Editorial: Look on the brightside of life | Manawatu-Wanganui Opinion | Local Voices from Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand

There has been a bit of negativity about of late. People are justifiably concerned about this city's declining population and the prospect of reduced maternity services in the area, plus there's the ongoing debate around the need for flood protection and who's going to pay for it all.

Looking at that, it would be easy to think that there's not too much to recommend about living in a small regional city.

But perhaps a better option is to pause for thought.

The release this week of an international index showing Auckland and Wellington as being among the world's top 20 most expensive cities to live is evidence that bigger isn't always necessarily better.

Auckland ranked 15th, and Wellington was two places back, ranked alongside London.

The survey compares the prices of 160 products and services, including drink, food, rent, transport and clothing.

There's no getting away from the fact that population trends and a city's prosperity are inextricably linked to job opportunities and economic growth.

Considering Wanganui's current situation, that might be cause for some measure of doom and gloom.

But it's worth remembering that, as the world's economic woes continue to bite, pay rates are struggling to keep up with the cost of living.

So perhaps it's not such a bad thing to be living in a smaller centre, where the daily cost of getting by isn't so steep.

Here in Wanganui, we're also blessed with relatively cheap housing, good schools and recreational amenities, and the sort of small-town spirit that thankfully is reasonably commonplace throughout New Zealand.

We have a thriving arts culture, we host the Masters Games on a biennial basis and, as the recent VCC Rally has shown, we have both the appetite and the aptitude to host other large-scale events in the future.

So let's not try and get too down about things. Sure, they're easy words to say, but so much about life is what you make of it, and here in Wanganui we have plenty of reasons to hold our heads high.

Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz