This week on Moving Out ` Good girl. Push. scaling the learning curve of buying their first home. Where do we even start? The risks are massive. As the search turns epic, will it lead to heartbreak? We are having to reassess our budget. So everything's a big, huge worry. A personal housing crisis pushes a mum of three to think outside the box. A little bit challenging in terms of space. Not everyone is on board with her radical idea, so will her solution work for the kids? (ENGINE REVS, TRAILER GRAUNCHES) Or will she hit one roadblock too many? (BRIGHT MUSIC) No matter what stage of the journey you're on, there's a Honda to suit you and your needs. Moving Out with Kanoa ` proudly brought to you by Honda. North of Auckland, along a sparkling stretch of sandy coast is Ruakaka ` a hidden gem for beach lovers. And if you could live somewhere as beautiful as Ruakaka, why would you ever want to leave? Kei te whakarire matou mo to matou nuku. When Wiki and Francis moved from South Auckland into this three-bedroom rental in Ruakaka, the plan was for it to be a stepping stone to their dream of moving even further north. Anei. Kia tupato. He wera. Wera, Lawry, so pupuhi. In the 12 years they've been together, they've fostered an ever-expanding whanau, and it's a life goal to provide them with a permanent base. So, we only have one biological child ` our son Lawry. And then just recently we've whangai'd one of our nieces. Yeah. Te pepi o toku tuakana. Mm. So, my sister's child, who's also named after me, Wikitoria. Yep. Is your porridge yummy, Wikitoria? Mm. Yeah? Ehara a Wikitoria te tamaiti tuatahi i whangaihia e te tokorua nei. Our first nephew was born from my younger sister, Jeremiah. We had a role in raising him as well. We also had our favouritest cousin, Richard,... Yeah, yeah. ...and he's always been in and around our lives too, so we sort of class him as one of our boys. Yep. So, today we'll take Ta and Bailey for a walk down the beach. Ka pai? Pai tera? Ae. Yeah. That's our whanau. You know, we've only got one tamaiti, but many tamariki. Anei to potae, Lawry. A, ko Ta raua ko Bailey nga mokai kuri o te whanau. Come on, Bailey. E rima mineti te tawhiti ki tatahi ` he ahuatanga parekareka ki a raua i roto i nga tau. Come on, honey. Waimarie tenei tokorua ki te puta i a Tamaki, me te hunuku ki te Nota ` tata mahue raua i te pahi. Kia tupato! Got an interview in a Maori bilingual unit at Ruakaka Primary School, and I was, like, late to it because we didn't know where Ruakaka was. And I was freaking out cos we were late, and I was thinking, 'Oh my God. I'm gonna fail this interview without even starting it.' So, we turned up to the kura, and it was awesome. It was uphill from there. Better still, now they're thinking of buying their first home. They stand a much better chance out of Auckland where half of first-home buyers have debts five times higher than their incomes. We didn't wanna be renting. We wanted to go home and buy. Mm. That was always the goal. That was always, you know, te manako, me te moemoea, me te wawata. (LIGHT MUSIC) Ko te kaupapa matua mo te tokorua nei he whakapakari i nga herenga whakapapa ki Kaipara. As a family, we really love Ruakaka because of the people, the whanau atmosphere, proximity to the beach, the proximity to towns like Whangarei and the haukainga here have been really caring and nurturing of us while we've been here, so it's been massive. Haere mai. Good boy. (DOG BARKS) Heaps of my whanau, eh, see all of the things that we're doing here in Ruakaka, and they're just putting the pressure on, eh? They're like, 'Come home. Do all of that at home with us,' you know? And, um, ka rongo matou i tera, eh? Yeah. So... That's why even though it's very, very beautiful here,... Yeah. ...kei reira te manawa. So, mm. Yep. Definitely. Haere mai. E tino tau ana nga tamariki i Ruakaka, no reira, he whakaaro pai ranei kia hunuku ano te whanau? There's a whakatauki, eh, that says, 'Ma ta iwi te tamaiti e whakatipu.' It takes a village to raise a child. Mm. Argh! (CHUCKLES) When we first decided to move up, Lawry felt it. You know, he noticed the change drastically because he grew up in a whanau house, you know? The house that we had in Otara was communal as. It had, you know, my mum, us, my brother. Heaps of our whanau would just stop in and stay. So, coming from that into a place where it's just us in this new rural community, it was a huge change for him. E tangi te moko mo tona ana. Mm, e tangi te ana mo tana moko. Yeah. You know? They were just as bad as each other, because he wasn't used to just us. And we weren't used to just us either, so it was a lot of growing for all of us. Ah! Entering the property market for the first time will also be hugely challenging. So, what's at stake if Wiki and Francis get it wrong? I kite au i era whare ki runga i te watchlist. Oh, yeah? The ones that you saved the other day. Yeah. Pehea o whakaaro? Yeah. Um, ae. Ae. Tera pea me waea ki te... ...real estate agent. Yeah, real estate. 