bdglm3

WE are thinking of living in Auckland suburbs and communting 45mins max to CBD any suggestions on location and can we still have the dream of living by the sea in Auckland. My hubby's job pays about $100,000. Is this doable in Auckland and still have a nice house to rent by or near the sea?

Bo-Jangles

Plenty of places you can live by the sea within 45min commute of CBD. However, not all jobs, in fact very few are within the weeny area that is Downtown and the CBD. We never go to the CBD unless we have to!!!

So don't get caught up in some ideas that the CBD alone is the be all and end all. There are work opportunities all over Auckland from the Airport to Albany and beyond. Where you live will largely be dicated by where the job is and quite frankly it's easy enough to choose where you want to live and then choose the limits to which you would travel from there for work.

GoingIn2011

Most suburbs are commutable to the cbd within 45 mins.
Where you can afford to live will be determined by your other outgoings, do you have any kids for example?

If you want to live by the sea then your best bets are East or North Auckland. Most of the beaches aren't swimmable in around West Auckland - the Manukau being a harbour.

We live in Torbay, North Shore and I can get into work comfortably in the CBD in 30 minutes. I currently pay $600 per week rent and will probably be looking at $800 per week for a mortgage when I buy here. So, that's 40k per year which is a fair chunk of 100k, say, especially when that will convert to about 80k net. Auckland will always be a squeeze if you want to live by the sea. There are plenty of areas that aren't too far from the sea which are quite a bit cheaper, like Massey, Albany...

sr71

Of course worth mentioning that wherever you live you will probably never be any more than 15 mins or so away from a beach

GoingIn2011

That's true - although most in West Auckland you're not allowed to swim in because of too high concentration of algae, and other stuff I should imagine.

bdglm3

This is really helpful, not to fussed about being on the beach but with a 10 min walk would be ideal. Hoping to get a part time job too locally as have 2 girls 9months and 3, is the childcare readily available?

jaybeenz101

Hi there,
I'm living in London, but from Auckland and soon to return. In answer to your question, I think some of the responses were a bit vague/inaccurate so thought I'd add my two penneth.

Being within 10 minutes' walk of the beach means you will pay a lot more for your house. When people say 15 minutes, they mean drive I suspect! Being within 10 minutes walk of a beach in a central area would be very expensive. You're talking St Heliers, Kohimarama, Mission Bay, and Pt Chevalier. These are all c. $1 million plus average house price areas. On the North Shore, prices would be similar in Devonport, Narrowneck, Milford, Takapuna, Castor Bay etc. Prices drop further up the East Coast Bays - you get a lot more for your money in Browns Bay/Torbay, but obviously your commute time increases. Out west, prices are much cheaper, but the beaches are surf beaches - still amazing, and you have 20,000 hectares of bush in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park to boot, but not the same as golden sand swimming beaches you get in the north and central areas.

I have no idea what the person mentioning about algae is talking about. The west coast beaches have a reputation for danger due to surf/rips, but not algal blooms. There've been a few accidents with people slipping on algae on rocks...but they can't seriously be referring to that I don't think?? I was in Auckland all through January, and am not aware of any algal issues now or in the past.

In my opinion, the North Shore is over-rated - as it has few parks (the biggest open spaces are golf courses), and the main attractions are the beaches. As a result, i think it's over-priced (I grew up there, and much of it is just normal average suburbia). Most of west Auckland on the other hand is on average under-priced - but much of it is just like the North Shore - e.g. Henderson/Glen Eden/New Lynn (western suburbs) are no different really to Glenfield, Birkenhead, Forrest Hill, Beach Haven etc. on the North Shore. In either set of suburbs, you're only ever 15 minutes drive from the beach. And we're talking 20 plus beaches within half an hour wherever you are.

Central Auckland is going mental price wise at the moment - house prices have gone above the 2007 boom peak in many areas. People are paying $800,000 plus for relatively small houses in central areas such as Sandringham, Mt Albert, Mt Eden etc. that were $600,000 only 2 years ago.

