Two city slickers from Wellington followed their bridesmaid to Otautau to "do the farm thing".
A young couple fled Auckland’s inflated rental prices, and a small family had had enough of its crippling traffic congestion.
All the families said they had no regrets and were loving the space and opportunities in the South.
Tania and Duncan Jones always dreamed of life on a farm and decided to see what the small town of Otautau had to offer.
"My bridesmaid lived in Otautau — it’s been the right time and the perfect move for us.
"In Wellington, you’d be paying $500 a week for a rental. Here, we only pay $280 for a three-beddie and that includes power," Mrs Jones said.
The couple could not believe their luck because now they lived on a farm and had chickens and grew their own vegetables.
Their new life on a farm had meant more than just financial security.
Mrs Jones said she suffered from depression, so it was good for her to get out on the farm and have all the space.
"I’m not constantly worried about what’s going on around me. Being on a farm has been really good for my mental health."
Sam Rose had never been to the South Island before he and partner Kylee Roets arrived in Invercargill 13 months ago.
The young couple were lured by the low cost of living in Invercargill, after years of wasting hundreds of dollars a week on Auckland’s high rental costs.
"In Auckland, you’re paying hundreds of dollars for a small place — it was mental," Mr Rose said.
"We’ve saved a lot more in Invercargill than we ever would in Auckland. Our mortgage is a lot cheaper. Everyone is so much nicer here. You ask questions and people are keen to help," the apprentice builder said.
He and Ms Roets have also become first-time parents, and although having a baby "was unexpected" and not having family down here, they had made friends and had enough support to settle into life in Invercargill.
They said they did not miss Auckland’s "salty people" and "traffic woes".
Chartered accountant Kelly Churchill used to spend nearly two hours stuck in traffic getting to her job in Auckland. Now it only takes her 15 minutes to get to town.
"I don’t have to sit in Auckland traffic for an hour and a-half any more. Here you are 15 minutes from everything, from the airport," she said.
She and husband Shane Freiberg and their two toddlers escaped Auckland’s congestion nightmares nine months ago — freed from angst caused by constant gridlock.
Since their move to Invercargill, the busy urban professionals had reduced their hours of work, changed careers and spent quality family time together.
"I can afford to work part-time now and I’m able to work from home," Ms Churchill said.
"I could never be able to do this if we were still in Auckland."
He had given up his job as a shift worker and planned to open a flooring business in the next few months, Mr Freiberg said.
Great South project leader Bobbi Brown said overall, in terms of internal migration, there were 150 more people leaving Invercargill than arriving, which confirmed the city’s population increase was due to international returnees and migration.
Invercargill real estate agent Tim Frampton said a lot more people had been moving to Invercargill from big cities than he had seen in his 20 years of working in real estate.
According to Statistics New Zealand, in the year to the end of June last year, Invercargill grew by about 1000 to reach a population of 57,900.
