I’ve been reading with interest the comments made by people about the best city in New Zealand to live in and it took me to “what if” land.

What if you could take the best parts of cities and towns from New Zealand, or even from around the world, and combine them? What would you come up with?

Some people like living in flat places, others like hilly spots. Some people prefer wild and wooly weather, others like it settled. Some like to live anonymously in a buzzing city, others prefer the comfort and bonhomie of living in a small community.

Unfortunately you can’t always get exactly what you want in one place. But if you could, what would be your dream town?

Mine would have the hilliness of Wellington and the hills would be festooned with beautiful gardens blooming with flowers and trees. There’d be pedestrian malls galore filled with cafes and restaurants with lots of outdoor tables so people could enjoy their meals in the sun while buskers would provide ‘free’ entertainment.

It would have beautiful beaches like those found in the Abel Tasman Park and in the distance past the rolling hills you’d have a mountain range similar to the Kaikoura ranges.

Weather wise I’d want it to have the sunshine of Nelson but it would have to be humid – what can I say, it irons out the wrinkles. At night there’d be thunderstorms like those on the Gold Coast of Australia but every morning you’d awake to another bright blue sky.

Imagine, you could have breakfast on your deck, inhaling the scent of jasmine, lavender or roses before heading to work (admittedly in my ideal town no-one would have to work but I’m not that much of a dreamer), then you could take a walk on your lunch break through the botanic gardens, sit amongst the gardenias while you ate your sandwich. Then at night you’d barbecue your dinner and enjoy it under the stars. Retiring later to bed only to be woken briefly by a thunder storm. Lightning flashing, thunder shaking the house, cicadas chirruping in the balmy evening air ….

And if I had to give this piece of paradise a name it, I’d (cheekily) call it Hails as all that visited would hail its beauty.

So my question is: if you could create your own perfect town to live in what would it be like?

Kellie Hailes

WeatherWatch Reporter