Charlotte originally hails from Basque Country, which is located west of the Pyrenees and straddles the border between France and Spain on the coast of the Bay of Biscay. Her heritage makes her truly international with her paternal grandmother being Italian, and her grandfather coming from the North East of France - close to the German border. Her maternal grandparents are from the Spanish Island of Balearic in the Western Mediterranean sea. Even her mum was born and raised in French Algeria before it gained independence in the early 1960s.

Growing up, Charlotte admits she wasn't the academic type, after leaving school she went on to study garden design at university. After graduating she wanted to work in a space where she could protect and nurture natural spaces like forests and lakes. Early on, she discovered there were very few jobs in this space so she pivoted to focus on garden design and landscape opportunities. 

During her twenties she went to the UK to learn English and work as a landscaper. She ended up spending a year in Brighton on the South coast where she also learned the art of dry stone walling! 

Towards the end of her twenties she decided she needed to apply for a working holiday visa. Charlotte had a friend who was based in Christchurch so she decided to head there first. Soon into her time in Aotearoa COVID-19 hit, and of course - the lockdowns! During the first lockdown Charlotte was traveling around Wanaka with friends in her van - thankfully they found a cheap place to rent while the restrictions and mandates were in place. This also meant Charlotte's visa was extended to compensate. Once the restrictions were lifted she relocated (on the recommendation of another friend) to Mount Maunganui where she now lives with four chickens, one dog and three other housemates. 

Since moving here she has taken up surfing, life drawing and hand reading!

She initially found work with Tradestaff at Bark, who specializes in looking after residential and commercial grounds and gardens around the motu. It wasn’t until her visa was about to expire that they asked her if she’d like to stay and they would sponsor her - she, of course, said YES!

Charlotte is now the Regional Manager for Waikato and Bay of Plenty working closely with her team and clients to ensure operations run smoothly. She has 10 team leaders who report to her, her mahi now is focused more on operations, project management and HR. Charlotte splits her time between being on the road with her teams and clients and Basestation where she can catch up on the admin side of things. 

Although she describes herself as an introvert, Charlotte enjoys the camaraderie with other residents at Basestation. We also have two other french speaking residents here and Charlotte says it’s always nice at lunch times being able to speak your mother tongue with them. 

If, like Charlotte, you have a job that includes elements of being ‘on the road’ and ‘office based’ - but you don’t have an office, why not try coworking at Basestation! 

We offer a variety of options ranging from hourly hot desk to hot office rates to monthly or annual desk and office contracts. Come and visit us at 148 Durham Street, Tauranga for a tour and kōrero.