TeamEmbo

Hi all. Looks like we're heading for Cch afterall. TBH just pleased we're heading anyone in NZ - am getting fed up with this long, dreary process

We don't want to live in Cch itself and heard that Rangiora and Kaiapoi were great places just outside with a 30-40 min commute but we didn't have time to explore them so would love to hear from anyone there or who has been there, good or bad, and any info on schools, housing, shops, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks, Mandie & Mark

Apple12

Hello, just a quick question, do you have any clue as to where your job is based? Sometimes it makes more sense to base yourself south-west or west rather than north, depending on any daily commute you may need to do.
South there is Lyttleton, Governers bay, South west there is Halswell or Lincoln, west there is Rolleston, north is Belfast, Kaiapoi and Rangiora.

The traffic heading from Kaiapoi and Rangiora into ChCh city is, I think, the worst in Canterbury, so if you are commuting into the centre of town it can be pretty bad, albeit in NZ terms. If traffic is one of your bugbears in the UK, why willingly do it to yourself if you work in the city centre.
Be aware that bus services to the towns can be sporadic so it is pretty tough unless you have a car per driver in your household.

It depends too on what sort of stuff you like to do to fill you leisure time as to where in Canty you would like to base yourselves.

sky

I've lived in Kaiapoi and Rangiora and Rangiora is loads better IMO. There is a regular bus service now from Rangiora to the city center we're getting very civilised here now
Lots of folk have started car sharing too just to save costs but I know of loads of other folk who commute on their own and don't mind doing it ... small price to pay for living out of the city.
The townstreet here is lovely and on a night there's plenty of pubs and restaurants to go to, we even have our own little cinema which is about as big as a normal lounge lol so very cosy. We used to have this lovely outdoor swimming pool but it's been closed for the time being and they're building a new indoor one to replace it hopefully.
I wish we'd found Rangiora when we first arrived and had rented here from the off cos it just has a really nice feel and it would have saved us heaps of money.
You would prob be best to rent at first though just to see if it suits you, maybe you will hate it cos everyone's different aren't they

TeamEmbo

We're hoping to have time - about a week - to go round before OH starts work. We like what we've been told so far about Rangiora. Do you know if there are many places to rent there? or an agency I could contact with my short list of a million or so questions?!

TeamEmbo

Hi, thanks for all the info, great stuff! Not bothered by the commute at all, our main priority is finding the right area to live in for us as a family. We much prefer the country and as long as civilisation is within a reasonable distance that'll suit us. Don't know exactly where OH will be working in Cch and won't till we get there. We have accommodation for the first two weeks and have the first week to ourselves to go round and see where we like. The main thing is finding a good high school for the kids and then a house in that area I guess.
Thanks for all your help

Apple12

In my opinion, disregard please if you want to, it is much easier to do the scouting around and jobhunting if you base yourselves more centrally than Rangiora. If you don't know where the job will be, and this is your first peg in the sand, then if you start off within ChCh somewhere you will find it a lot easier to juggle appointments and interviews.

sky

Everyone will recommend Burnside High in the city center as the best you can send your kids to. My son goes to Rangiora high and is loving it ... you'll hear good and bad about the school but I am very happy with it. My son is very academic though so doesn't need pushing in any subjects and is in most top subject groups.

Any of the real estate agencies have rentals on their books and you can get a lot of house for your uk pounds when you first arrive if you bank what you have and use your interest towards the rent. We're in a rubbish rental cos of earning measly kiwi dollars now and we're trying to save whilst building our own house so weren't too bothered about renting anything flash.

I think you might quite like Rangiora

TeamEmbo

Thanks, I don't think I explained properly, OH already has job in Cch, but no definite location. Its good schools and nice area to live we need now!

Hang11

It does depend on where your job is to a large extent, I wouldn't want to commute into the CBD from Rangiora every day - the traffic can be a drag, same as trying to go from somewhere like Sockburn or Hornby to Sumner - my wife went from the airport to Mt Pleasant at 5pm yesterday - took her over an hour, it's normally 25 minutes, and there really isn't any need to have to do a painful commute, there's plenty of nice places in and around the city in all directions.

My top pick, for feeling like being outside of the city would be Diamond Harbour, Charteris Bay, Church Bay, on the Banks Peninsula. There's a regular ferry service to Lyttleton, takes less than 10 minutes, and buses from Lyttleton into the City Centre. The bus services in Chch are good, and cheap, and it's easy to get around using them, or leave a car at Lyttleton. It takes about 40 minutes to drive from Diamond Harbour into the city, if Dyers Pass is open, a bit longer if it's closed with snow/ice in the winter, which happens occasionally. I think Diamond Harbour is zoned for Cashmere High, which is pretty good. There's a great pub there, and it's got a lovely feel to it, close to the water, some stunning scenery, and some sensibly priced houses too.

