Sometimes I cringe when someone asks me where I live. Places where land values have soared way above mine. As a new teacher, I was heading to Morwell, and my grade one class, after a weekend at home in Ashburton. Little did I realise as I walked back to this dark, cold place that it would be my future home. My in-laws lived a sustainable lifestyle in the old European tradition, living off the land and buying only staples such as flour, sugar and salt.