Te Ahu Tama Meihana-Hosking says a lot of business opportunities have arisen since the beginning of the pandemic. Photo: Supplied
The West Coast is one of the few places left in Aotearoa where house prices remain affordable.
Households spend less than 25 percent of their income on mortgage repayments, while the national average is nearly 50 percent.
Business opportunities are also increasing and despite the region's reputation for rain, it had more sunshine than any other main centre last year.
Te Ahu Tama Meihana-Hosking was living in Adelaide when the opportunity to buy the Hokitika Barber Shop arose.
Meihana-Hosking and his whānau were keen to leave behind the busy lifestyle in South Australia for a cruisier pace of life.
"I just saw an opportunity and I wanted to jump on it - there have been lots of business opportunities coming up especially since Covid, everyone's coming back here or moving over and tourists are coming back to visit this place as well."
Denis Geary owned rental company Wicked Campers in London when he and his wife made the move to the West Coast, where his wife was originally from.
"We were always sad when we went back to London and we wished we could stay longer then we managed to be able to live here seven months of the year here and five months in Europe and now it's eleven months of the year here and one month away."
The proximity to nature, access to an airport and the feeling of safety are all drawcards to living on the coast, he said.
The couple still have a business in London - but Hokitika was a great place to raise kids, which was their main reason for making the move full-time.
Geary and his wife run Airbnb accommodation and together with Joseph Walker, own the Hokitika Sandwich Company.
Joesph Walker co-owns the Hokitika Sandwich Company after living in Colorado. Photo: Supplied / Katabatic Creative
Walker and his wife were living in Colorado when they decided to return to New Zealand.
"We drove around the country looking for places to live and just fell in love with the coast, cheap land, cheap houses and the opportunity for an amazing lifestyle."
Now there was access to high-speed internet, he said there was no shortage of business opportunities on the coast.
"There's the economic side of things, low house prices, low mortgage, low financial pressure frees you up to have a better work life balance, more family time and more adventures."
Development West Coast chief executive Health Milne said more and more people were seeking out a life in the region.
"We've definitely seen people taking stock after the disruption of the last few years and a number of them have decided that the West Coast is a great place to be, it certainly is, and we've had some really interesting and productive people move to the coast and they are enjoying the lifestyle here."
The West Coast was leading the country for economic growth - partly due to increased investment in infrastructure, he said.
"We still have much more affordable housing than the rest of the country ... that makes a huge difference to people's lifestyles and their disposable income and their ability to plan and save for the future."
The latest data provides another reason for newcomers to swap the rat race for a new pace - more than 200 new jobs were created in the region last year, with unemployment falling to 3.5 percent.
