Anna Reeve: Jafa's view of Tauranga

Once you have been here long enough you quickly realise how there is something special in the water here. Photo / Supplied

The idea of moving to the Mount first came about about a year and a half ago.

I'll admit, when the topic of conversation first got brought up, tears would roll down my face.

It scared the living daylights out of me. We were leading very social lives in Auckland, always out and about.

All my best friends who have been in my life since I started high school where there, and my family.

I'll be first to admit it, I was a big time 'Jafa' and couldn't fathom living anywhere else.

I (like most of Auckland) had only ever talked about retiring here, but that seemed so far away I hadn't thought about it too much.

But with our businesses affording us the ability to live anywhere, Jay was suddenly extremely homesick and desperate to be back here.

Turns out this Aucklander feels right at home. Of course I had a few hiccups, but I fell in love with living here so fast it surprised me.

The people, the scenery and the community are so beautiful. I'm so glad my children will grow up here, and that the people who are intertwined into their lives here will help mould them into men.

Once you have been here long enough you quickly realise how there is something special in the water here.

It's silly explaining this to you all, you live here after all and should know this.

Anna Reeve is a mum, model, blogger and Insta-famous. Photo / Supplied

We spent the summer adventuring, doing things that in Auckland felt like stuff we would do on holiday. Spending days on end on the water with friends, heading to Matakana Island and watching the kids explore the shoreline.

It was the perfect way to spend our first months getting used to living in the Bay and the boys were in heaven, as were mum and dad.

But now there is a chill in the air, I've spent the last six months doing everything outside and I'm worried that I have been experiencing all of this through a summer gilded lens — a luxurious, languid, magical bubble.

Without the sun, sea and sand what will keep 4-year-old twins entertained?

I think we will be in for a little adjustment where our pace of life slows, shifts to a winter gear and I will go through a second season of adjusting to life here. I look forward to see what this new season brings, I'm sure something magical is waiting in the cool southerly breeze.

If you have any ideas of what our winter months should look like then let me know!

Anna Reeve is a mum, model, blogger and Insta-famous. In her monthly column for indulge she shares reflections on her life in the Bay