Where's Best to Live in NZ and what do we need to know: PART TWO!!!

[AngryBeaver]

Wow,have just gone to post and it wouldn't except it! So have had to start a new thread. Hope everyone finds it ok.I feel a bit like we've all been out for the night and somehow got seperated and no one has their mobile!!
Anyway,this was the question I've had to cut and paste from the old thread:...

Sorry,have had a quick look but can't see...has anyone used emirates?
I think the sky couch thing looks good,but we'd have to buy a couple and that would be pricey.
Dh reckons Emirates are fine,but I don't think he's anticipating how different it's going to be travelling that disatnce with 3 exhausted infants.
He has limited travel experience as it is and the longest he has been on a plane with them is 3 hours. He keeps saying it will be fine,they'll sleep for loads of it...somehow I'm thinking this will not happen!!

Just think, you'll be in your new house in time for Xmas!

Re holiday homes/motels/saving money, have you checked out bookabach? Eg this place in Te Pahu is $125 per night:

www.bookabach.co.nz/baches-and-holiday-homes/view/8050/locale/waipa-district

Or there are a couple of baches near Cambridge for $130-150 per night (although if you were to stay for a week plus you could probably get a discount).

Yes, look at bookabach. Many do discounts for a long stay. We know people who own a bach in Northland and they give big discounts for a long stay of over a week. Worth contacting the bach owners and asking, at least you'd be in a house with rooms rather than on top of each other in the motel.

By the way, glad to hear that Hamilton gardens and zoo are good, we are passing through Hamilton for few days in the summer hols on our grand camping tour of the middle bit of the North Island!

I've just realised wee Brodie needs a passport so that's the focus for today. Got ds1 with me today cos of the strikes.

So Auckland questions - dh's company says they'll pay 4 weeks accommodation on arrival - not sure if they sort it for us or we choose it yet. After that we're on our own.

Ds1 is 5 so will need a new school-schooling is really paramount for me. All of mine are boys and we'd need a family area with good (free) schooling. I know it's a bit premature but I'd ideally like to think forward to senior school just in case. Dh would be CBD and I should imagine whatever work I find will be the same. North shore seemed appealing but concerned about the commute. I'd seem areas like ellerslie, Epsom, etc? Googled a cute school called cornwall park a few months ago - very different to the victorian hogwarts that ds1 currently attending. Where would anyone advise we scout about when/if we get there? We're quite urban and do like a coffee shop.

Ok lollystix where you live is going to depend quite a lot on what amount of rent/mortgage you can pay.

My first thought is somewhere in the inner suburbs, which surround the city centre. Ponsonby/Grey Lynn/Mt Eden/Parnell/Herne Bay/St Mary Bay/Freemans Bay all surround the CBD and afaik all have good primaries. They are all very nice areas with cafes, interesting shops etc.

A lot of people move to be in the high school zone for Auckland Grammar, it's a state school that has some of the best results and one of the best reputations of any school, private or state. Mt Eden (which is in the zone) is v nice, I rented there for years. Prices are high though, reflecting the popularity of the school (and the area as a whole) The Grammar website will have the zone map on. Another very good high school is Macleans which is further out to the east, bigger commute to the CBD though. If Sibble is around she may have more advice on schools as her dcs are school age.

Ponsonby/Grey Lynn to the west of the CBD are a bit more arty/left-field kind of areas in the people who live there, Parnell and Remuera to the east are a bit more moneyed/traditional (that's my impression anyway). A bit further out from Ponsonby are Western Springs/Westmere/Point Chevalier which are slightly cheaper, still less than 10 mins drive from CBD (maybe more in rush hour tho) and are good areas too. Pt Chev is the only one to have a nice sandy beach!

To the east along the coast from the CBD are Kohimarama/St Heliers/Mission Bay, all v nice, I think primaries are fine. I think the high school out there wasn't great but is much better now (Selwyn?)

North Shore also has a rep for mainly v good schools (primary and secondary, well there's intermediate too from 11-13 but I won't go on about that now) but the commute can be a pain.

These are probably the "nicest" suburbs but Auckland is so big and spread out there are loads of others that are perfectly nice, Mt Albert, Sandringham, Balmoral, St Johns, Meadowbank...I could go on but a lot depends on your budget. And how long you are prepared to commute. And whether you want to rent or buy. And probably other factors too!

Justabout-north shore would be my preference but I'm just worried about both us working and the commute and the logistics of school and nursery pick ups. I have it sorted here as I do it all on foot and we live really centrally. Where are you heading for in the shore?

I hadn't even thought about budget yet and I need to as I won't be working for the first few months I should imagine. Is it true council tax equivalent is included in the weekly rental price?

It's starting to sink in a bit- we're happy but typical me is starting to panic about all the admin stuff we'll need to sort. How much are visas and medicals by the way for adults and kids? The company is only paying for everything for DH with a £500 shipping allowance so we have to pay the rest.

I can already see dh is starting to fret about his parents - they don't know and he thinks his mum won't make the trip out to visit. She's youngish but she won't really do more than 4 hours and can't be parted from SIL for more than a day. She'll be devastated and were both dreading that conversation.

Trying not to get too excited though as I still need to pass a medical. I'm find but what with my weird neurological blip 6 months ago I may be deemed a write off.

Justabout - what age are your boys? Have you got schools sorted?

We live in the Eastern Bays. There are two high schools here- Selwyn which doesn't have a great reputation but I understand there have been a few changes in the last couple of years so it may be better by the time our kids are old enough. The second is Glendowie college which has a much better reputation. Primaries are generally good.

