kazzie

Hi, after doing some research into some negative threads a while ago, can anyone recommend a good quiet area to live near Auckland, with good schools and walking distance of good swimming beach. Don't want to be bothered with boy racer noise/gangs etc. I have also read that the north shore beaches should not be swum in after heavy rainfall because of a sewerage problem, which sounds offputting. I know there must be some areas worse than others and some positive threads about the good places to live would be appreciated. We would not want to live in the city, but not too remote either. Looking for a 4/5 bedroom house around 700,000 NZD with a decent sized garden. Hubby needs to commute into Auckland CBD. Good senior school needed. Nowhere in this world is perfect at the moment, and everywhere seems to have a problem with teenagers and bad behaviour. I would hope New Zealand, with it's smaller population and fantastic scenery can overcome these problems and give our family a better life for years to come. It is good to go there with your eyes open to the problems and be fully informed about the good and bad. Any help on the best areas would be appreciated. Thanx

NZBee

For this type of lifestyle you are looking for, I would suggest the North Shore. I belive there a great schools there, and also some lovely swimming beaches.
To name a couple Devonport, Takapuna, Milford..... maybe other people will know better areas on here.
As for house prices, I am not sure quite what you can get for your budget there, but I do know house prices seem to be coming down in Auckland due to the credit crunch hitting the US and having a knock on effect here (predicted!)...so if you can wait a little you could get a great deal??

Nerine

Depends what you mean by a good school really. There are some sought after schools on the NS but you'd really have to judge yourself as to whether they are suitable or not.

Try the western fringes of the NS perhaps - Greenhithe and the area around Albany Junior High School which has a strict in-zone policy. It's also close to Kristen if you decide to opt for private education.

Living with walking distance/view of a beach is highly desirable in the Shore so you may be rather surprised to see how dense the housing is in such places, you're also likely to pay a premium too. Anyone with a garden near the beach or in a sought after school zone is quite likely to have built a house, or two, in it.

Nerine

For example - this is the googlemap for Browns Bay, take a wander round it.

This is the one for the Greenhithe, Paremoremo and Whenuapai area

SarahB

We are told here that after heavy rain you shouldnt swim in the sea for 24 hours.... I think thats just normal, not just NS. The water quality is checked at the beaches every week throughout the summer and you should check what the board says before going in.

We live out East... its pretty nice here.... not sure what the commute to CBD would be like though from here..... but, you could catch the ferry that goes from Pine Harbour into Auckland CBD several times a day. We bought an older house and got 1/4 acre which the original size section for Beachlands.... newer houses here will be on smaller sections.

If you've not been to Auckland before you will be shocked how closely the houses in the city are packed in together. We drove through Flat Bush the other day and the houses are so close that I reckon you could shake hands with your neighbour if you leaned out the window. Not for us at all. We lived in Auckland for the first 2 weeks here and I hated it... lovely house but so hemmed in.

Couple of sites for you to look at.....

http://www.pineharbour.co.nz/

http://www.pohutukawacoast.co.nz/w/Home-0.html

Good luck!

lapsed kiwi

Orewa and the Hibiscus Coast would fit your requirements; you can still get a good house and garden here for your budget. Travel to the CBD is under an hour in rush time if you use the park and ride at Albany. The beach is great, we had a nice swim there this evening after I got home from work.
Orewa schools have an OK reputation I think (my kids are too young still) and there is a bus to Kristin if you want to go private.

chocolate cake

Pohutukawacoast looks a nice area, do you commute into Auckland from there or lucky enough to work close by?
I ask because I'll be working in the Mount Wellington area of Auckland (Carbine Road) but am looking to live further out. However from what I've seen so far of the traffic in this area, I'm certainly not looking forward to the commute.

Ex Aucklander

Hi Kazzie,
We moved here in 2001 from Spain. Although we are Aussies. We live in Mission Bay 7km East of Auckland. As roads are not good here no motorways & even though our population is only 1 million certain areas are difficult to commute to work from. http://missionbay.co.nz is worth looking at. As for real estate take a look at http://www.trademe.co.nz/ for property for rent & for sale. It is an online auction site a bit like Ebay but very popular here. Feel free to ask any questions.
We are heading back to the Med next year, we find NZ not to our taste.

Ann

upandrunning

Walking distance from a beach and an easy commute can cost well in excess of a milion dollars(Takapuna and Milford). However with the new busway (www.maxx.co.nz) you could look at the shores East coast bays(torbay, Browns Bay) but even then I'd say a 15 min walk to beach. Westlake boys is good, girls not so. Rangitioto college(co-ed) massive, very good reputation (lots of asian students very hard working and clever, ups the standards ) 2 private schools Kristin and Pinehurst,good, but not very good.
Have a look on trademe.co.nz for properties for sale, it often gives more prices than those on realestate.co.nz.

Raquel

Hi! You said that Orewa schools reputation is OK. Do you know something about Orewa College? Thank you

garryhg

Hi we are in east Auckland,and its nice here...We are in Cockle Bay,but if you are looking for best schools(especially college)I would say Eastern Beach or Bucklands Beach,get yourseld in zone for McLeans College..they do the Cambridge exams there and is the best school for education round this area...

Has a fantastic reputation and is strict on standards..there is also Bucklands Beach primary and intermediate in that area if you are in zone which are both really good schools...and they feed into Mc leans(if you are in zone)...

we are about 5mins from Bucklands Beach and OH commutes to CBD every day,he leaves early in morning but takes him about 30mins,and he doesn't think commute is bad...hope this helps...jacky

garryhg

forgot to add,you have beaches on your doorstep here to..jacky

Raquel

Thanks the information, but the specifics question I wanted to know is the reputation of Orewa College. Have you heard anything about this place? Thanks

Spacecake799

Hi,

I live in Torbay on the North shore and can walk to the beach in 5 minutes. With your budget and the buyers market you'l have no problem finding a house. There is Long Bay college, Rangitoto, Takapuna and westlake boys/girls college to choose from. You really need to do a search on the schools and see what you think.

Good Luck

Carole

Nerine

We have friends who live in Orewa, they send their children down to Westlake to go to school. Another couple lives in Stanmore Bay and theirs go to Westlake and Longbay College.

There is a Christian school in Orewa called Kingsway that has a good reputation.