Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Name : Jo Davy

Age : 33

Where you lived in Cornwall : North Cornwall

Where you live now: Karori, New Zealand

Jo's story...

I left North Cornwall to spend my gap year in the USA in 1992 and spent the next few years studying, working and travelling but 'home' was still Cornwall.

In 2003, my husband and I left Plymouth to take up a PhD scholarship in Brisbane (me) and a lectureship in Wellington (him).

Our 'Grand Plan' was to settle permanently in Australia but New Zealand quickly weaved its magic and after 4 years of commuting back and forth across the Tasman Sea, Wellington is now the place where I live.

There are many similarities between this part of the world and Cornwall, not least the wild coastline, frequent wind and rain and a team of All Blacks (I still follow the fortunes of Launceston RFC, the Cornish All Blacks).

Nowhere other than Cornwall will ever be 'home' and living so far from family is the biggest reason to return, but for now the benefits of life in Wellington will keep us away from the UK, despite the fact that the houses here are not designed to withstand the effects of the prevailing cold southerly, which blows in from Antarctica ('you can't beat it on a good day' is the city motto).

Wellington is a beautiful, cultured, compact, friendly and safe city, and the country as a whole still retains an innocence and charm that means life is less stressful and more optimistic.

We have been able to return to the UK once a year and my heart always leaps when I cross the Tamar, no matter how jet-lagged it is. Cornwall is in my blood and always will be, but I also feel a little rush of excitement when the plane starts the descent into Wellington, especially if it's a 'good day'!