An Alexandra couple that own an international software development company, say Central Otago has by far been their favourite place in the world to live.

Natalia and Matthaus Panferova moved to Alexandra in 2023, and bought an old house with some land on the edge of the town.

 “It felt like a quiet town with friendly locals. I noticed there were many community groups and activities to get involved in, and a diverse mix of people living here. 

“The weather is good, and it feels like a safe place to live,” Natalia said.

She’s been impressed by how much goes on in the town, and how active the locals are. 

“Alexandra felt like a good balance: not too big, not too small, and close enough to the airport, which is important as I travel a lot for work.”

Having had just flown in from Singapore where she had been at a conference, Natalia was on her way to Finland the very next day for more work - after talking to The Central App.

Their company Nil Coalescing Limited was founded in 2022 and the couple specialise in building apps for Apple platforms, including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, as well as writing books about software development.

Natalia enjoying some downtime at The Blue Lake in St Bathans. Image: supplied

Natalia grew up in Russia and studied foreign languages at school and University. She always wanted to move away, travel, and explore the world to find the right place to settle.

After finishing University, she moved to Ireland and worked as a French teaching assistant, before meeting her UK husband. They lived in different places in Europe including Berlin, Paris, Lisbon, and Saint Petersburg.

“We were looking for an English speaking country to settle in, as English is the only language we are both fluent in. 

“My husband received a job offer in New Zealand, and we were fortunate to both obtain work visas quite quickly, which made the move feel like the right decision.”

They spent five years in Christchurch and then moved south to Wānaka, before finding their perfect home in Alexandra.

“It is an old house, over 100 years old, that used to be part of an orchard before the town expanded in that direction. It has a lot of character and history, as well as a garden, which we really liked.”

Natalia said she learned her skill of software development through attending online university courses in Paris, followed by a software development bootcamp in Portugal.

She worked as a software developer in several companies, including Verizon Connect in Christchurch, Apple, where she worked remotely from New Zealand, and Trade Me. 

After leaving Trade Me, Natalia began focusing full time on her own business, personal projects, and writing software development books, with occasional contract work. 

She also speaks regularly at technology events and conferences in New Zealand and overseas.

Locally, Natalia has already been quite involved in the community, with the Alexandra Women’s Football team, and the couple recently designed and built the new website for the Alexandra Community House. 

Natalia and Matthaus have big plans for their property and their new community.

“Alexandra is my home now, and I would like to live here for a long time. We are currently renovating our house and planting out the garden, making it more like us, and that alone will probably take a few years. 

"Central Otago is by far my favourite place out of everywhere I have lived, and I would like it to be my permanent home.”

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