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Place To Live In Wellington

Place To Live In Wellington

Old Jan 10th 2003, 4:12 pm
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Question Place To Live In Wellington

Hi all!

I have a job offer at NZ, particularly at Wellington. I would just like to know where is the best place to live in Wellington. I came across a lot of info from the net but I think nothing beats the info coming from guys who actually live in Wellington.

I hope you could share some of your ideas about Wellington(i.e., good/bad place to live, expensive/cheap houses locations etc.) and give important facts and info about Wellington..

Thanks in advance!
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Old Jan 11th 2003, 1:34 pm
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Default Wellington

On previous posts Upper and Lower Hutt were mentioned as being bad areas. I was told Brooklyn is meant to be a buzzy, young area close to the centre of Wellington? We need Travelling Kiwi to pop up with info..


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Old Jan 11th 2003, 6:56 pm
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Default Re: Wellington

Originally posted by twinkle
On previous posts Upper and Lower Hutt were mentioned as being bad areas. I was told Brooklyn is meant to be a buzzy, young area close to the centre of Wellington? We need Travelling Kiwi to pop up with info..


Twinkle

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Yes Twinkle, your message confirms what I thought I remembered from a previous posting. Unfortunate too if true, as some of the nicest, most reasonably priced houses I've seen listed at http://www.Open2View.com are in Upper and Lower Hutt (some gorgeous views! But maybe one has gorgeous views just about anywhere in Wellington?). Perhaps someone would explain why these are 'bad' areas??

PC - try a search on 'Wellington' in this forum. But your best bet would be to go to:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...ington.general
and post your question there too. (This is the people who actually live in Wellington). Try nz.general (http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...=Google+Search) and soc.culture.new-zealand (http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...re.new-zealand) as well - a lot of these people also live in Wellington - post a question or do a search...

By the way, have you decided to take the job?? Good luck to you!

Cheers, TA

Last edited by Black Sheep; Jan 11th 2003 at 7:06 pm.
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Old Jan 16th 2003, 3:43 am
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Question

Hi all,

Anybody who is currently in wellington and can help us out? Why is the Upper and Lower Hutt described as "a not so good" place to live in..

Thanks in advance
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Old Jan 16th 2003, 4:23 am
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Was down in Welly last weekend - if you're after a nice place to live in Wellington, Mount Victoria is v nice, a 10 min stroll to the city. Eastbourne & the suburbs on the other side of the harbour was v nice as well. Not been to the Hutt however I know it has a similar reputation to Manukau in Auckland (ie higher crime rate, downmarket etc)
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Old Jan 20th 2003, 8:53 am
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BritboyNz,

Thanks for the valuable info..... I guess I still need someone who can tell us why Upper and Lower Hutt is a bad area to dwell in.


Thanks

Val


All,

Any idea about ngauranga???? What kind of place is this... thanks in advance

Cheers!!!
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Old Jan 20th 2003, 9:02 am
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Default

Originally posted by pcbengr
BritboyNz,

Thanks for the valuable info..... I guess I still need someone who can tell us why Upper and Lower Hutt is a bad area to dwell in.


Thanks

Val


All,

Any idea about ngauranga???? What kind of place is this... thanks in advance

Cheers!!!
You could try sending a PM to emmyandphil on this Forum as they went out to Wellington to settle and might have an insight into best/worst areas.

Lizzie
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Old Jan 20th 2003, 11:42 pm
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Default Where to live in Wellington

Hi every1

i am a wellington lad, just got back from 3 years in sydney.

congrats on picking wellington - its a gr8 place to live.



Best places to live? well depends on what kinda lifestyle you want. if you want to be nice & close to the city where all the pubs & cafes & niteclubs are, then wadestown, thorndon, oriental bay, mount victoria, newtown, brooklyn are all very nice suburbs. u can walk into the city in about 10 minutes. there are ads for sharing houses or renting ur own house (on wednesday & saturday) in the Dominion Post which is the daily paper here.

the hutt valley? this is a middle class area. so its ok. nothing special.

suburbs a bit further out that are nice are karori (about 10 mins by bus), khandallah, eastborne (can catch ferry to work across wellington harbour) & johnsonville which is more of a family suburb with kids.

wellington has an awesome sports stadium (westpac trust stadium). super12 rugby is starting in late feb03 so thats always fun. rugby sevens is on feb 7th which is a good excuse for a party.

wgtn is a beautiful city. its harbour is surrounded by these scenic hills. you can walk everywhere as its nice & compact.

all the best pubs & niteclubs are in courtenay place. defintely check out "The Grand"

te papa is nz's interactive museum where u can bungy jump, shear a sheep & see what a big earthquake feels like.

if ur into theatre, wgtn has 4 of them open 365 days a year.

well i have to fly.......feel free to sing out if any more questions

PS> i liked ur barmy army at the cricket in sydney


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Old Jan 21st 2003, 8:35 am
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Jaffa30

Thanks for the reply - loads of info. We want to live in a suburb that has good schools for the kids but close enough to the city centre so WE can enjoy ourselves. Must brace myself to look at house prices in these areas.....

