The Thompson family never looked back after move from Auckland

Anne-Maree and Jolyon Thompson with their three children (from left) Krystal, Jazzlyn and Zachary.

The Thompson family liked the idea of Whanganui but took a little persuading before taking the plunge.

Jolyon and Anne-Maree Thompson were living in Auckland when friends in Whanganui started to tell them to come check the city out.

"I said 'oh yeah, I could live in Whanganui'," said Jolyon.

Jolyon's grandmother lived in Whanganui and he spent time here as a kid. He still held fond memories of climbing Durie Hill and playing at Kowhai Park.

"We drove around and looked at all these houses we'd identified. One of the houses we actually saw was in Springvale ... it was open to tender."

He said the value was slightly above what they could afford and didn't think more of it until the real estate agent asked why they wouldn't put in an offer. So they did just that.

"The agent then rang us back the next day and said ... they've chosen you to negotiate with."

The Thompsons again didn't think they had much of a hope because they weren't able to front up what the vendors wanted. But, to their surprise, the vendors accepted it.

"I looked at my wife and said 'I guess we're moving to Whanganui then'," Jolyon said.

They moved here about a year and half ago to give it a go for six months. If it didn't work they'd move back to Auckland. They're confident now they will be here for the long term.

The couple have three kids aged 5 and under. They loved the lack of traffic in the city compared with Auckland as well as the friendly nature of locals.

"People are a lot nicer down here," said Anne-Maree. "It's like a community feel ... whereas in Auckland you just don't know anyone."

Jolyon said Whanganui was also a much better place to bring up children.

"One of the main reasons we wanted to move down here was we wanted a better lifestyle for the kids.

"When my daughter started kindergarten, she'd gotten in with a really good group of friends. I always wanted that to be nice and stable for my daughter. But what I found was that Auckland is so transient ... you'd get there and suddenly find the friend she's just made, they've decided they're moving across Auckland and suddenly the girl wasn't there any more.

"I wanted somewhere which was more stable where the kids she grows up with ... they'll be able to form lifelong friends."

Anne-Maree was a planner in Auckland for Transdev and since moving to Whanganui she'd been a stay-at-home mum while also working part-time at the Splash Centre.

She's now been accepted into a Waikato University teaching course and will do that next year.

Jolyon was able to continue his work in property management and he's working on moving a limousine service from Auckland to Whanganui.