To think Auckland traffic won’t be any worse than London? (Any Kiwi experience welcome!)

[yarpole]

Posting here for traffic (haha - no pun intended) - and hoping some New Zealanders may see this.

I am about to relocate to Auckland, as I have a job at Greenlane hospital in Epsom. We have primary school aged kids and had been considering renting a home in Takapuna, for schools, beach and community feel. However my relocation consultant (based in Auckland) has expressed shock at the commute it would involve and is encouraging us to look at a more central suburb.

Google maps says the drive at 7:30am would be 30-35mins. I would then need to park somewhere and walk to the hospital, so figured whole journey would take 45mins, maybe an hour on a bad day. I currently live in London and this would not be an unusually long commute. Is my frame of reference for a “long commute” just different from a local’s, or am I being ridiculously optimistic, and in reality the commute would be worse? I keep being told horror stories about Auckland traffic, and the bridge in particular.

Would really appreciate views from anyone with recent experience of Auckland, even better if you also know London!

Hi Yarpole,
I'm from the UK and used to be a sales rep in South London. We live in East Auckland these days, but we used to be based near Hunua which is south of Auckland. That was a beast of a commute.

The traffic in Auckland is surprisingly bad. Public transport is also not in the same league as London. The trains are slow and there is no Tube. Buses are okayish, but if you get stuck in a heavy Auckland downpour (like a torrential, tropical monsoon and common all year round), you won't be in a fit state when you get to work. Parking is expensive. I would check to find out if they are going to charge you to park at the hospital. Just like London, free parking is a massive perk here.

Remuera/Epsom is one of the more expensive areas, so you might want to consider Meadowbank. It has a nice primary school and a community feel. If you are going to buy eventually, think carefully about high schools, as a good state school in NZ is better than a lot of private UK schools (I work in a state school and the facilities are awesome!). Epsom Girls Grammar and Auckland Boys' Grammar are both state schools and highly regarded, but you need to be in zone. This makes the zoned area a very expensive option. If you don't need to be in this zone, as your kids are still young, there is no point paying for it.

Takapuna is lovely, but I wouldn't go there unless you are working in the CBD. Any further south than that and the commute will be horrible. There is no alternative to the Harbour bridge, so if there is an accident, it's game over. The other thing to bear in mind is that, although you have a high tolerance for commuting now, once you move here, work/life balance becomes really important. I spent two years commuting 1.5 hours into the CBD and it just wears you down. Most Aucklanders would rather be out on their boat than wasting time sitting on the motorway (that's a generous description of the main highway).

If you want coastal lifestyle you can get that in St Heliers or Kohimarama, which are very popular with expats. My brother lived in St Heliers for a couple of years and it has a nice local feel and cafe culture.

Feel free to message if you need more info. We went through the same process as you 8 years ago, and it would have been really helpful to have someone to ask about these things.