'The risks are massive. What if we buy outside our price range, 'and what is that gonna do to us, you know? 'How do we know what our price range is?' Mm. And it's all attached to that whole financial burden of, you know, 'Oh my gosh.' The reality of things, eh? That's right. We've gotta have a look at whether or not we wanna stay in town, out of town, you know? We've never lived on tank water before, so... One of the biggest struggles has been, 'Where do we even start?' Buying a house puts their whole financial future at stake, but swapping mortgage debt for rental payments isn't just an economic investment; it's an emotional one too. You know, is our dream exactly that ` a dream? Mm. But then we look at those risks, and then we look at our kids, and we think, you know, 'It's worth it.' E hiahia ana te whanau kia noho pu ki te Uru na kona... kua whai mahi hou a Francis. I've been fortunate enough to secure an opportunity by way of new job as iwi relations manager with the Kaipara District Council. Inaianei, kua kitea tetahi whai tuwa e tika ana mo ratou. With Dargaville, it's a central location; it's in town, and it's a place where, you know, all of our whanau when coming back to the Kaipara come through Dargaville. So, it is Dargaville or bust for this whanau. Neke atu te kotahi haora mai i Ruakaka ki Dargaville. And given that Dargaville has a population of about 4000, finding an available house that suits them might not be easy. It'll be a 70-minute commute for Francis twice a day, and that's before the legwork of finding a house even begins. A, he nui tonu nga mahi kei mua i te aroaro. Heoi, ka pehea ranei tenei tokorua? Can we even do this? Yeah. You know, is this gonna work? Domino's declares war on delivery charges. Any large pizza, just 15 bucks. Delivered. (GENTLE MUSIC) A work opportunity for Wiki paved the way for her family to move north three years ago to Ruakaka. WIKI: Haere mai. FRANCIS: Haere mai. But now they're ready to buy their first home, it's Northland's west coast that's calling them, and Francis' new job in Dargaville is focusing the search there. We have decided on our budget, and it's gonna be anything below 400, you know, would be great, realistic for us as well as` Gonna have to stop buying online shopping. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. (CHUCKLES) (CLAPS) IMITATES FRANCIS: 'Oh, gonna have to stop online budging.' (CHUCKLES) What did you`? (BOTH LAUGH) (UPBEAT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Kei te amaimai raua mo te taha putea. Ka taea ranei e raua? Ka pumau tonu ki te mahere utu whare? What's one thing you're looking forward to about coming to Dargaville and living, Wikitoria? Hmm. (GRUNTS SOFTLY) Don't know? (CHUCKLES) Wikitoria came to us from Tamaki, so even that transition from Auckland to Ruakaka to Tai Tokerau has been a big change for her. And now we're thinking of moving from here to... ...the Kaipara. ...the Kaipara, and everything's different. Everything is new. This is my mum's marae too. This is your mum's marae. Yeah. This is your mama's marae. Yeah. Mehemea, ka noho matou ki Takiwira, it wouldn't take us so long to come to Oturei marae. Oh. It's about creating that safe space for her, but the opportunity for us to also grow with her and teach her and show her home in terms of her whakapapa and her pepeha. It's the opportunity that we look forward to with the journey ahead. I got a question for you ` he aha te ingoa o tera maunga ki ko? Ko Maunga To...? Tokatoka. Ka pai. Ko Maunga Tokatoka tena. How were the mountains made? Mountains made? They were made by Papatuanuku. (UPBEAT MUSIC) As well as its mountains, Dargaville is known for its river, farming country, kumara and Baylys Beach ` one of the longest beaches in the country. And since Dargaville is a central hub for accessing all this natural beauty, its popularity is on the rise. Mohio pu tatou kua piki ake nga utu whare i roto i nga tau tata nei. Section's not too bad, eh? Yeah. So, the median house prices here in Dargaville kua piki ake 16% i tera tau to $327,000. Now, by big city standards, that is a steal, but it's rare for incomes to keep up with the price of houses, which is something that Wiki raua ko Francis are going to have to keep in mind. So, we've been looking quite intensely and hardcore for the last 12 months, and, you know, part of the stress has been we live so far away from everything, so I'll go in, you know, in my lunchtime or even after work on my way home, have a look at a property. Then I'll organise with the real estate agent that we come back as a family. That's been one of the ways that we get around that, cos it's been really, really hard. What do you reckon? Yeah. E hia nga ruma? 'We went to about seven or eight open homes, all up,... 'Yeah.' '...that we really liked... 