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Wanaka teenagers say a new youth centre operating in the town is filling a void while they are left alone as both parentswork because the town is too expensive to live in.The official opening of the centre, known as The Crib, was held on Saturday and about 50 people attended.Managed by the Kahu Youth Trust, The Crib is behind the Cinema Paradiso on the corner of Ardmore St and Stratford Tceand has been operating since February.Thirteen-year-olds Hannah Smith, Megan Munro and Nia O'Connor jumped at the opportunity to perform ribbon-cuttingduties with Wanaka Community Board chairman Lyal Cocks.The girls said they came to The Crib every Tuesday to play pool, badminton or use the computer.They, along with several other young people, had helped decorate the building with materials given by Wanaka businessesand the community."It helps us bond as friends and gives us somewhere positive to just hang out," Hannah said."Before this the only real alternatives were the supermarket or the skate park this is way better."Youth worker Kim Holmes said there were about 30 young people who had registered their interest in using the venue,which was open six days a week."While there are lots of outdoor activities for young people in Wanaka, there was a void for anyone wanting an insidespace."Wanaka does have a social culture of alcohol and drinking young teenagers want to socialise and they need a place wherethey can embark on their own projects, or just play pool or use a basketball hoop in a safe environment," Ms Holmes said.One 14-year-old said he came to the opening to "check things out"."We are always hearing that Wanaka is paradise. It isn't always like that sure there are heaps of adventure-type activitiesbut me and my friends don't do that much lots of parents work all the time because it's expensive to live here.""There's either no time or no petrol to get places. We need somewhere to hang out. It's a good thing that we finally havesomething like this there is nothing else."