But world champion cyclist Alison Shanks promises she will continue to ride for the province and will always remain an Otago girl at heart.
Shanks and her husband, Craig Palmer, are moving to Cambridge in December. Palmer is the head sports physiologist with Bike NZ and, with the national body based in Cambridge, the couple had little choice but to relocate.
''We've got a few more months at home in Dunedin yet,'' Shanks said.
''We don't have to be in the Waikato until December.
''Dunedin is always going to be home and I'm sure I'll be back. It is an opportunity which is necessary for both our careers. I guess it has been forced on us, in a way. The programme has been centralised there, so there is an expectation for us to move there.''
It hardly seems fair. The Waikato gets a world champion pursuiter and all Otago got in return is Declan O'Donnell - and the Highlanders winger was injured before the Super 15 season got under way and has not seen one minute of action. The Mooloos have stitched us up.
''I'll still be barracking for Otago at nationals and I'll still even support the Highlanders,'' Shanks said.
The couple are planning to buy a house in the Waikato and ''set up home''.
''We don't really know [how long we'll be there]. Everything kind of happens in Olympic cycles in our world, so it will be at least another four years.''
Palmer's family live in Hawkes Bay but Shanks' close-knit family are in Dunedin and leaving will be a wrench.
''Mum and Dad enjoy having us kids around home but at the same time, they definitely support the move and understand that it is necessary. Dad said, 'We're lucky enough to have had you guys around this long'.''
Aside from family, Shanks said she would miss living by the sea the most and her favourite training ride on Otago Peninsula.
Shanks will have hip surgery in Auckland at the beginning of June and will return to Dunedin for six to eight weeks of rehabilitation.
''It is just a good time to get it sorted.''
