becky667

Hi all

My first post so go easy!

My names Becky and next year I'll be relocating to NZ as a nurse. Due to my love of the outdoors, I feel Christchurch would be perfect.

There are alot of areas of C. church to move to and would love some advice on them. I will be after renting a house to begin with, and preferably somewhere quiet.....(not a city centre girl)

Thanks

Becky

debj

Hi Becky, and welcome!!!

I'm Deb, about to leave for Christchurch (3 weeks to go!!) for a job in ITU. If I can be helpful please drop me a line!

Enjoy posting..... there's always lots of lovely people ready with the answers!!

Good luck with everything!!!

becky667

Hi Deb

Thats a coincidence as I will also be working (hopefully) in Christchurch ITU!

Any tips?

Becky

debj

I used a healthcare agency to get sorted... I'd sent the DHB an e-mail directly and not had much of a reply, certainly nothing personal (although that said if you look at the healthboard's website they seem to be crying out for staff now ).
Have found most things strangely straightforward so far (famous last words - something bound to bite me on the behind!) and just got the move itself to get through now!
Feel free to PM if you need any specifics... I don't know much but will be happy to help if I can.

Deb

zummerzet_lou

Only been in the area for a couple of weeks, but think you will probably be attracted to the northern area of CHch.

We are staying in woodend .. it's a small village about 20mins drive from the city centre but really feels as though you are living in the country.

Also areas are: Kaipoi (town .. 5 mins closer to the city)
Rangiora, Oxford ....

We just happened to book a holiday let here to get us started, and love it so much are now sorting out a 6+ month rental just up the road in Waikuk beach.

Shout if I can help, or you have an more questions,

Lou

shirl

Hi Becky

We moved here in 2006 and rented in Rangiora and then went to Christchurch for 12 months to try that out and we are now back in Rangiora as we love the small town feel. We rented in the North east part of Christchurch in Parklands area called Tumara Park - some advertise Tumara Park as Burwood so look under both if searching on Trademe. Great new subdivision with lovely homes and nearby is Redwood, Burwood, Northwood is supposed to be nice too. Like lou said we are in the North of Christchurch in Rangiora just up/across from Woodend and Rangiora has a lovely little town with no traffic lights LOL!!!

It depends where you want to be really. I would avoid all the city centre areas - a lot will depend on where you find work and the easiest access to the place of work while renting and then once you have had a look around if you want to look for a nice area and sacrifice the easy commute to work by living in close proximity as opposed to sitting in traffic to get to work then I would head North of Christchurch or West Melton is lovely and so it Halswell, Prebbleton etc. Feel free to PM me anyone thinking of moving this way I will help in any way I can. I started a job this week and leave Rangiora at 8am and I am in Bealey Ave in the city by 8.35/40 and parked up. So for me the commute is worth it to live where I do as I can escape the big city for small town living which suits us just fine.

Dustybin

Big city!!! now i know your having a laugh!

Black Sheep

Hello Becky, welcome

If you love the outdoors and want as much variety as possible as close to hand as possible (i.e. right at your doorstep) then there's only one area to live, south Christchurch. On a Chch map, you can look for all the great hill tracks (walking/cycling) like the Rapaki track in St Martins which will take you right to the top of the hill to a fantastic view of the Harbour. Look for neighborhoods along/close to the Heathcote River - which is also great for walking along - (Lower Cashmere/Cracroft, Beckenham Loop, Cashmere, St Martins, Huntsbury, Murray Aynsley, parts of Somerfield, and parts of Opawa which directly border St Martins) which are all sought after leafy suburbs with cafes dotted around, and the rather nice new South library/cafe, etc. You can cycle to downtown from these areas (or catch a bus, or 10 mins drive max by car) so you're very near to work - but you're also only exactly 10 minutes drive over Cashmere Hill on Dyers Pass Rd to the completely different world of Governor's Bay and then beyond to the Banks Peninsula with its harbourside beaches, or further on to Diamond Harbour, or Little River, Akaroa and all the myriad Peninsula 'wild' beaches to explore (won't even try to describe Banks Peninsula, but it's a 'treasure'). South Chch area is also only 10 minutes or so drive to Lyttelton, a very quaint and popular 'alternative' little town built into the hill with great little restaurants and live music venues and some fun festivals, via the tunnel (you can also reach it along the harbour from Governor's Bay). And only 10-15 minutes drive to all of Christchurch's main beaches - Brighton Beach, Sumner beach, Southshore/Estuary - each of which has its own special character.

