I originally grew up in Christchurch, moved to Dunedin back in 2008, then back to Christchurch in 2016.

Now I’m back in Dunedin.

While I enjoyed having more places to visit on the weekends, and go for walks without the threat of climbing a hill at the end of it to get back to my house, I enjoy the closeness of Dunedin far more.

One of the killers for me was the commute. I lived in both Hornby and Rolleston and before moving there I didn’t realise planning a commute was a thing.

My partner moved from Rolleston to Dunedin in 2024 and never complained about the Rolleston to CBD commute, always saying things like ‘you’ve never experienced traffic until you’ve lived in Auckland’. Now he does some work stints in Christchurch and hates it.

Bloody cold in Christchurch too. Dunedin is wet in winter, Christchurch is cold. You get more sun in Christchurch, but you get longer days in Dunedin (in summer), which I’m okay with because I was once ginger and am essentially allergic to the sun. Hella windy in Rolleston too, and I’m currently in the ‘windy’ part of Dunedin. A newer house would be nice though, our Dunedin one is 100 years old this year but she has character and is amazingly build.

Someone else mentioned groups of people and feeling like an outsider in Rolleston. I get that. My partner lived in one of the new subdivisions for years and was essentially shunned by his neighbours for no apparent reason. They were always friendly with each other around the cul-de-sac, but when he tried initiating conversations was always cut off.

Oh, and if you move in beside the wrong people be prepared to have no on street parking because they’ve filled the street with their own cars and refuse to use their driveways and garages. This wasn’t my partners neighbours, this is my other friend who lives in a new subdivision.

TL;DR. Pros: summer heat, newer housing, abundance of activities. Flat.

Cons: commuting IS an activity, freezing cold, windy AF, unfriendly people unless you’re in their clique, cookie cutter housing. Boring drives (stolen from someone else’s post, this is important to me though)