'Yeah.' '...and really thought quite seriously about, you know,... 'what that would feel like as a whanau.' 'Yeah.' He aha o whakaaro mo tena? Ae, pai. 'We put in an offer on a house that we really liked,... 'Yeah.' '...and we really fell for it. And then the whole anxiousness of waiting to hear back...' But pai te hanga o te ruma noho. Yeah, nah, it just goes back to that korero about, you know, the vulnerability. You know, you put everything into it, and then negotiations happen, and then you end up not getting it. Yeah, that's been quite disheartening. You know, when it was declined, we felt bummed. Yeah. Mehemea ka takaroa raua ki te kimi whare, ka uaua ake te hoko atu. That 16% market increase means based on their $400,000 budget, they've lost $64,000 in buying power over the last year. We're all new to the game of buying homes. So, not wanting to be put off, we are having to really reassess our budget, be more realistic what is going to be achievable. Looks like a nice street. This one here is heading out of town. After nearly a year of searching, I'm checking in with them. So, it's really nice to see you guys, but I know things haven't been easy on the house front lately. Kei te pehea korua? Oh, kei te pai matou, me to matou whanau i tenei wa, ahakoa nga piki me nga heke, you know, so... It's not easy. Yeah. And it's more about ` what do we do now? Yeah. Me pehea o whakaaro o te utu? Yeah. You've had to have a bit of a rethink there. Yeah, we definitely have, eh? Yep. In terms of the things that we wanna do when we come home to the things that we thought we wanted to do when we wanted to come home too. So, yeah. Yeah. But it's been a reality check. Knowing what you know now, what would be your advice to other whanau that are considering doing the same thing? Oh, te mea nui, don't get your hopes up. Eh? (CHUCKLES) Another one we thought too was, 'Don't fall in love with the first place you see.' Yep. Yeah. That's the biggest one. (LAUGHTER) And it's about a lot of people are going to have their opinions, and they're gonna want to impart some of their matauranga and their knowledge... Yeah. Their house-buyer knowledge. ...on to our thinking and our` Their house-buyer knowledge. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's about just really assessing that korero. Take what you need and not what you don't. That's great advice. As long as you guys have got each other, eh? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, definitely. You know, you've definitely gotta stay true to that kaupapa. (CHUCKLES) There are some tautohe, but we get through all of that too. (ALL CHUCKLE) He taumaha raua te mahi kimi whare mo te whanau katoa. He uaua hoki te noho tawhaowhao nei. I'm worried that it can take longer than we think. I'm worried because even though we have heaps of whanau that can help us, you know, the processes that everything takes, like, the bank, real estate, all of those things... So everything's a big huge worry. Kua reri? Toru, wha. Tahi, rua, toru, wha. Aw! Good girl. Push. Push! Give me five. That was cool. That was cool. We're keeping positive and sort of, you know, looking more strategically at, really, what kind of house we're looking at. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, what size of house. What sort of things we want in a house. Mm. You know, what are the things that are gonna make it home for us? And, you know, given there are a lot of older homes within Dargaville, you know, we really had to be realistic. (GRACEFUL MUSIC) The Wairoa River here in Dargaville used to be one of our country's busiest waterways, thanks to the kauri gum industry and flax exports. Engari i enei ra, kua ngaro i enei ahuatanga. And as the search for a house continues for Francis and Wiki, I'm wondering whether their resources might be drying up too. Domino's declares war on delivery charges. Any large pizza, just 15 bucks. Delivered. Wiki and Francis are living in the beautiful Northland town of Ruakaka, but their hearts are set on buying their first home in Dargaville on the west coast, so they're forced to commute across Northland to keep their dream alive. The commute has been, oh, big. When you look at the time, it's just over an hour, and so... Yeah, it gets tough. You know, an hour one way and then an hour back this way. Push. Atu i nga mahi kimi whare hou, me te tirotiro haere ki nga kainga nei, kei te pau haere te wa ki a ratou. There we go. Ka pai. (SIGHS) He aha o whakaaro mo tena? Ae, pai. Kei raro rawa nga utu i ta reti, he ngawari hoki nga nama tarewa, a, he tokomaha hoki nga kaihoko whare hou, no reira, he uaua. Ka whai e raua he kainga motuhake? (INSPIRING MUSIC) Morena, Kanoa. Ko Francis tenei. Ah, kia ora, Francis. Pehea ana? Pai. Oh, cool. Just calling you with an update. We got the house! Yay! (LAUGHS) You guys, that's awesome! Congratulations. I'm so pleased to hear that. We're