mexnick

Hello All

I previously posted here asking for advice on living generally in the Auckland area and got some great advice. I was originally looking at the Titirangi area but am now possibly considering other areas as my wife has a job offer in Takapuna, the opposite direction to mine. So i'm basically wondering if people could provide advice on good family locations in Auckland in general, or perhaps more importantly areas we should avoid? We have 2 young children so would be looking for nice community, safe areas, not ultra urban. The kids love the beech but it looks like wherever you are in Auckland you're never too far from the coast.

Thanks in advance!

Nick

Bo-Jangles

Where was your job based? Was it somewhere south of the CBD? If so you need to have a fight with the missus to determine who is going to draw the short straw and commute over the bridge Anywhere on the shore will be great for her and less so for you. The shore is largely suburban has some nice beaches and generally becomes more green with some potential for semi rural living the further north you go but going further north will add more time to your commute if you are needing to get into or out the other side of town. The biggest limiting factor of course will be affordability and that probably will decide on which suburbs you can afford to live in versus which ones you would like. You generally would need to pull together $1m for a house on the shore.

mexnick

Yes my job is in CBD. I'm working on the assumption that it'll be me with the longer commute. I'm used to long, sometimes stressful drives to work so nothing new for me, my wife has been far more fortunate over the years so would probably be a big shock for her. There's always the option for her to move job I guess, i'll be contractually tied to my job for sometime as part of a relocation package they have offered me so i'll be commuting to the same area for a while. Would you the south of Auckland generally cheaper than the north or is that too much of a generalisation?

Moses2013

Bo-Jangles is right and like any larger city it will be what you can afford and not what you like. The best option is always filtering by budget on property websites and then checking what you can afford, or what's actually available.
There's no point if a millionaire tells you how nice their area is but you aren't a millionaire, or if someone who likes an apartment says property is affordable but you want a house with garden. You'll end up with so many areas that you might be even more confused, if you know what I mean.

mexnick

I have been using the web to look at affordable properties to rent in the general Auckland area which is why I am now more confused. Plenty of places come up within our price range but without having some idea on good or bad areas it's like being blind. I can look in a similar way in my area and find plenty of cheaper homes that look to be in a very leafy and tidy neighbourhood but I know they are bad areas where you would normally avoid living in if finances permitted. This was why I was hoping someone could list some areas to look at in particular or those to try and avoid.

I know that generally more expensive will be in 'nicer' areas but we are trying to find ok places on a moderate income, not such an easy task whichever country/city you're looking at without some inside knowledge.

Moses2013

Maybe if you give an idea of the areas/properties that popped up within your price range, people who are familiar with Auckland can give feedback which areas they would choose from that list. Like in every city there are also rental shortages, so if I would tell you that area .... is great it's pointless for you if there are no rental houses available, or it's just not within your price range.

Bo-Jangles

If your wife has a job on the Shore then to my mind it is a no brainer you absolutely need to live on the shore and not worth looking anywhere else if the commuting distance is the priority for her; all schools are generally good, excellent senior schools and no really bad areas. Some obviously less des res than others but all reasonably affluent and safe. For cheaper burbs closer to Takapuna look at Sunnynook, Glenfield, Beach Haven. As far out as Long Bay, Torbay, Albany are all easily doable for a commute to Takapuna (maybe 45 mins on school days) but will be longer journey for you. Bussing it to town might be an option for you but depends on where you need to get to (see Norther Express).

mexnick

Thank you Bo Jangles, that was exactly the kind of advice i was after. That has given me some good places to now start exploring!

many thanks
Nick

Justcol

Depending on where in the CBD you will be working, you may be able to use the ferries from Devenport , beachaven, birkenhead,

mexnick

Otahuhu is the area and i'll have use of a company vehicle, assuming some or all the ferries permit cars/trucks?

escapedtonz

Otahu is 20km's from the CBD and could take you an hour or more at the wrong time.
A wise Kiwi always told us to steer clear of South Auckland for places to live as it's a bit rough. I doubt it's any worse than some of the worst places one could live in the UK but I do agree that in relation to North Auckland, South Auckland is a little shabby. Luckily we managed to avoid the living in Auckland scenario as I managed to get a job offer elsewhere before we arrived.
No vehicles on the North Shore ferries. It is foot passenger only.
You can take vehicles to/from Waiheke Island but that's your lot.
You'll be hoofing it over the bridge twice a day if you have a work vehicle.

Bo-Jangles

No, ferries are foot passengers only.

Assuming you don't want to and probably could not afford to live in the city 'fringes' of Newmarket, Mount Eden and Ponsonby then you are going to have a very difficult time finding somewhere that sits between Otahahu and Takapuna. One of you is going to have a helluva journey; North Shore to Otahuhu could be 1 to 1.5 hours drive in peak times and you'll be spending a lot of time in the massive carpark that is SH1.

Moses2013

Even if some parts might be rougher in the UK, if you come from a small place like Hebden Bridge any larger city could be a shock.

mexnick

That's quite a sobering thought....have been using google maps to plot journey times from different locations to my work place and never seemed to be greater than 45 mins, even from Titirangi which is where i had originally been looking. I've tried this at commute times as well, i know google can sometimes be a bit out but didn't know it would be that wrong. I use it here all the time for driving around and google has generally been very accurate. If google is that inaccurate then that makes looking for a place to stay even harder! Back to the drawing board I guess, will start looking at places closer in to the centre and see what i find although not too keen on being located in the middle of a big city but i guess it is what it is.

mexnick

I'm not against being in a scruffy neighbourhood, I grew up on a council estate in London, have lived in large cities in Mexico and the US and my wife lived in Bangkok for a while so we're not country bumpkins but would certainly prefer a more chilled environment for all our family. From my experience big cities have lots of positives, just seems that generally you need a good wage to enjoy most of them.