Island life, for many of us, is a dream.

A place to park the boat, a warm community, a simple life, the ocean for a swimming pool, freshly caught fish – what’s not to love?

And there are Kiwis all across the country living the life, from Stewart Island to Waiheke, Aotea Great Barrier and Kawau.

You might assume that living on an island isn’t exactly convenient until you are close to retirement, but the growing flexibility of work seems like some former city dwellers are running their dream businesses from these idyllic locations, getting away from it all. simply making it to the mainland when needed.

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From Wellington to Waiheke

Wellingtonians Andy Hill and Karen McDonald moved to Waiheke, population 9,790, in early March.

Hill, who grew up in Auckland, had been coming to Waiheke since he was six, when his parents bought a beach house in Palm Beach, so he was familiar with the island.

“It was fantastic, most of our summer school vacation was spent there,” he says. The couple spent their honeymoon at the beach house, and their college-aged son, Ambrose, loved him there as a child.

Hill and his family were there before the wineries and wineries and development. But “for all the expensive houses and mansions there are still a lot of beach spots, it’s still quite hilly, there are no trails, it’s still quite remote and rural and island-like” , he said.

There is a supermarket and no traffic lights.

“I feel like I’m living in the countryside, which I hadn’t expected. Beautiful countryside and vineyards or ocean, lovely. But then the city is on my doorstep if I want it, ”says McDonald.

Turn a bach into a house

The couple live in Onetangi, the longest beach in Waiheke. They bought the property as a Bach a few years ago, although they always had a permanent move in mind.

The house had already been moved from town to the island and was once a tea room.

“It’s a really simple, quite original little chalet. It has cathedral ceilings and a simple mezzanine which we have transformed into two small double bedrooms. The couple live in Onetangi, the longest beach in Waiheke.

“We left behind all the comforts of modern conveniences like a renovated house, a dishwasher and a heated towel rail,” she says.

But a luxury for older Wellingtonians is the flat drive section, and it’s significantly warmer than the capital, which Hill visits monthly for work and to see Ambrose.

Maintenance is something you need to take more seriously when living on the island, says Hill.

“You are not connected to a water supply. You have to keep the gutters and the roof clean and maintained so that you don’t lose water, which goes into the water tank, ”he says. The septic tank also needs to be well maintained. When the couple first moved in, they got stranded, which wasn’t much fun.

“There’s a lot of work here and a few trades,” says Hill.

It can also be very difficult to find a rental home if you can’t afford or don’t want to buy.

What the job looks like

Hill visits his work at the Department of Business, Innovation and Employment in Auckland CBD several times a week. It starts with a 7am bus to the 7:30 am ferry to reach the CBD at 8:10 am. “The ferry is a bit like sitting in a cafe,” says Hill. He takes news, has coffee, answers messages and looks at Rangitoto Island.

McDonald, meanwhile, holds a casual part-time position coordinating weddings at his favorite winery on the island, Poderi Crisci. “I drive there a few times a week and I feel like I’m in Italy, it’s divine,” says McDonald.

His plan is to build a new career, or maybe buy a business on Waiheke. Jobs are limited on the island but the event organizer / marketer has no plans to leave for work.

Making close friends on the island is still a work in progress, but McDonald’s says being outdoors is how you meet people.

The couple say there is still a lot to be discovered. Hill loves to go fishing in a family kayak, and with great walks all around, they are always discovering new trails.

In search of solitude

Aotea Great Barrier Island, 100 km northeast of Auckland, is far further from mainland life. The ferry ride takes 4.5 hours, while the flight takes half an hour. It had 930 inhabitants in New Zealand’s 2018 census, although that number is closer to 1,100 now, according to Andi Ross, a resident of the island.

Ross, owner of the local boutique gin business Island Gin, has lived there with her husband Jason since 2019. Jason, Creative Director of Advertising, works remotely with his clients.

The Great Barrier community has an interesting mix of residents, says Ross, from families of origin who have long gone the hard way, to world travelers. There is a photographer from Bali, directors, architects, a couple of former DJs from Ibiza and strangers. “There are a lot of people hiding here,” Ross said.

The Australian couple and their two daughters have had a bachelor’s degree at Medlands Beach for 20 years, but began living permanently on the Great Barrier in 2019 when Ross took the creation of his gin brand seriously. The appeal of island life has grown steadily since then.

“It’s like all the best parts of New Zealand are crammed together on a smaller island,” she says. There is the surf beach in Medlands, then Port Fitzroy where the yachts come. There’s plenty of walking, fishing, mountains (Mount Hobson), wellness hot springs, and stargazing, Ross says. Great Barrier is an accredited Dark Sky Sanctuary, the only island in the world as of 2017.

The Rosse’s 1970s bach is one of the oldest in Medlands, and they haven’t done too much. But about 10 years ago, they built an award-winning madness, overlooking the nearby built wetlands, designed by local Medlands architects Nicky and Lance Herbst.

“Everything is done with nice plywood, it’s really nice, it took us a year to renovate it,” says Ross. The space is now used as guest accommodation.

Recycling is a non-negotiable

“Nothing goes to waste on the island,” says Ross. She used the pallets on which her gin bottles come to make a garden bed.

“We’re very off-grid and sustainable, a boat comes twice a week maximum, so we don’t get food and fresh fruit every day,” she says.

“We bake our own bread. If you don’t come in on the first day of the week, you don’t get bread, we’re much more in touch with that, ”says Ross.

Fortunately, there is a beautiful orchard and nursery, Okiwi Passion, in the north of the island, which sells produce at the Stonewall Village Saturday Market in Tryphena from August to December.

“It’s very user-friendly. It’s probably one of the only places in the world I’ve been to where everyone makes funny two-handed gestures, quirky little greetings that are just downright adorable, ”says Ross, who has lived in Singapore, Melbourne and Auckland, among others.

“There is a very good community spirit on the island.

Every two months she will go to Auckland to see friends. It’s nice to leave the island, but it is where it wants to be.