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Living overseas

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Original poster

Anyone in Christchurch?

62 replies

beansmum · 19/07/2008 20:02

I know there is someone, but I can't remember who.

I'm moving there in Jan and starting to think about looking for somewhere to live. It's a bit early yet but I want to know what's available and I was wondering which areas I should be looking in and which I should definitely not. Ds will start school over there so even nice areas might not be suitable if they don't have decent schools. Any advice? or should I just but this? (I wish, I'm going to be renting, max $200pw)

OP posts:
Original poster
beansmum · 04/08/2008 20:24

Don't be too much in awe until you see if it actually works! This could be the biggest mistake ever.

you are all being so helpful, thanks!

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twentypence · 04/08/2008 21:25

You can factor in a few meals at my house, ds is 5 and would love to play with your son.

I work very near the uni once a week - I could bring cheap veggies from the market garden next door.

MrsJohnCusack · 05/08/2008 11:19

the uni preschool looks lovely (have been past it a few times)

I'm really glad you're going for it, but similarly impressed.

Original poster
beansmum · 05/08/2008 21:36

Another question, what does school type mean? Some say contributing and some sya full primary, what's the difference. Also, if you live in the enrolment zone can you definitely go to the school? Can you still enrol if you are outside the zone if there is space?

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yawningmonster · 05/08/2008 22:14

not sure what contributing school means but full primary is one which goes from new entrants (5yrs) through to intermediate (12ish) instead of just through to what used to be called standard 4 (10ish). You can go to schools in your zone but most out of zone schools do a ballot system for children outside their catchment who want to attend eg they will take zoned kids first then if there are spaces still available and you have your name down you may get a space but it is not guaranteed iykwim. We will be in an awkward position next year as our zoned school is bursting at the seems, the proposed new school won't be finished before ds starts and the out of zone schools are very hard to get into because of the overflow from the local school if that makes sense.

twentypence · 06/08/2008 01:27

If you live in the zone, you have to be able to go - even if that means building a new classroom and hiring a new teacher. New Entrant classes are only allowed to have 18 students so lots of schools are putting up partition walls to make 3 classrooms into 4, as with 18 children you don't need the space you would for 25-30.

A full primary goes to high school age year 0-8, contributing means you leave at year 6 and go to intermediate. If you go to a full primary you can still leave and go to intermediate school, and the reverse is true, it is usually quite possible to go to a full primary for years 7 and 8, because some students will have left.

Out of zone places are balloted, with Trustees children, siblings taking priority with everyone else after. You have the advantage of only having one child, so at least you wouldn' be in a position where one gets in but there are no guarantees for the others.

You have to factor in travelling to an out of zone school though, and also consider that you can move once your child has started.

I saw a one bedroom flat in Ilam advertised at $180, but even more impressive a 2 bed flat with heatpump for $200.

Original poster
beansmum · 08/08/2008 20:34

aaarrrrrrrrgh. I'm stressed again. the whole point in doing this move now, while ds is so young, is that I want him to go to only one primary school (not 7) and one secondary school (not 3). But I can't afford anywhere near a decent school. aaaaaaaarrrrrrrgh again. tell me primary school isn't that important anyway and he'll be fine anywhere. please. He'll be 9 when I graduate, so we can move to a nice area then and he can go to an extra good secondary school to make up for the crap primary education.

I might find something I suppose, I'll have to wait and see...

(what is a heatpump anyway?)

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yawningmonster · 09/08/2008 06:24

I can check on this but there should be a couple of schools in the area that you can get into and again from what I have heard most of these are fine. I know friends daughter will be going to Ilam School which they seem to be happy about. Medbury is very good but costs a bit I think. There is also ST Teresa's, don't know much about this one other than it is Catholic. There is also Middleton Grange which I think goes right through but could be wrong. Heatpump is basically a reverse refridgerator..it transfers heat from outside and pumps it into house...ie basically a heating system...will definately need some form of heating in christchurch, our winters can be fairly harsh and our houses are not always adequate for this.

yawningmonster · 09/08/2008 06:35

Found another one Westburn School in Waimairi Rd. I guess it depends on where abouts you get your place to live on where you will be zoned?

Original poster
beansmum · 09/08/2008 08:34

I really want him to go to Ilam school, it would be so handy for uni and sounds great, but it gives me a pretty limited search area for flats. But I have a new plan, find a really crappy little flat for a year then meet another single parent student and get a nice house together in second year, it might happen!

I think I was a bit panicky last night, I'm sure there are loads of good schools but if we end up with a not so nice one for a couple of years it doesn't really matter anyway. I was so certain that I didn't want ds to have to move schools but if it's within the same city and for a good reason it's not going to be too bad.

Do houses that don't say they have heatpumps generally just have nothing then? So I might need to get electric heaters or something? We're quite tough, we'll be ok. We don't put our central heating on at all here even in winter. We do have double glazing and loads of insulation though.

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yawningmonster · 09/08/2008 09:26

Heatpumps are usually a selling/marketing plus so if they have one it will generally say so and vice versa. I do think you will be fine with schools, Ilam is the most likely one to get into as you will need accomodation near enough to uni to get there and back easily anyway. The other schools in the area while I don't know alot about them I haven't heard anything bad either if that makes sense so again it would most likely work out fine. You will probably need electric heaters if no heatpump we have just had our 3rd dump of snow this winter (though I am semi rural and sometimes our weather isn't quite the same as central). Double glazing and decent insulation were very lacking when we were flatting but it does exist in some places. As I said earlier in a post there used to be a student noticeboard that advertised rooms available in flats and there were certainly 2 or even 3 single parent shared flats when I was at Uni so I think you will find something. If you are coming in January that should give you enough time to look around before your lectures start hopefully

yawningmonster · 09/08/2008 09:27

Also if he does get into Uni preschool and then into Ilam, alot of his preschool mates will move through with him rather than starting over again with a new set of kids which i quite like the idea of,

Original poster
beansmum · 09/08/2008 09:35

Yeah, me too. He's only going to be at preschool for a couple of months, it would be nice if he didn't have to start again with a whole lot of new people so soon after arriving. If some of the preschool kids were moving with him it would make me feel better anyway.

