ccurtis

Hiya.

Been here for 5 days now. Love Wellington so far. Living in serviced apartment for a further 3 weeks, which is good but our furniture is arriving and my kids ages 4 and 8 need to get a routine and back to school, so we need to get a place next 2 weeks.

We've drove though most suburbs in Welly but finding it difficult to;

Get a letting agent to call me back
book viewings
Disappointed with houses that are for rent. seem on top of each other.

Any tips?

We're looking at

Churton Park
Whitby
Johnsonville.
Eastbourne
I really want Kapita Coast but hubby says to far out from CBD.

Any others i should consider? we really want a nice modern or new property/estate.

Thanks

MrsFychan

Have you been into the agents?
also don't let hubby put you off moving where you feel you will be best to settle, it is the whole family that have moved and not just him. I did that as husband said Kapiti coast was to far as he worked in Karori at the time but if he got a job in CBD then we could move. well 2 years and nearly me moving back to UK and losing money on a house sale we finally moved to Kapiti coast and only now feeling like I might be able to settle.

Newer properties you may be best looking in Whitby but just remember you need to look at schooling for the kids as well, remember the decile rating is about the scoial standing of the area and not how the school performs and anything on a hill with coastal views will suffer from wind. Agents here are more to do with face to face meets than the phone or email.

escapedtonz

If you want new then have a look at Aotea which is the Wellington side of Whitby. Lots of new builds gone up recently and unlikely they're all occupied. A good tip is to contact all the houses that are for sale to ask if the owner or agent would consider renting instead. They can only ignore you or say no!
It's quite a nice area for a new subdivision and many houses have a great view over Plimmerton harbour and Colonial Knob/Skyline track across the valley.

Agents in Wellington are a pain. Not at all helpful in my opinion. Best thing to do is fill in a rental application as soon as you see a property on TradeMe then they'll be sure to contact you with details for a viewing. Don't worry as filling in this form doesn't make you obligated to rent a property. It just shows you are interested. If you don't hear from them after a day or so ring them direct or call into their office. Unfortunately you have to work for it to get a decent property.

MrsFychan

check out trademe - Porirua will give you Whitby and Aotea area's.

avoid Pukerua Bay as School is badly run and area very clique and probably Cannons Creek as bit rough by all accounts

S_and_T

I'm moving out of a 3 bed, (with ensuite & family bathroom) in Newlands (Dress Circle area) in early April. House is about 6 years old. It's been an excellent rental. We've finally bought our own home hence the move. PM me if it sounds like it may suit, happy hunting if not.

escapedtonz

Yep Cannons Creek is rougher than a bag of spanners and unfortunately some houses in Aotea overlook the Cannons Creek subdivision. Seems to be where a lot of Porirua's Pacific Islanders live as well as Titahi Bay.

moonie2011

Had a quick look on trade me and there are a few on there, avoid cannons creek, porirua east, waitangirua and possibly ascot park. All other areas are good and have good schools. I'm with your hubby re the commute, 30/40 mins is enough, add onto that any problems with trains etc, which do happen, then it makes a long day without seeing family. MrsF you have been known to moan about MrF getting home late in the evening, lol x
if you are on Facebook join community pages for areas you like and put a post on there, someone somewhere will know someone moving out
Good luck

MrsFychan

Yes you have but that has affected anyone using the Kapiti line so also Mrmoonie :P

As I say its all of you that needs to be considered and if you have a preferred area then discuss it seriously as making the mistake may make or break the move.

ccurtis

Thanks everyone
Really appreciate the input and feedback. Today was a little better. Found a nice house in Johnsonville, but I think we've set our hearts on Whitby.

Ticks all the boxes for us including schools.

Anyone have any experience on schools in Whitby?

I initially wanted children to attend discovery or adventure schools, but there isn't a house at the moment that's in the zone. There is a house we do like but it's zone for post gate school and I don't know anything about it.

Husband a bit deflated tonight, wondering if we've done the right thing.!

MrsFychan

not sure about Postgate school, think it might be one of the less desirable schools coming in at a decile 4. Postgate School 04/04/2013 - Education Review Office

Have you spoken to Discovery or Adventure School about getting the kids there?

RobClubley

We live in Tawa and love it, great community. There are loads of rented places here, not sure about availability.
We have a 4 year-old too. PM me if you need help with anything. Things can be a bit weird when trying to settle, finding where to buy stuff etc.

ccurtis

Just in tawa now. looks lovely. Booked a couple of viewings there. fingers crossed.

moonie2011

You can apply for the other schools in Whitby, possibly telling then that you intend to rent in that area as soon as one becomes available. Give the school office a ring or pop in and have a chat with them, see what they say

Unfortunately there will be lots of situations that may make you feel like that, doesn't mean you won't stay or don't like it, it's just very testing at times.

Good luck

MOSO

Make sure you visit Tawa on a bad weather day! It is in a valley and is renowned for being damp and cloudy when the areas around it are in sun. The schools have a good reputation though and include an intermediate and decent secondary school. Many children from the Whitby/Porirua area go to the secondary school there, others used to commute to Kapiti, but they have introduced a zone which doesn't include that area.

You can try to apply to primary schools out-of-zone if they have space, but you need to visit the schools and make sure you're happy with them. If you live in zone, a school is obliged to take you. There is not a rigid curriculum so each school has a different educational focus (e.g. some may focus on environment etc.) Decile ratings are not indicative of a quality of school, it's just about funding. Lower decile schools receive more funding as they are in lower socioeconomic areas. Having said that, there are several Porirua suburbs which I would avoid personally.

In that area you should also look at Pauatahanui if you like small country school with an academic focus. If you want any further info on schools PM me.

ccurtis

Oh god. Probably more confused than ever. we really liked tawa and the schools there but couldnt get a rental that suited us. we prefer whitby but their isnt any houses for rent in school zones. neverthless i have applied for adventure school anyway and explained the situation. will find out soon if successful. I don't know if im being over fussy or if im panicking and just going to jump into the first house in the area we want comes up.! Anyway having a day off house hunting tomorrow to give the kids a break. Thanks for your advice and support.
Caroline.....not even a week into NZ Life but love it