Mark Smith

Anywhere that floods, anything with a hint of mould, properties without any source of heating, flimsy locks the usual. You'll soon work out where the pond life live and operate. As you would back home, keep valuables/tools out of sight and locked away to avoid tempting low lives.

Pom_Chch

Hi,

Chch isn't that bad. Like others have said there are areas to avoid. I live near Linwood at the moment and nothing bad has ever happened (touch wood!) I have walked home late at night from the bus stop, there aren't really many people around. Some friends of ours raised their family in Linwood, lived there for 30 odd years before moving out of the city. Nothing bad happened, not even a break in! Having said that I probably wouldn't make it a regular occurrence to be walking around late at night in the places mentioned above. And add Philipstown to that list as well. As my friend at work says "Philipstown is like Grand Theft Auto but without the guns". When we first moved here people put us off Linwood saying it was a rough area but as soon as we moved in and lived here for a few weeks we decided that a bad area in Chch is distinctly different from a bad area in London!

The trade off of avoiding certain areas at night is worth it - Chch is a crackin' place despite its battered and bruised exterior! Good luck with the move

Tom1983

I wouldn't say avoid but best look elsewhere before

The places i'll add to the list are Woolston, Avonside, Phillipstown, New Brighton, South New Brighton and Bromley

The east really got hit bad and despite what the numpties in control say, nothing has changed there. One Aranui resident has just had a decision made after 3 years!

But if you find something nice, then take it. We had 6 months living in Linwood and it did us. It's not somewhere we'd live permanently but whilst we were waiting to see... wait that's another story which I don't want to go into. You'll probably notice the areas i've mentioned are cheaper rental wise than others. They're not bad areas at all, they're just areas that are run down and not looked after well.

gerard_navickas

I'll be landing in ChCh on the 10th April and it might sound like a daft question but is there a limit to how much cash I can carry in with me? I haven't won the lottery like but would be looking to use cash for the first few days until I can use my bank properly.

Mark Smith

Pretty sure I recall from the press anything over $10000 is a no no. They have sniffer dogs at the airport to detect currency.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/mone...mell-your-cash

gerard_navickas

thanks Mark that was helpful that link thank you, I'm carrying less than that anyway the rest will be waiting in the bank cheers mate

Ray3324

wow, did not realise how much of a pain in the arse it was going to be to get a room!
I've replied to loads of the trademe ads and had no response other than Harcourts, which don't seem to understand that I have no references as I own my own home and have not rented for many many years.

Any advice?

I am being a little picky, I do not want to live in any of the bad places kindly listed in the above replies and I want a nice place to live.

BEVS

You could try Airbnb and see if there is a medium term rental . That culd give you a starting reference perhaps.

Tom1983

Are you in New Zealand???

Gumtree is another place you could look at

TomandFiona

We used the realestate.co.nz app and we rang the estate agents. Got one straight away when we did that.

Pom_Chch

Might be a bit much to ask in Chch at this time. We are in an undesirable area until we move into our new house. We have lived here for one year and, whilst Avonside isn't an area I would choose to settle long term, it is OK as a short term solution. Nothing bad has happened to us whilst living here.

Also second BEVS' suggestion - check out airbnb. We have used it numerous times as guests and hosts and had some great experiences.

You might also have more luck looking out of Chch until you find a place that suits you better. Places like Kaiapoi, Rangiora, Woodend or south of Chch in Lincoln, Rolleston.

Good luck Ray!

Ray3324

I looked at air bnb and their prices are ridiculous, how can they charge $1000 a week for a standard room. Un believable. I did find a few that are in a better price range that we may approach, so thanks for the advice.

I reckon calling the agents is a great idea too, it's so frustrating waiting a day for a response for an email so at least i'd get an answer straight away. Thanks again

Mark Smith

What about Easyroommate? http://www.easyroommate.co.nz/

Ray3324

Wow, didn't know that existed. Looks more like it!

Thanks Mark.

Mark Smith

But don't blame me if you end up with a werewolf, axe murderer with bad hygiene!