stoked. We're looking forward to it. Choice. Well, I'll see you guys next time, eh? All right. Ka kite. Kei te hikaka katoa maua, na te mea kua hoko maua i tetahi whare. We have just bought a house. (CHUCKLES) Yay! (CHUCKLES) It's awesome. (LIVELY MUSIC) Lawry, guess what? What? I hoko matou i tetahi whare hou. (ALL CHEER) Should we go see it? Yep. Yeah! Here we are. Here's the whare. Titiro ki tenei. (ALL EXCLAIM) Yay. Whose house is this? Ours. (CHUCKLES) Ours forever! (CHUCKLES) Ah! Kua mana, kua riro parihau! A, kua puta mai te whanau o Ruakaka ki te awhina i a ratou. Really hitting home now. We're moving. There we go with the online shopping. (CHUCKLES) Eh? Yeah. Gotta budget now. Budget. Ana. Koina. That's it for that one. Ana. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) It's gonna be too heavy ` that's what you just said. Nah, cos otherwise we're gonna run out of space. Hihiko katoa a Wiki raua ko Francis kua whai kainga hei turangawaewae mo te whanau katoa. (GRUNTS) Ahakoa nga piki me nga heke, na wai ra, kua whai whare hou. Koinei te kainga tika mo te whanau. (UPBEAT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC) Here we are in kumara country, and these guys have been living in their new house for about two weeks now. Kua hikaka katoa au ki te kite i a raua me te whare hou. Kaore ano au kia mohio ki tenei takiwa. Heoi ano, kei konei au ki te whakarongo ki nga painga katoa. Wow! He wahi ataahua tenei. Ae. Ae. He wahi tino ataahua tenei. Koira tetahi o nga mea pai te hoki wawae mai ki te kainga. That's one of the awesome things about coming home is ka taea te titiro ki te whenua. You can stand and look at the land and, you know, admire home. Yeah. Mm. Apart from being beautiful, it must feel really good to be here, Wiki. Yeah, it's awesome. Well, you know, west coast is the best coast, so it's been great, yeah. (CHUCKLES) Hashtag! Hashtag. Mm. And talk to me, is Dargaville actually home for both of you guys? Yeah. It's definitely, you know, the town that separates Wiki's marae here, to the south of this maunga, and then mine to the north. And this is just one of many places that we come from, but for both of us this is our neutral place, ne, Mama? Yeah, it was a good compromise, eh. Meet in the middle. (CHUCKLES) Meet in the middle, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He aha tenei, apart from a good leaning post? (CHUCKLES) This is the mast of the Rainbow Warrior, and our awesome museum here, Te Whare Taonga o Tunatahi, has a lot of awesome stories about it in it as well. But here, we're standing on Pou Tu Te Rangi Harding Park. It's the pa site that we have out the front there, and many of our tupuna who settled there. (UPBEAT MUSIC) Now I'm off to see where Wiki and Francis have finally settled. Wow. (CHUCKLES) He tino mahana tenei whare. Ae, ae. Ae. Tino mahana. Yeah. How are you feeling to be in here now? Oh, happy as. ALL: Yeah. Kua tutuki te kaupapa, you know? We've definitely achieved what we set out for. So welcome! Welcome to our whare. Yes. Yeah, kei konei matou inaianei, so it's awesome. Ae. Last time I saw you guys, you were really struggling to get into a place, so how did you manage to score this one? Na o maua whanaunga tenei whare i hoko. So he's related to the husband; I'm related to the wife; and it happened like that. It's awesome owning our own home. It's way better than renting, and for the first time in a long time, our whole whanau feel very content. Yeah. Yep. And I suppose also to that, when we look at the budget, we were on budget, and we ended up getting more than what we were looking for. Mm. So, we're in four bedrooms, double garage, and the land size is better ` better for us, better for the kids, but then also better for our dogs too. And I understand there's a name for this place. Ae. Kei te tika tera. Ko te ingoa i tapaina ki to matou whare, ko Te Puna o Te Aroha. Te Puna o Te Aroha is around the spring of love. Yeah. Mm. And then the reason it's here with all our whanau is it's also te puna huihuinga tangata, which is a spring that brings people together as a gathering point. So that's the name chosen for our whare ` Te Puna o Te Aroha. Mm. I love it. Are you ready for the influx of cuzzies,... (CHUCKLES) ...neighbours, people that you used to know, like, 20 years ago to show up? Yeah. (CHUCKLES) Kua timata ke tera. Ae. Like, it's already begun, you know? I te wa i nuku matou i roto i te whare, from when we moved into the house, it was just a go from there, eh? Definitely. E pai nga mea katoa? Oh. Uh... There's something you could actually help us with, actually. (CHUCKLES) Eh? Wallpaper. (CHUCKLES) Oh. Wallpaper. Wallpaper. Well, you've chosen one of my favourite subjects. I'd be happy to help. (CHUCKLES) There's a particular wallpaper in a particular part of the house. I'd love to see that. Can I have a look? Ae. Yes. Come on. Ae. Haere mai. OK! Yes. Wow! Mm. Ae. Titiro. I