KEY POINTS:
Amanda King has to laugh when she hears mainland New Zealanders complaining about the rising cost of living.
Her family would happily swap last month's $667 power bill, the $1.92 a litre they are paying for diesel and the $4.50 cost of a loaf of bread with a family in the cities any time.
"We have rellies in New Zealand going on 'our power bill is $190', and I'm like, 'I wish'," Ms King says.
"You have got kids that are going 'mummy, I want this; why can't I have that'. And the answer to everything is we can't afford it." '
Ms King lives with her partner, Arana Tuuta, and her two children, Ahinata, 9, and Mikaere, 5, in a rented three-bedroom house.
She and Mr Tuuta earn only moderate incomes, so are struggling against the inflated cost of living on the Chathams.
Whether to follow the dozens leaving the islands in recent months has been discussed "on several occasions".
"Not just the cost of living, but the education, and the opportunities for children are very limited here."
But Ms King, a Moriori descendant, feels connected to the Chathams.