Going West of the city, West Melton has some nice LSB's, posh houses, and is close to everything, gets more rural as you head further out, but can get a bit harsh with the wind when it gets up - Canterbury gets windy, and the NW'ly winds can really blow at any time of year.

Kaiapoi and Rangiora are nice too, but the traffic does get snarled up during rush hour. If you can work round that, then it's definitely worth looking at.

Apple12

Yip, I agree Hang11.

It depends a lot as to what you like doing as a family, and what sort of environment you would like around you.

Options such as: close to the beach, closer to the mountains for skiing and hillwalking, close to the Port Hills for mountainbiking, walking, lovely views.
A large garden, a new house, a plot for building your own house.
Walking/biking distance to work and school, close to malls, close to parks and swimming pools. Sailing, jetboating, kayaking.
Lovely views up on a hill, or an established feel, or a new subdivision.

There are so many choices, and if you add these to the location of your OHs job, then you will be able to narrow it down a little.

Christchurch and surrounds has a large number of good schools, if you choose one of the "better off" places to live, chances are there will be a good school.

If your OH gets work on the south side of the city, it would be madness to live in Rangiora, but maybe Halswell or Lyttleton would suit.

Sky, I am not trying to belittle Rangiora at all =) it is a lovely place, but I know for me working in Hornby, and my OH at the hospital in town, it would be a really silly place to live =)

Hang11

We live on St Andrews Hill, near enough to the beaches to keep me happy with surfing, 15/20 minutes to the CBD for me to get to work, 5 minutes for the OH in Woolston, 25 minutes after work to be fishing at the Waimak, lovely walks on the doorstep, hour and a half to two hours to be on a ski field, and a really good primary school just up the road. Suits us perfectly, although the high school choices could become an issue in a few years time, so we may end up moving to somewhere in a better school zone.

A lot of it will come down to budget for housing as well, and what you're after in terms of property. There's loads of new sprawling subdivisions, new houses, not much character (yet), but you get a lot more for your money, however, where we are is a much older suburb, so houses are mainly from 1930's to 1970's, and could need a bit of work, and the prices in various areas of the city vary hugely. Generally, the hill suburbs are average of $500k, you can spend a lot more. One of my neighbours has just been looking at a massive 10 yo "executive" home in W Melton, on a couple of acres, really nice, for $700k ish, but then there's some great suburbs in the city where you can buy a nice 3 bed house for $350k.

Places in good school zones like Fendalton can be expensive too, and different areas have such a different feel. We rented in Fendalton when we first got here, bloody hated the place, it's lala land, expensive, and quite cold too in the houses - built on a swamp apparently, and a lot of very up themselves people.

MandyB

HI, we live in Rolleston and I commute into the city centre everyday with no problems. I work just off Cathedral Square, it takes me approx 45 mins from leaving my front door to stepping out of the lift in work. No traffic really until you get to Blenheim Road, but then i use the back roads instead of the main highway. I also work with people who live in both Kaiapoi and Rangiora and it takes them approximately the same amount of time to get to work. There is no high school there as yet but i believe one will be built in the next year or two. Currently high school students go to Lincoln High, a school bus is put on for the kids and its only 10 mins away. I hear it is a v good school but can't comment personally as my son is still only 8 years old.

We find it close enough to just about everything we want to do with great view of the snowy alps in a morning. There are plenty of shops already there (with new ones yet to open) and only 10 mins from Hornby if you want more - 2 seconds for open countryside.

Hope this helps - better get back to work
Mandy

sky

Hey no worries
I don't have to commute but I know folk who do and they don't have a problem with it cos they love it out here. There are loads of other areas around the city which are lovely but I just feel more at home here than anywhere else I've considered and I absolutely love the townstreet.

TeamEmbo

Hi all

Many thanks for all your replies and advise on other areas to live, but it was specifically Rangiora and Kaiapoi I wanted info on. I know there are many other great places to live and many different things on offer and we have looked into some of them already and gleaned loads of info.

We certainly can't afford $500k home and being within spitting distance of the CBD isn't important to us. We much prefer small, homely, community, country feel, oh, and a nearby beach!

We may well be mad for considering somewhere so far out but Mabel, my imaginary friend, tells me that's where she wants to go!

Apple12

Hope your OH doesn't find that he is working out of Woolston then!
Good luck.