As something to consider - for approximately 15 years (1990 to 2005) NZ had major issues with 'leaky building' problems, due to a range of issues - changes to building methods, lack of qualified apprentices, use of untreated timber, poor construction methods - so this has put pressure on prices in areas where housing is older in particular (as they're more solidly built, have been standing safely for 60 years plus etc.) - and this is definitely the case in central Auckland isthmus area.

Oh the parts I haven't mentioned yet - South Auckland is a lot cheaper, but tends not to be nearer beaches. Eastern suburbs (eg. Bucklands Beach, Mellons Bay, Half Moon Bay) are pricey and further removed, but are cheaper generally than the central isthmus area.

Lastly, on an income of $100,000, if it's the only income, you're likely to only be able to borrow about $400,000 I think, so that's the main limiter. With 11 suburbs now $1million plus average price, for around $500,000 (including a deposit) you're limited to mostly 'average' suburban Auckland (but this generally still means a detached house, decent sized garden etc). The best deals are places like west auckland (i have worked and lived there, but also lived in central auckland, grew up on the north shore, and have done work across auckland, so am relatively unbiased I assure you!) - and out west, you do still have beaches, the waitakere ranges, and a plus most Aucklanders fail to recognise - a rail system to commute on, which is relatively reliable, relatively quick, and relatively cheap, even if it is on a small scale. You can live out in semi-rural Swanson for example, and still be only 50 minutes from the central business district for your daily commute. South Auckland also has the rail, but as I say, isn't endowed with beaches. There is no rail on the North Shore so you are limited to the park and ride bus system, or driving. You cannot cycle or walk across the harbour bridge, although there is an ongoing campaign to change that.

Anyway, I hope some of the above helps bring some real-world reality to your ideas, without squashing them! One last thing - Auckland is sooooo overheated price-wise. Wellington is so much better for what you can get (a character villa in a nice area in Auckland is 1-1.5 million minimum in most cases; in welly it's easy to get for $600-800k). Welly has a more cafe/arty feel to it, and has plenty of beaches and also being central has easier access to the south island - but the weather is not as good as Auckland, and the wind can drive some people nuts. Christchurch is a great city (despite the rebuild issues due to the earthquake a couple of years back) and has some great beaches, and easy access to so much outdoors (skiing, amazing rivers, west coast forests, etc) - I went to uni there, and it is a beautiful city. If you're hooked on the idea of the lifestyle, and dont need a big city or a commute, then why not consider Nelson? best sunshine hours and a great lifestyle. Obviously more limiting jobs wise, due to its smaller size, but more affordable. Other smaller towns/cities to consider are Tauranga (north island), Dunedin (weather too much like UK though!) or Napier/Hastings (great weather, great wines, but in my opinion, just a bit dull!).

Finally, Auckland is only 2 places in the world behind London in the 'most expensive cities' list released a couple of weeks back, so although the lifestyle can be awesome, don't forget that (a) the commute, if away from the few good public transport links, can be a nightmare (I used to commute 11kms, and it took between an hour and 90 minutes each way!); and (b) it is not going to be cheaper than the UK, like it once was.

Anyway, I hope whatever you plan to do works out. Any other questions, please feel free to reply! :-)

addendum - the comment made re: algae may be with respect to the Manukau Harbour 'beaches' - these are tidal harbour beaches anyway, and since the changes to the sewage system a decade ago, as far as I'm aware the Harbour has become swimmable after decades not being. It is still accurate to say however that most people wouldn't swim there - but most people don't swim in the harbour beaches because they're tidal and muddy, rather than fears of sewage contamination.

westie1234

Nice post Jaybeenz, don't forget about cornwallis it is a place good for families swimming etc.

jaybeenz101

of course! Cornwallis and Huia are my idea of heaven and definitely swimmable... Probably a bit more than 45 mins commute tho! Complete hidden gems many aucklanders still don't know about, which is probably a good thing! :-)

westie1234

It was more around the reputation of the beaches in West AKL which is correct, I was going to mention Titirangi beach but it is not that great. My parents used to have a house in Little Huia.

bdglm3

WOW what a great post, I need to go a google all these places you have mentioned, My Husband and I are both Chartered Building Surveyors with two yound kinds so initally it would be one wage. We have only been looking at Central Auckland and Wellington due to the proximity to Commercial Surveying compaines, we will do some more research now on the others. Thank you for the effort, we will have more questions soon!!