can't not titiro. It's coming at me. (ALL LAUGH) So, who's pro, and who's no? I'm pro. No. What do you love about it? I just think it's a nice tip to the past, you know? Uh-huh. And it's in good condition. Wiki, you're not so hot on it? No. I think it's hideous, but... (CHUCKLES) Hideous! Hideous. So you want it to go. What would you put up instead? Uh, probably Resene's Baylys Beach. Oh, oh, flash. That sounds great, yeah. (CHUCKLES) Um, don't be made at me, Wiki, but... I'm really into it. Yeah? You're into it? (CHUCKLES) I think it's beautiful. I kind of think it looks a little bit like a tiki. Yes. You got some eyes and a nose and a... There we go. Keep going. You're sort of convincing me. (CHUCKLES) I can see the eyes. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, and I'd love to see where the kids are set up. How are they going? Yep, no, ka pai. Now they've moved even closer to whanau, the cousin they like to call their 'favouritest' is a regular visitor. Oh, aroha mai. Aroha mai. Auntie Kanoa coming through. Kia ora, you guys. Kia ora. Kia ora. Lawry, he aha tetahi me pai? Playing on the trees. Nice. Climbing the trees. What about you, Wikitoria? Playing outside. Awesome. And, Richard, what's the best thing about this whare for you? Tetahi mea tino pai ki tenei whare, having fun with my nephews and uncles, pretty much. Ka pai. WIKI: Ko tenei to tatou whare. Ko tenei Te Puna o Te Aroha. Yeah, it really is. I totally get that feeling. And because it's Te Puna o Te Aroha, I wondered if I could contribute a little love of my own. I know that you guys are really into art, so this is for a happy housewarming for you guys. Oh, nga mihi. Oh, tena koe. And I heard from somebody that tui come to us, and they bring messages of love from our tupuna, so add that little extra layer in there, if you want to. Oh, ka pai. Tena koe. Tena koe. Nga mihi. Thank you. Kia ora. Well, it has definitely been a journey for these guys to find their new home, but what I love about what Francis and Wiki have done is they've reminded me of the deeper meaning of the word 'whanau' ` that includes whangai, whakapapa ki te whenua, me te hononga ki te ao wairua. and the responsibilities that we all have to our hapu or our communities, and I really love that they have encompassed all of that in the name of their new whare ` Te Puna O Te Aroha. Coming up ` how will a mum of three solve her personal housing crisis? A little bit challenging in terms of space. And is it the right solution for her kids? What do you think? I think you'd have to clear it out. Assertive ` that's how I describe my driving. On the open road, you're aiming for about 10 to 15 above the road sign. Nah, nah. Passengers don't get to call the shots. I'm the one driving, so I choose the speed. (WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY ON RADIO) (CAR ENGINE REVS) If you wanna drive, then you can drive ` that's what I always fire back. They just don't understand how you can drive quickly and safely. If anyone tells me to slow down, I give 'em the same response every time ` 'My car; my rules.' (ENGINE REVS) are now back to $5! Your favourite Value pizzas all with fresh dough, sauce made from vine-ripened tomatoes, and our mouthwatering mozzarella. Now back to $5! At Domino's. When dramatic life events force your hand, dictate a downsize and determine where you can afford to live, you have to think radically. And when you add kids and subtract an income from that situation, what does the reality look like? Hi. I'm Tasha Garcia. A little bit about me ` I have three children ` Alfie, who is 9, Esme, who is 7, and Olive, who is 5. Tash was living with her husband and kids on Wellington's south coast in a spacious house with designer kitchen and seaside views. We had a great house on the south coast. The whole, kind of, you know, dream, sort of, life. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Tag! Tag! It was a relatively large three-bed house with an amazing view. Kua pau te 15 tau, a kua huri te ao. Unfortunately, my husband and I decided to separate, so I'm now living as a single mum, still working ` I work in IT - and bringing up the kids 50% of the time. Kei te hokona atu te whare o te whanau, na kua whakakao a Tash i tona whanau katoa ki te ruma kotahi. It's been hard for me to realise that actually this is gonna be one of those times in my life where I can't have it all. When I separated from my husband, I starting having to sort of reimagine what would life look like for us in a way that I'd never had to do before. Tash has no family living in New Zealand, so she's alone in working out what the best next step is for her and the kids. Whoa! Look at that. How cool is that? We're going through a lot of life changes at the moment. We're homeschooling. They're having to come to terms with the fact that their parents are no longer together, and the four