These are established neighbourhoods, so no newer housing subdivisions here. No shopping malls either, although there is the very modest Barrington Mall on Barrington Road.

If you like living by the beach, Sumner and South New Brighton are particularly popular with many Britons (it's that laid back seaside culture that they were after, plus more and more Brits are discovering that life is just that much easier/friendlier in Chch living in a 'community' of other expat Brits, and this is where the largest of those 'communities' seem to have formed, as well as in Redcliffs).

Sumner is upmarket these days though and so on the expensive side (to buy anyway, though to rent it's still probably quite possible to find a choice of affordable places there if you know how to look for them), but has a 'village' feeling, in terms of having lots of great restaurants,cafes, theatre, artsy shops, bakeries etc all within easy walk, and that real village feel is very rare in Christchurch. (Nearby Redcliffs also has it too but on a smaller scale, and is also very popular with Brits as many houses have sea views, and some are even right on the water which is unusual in Chch).

South Brighton is much less expensive but doesn't have the larger village feel of Sumner, and it's a bit wilder, more natural with the dunes and longlong stretch of beaches. THis is a more 'summer cottage feeling' place (which means a lot of 'substandard' houses - the further south in Brighton you go the more upmarket the houses get, but also the further away from any amenities or anything but houses and beach you get!)and is about one of the last places left for the more artistic /creative, less materialistic types of Chcher. This area is also very popular with Brits, poorer Brits, LOL, or shall we say less materialistic types. It's very windy there though much of the time, but as the locals are fond of pointing out, that does mean the logburner smog gets blown away.

The problem with both Sumner and Brighton is that they're both a bit 'isolated' - a bit further out from town and not as convenient as other areas for getting to lots of places. Sumner does have the hills behind it though which must be full of good walking/cycling tracks, and Taylor's Mistake beach which is quite funky, and it's just a few minutes from Lyttelton down a 'back road' along the bay. You can get a ferry across from Lyttelton to Diamond Harbour. Diamond Harbour come to think of it is also a great and unique big village with character, very popular because it faces due North so houses there get a fair bit of sunshine and nice views over the harbour, but I think with petrol up so much now and the long drive to get there (unless you use the ferry to/from Lyttelton and buses to get around Chch), and more amd more people actually have some concern for the environment and how travelling longer distances affect it, it's becoming a less popular place to live for people who commute by car than it used to be! Apparently you have all sorts of choices of great hikes from the Diamond Harbour area, another reason it's a popular place to live, or even more serious day or possibly even overnight 'treks', I seem to recall seeing an article or two about some of these longer treks you can take in that area.

What kind of 'outdoors' things do you like to do? The Estuary is popular for kayaking and sailing, and the Heathcote river was popular for kayaking especially St Martins area, though apparently both the Heathcote and Avon rivers are pretty polluted at the moment - don't know if that's just temporary after the unusual amounts of rain we've been having for the past 2 months, or starting to be a more permanent problem.

becky667

WOW these replies are just great guys.

I commute 60 miles at the moment so do not have a problem with driving/riding but would like to live slightly nearer work. Leafy suburbs near the city sound great as have never liked living in big towns let alone cities (although i have been told CC is a rather small city by UK standards).

As for the outdoors, I love walking, canoeing, camping and motorcycling but am happy to travel small distances to do these activities so living right by trails is not a big priority. I just want to finish work and be able to relax and feel I am away from it. With shift work I hope to avoid the rush hours so a 20min commute sounds perfect and with a bike I hope to avoid those traffic jams - if there are any!

Keep the suggestions coming as I am making a list.

Thanks

Becky