, says the lifestyle is nothing like what she's experienced living in big cities all over the UK including her home city, London.
"Auckland to me feels like a small town," she says. "It's as far out into the country as I need to go, otherwise I'd get a bit uncomfortable."
Auckland is a city of more than a million people, equating more than a quarter of New Zealand's entire population. It is the country's economic powerhouse and therefore has the largest job market. Auckland is a Pacific city with all that goes with it – a blue sea full of green islands, a large, colourful Pacific Island population, many Asian immigrants and generally a fairly international cast.
Anne-Louise moved to New Zealand in 1994 with her husband Alan Crofts. The couple were married just before they left the UK because they felt it was a good excuse for a party. Together they had a daughter, Eleanor, who is nearly 12 and is a real little Kiwi: Anne-Louise says it took her years to convince her to wear shoes outside, something many Kiwi kids are inclined to neglect.
"You have to have respect for the fact that although it's an English-speaking country it has a different culture," Anne-Louise says.
Although house hunting was "a doddle", with the family moving easily from a motel in Parnell to a rental in Mt Eden before moving "out west", Anne-Louise says getting a job was a different matter entirely.
Having worked in record companies in the UK, Anne-Louise thought she'd have no trouble finding work in Auckland. But she soon found she had to prove herself first: Everyone thought that, being English, she'd just pack up and leave anyway.
"If you're used to used to having any respect at all you have to have a good shake up. You have to be prepared to really roll your sleeves up and get a job doing something to prove yourself. That was a shock to the system – you have to prepare for culture shock."
The culture shock started almost as soon as the couple hit the tarmac at Auckland International Airport. Anne-Louise says they had a hotel booked in Downtown Auckland where they arrived in the throes of the America's Cup. It didn't make for the best of starts.
"Everyone was incredibly excited and we were in this hotel thinking it was so busy, and there were no staff and the service was so bad and we were jetlagged to pieces… but after that everything was wonderful."
Anne-Louise did eventually find work and so did Alan but it wasn't ideal: Alan was working a horrible night shift for a telecommunications company. A few years later, however, the hard work has paid off.
Anne-Louise is now an interior designer who works from home in a workshop she renovated herself in the garage. Her design business is called 'Hyde Inside' and she has an office with a "stunning" view.
Anne-Louise says Auckland has no good public transport system to speak of so it's good to work from home but she nevertheless loves how close everything is.
In 20 minutes by car she can get to the CBD, a West Coast surf beach, an empty swimming beach, several world-class vineyards and the native bush of the Waitakare Ranges.
She doesn't even mind the west's admittedly damp but warm climate: "I love the weather. Without it we wouldn't have such beautiful forests.
"It's just stunning here."