Thanks

Twinkle
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Old Jan 21st 2003, 7:16 pm
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Talking Re: Where to live in Wellington

Hey Jaffa30,

You forgot to mention the 20 or so earthquakes they will have to endure each year. ha ha

I wouldn't recommend the Hutt Valley at all. Sure maybe Lower Hutt is middle working class, but its neighbour Upper Hutt is definitely a scummy suburb. Someone in another post commented that the Hutt Valley is similar to Manukau in Auckland. I have to agree.


PS; does Jaffa30 stand for 'Just another F**ken Aucklander" or is it the sweets??
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Old Jan 21st 2003, 9:55 pm
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Default Earthquakes

Bloody hell 20 earthquakes - I thought they were just tremors. I suppose the big one is coming as well. Christchurch was also on my list......

Twinkle
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Old Jan 22nd 2003, 12:53 am
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hehe

Jaffa30 is because I am addicted to the Jaffa sweets!

yeah we have a few earthquakes, you just have to make sure your glass isn't full at the time so there's no spillage!

i wasn't recommending the hutt valley either. i'm in oriental bay which is very close to the city, so i'm a bit biased. everyone has their own personal tastes about where they want to live.
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Old Jan 22nd 2003, 12:57 am
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PS. there's not 20 quakes each year. probably about 7 or 8 and most of them are tiny.....only last about 1 second (but can still cause some spillage if your glass is full!)
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Old Jan 22nd 2003, 10:31 pm
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Default Re: Place To Live In Wellington

yes righto then, another perspective - insight if you like, i did live in upper hutt & mt cook(inner city suburb) for a year - 1996
wellington is an interesting city with a real diverse mix of people - govt. (hospital/education/politicians), immigrants, students, punks & various misfits. but all that adds to it's identity and culturally wellington has plenty to offer.
but then there's the weather..it's not my first choice of destination but i know plenty of folk who love it. this place can get some persistently grotty weather - it's very exposed to the cold wet southerly winds. the city itself is very small, squeezed into a bunch of steep hills at the end of a large natural harbour. much of the wellington suburbs are spread beyond those hills eg johnsonville, the hutt valley, & further out petone etc etc. but despite the geography it's a fairly easy place to commute into/out of with decent hiways from the hutt valley & northwest johnsonville right into downtown.
lower hutt (15 mins drive around the harbour) is traditionally an industrial area, the hutt valley is probably the cheapest area to purchase housing, a lot of it is very basic state housing (govt owned) as there used to be various govt training facilities out there along with the trentham army base.
this area is far from comparable to manakau which has an entirely different population base.

as for cheap housing there's always a good reason in wellington for example;a lot of the housing in wellington inner suburbs is pricey for what you get because it may be run down after being rented to students for years, vic university & the polytech are both quite close to downtown and the lots/sections are small
then there's Island Bay -extremely exposed to the prevailing nasty southerly winds - but if you lived in a place on the south hills of island bay the stunning views of south island mts could perhaps make it worth your while.
basically i don't think there are particularly good nor bad areas to live in, i'd suggest rent in the city initially, get yourself a car and take your time checking out the other areas til you find what suits
just don't try finding accomodation around january/feb - students will be doing the same thing
oh yeah.. - good luck flying into windy wellington too...

Last edited by travelling_kiwi; Jan 22nd 2003 at 11:47 pm.
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Old Jan 23rd 2003, 12:00 am
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Default Re: Earthquakes

yep tis true there is a fault line underlying wellington
i've experienced a few there, sure can shake the house - just remember hop into the doorway, o'course if you're listening/watching the media you'll likely be warned of any big rumbles
but then seismic activity happens elsewhere eg amberley (near chch) ..it rolled across the fields exactly like a gentle wave on the ocean with just a momentary shudder as it passed under the house...
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