Water Lily

ü = Alt+129 (number pad only)

Reading this thread with interest as we are flying out to Auckland on 16th October (only booked flights yesterday!) and don't have anywhere to live yet...

Schools are not an issue for us as we don't have kids, so we are pretty much free to live anywhere we want. We will be renting to start with, so any advice on rental agencies would be great.

OH has been browsing googlemaps and some pages on Auckland and likes the look of Whangaparaoa Peninsula, does anybody know the area?!?

Good luck with your search kazzie, and sorry for hijacking your thread , have done the same to Riverside if that makes you feel better

lardyl

what do you want to know about Fangaparoa ?

Best place to look for rentals is:
www.realenz.co.nz/
www.open2view.co.nz
or trademe.....

Then get hold of the local papers when you arrive - Hibiscus Coast is Rodney Times and North Harbour Times. They have lots of ads.

sarah1990

browns bay is gorgeous i think its one of the nicest scenarys on the NS

Wellington Will

Yes, defininitely live in Wellington. You can make it to Auckland in an hour by flying - if you really have to leave ;-)

jo_hedge

I'm living out at Waiuku on the Awhitu Peninsula. Is commutable to Auckland. Very small town, super community feel. Not too many problems. Lots of fab beaches, as one coast is Hauraki Gulf (therefore swimming) & the other is west coast (for all you surfers). Great place. Nearby Pukekohe good for big shopping. Housing much cheaper than many Auckland suburbs. Schools good. Only drawback is - there's plenty of Poms living here

pricklykina

I like awhitu vey much and try to get ou there for a weekend every 6-8 weeks!

Anyway Balmoral. Lovely area...used to live there. Nice schools. They're a wee bit un multicultural for me. I prefer my schools with a bit more of an ethnic mix. But we all value different things.
Avondale college used to have a great...like really great...rep. Whether that's the same currently.

louloumama

We are doing heaps of research into areas/schools etc at the mo and have found this web site quite useful... From what I can see it is the NZ equivalent of the UK Ofsted report.... .

http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/publishin...tent/Home+Page

Maybe not as good as personal recommendation and insight but it is a starting point.

L x

sam423

hi
were british,moving from stunning costa brava area because season is too short here,been here for 8 years now and seriousley thinking of moving to nz next year,why r u moving back here?

lardyl

what do you mean by "the season being too short" - you're not thinking of coming to NZ for the weather? I'd research hard on that one first before giving up Spain for NZ

sam423

There is no work around the area,weve worked on campsites for years,but the problem is that the towns r dead apart from july and august,they are the only 2 months of the year when anybody can make any money.its mainly coz of the bad weather,if the weather was better then the season would last longer as the customers would flock into the area thus bringing work
we could go down south ,but dont want to be anywhere near 'costa del crime' or scummy benidorm.we have been spoilt by the beuatiful coastline of the costa brava,but we have to flee every winter in search of work.
we want 2 buy a house and settle down somewhere
we r thinking of nz coz theres no language barrier,so easier 2 find work and love the look of the scenery on google earth,and have not heard anything bad about the place.
WOULD NEVER GO BACK TO UK

Cheesehead

Maraetai is absolutely gorgeous. Right on the coast, feels quite remote but only about 40 mins to CBD but half the commute is through the countryside so is just a pleasure. Or else you can drive over to Pine Harbour (about 5 mins) and get the Maxx ferry to the CBD in 30 mins. Great beaches, lovely cafes, a fab primary school. WE LOVE IT.