of us are sleeping in one double room at the moment. This place is wonderful, and it's been a great pause for us to sort of collect ourselves as a unit and look at what the future will give us, but it very much wasn't what I wanted as a long-term goal for us. You know, looking for a new home when you're a single parent with three kids ` that's a tough situation anywhere in the country. But what does this mean for Tash? Well, in Wellington, the average asking price for a new house is around about $760,000. And on one income, that is a massive ask. Because of her marriage breakup, Tash has to rebuild her life, starting with a better living solution for her and the kids. The most important thing is to create a life for the children that removes my dependence on a very stressful and very consuming career. One of the things that appeared quite a lot on social media was this concept of a tiny house, and I thought I would just have a look. And I saw a few videos of a family up in Hawke's Bay who are living as a family of five in a tiny house, and it sort of just made me pause and think, 'Well, actually, can you live with much less space?' E hau ana te rongo i nga whare iti i waenga i te hunga auaha penei i a Tash. E iti te whare, e ngawari te utu, a, he mama ano mo te taiao. Na te aha e ki a ai e whare iti? Well, technically, it has to be under 37m2, remembering that the average Kiwi home is 150m2. A, ki konei pea, ka watea a Tash ki te mahi i ana mahi. Engari ka pehea nga tamariki ki te whare iti nei? It's all very well as an adult being minimalist and getting rid of a whole load of your possessions and, kind of, choosing to live that way. It's a whole different thing trying to persuade three small children that they don't want to hoard, you know, all of these precious things that they collect on a daily basis. Ki te heke te rahinga o tona kainga, kaore e kore he timatanga hou ma Tash. Heoi ano, ka aha nga tamariki i tenei nohonga hou? Are you guys gonna have a problem with having a little bit less space where we live? No. No? And what're you guys gonna do with all your toys? Maybe we could have our own cupboards under the stairs. (CHUCKLES) What, like Harry Potter? I found one particular builder whose designs just really resonated with me, and what really blew me away was how much time they'd put into getting every last little bit of space out of their designs. (AMBIENT MUSIC) Built to the same standards as normal houses but at a fraction of the cost, it's too good to resist. Tash is hitting go on her custom-made tiny build. So, the cost of the tiny house is just over $100,000. I am paying a little bit extra for the solar panels that I'm having put on. Engari me whai taunga tonu a Tash mo te kainga nei. He iti noa nga whenua paparahi e toe ana ` koira e kino nei nga utu whare ki Poneke. Who's that? Is that Pugsley or Wednesday? Hia hou tenei mo te whanau katoa, a, kei te hiahia a Tash kia whai wahi nga tamariki ki nga whakatau katoa. Yeah, so this was sort of them putting their own little stamp on the tiny house and what it is they wanted to have in there. Alfie's main concern was that his beloved goldfish had some space in the kitchen. Esme's main concern was that we have fantastic chandeliers up in the space. I haven't managed to break it to her that we won't actually have chandeliers, but, um... Olive, she wanted her rabbits to be up in their bedroom. Um, again, not entirely sure that's gonna happen. No reira, kua kitea e Tash i tetahi taiwhanga taunga waka. We're gonna park it in a place just outside of Wellington. Technically, it's Karori, but actually, it's zoned, sort of, Makara. And it's actually a property owned by my friends Kirsty and Quinn, and it's this huge property, and they're very kindly letting me rent, you know, a part of that property to park the tiny house on, which basically means it's in this wilderness just outside of the capital city. There's wild boar on-site. There's wild goats. There's quail. There's all kinds of awesome bird life as well. Huro ` kua whai taunga ia mo te whare, engari he whenua nawa. No reira me tu motuhake te whare ` he wero ano tena. The house is gonna have solar power. It is going to use rainwater collection, and it will have gas bottles. No reira e pehea ana nga tamariki me tenei nekehanga hou? So, this is where the tiny house is gonna go. Hey, look, we've got a hot tub. Hey, look, they moved the hot tub for us. Oh, yeah. What do you think? I think you'd have to clear it out. (CHUCKLES) What I actually found was that it took for me to say to the children, 'You can't jump on your devices here. You can't just sit there and watch TV. It doesn't exist here,' and they were fine. And that gave me a real sense of peace and a real sense of ease that the choice to move out there actually is the right one and is a good one for them. That's the site sorted. Now Tash is going over her plans in the tiny house show homes. Kei Katikati a Tash, me ona matua e tirotiro ana ki te whare iti hou. Taihoa ake. He aha nga whakaaro a nga matua ki tenei tumomo kainga? Of course, the item was going to be challenging in terms of space. 