Toby and Marianna moved to the Far North in 2014, initially housesitting as a kind of trial period and then, once they were convinced they wanted to stay, looking for a lifestyle block in the Mangonui area with the intention of building their own home. Before moving north Toby and Marianna had been living in a central Auckland apartment successfully building corporate careers (Toby in the media industry and Marianna in environmental law) but yearning for a more balanced lifestyle with more freedom to pursue their varied talents and interests. Both having numerous strings to their bows, they were confident to take the leap of faith and make it work one way or another.

For Toby, moving north gave him the time and opportunity to transition from working in radio to launching himself into the voiceover industry. Toby had spent years recording the voices of others as a studio sound engineer, but it wasn’t till he and Marianna made the clean break from Auckland and set time aside to give things a go that he was able to successfully launch his voiceover career. From that point on he has gone from strength to strength, gaining a wide range of high-profile corporate clients and cleaning up at the British Voice Awards (Toby is English born), winning Voice of the Year for the last two years running. https://www.tobyrickettsvoiceover.com He works remotely from his custom-built studio with clients and ad agencies based all over the world from London to New York to LA, but can still find time to build their new eco-home and man the local St John’s ambulance as an Emergency Medical Technician. 

Marianna initially retained ties with Auckland, working remotely for the law firm she had left and flying down to attend hearings and important meetings. However, she soon realised she preferred to keep her attention in the North and worked with Toby to launch a real estate photography and copywriting business http://www.viewnorth.co.nz . This has given her more time to progress her interest in establishing a permaculture garden – that would enable them to become increasingly self-sufficient – and raising their son, Forrest, who is showing all the signs of becoming a budding nature enthusiast. When she can, Marianna also volunteers her time and expertise to various conservation groups and she has a view to moving back into that sphere professionally at some point in future.