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Mike's Minute: We are finally utilising the whole country

Author: Mike Hosking ,
Publish Date: Thu, 28 May 2026, 9:49am

I'm immeasurably uplifted by some Trade Me data.

Could it be we are finally getting the message on rural or provincial New Zealand?

Job data increasingly shows we're looking to the regions for work.

More people (68%) are prepared to move, supposedly. Always be careful of surveys because what people say versus what they do doesn’t always equate.

But at least some of the 68% must actually pull the trigger.

There has been a 12% month-on-month search increase in job ads.

The likes of New Plymouth is up 40%, Invercargill is up 37%, and Palmerston North is 23%.

I have said for years, if you can do what you do anywhere, why would you do it in a place you can't afford to live in?

A lack of money makes life miserable. It limits choices, makes us stressed, and closes financial doors.

Too many people are stuck in places like Auckland. Auckland is disproportionately large and the salaries that this country pays, on average, do not support a decent life in a place like Auckland, or Queenstown, or possibly even a large slice of the Bay of Plenty.

But there are a lot of jobs where the wage is the same no matter what the location.

In fact, one of the most glaring pieces of intel is your average wage and it's broadly the same in most places in the country. It's a little higher in Wellington because of the public service, but overall, between $70,000-80,000 is where we sit on average.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that if, as a couple, you earn two lots of $70,000-ish a year, $140,000-ish together, it goes a hell of a lot of further in Nelson than it does in Auckland or Queenstown.

The house on the West Coast is nothing like the north of the country. This land is festooned with amazing provincial cities that have a lot of the big city access and choices.

Even Christchurch, which is booming, is still comparatively affordable and by the time you get to small town New Zealand you are rolling in it in your $500,000 house, no commute, later get-up, less stress, and all the while doing the same job.

So I hope the stats are real and the move is on. There is a lot of New Zealand that has never been fully utilised or appreciated.

If your lot is too hard, move. You won't know yourself.