'My parents, you know, still live in the UK, in Gibraltar. 'So they actually came over here for the first time since I moved over here, and it's been, you know, 'really hard for them being so far away through all these, sort of, changes.' Do you have a window there? Yes, I do. You don't seal this here? WOMAN: Yes. It's sealed from in behind. My dad spent his career working in construction, so he's given them a pretty hard ride. So, he's sort of gone over them with his professional brain engaged. OK. So, sort of, coming from a position where he was really worried that his` you know, his child and his grandchildren were gonna be living in this little tin shed, and 'oh my goodness', he saw, you know, the designs. He saw, sort of, how amazing a space they are and the kind of quality of the build. Yeah. That picks that up. Yep. Exactly. Beautiful. So, it's got little bits of that marrying that. E whakaae ana. Ka pai hoki! Ka pehea a Tash? He kokiringa whakamua, kao ranei? I'm... overwhelmed, actually. I'm overwhelmed by how amazing it looks and, yeah, found it quite moving to be here and realise that this, in a few short months, is gonna be the space that I have with my kids. It's stunning. It's absolutely stunning. It's a fully functioning house. The kitchen has a washing machine, oven, fridge-freezer, dishwasher. There's gonna be a really small log burner in there. They're so well insulated and double glazed. I a ratou e whakarite ana i te whare iti, kei Karori a Quinn raua ko Kirsty e whakarite ana i te urunga waka kia hou mai te whare hou o Tash. They're so supportive, and they've been so helpful in working through logistics. I te ra nei, kei te kite nga tamariki te whare iti mo te wa tuatahi. Ka pehea mehemea kaore ratou e rata ana te whare hou? That's your bedroom. It's your bedroom. (INDISTINCT CONVERSATION) Huh? (MUMBLES) Stars on lights. There's gonna be lots of lights in your eyes. It's so awesome. He take nui mo tenei whanau te hunuku ki tetahi whare iti. But there's still a long road ahead before it can happen. Literally, it's over 600km from sunny Katikati where it's been built to the wild bush on the outskirts of Wellington. (PENSIVE MUSIC) Where we're moving to, it's pretty wild weather-wise. It's sort of right out there, where you start really getting hit by some of the wilder weather. Taki iho mai te 12 haora kua tae mai te whare hou o Tash. Engari tirohia te ahua o tena urunga motoka. Ka taea ranei i tetahi whare toro tana taumaha? (TRAILER GRAUNCHES) are now back to $5! Your favourite Value pizzas all with fresh dough, sauce made from vine-ripened tomatoes, and our mouthwatering mozzarella. Now back to $5! At Domino's. Straight from the freezer to the oven, our fillets make a quick, nutritious meal. Flaky fish coated in a crunchy crumb ` that's what makes them taste so good. After the breakup of her marriage and sale of the family home, Tash Garcia has taken the giant step of converting to tiny house living to gain a more affordable life, more time for the kids and less clutter. I'm overwhelmed by how amazing it looks and have found it quite moving to be here. It's good, isn't it? 'Just night-and-day different to where we are now, which is sort of really suburban.' (TENSE MUSIC) Engari e kore te whare e neke ki te kore te whare e uru ki te urunga motoka i karori nei. (ENGINE REVS) (TRAILER GRAUNCHES) (GASPS) It's doing damage. (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) It is what it is. There's nothing we can do about it. It's gotta get up here. We'll move over a little bit and get back to probably about here... and then we'll start blocking it up, eh? OK. Kei te hapai a Kirsty raua ko Quinn i a Tash ki te kokiri whakamua i tenei haerenga. When you go forward, we'll hopefully get the back wheel up on the block,... Yeah. Yep. ...and then we'll just put some planks through. (TRAILER GRAUNCHES) Yeah. Whoa! (TENSE MUSIC) Whoa. It's never easy. He tata ki te 2.5 mita te rahi o te whare, ina hoki he mahi te nuku I te kainga ki runga ra. It leans slightly, so I'm just hoping that it doesn't donk in at the top. (UNSETTLING MUSIC) He 8 mita te roa o te whare hou, a, kia orite hoki te rahi o te whenua. (EXHALES) How are we looking on that side? Yeah. 300 mil or 400 mil ` buckets of room (!) (LAUGHTER) Fine (!) (OPTIMISTIC MUSIC) Four weeks after moving in, I'm in Wellington to find out if Tash is keeping her trademark positivity intact. What is life really like for her and the kids in the tiny house? Ko Karori te hapori nui rawa o Aotearoa. Karori means 'snare rope', and it's known as this really amazing place for wildlife. E ai ki nga korero koinei, te pataka kai o te iwi. 20 mineti te roa o