I love the bays- it depends how much you want to live by the beach though as this is an expensive area. I'd estimate a 3/4 bed family house (i.e not a townhouse on 300ish m2) would be 800-1.2. Glendowie is popular because the planning laws don't allow as much subdivision and you tend to get a full section so a bigger garden.

HTH. Whatshesaid gave a pretty good round up on the other areas.

I don't know enough about the Shore to post on schools etc but most of it is very nice and good for families. Closer to the sea is more expensive but even in an inland suburb you will still only be 10 mins (or less) drive to a beach. Loads of lovely beaches up there. The only areas I have heard are slightly "less good" are Beachhaven and maybe some streets in Birkdale and Glenfield. Apart from that you can't really go wrong.

Thanks for all the tips ladies - I'd heard to stay east of the motorway for the shore too. We knew folk who'd moved there from where we are but they slated the commute and said a bit 'cliquey'. They've just gone to Oz after 5 years.

We'd be renting- we sold in January and have been floating in the UK in our mouldy, mouseridden rental trying to get NZ fixed up.

Can anyone tell me-I have to work-if DH got the visa through a 2 year plus work transfer, would I get a visa allowing me to work too for that duration. It would be all off if I couldn't work as we couldn't afford it.

I agree with the areas whatshesaid has flagged but also agree alot will depend on your budget. Personally I wouldn't do the commute from the North Shore unless you can do it by ferry although alot of people do, so again that's a personal choice.

We looked at both Auckland Grammar and MacLeans for ds1 for year 9 (he is age 11 and just completed year 7 (Intermediate)). Check out both websites. Both do Cambridge exams which is a huge plus IMO. Auckland Grammar from what I hear is very academic and suits very academic children, others can get a bit lost and find it hard going. I know quite a few children who are at and have been through MacLeans as we live not too far away. We may move into the school zone so ds1 can attend. Feeder schools are all great. Howick, Mellons Bay and immediate surrounds are great but tbh if you are both working in town the commute may be too much. Dh works in town but leaves at 6am to miss the rush hour. We are early risers . I leave after the school drop and avoid the motorway, taking other roads.

Not sure this has been terribly helpful but keep posting once you have narrowed areas down. Am sure somebody can help.

lolly - yes Council tax (called Rates here) is always included in rental price - the house owner pays, not the occupier. Also insurance of the house, but not the contents. You pay electricity, gas (and possibly water if they charge separately for that in Auckland - in Wellington its included in the Rates).

You should be fine to get a work visa too - see here www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/worktemporarily/requirements/Familystream.htm

Have a look around that website more generally - it may well answer some other questions you have on costs etc.

HTH

I'm a bit [shame] no one pulled me up on nationwide, I should have said National of course!!

Can't advise too much about Auckland sorry water is metered separately and is expensive apparently (but I would say that wouldn't I ) to be fair the people saying that do have a pool!!

We have friends in Devonport/Parnell/Remuera which are all nice but don't sound like what you are looking for
the only other thing to say about schools are to check if they offer sibling priority (if out of enrolment zone) not universal here and if you are thinking about secondary to maybe choose somewhere in the middle of the zone not on the edge in case of shrinkage!

Hi to cousin BTW I was wondering what had happened to you

Water is metered separately where I am - our last few bills have all been virtually the same - $100 for 6 months - we're fairly frugal with water but not that frugal (no pool here, maybe when we win Lotto )

We're on tank water so can't help.. Costs nothing in theory but power bill huge due to filters, pumps etc etc... every time we use water the pump kicks in and the power bill goes up...

Will be following this thread with interest!
I lived in New Zealand from 1998 to 2003 with (now) DH and have been back in my homeland since. Considering a move back to Auckland in the next few months and am a rollercoaster of emotions.
We lived in St Mary's Bay back then but unlikely to be able to afford there this time round! Think the Eastern bays might be the best option, school-wise, but it all depends.
O

Sibble - I googled the eastern bays and it seemed to be about 15km out of the centre. Is the commute really bad? We're both going to have to work to afford it (and to keep me sane - had all 4 today and by 3pm I was losing it- no car, 3 degrees and dark by 3.30!) and I'll have to do double drop offs at school and nursery before work. I'm spoilt as I can do it on foot in an hour just now. I'm probably getting ahead of myself and over thinking it.

AB- did u sort your butter?

lolly - There is another Eastern Bays on the north shore- is that the one you were looking at? I think St Heliers is about 10k from the city centre. If you were working there the bus may be the best option. Have look at maxx.co.nz for times.

Oh I'm confused - I was meaning the howick area and round there- how commutable is that? Is that 15km away?

North Shore (East Coast Bays) resident here. Relocated from UK 25 years ago. 3rd kid just finished school. East Coast Bays is beautiful, housing quite expensive, although depending where you are coming from in the UK maybe not so much!
Some parts of Birkdale and Beachaven are OK, some not so much, don't know if that's any help :)

Sorry-shattered baby brain. Re-read and I'm getting sibble and OliviaLs posts confused.

Good sign if you're still there after 25 years! It's certainly not cheap but for akin to where I'm renting a mouldy mouseridden 2 beds and a box ground floor cave with shared garden on a main road it's fairly comparable so, in theory, it should be fine. That's one of the motivations behind the move BUT I do have a job here and I won't for a while in NZ due to ds4 currently stuck to my boob. Bless-he's broken his PB tonight-5 hours consecutive sleep. 5am here and I feel like a new woman.

Is there much room for negotiation in rental ? Or does is it so competitive it goes for the price on the tin? Likewise cars?

Ah, Eastern Beach! Just to add to the confusion.

Rentals have been tight here- particularly in Auckland central. Some places have been going for over the asking price but hopefully it will ease now the RWC is finally over.

Generally though you can negotiate on stuff like cars, rentals and washing machines.