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yawningmonster · 09/08/2008 09:40

I agree...can you actually put his name down for Ilam before you leave so that even if you don't end up in zone he will be on their lists and may have a good chance of getting in anyway??

yawningmonster · 09/08/2008 10:05

Also you have probably looked into it all but with student loan and allowance, you should be able to get top ups for accomodation expenses, depending on your residency you may also qualify for assistence with WINZ (they also will provide a childcare subsidy for low income earners which may help out if you ds needs more than the 20 free hours. The 20 free hours sometimes has a 'top up' fee also depending on the childcare (I pay 1.50 an hour top up)

Original poster
beansmum · 09/08/2008 10:06

hmm...maybe. I'll look into it, but I'm guessing I would need to be living in NZ for him to count as a domestic student, they take fee paying international students too and would probably put him down as one of those.

Any idea what burnside is like? There seem to be a few 2 bed houses just outside my budget there, but I could maybe scrape another $50pw from somewhere.

Are you sick of my questions yet? I promise I wont go on like this for the next 4 months!

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Original poster
beansmum · 09/08/2008 10:11

accomodation benefit is less than $60pw. Not much really. The uni preschool doesn't do the 20 free hours, but I can get a WINZ subsidy of about $3 per hr. I think I can anyway, I am a NZ citizen and as far as I can tell there isn't a requirement that you have to have lived in NZ for a certain length of time before claiming like there is for some benefits.

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yawningmonster · 09/08/2008 10:25

I think you are right about the WINZ due to being a citizen. I haven't lived in Burnside but it seems quite a nice area to me, not sure where your ds would be zoned for school but could look it up easily enough. Not sick of questions bring em on...am more than happy to help if I am being helpful

twentypence · 10/08/2008 10:44

Burnside is a good area with good schools - people move to be zoned for the high school. Westburn school is very good, I know a couple of the teachers from there (I am on the relieving list but have never been available when they want one). I have a friend who is a single parent part time uni student with one son who goes to Ilam - they didn't live in the zone when she got him in. They do take children from outside the zone if they can, they take a lot of gifted children for instance.

You only have to live in the zone when he starts, then you can move. Not much the school can do really.

MrsJohnCusack · 10/08/2008 11:27

what twentypence said - BUrnside good area and good schools. I am pretty sure you will bne able to get all the WinNZ subsidies (they are pretty generous)

there are aren't that many really crap schools in ChCh as far as I can make out.

my friend from playgroup is a single mother and belongs to a great single mothers' group at the Baptist church where the playgroup and our preschool is based (we are not churchy - they don't seem to care in the slightest). she might know about networks etc. and about finding other single mothers who are studying/looking for people to live with etc - I could ask her if you like?

Also if you need lifts/help etc. when you move over, I am very happy to help, am mostly SAHM at the mo so am around a lot of the time.

and on the heat pump theme, I wasn't convinced they were that good. Then DD broke the switch on ours and fused it, a man came and mended it and WHOA - it is boiling. I am a total convert

Original poster
beansmum · 11/08/2008 14:57

MrsJC - any advice from your friend would be great, thanks! Thank you so much for your offer of lifts etc. I think I'll be fine, but you never know!

One more question! I'll stop soon.

Is there anywhere good to buy second hand furniture/kitchen stuff/fridges etc? I'll need to get a couple of things so we have something while we wait for our stuff to get shipped over. I might buy a couple of mattresses too, and just ship the bed frames over. I don't think I want to sleep on a camping mat for 3 months!

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twentypence · 11/08/2008 20:20

Trade Me for big things.

For plates etc. then SuperShed is it. Fill a bag for $2. You may even find something valuable in amongst it all!

Big Foam matresses for Para rubber would be okay in the short term. NZ matresses are not as nice at the cheaper end of the market as the UK ones!

Could you get a furnished place/room to start and then move when your furniture gets here?

MrsJohnCusack · 11/08/2008 22:14

SuperShed can be genius. I have fab 60s chairs that cost me $2 each. you have to rifle through a lot of crap but it can be really worth it (and I'm sure they;'re getting more fussy - they actually turned down L's sofa when they moved 20p!)

Trade me has loads and loads of stuff, as can the Saturday edition of the Press. That always lists all the garage sales as well - there are stacks every weekend. The Sallie Army shops have furniture too and there are lots of them (and they'll deliver for a small fee if you need them to).

there's a city mission shop in Sydenham that has absolutely loads of cheap as anything china/cutlery/kitchen stuff. actually ChCh has stacks of fab 2nd hand shops

twentypence · 11/08/2008 22:52

I have a set of plates and some cutlery that you can have. Nothing wrong with them, just not enough for 5 people to eat off them simultaneously.

I also have a single matress that is surplus to requirements and very clean, just didn't fit ds's new bed.

Also old toaster that's a bit slow...

Oh goodness it's embarrasing how much perfectly good stuff is in my garage. I never got around to putting it on trade me.

MrsJohnCusack · 12/08/2008 03:18

come to think of it I hvae a perfectly decent dining table and 6 chairs in my shed that you could have or use until your stuff comes/you find something (I'm not actually sure what I'm keeping it for, for the days when I have a dining room and eat in kitchen presumably . It's a bit old fashioned, that's all)

you are welcome to it if it would help!