GoingIn2011

I really meant you cant swim in the Manukau (generally speaking). And this is true - just check the council website. Even if you could they're not very pleasant. It's a harbour! So, I'm talking for example the beaches around Titirangi/Blockhouse Bay etc unless you fancy a 20 minutes or so drive towards Cornwallis. I'm not talking about Piha although I would not touch that with kids cos it's mental! It takes me about 30 minutes to *drive* to Piha from Titirangi. So I would still say that unless you happen to live near one of the beaches that front the Tasman Sea then you can forget living close to a beach time-wise in West Auckland - that you can swim in!

Piha is lush by the way...

GoingIn2011

I'm not meaning to pick on what you are saying, but West and North Auckland (North Shore) have very different vibes. To say that they are similar, I can't fathom for the life of me. Some will prefer one, some others. The North Shore is rather like surburbia of many a UK town, I can relate to that aspect of what you are saying. But having lived in both for a bit, they really are quite different: in many respects West Auckland is an area of extremes, you get some utterly gorgeous bits but then you get some really grotty areas. There is no way on this planet I would touch the areas you say again, having lived in Glen Eden for a year, and spent many days in Henderson and New Lynn. I do intend to move back to the West when the kids have grown up a bit, but Laingholm, Woodlands Park, Cornwallis (and these are not "snooty" Titirangi) would be the places I would be recommending. The North Shore almost uniformly, and some might say boringly, sits somewhere in between.

I think with young kids, the Eastern bays (on the Shore, and elsewhere) offer something that the West doesn't and that is safer beaches. But let's not go back there...

GoingIn2011

I'll eat a bit of humble pie - but not too much.
This has changed in the last year: http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/E...onitoring.aspx

When we came in 2011, many of the Manukau beaches apart from out towards Cornwallis and Huia were Unsafe. Now all of West Auckland is Safe.
I still wouldn't swim at Titirangi however. And from what I understand, the Enterococci (which is a harmful bacteria when not sufficiently diluted) is sourced from the algae (hence my remark). I was lead to believe that a score of 35 units was not a very good one from a safety perspective - I could be wrong. Even if it is safe however it does not mean that it is pleasant. In my experience you have to go as far as Cornwallis - which I like as a beach - until the experience is a good one. Surprisingly, these have higher scores - but there we are. What do I know?
My manager at work won't swim at the beach at Pt Chev unless it is high tide as it's too grim at low tide - this being the Waitamata Harbour!
You are better off in my humble opinion avoiding the harbours, and sticking to beaches that front the actual sea.

jaybeenz101

In response to Goingin2011- firstly, my comment about west Auckland was due to your reference to algae. Enteric bacteria come from human or animal faeces, not algae, hence my confusion regarding that point.

In response to different vibes, each to their own, but after just a year in Auckland, am surprised you see north versus west so differently, but perhaps you've not spent time in the likes of Glenfield or BeachHaven to compare with your time in Glen Eden? (a haven it is not by the way! :-)

In West Auckland, I'd grant you that Kelston, Ranui, and Glendene are a bit jaded/grotty, but so are BeachHaven and Birkdale on the Shore. As I say, each to their own and if you are in Torbay, then of course that is a nicer part. I was comparing average suburbs with average suburbs across the two areas. My points were made from living over 20 years in Auckland and living for fair amounts of time in a variety of areas. My biggest point to the poster was to be realistic about easily affording some beach idyll, and to also not write off some areas too quickly (as I know Aucklanders, like people in many big cities I suppose, can quickly become biased towards their 'patch' without really knowing other parts). Cheers