WHERE'S BEST TO LIVE IN NZ AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO KNOW: PART 5!

[AngryBeaver]

Look at us Chatty Cathy's!
Justa oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
(I'm not sure )

sibble. So sorry.

So sorry to hear that Sibble. It's hard to lose someone, even if they have had a long and wonderful life cos we still miss them. Be kind to yourself.

Wow, lots to catch up on. I usually go straight to "threads I'm on" to see if anythings been added but for some reason it's saying nothing has been added since a few posts after my last post here.

Anyway hope you all had a fab Christmas and new year. We saw the fireworks from the sky tower. Not that great I thought (or maybe it was the wine) Dp was back at work yesterday and has left me with a horrible cold looking after 2 whingy boys with horrible colds, Bleurg.

House hunting at the moment, it is not going well.

Will catch up at lunchtime when the clingy snotty monsters aren't hanging off me and have gone for a nap.

Take care everyone.

Oh sibble, I just read, I'm so sorry.

Sorry there's probably going to be a few posts from me while I catch up.

vvv if you do end up deciding you want to do some regular babysitting let me know. Our's has gone back to uni now so need someone else. We paid her $16 a hour from 8-2am and the boys are always in bed asleep before we go. We need one Friday a month.

Are you house hunting to rent or buy, xminerva?

Just rent. We've seen 8 or 9 so far. They either been $500pw and under and way too small or really grotty, or $700 and more and bloody gorgeous but too expensive.

We need something around the $600 mark. At least 3 beds and a fully fenced section. That's not being too fussy is it? Because it feels like it at the moment

Oh, Sibble, my condolences.

Around the Bays really, Browns, Mairangi, Murrays, Torbay, Long Bay, Pinehill has been added to the list.

Got a few promising ones to look at this week so fingers crossed.

Thanks everybody, no I'm not going back for the funeral but am seriously considering moving back at the moment. We've been here 10 years, had fun but at the moment family seems more important than our lifestyle. Trying not to make a knee jerk decision and realistically would have 2 houses to sell (unless we rented them and rented in the UK). Looking at jobs, areas, schools etc....

If we do decide to go it won't be for ages and I'm not going to make my mind up for a while.

On another note - funeral booked for 25th - peak season by all accounts with a Christmas back log - my Mum says we might get one sooner if they get a cancellation - sorry not really dead, my slot is free!?

XMinerva - we certainly saw some in the bays area for 600ish and 3 bedrooms (we were looking for 4). But what we did find is that some stuff never made it to trade me or the estate agent websites. I called in to a lot of offices & told them what I was looking for. I often got calls about houses that weren't online yet.

The first time we looked was around this time last year - and we were told that one of the reasons that houses were moving extra quickly was that people were trying to make sure they were settled into school zones by the start of the school year. If you have any flexibility on when you move you might find things get a little less crazy after February.

Wow, Sibble, what are your dh's thoughts about moving back to the UK?

Well, that's very selfless of you, sibble.
Would dh support that decision? He is originally from Hamilton isn't he?

xminerva, yep I suggest going in and being very nice to the agents (take children with you for extra ahhhhh factor!)let them know what you are looking for. We found ours by being on good terms with a lady in the office and she called us first with the house we are in now, before it had gone online.

It's two boys isn't it sibble. Is one a teen? I was wondering the same.
Must be so difficult to wrestle with this kind of stuff.

scroobiouspip was going through the same if anyone remembers? She hasn't been back on here in quite a while, I often wonder if she is still in Welly, or decided to return to the Uk to look after her parent/s.

I am supposed to be baking at the moment. We are having guests at 10 am tomorrow.
But, I have had a long day at a shopping centre with all the children, resuting in a severe case of ICan'tBeArsed-itus.

That can't be an easy decision to have to make Sibble, anything can happen at anytime to make us realise just how far away we are from everyone and I dread that time coming to us. I'm sure whatever you decide, you would have thought about it a lot and it'll be the best thing for your family and you. I'll be thinking of you while you do.

Got a house to see this evening. A new 4 bed in our price range. Small garden but it's fully fenced and we don't need anything massive so can cope with that. For a 4 bed house though, the living space looks tiny. One room for the kitchen/diner/lounge. Half the house is taken up by the integral garage which I kinda think is a waste of space myself. Still, it might be perfect.

Here, tell me what you think. house

I've contacted another one in Mairangi Bay which looks great size wise and got a huge fenced garden. Just hoping they get back to me.

The living space does look a little small - although sometimes it can be a bit deceptive when there's no furniture in there.

Where is the 4th bedroom? If it was downstairs then it could maybe be used as an office/playroom/TV room which might take some of the pressure off the living area a bit?

It does look lovely though...

I agree the living room looks small...you've probably seen this on your searches but this in Bayswater

www.trademe.co.nz/property/residential-property-to-rent/auction-543638967.htm

looks really big. Mind you, the living room is hideous and the kitchen dated. But lots of space! Though a bit above your budget.

I've just been watching some Wanted Down Under programmes on YouTube, I've never seen it before. The look on their faces when they see some NZ houses is hilarious!

And from Bayswater you can catch the ferry to the city - takes 10 mins I think.

That bungalow looks lovely WSS. And actually, I don't think that kitchen is too bad lol.

Bit above budget though. The reason we want $600 or less is so we are able to save for a deposit. We want to buy eventually so really going to have to start saving. We were only renting in the uk too so had no property to sell or anything.

Oh, I heard one of those was set in S Heliers. How did you find them on youtube WSS? I've looked but no luck.

I just searched for Wanted Down Under and loads came up, most are in Australia but a few in NZ. Most of them are looking at houses on the Shore and are amazed that their 3 bed terrace in Liverpool can't buy them a mansion here

We live in one like the bays water one - just as dated. It's big but cold and drawers don't shut and the bathroom makes me weep (Lino and urine from 5 men do not mix well when Lino is poorly fitted). Saying that after a few weeks of horror you get used to it.

Other one looks a bit small on the living space front.

We have found house we like. Solicitor not back till Monday - is it worth doing building report prior to solicitor commenting on the papers?

XMinerva - did I say COLD - DH and I cannot do another winter in the Spider Shack. Check re heat pumps - summer now but seriously come May it starts to turn.