te haerenga ki ro motoka mai i te taone ki Karori. E rite tonu ki tana haerenga o mua, he pai tera ki a Tash. This is pretty much where the city ends and the country begins, so I'm gonna need a little bit of help getting there. All right, let's do this. (INSPIRING ELECTRONIC MUSIC) He motuhake katoa te ngahere ki tenei wahi o Karori, ina te rerehua. Kia ora. Hello. Mm, how are you? Good, thank you. Welcome to our home. CHILD: Hi. (GASPS) Awesome. Tiny house. Wow, yeah. This is it. Te whare iti ` the tiny house. Yeah. It is incredibly, incredibly beautiful. Something tells me these are not normal stairs ` ehara i te arapiki noa. You're absolutely right. So, one of the ways we've kind of cheated a bit of extra storage is with things like this. (GASPS) I know. Excuse the wonderful folding of their clothes,... (CHUCKLES) ...but each of the kids has got one of these stairs, and that's basically their wardrobes. Awesome. The biggest thing for me was this unit. This unit, my parents got when they first got married. Aw! I know. And they gifted it to me when I moved into my first house, and it's been in every house I've had since. So, kind of, finding bits of furniture that, you know, we could kind of use and sort of tuck things under and in and all the rest of it was really important. If that was at my house, that would have 14 spare batteries,... (CHUCKLES) ...a broken light bulb and a pair of pegs, you know? Like` Yeah. There's always a draw that kind of has` Yeah. Yeah. So, it was, kind of, being really brutal about that kind of stuff as well and saying, 'Well, really, 'when was the last time we used this? Really, do we need it?' There are four humans in this very small home. Ka moe ki hea? Who's gonna show me their room first? Go` Hang on. Let` (CHUCKLES) Me. Go on, Es. You show her that way. (CHUCKLES) OK. Oh, you're fast at that. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. She's had a lot of practice. Esme,... Yeah? ...is it nice living out here in the country and getting to have animals around? Yes! Yeah. Yeah. Usually, we bring the bunnies in and then play with them. OK. So, remind me the bunnies' names again. CHILDREN: Pugsley and Wednesday. 'Esme and Alfie share one room, and Olive and Tash share the other. 'I wonder how that'll work long-term.' Do you know I had a rabbit called Thursday? Engari ano te kopapa, ka taea e nga tamariki te puta ki waho tonu i to ratou whare hou. Look at all these pine cones. No reira he pera rawa te pai o te noho tuawhenua? All of my power comes from the solar panels on my roof. I do have a generator for backup just in case, but it is a real change in mindset. So, I'll put the dishwasher on in the morning when there's plenty of day left for, you know, you to replace the power that you're using. You know, it just makes you think a lot more about, kind of, working with your environment. Mm. We could all do a bit more of that, eh? (BOTH LAUGH) What about`? I mean, you talk about this being a haven for your kids, but what about for you? He pehea mou? He aha nga painga? I love it. I absolutely adore coming back here in the evenings and just being able to put some music on or just listen to, kind of, the birds that we get over here from Zealandia and listen to the river and just relax. You know, as an end-of-the-day thing, it's perfect. So, would it be fair to say that this place has been quite healing? Very healing. Absolutely. Because it just felt like everything I'd dreamed of, everything I'd wanted, you know? Not just aesthetically ` you know, I love how it looks ` but around what it meant, what it means, you know? It is absolutely our space, our safe space. (GENTLE ROCK MUSIC) Ka tahi te whare ko tenei. You know, we are brought up with this dream of owning a big, beautiful house, and I reckon there needs to be other solutions. So, if you're willing to take each day and make it an opportunity and turn the whole thing into an adventure ` which is what Tash and Alfie and Esme and Olive are doing ` then perhaps tiny house living could be for you too. Mauri ora. Next week on Moving Out ` a lifestyle block that's become a lifestyle trap for a mother and son. To keep it looking beautiful requires a lot of effort. The work is really kind of just` It's endless. A massive mortgage prompts heartbreaking decisions. It's hard. (CHUCKLES) Bye, handsome. Will selling push them to breaking point? That's frightening me. A medical couple on an ambitious mission... We wanna be mirrors or examples to young Maori rangatahi around the country. ...committing to five moves in as many years. It's important to have good communication in every marriage, otherwise you get in trouble. So, are they prepared for the emotional toll it will take? (BRIGHT MUSIC) (GROUND RUMBLES) Captions by Kristin Williams. Edited by Chelsea Brady. Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019 ALL: He mea tautoko na Te Mangai Paho.