Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

We are coming over for a short recci in Feb and are staying north of Auckland, trouble is with such a short time your not likely to get the real truth about what the area is really like, schools, crime etc, just really wanted to know what you all thought of the North Shore and Rodney.
Thank you

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

We are very happy with it so far settled in a rental in Northcross, girls all settled in schools and the locals and local expats seem friendly and helpful...pm me when you are over, happy to meet up for a chat with the family :)

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

I have a house in Castor Bay but have lived in the UK for the last ten years and am about to return. Milford, Castor Bay, Takapuna and Devonport are the best areas. Crime on the North Shore? Not sure there ever was any, most crime takes place in South Auckland and maybe in the CBD of an evening. On the beach is very expensive, each block as you move away from the beach gets more affordable. Each of these four suburbs are commutable to the CBD and have good schools (Westlake, Takapuna Grammar). The very best schools are probably Auckland Grammar and Kings College (my old school) but are in Auckland proper. If you actually intend working on the North Shore then you can go further north than Castor Bay.

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

Love the name!

Depends what you're after.....we settled on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula and are very happy so far. It's not crime free, nowhere is but it's as close as you'll get. The local newspaper still carries stories of cars that get broke into! The schools are good, shopping average but Albany is only 15 mins away and the beaches and open spaces are plentiful.

If you have an idea of what you are looking for in an area, list it and see how many 'ticks' against the list you get..........

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

we currently rent a bach in torbay and love it it still has its issues like teenagers drinking on beach and reserves and leaving smashed bottles about but not half as bad as when I rented in Tawa Wellington or the UK
Having reviewed several schools I feel the standard on the North shore is pretty good with intermediate (yrs 7-8) and good high schools, the nearer to the city the more expensive, however you could quite happily live on the North shore and not visit the rest of Auckland as it has everything you need! (well almost no airport!!!)
Like Si says happy to meet up or pm me if you want to know more

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

Hi Simonsi,
Thank you so much for the offer, will do if thats ok, always very daunting trying something new but would be great to hear some first hand experiences.

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

Hi Gun4Hire,
Good advice thank you, have taken note and will research the areas you mentioned,
Emma

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

Hi Sirplug
Like the idea of a tick list! on the top would be two things you have mentioned already, the beaches being on top.
Understand no where is crime free nowadays, even our little village has its storys.
Emma

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

Hi janeyk
I suppose like the uk there is good and bad areas, REALLY nice to know where to avoid!
Schooling is an issue for us having children ranging in ages 16 to 4, I have read reports that the standard in NZ is not as good as the UK but I bet like here it depends on the individual schools. On average how much is schooling per term?
Thank you for the info & offer will pm
Emma

Re: Honest opinion please on the North Shore and Rodney areas
 

I tend to disagree with the comment DS has now been to 2 schools in NZ and all were excellent and stretched him far more than in the UK,
His school in Welly were very hot on mental arithmatic and also the pupils setting their own goals to achieve at the age of 8 i think this is very impressive. It dies depend where you came from and the child, DS is bright and the small primary school in rural Cornwall just were not intrested
On returning here we showed his new school his school reports and instantly he was streamed into the higher group bearing in mind he has jumped a year and missed 2.5 terms he is not struggling! and is enjoying working his brain!

I have not heard a bad report about any North Shore schools although I know the cathcment for Rangitoto much sort but my current landlady lives out the area and does not seem to think it will be a problem for her DD getting in.
For Torbay alone there are 3 primarys each with a catchment area each seem good on the ERO report, it is worth getting the where to live in Auckland book and reading about each North shore area also it gives a small guide to the schools