Adventurer

Hi
We will soon be in NZ and seem to have decided on one of
Howick, Chatswood or Albany.
We do not want to be remote nor secluded.
We have very young children.
We have good budget for house.
Any opinions or comments are most welcome
Thanks

annaerb

I can only comment on Howick or areas surrounding Howick. Howick itself is a nice little village with good Primary/Intermediate/High schools. Plently of Cafes/Restaurants/Supermarkets and other entertainment near by. You are close to the Beach, approx 40 mins to CBD, Close to Ferries,30 mins from Airport.

Other nice areas are Bucklands Beach, Eastern Beach, Half Moon Bay,Botany,Dannemora,Flat Bush(new Development), then further Sth East you have Whitford,Beachlands,Maraetai. The last 3 are in a semi rural area with tha last two with Beaches, these areas are 30 mins to Botany/Howick.

www.times.co.nz
http://www.times.co.nz/cms/community...rt10003904.php
http://www.botanytowncentre.co.nz/
http://www.fencible.org.nz/
http://www.pohutukawacoast.co.nz/view.asp?PageNo=0 ( I live in Maraetai)
http://www.sbay.co.nz/location.asp
http://www.formosa.co.nz/


My advice is to have a good look around at the areas you mention and see how you feel about each one.

Tooanfrom

Howick? Built up- How good is your Chinese language--in the local directory they have more "Chins" than a Weight Watchers Convention

Chatswood -- very built up-give yourself a nightmare -drive down Onewa Rd in rush hour

Albany--not bad

Better yet---look at Kumeu --Murawai.

DO NOT buy into Gulf Harbour--it is a future Ghetto

thebears

Move to Bucklands Beach. Good primary school and high school (Macleans college). Close to some good amenities and safe for young kids.

Our house is just up from the beach - dont waste money being on the waters edge pay for the views.

Bucklands and Eastern beaches are on a peninsula the eastern being more sea facing. Nice golf course on the end - good fishing spot at the end.

Kiwi

annaerb

And probably where you live there are more Poms than Kiwis
Howick is not full of Chinese and anyway there is nothing wrong with Chinese people. My kids go to Howick College and have a mixture of friends kiwis, aussies,chinese,Korean,Japanese,Poms,Sth African etc and if anything I think it is great to learn one anothers culture. Like all areas Howick is Multicultural and there is nothing wrong with that.

thebears

Hey I'm Kiwi and married to a Chinese Singaporean. She speaks better English than I do.

Howick has always been known for its "Britishness"

uk+kiwi

Had a look at a couple of these areas at Xmas. Personally thought Howick was far too built up, a bit run down looking and the whole peninsula rather disappointing, having read the 'Where to live in Auckland' book from cover to cover a few times and thinking this could be our top choice of area. However it did say you can't get a feel for the views from the houses by driving in a car. Half Moon Bay fared much better with us, but if felt like so far out from the city (wouldn't want to commute), yet the area generally still being very urban and too busy. Personal opinion only of course. Having said that, the reviews from those who live there are very positive as you will have seen in the replies. Plus schools are meant to be good.

Albany in contrast felt very new and thus lacking in character. It is being developed big time, all the houses looked very similar I thought. Reminded me of big middle class UK housing estates, although that is probably a little harsh. Has good private school and motorway access. But again, there are much nicer places in the North Shore area to live, which could also be closer to the beach. North Shore is very crowded though, but did grow on us during our time there.

Meant to look at Chatswood as I believe it has some nice older properties (villas maybe) which appeal to us. Sadly didn't make it. Also aware that being close to the motorway, it will get busy at times and could be very noisy (wanted to find this out).

Hope this has been of some help. Carmen.

Adventurer

Thanks very much for the comments and opinions so far.
Please keep them coming.
Just a note that as we work from home we do not worry about commuting.
We do not mind being amongst different ethnic people although we are not keen on people who wear clothes to signify their religion n those whose religion affects others.
We would like to be among friendly, considerate, live and let live people in a reasonably safe neigbourhood.

Woodlea

[QUOTE=Adventurer]
We do not mind being amongst different ethnic people although we are not keen on people who wear clothes to signify their religion n those whose religion affects others.
QUOTE]

Well put Adventurer - much better than saying Mad Mullahs!!

Apple12

[QUOTE=Adventurer]
Just a note that as we work from home we do not worry about commuting.
We do not mind being amongst different ethnic people although we are not keen on people who wear clothes to signify their religion n those whose religion affects others.
QUOTE]

I take it Jewish and Hindi men and Catholic nuns are out then...? What a weird (and quite sad) thing to say.

Jude J

I can only advise you on the North Shore as I dont know the other two areas. I live in Browns Bay and love it. Coming from a very overcrowded city in UK I find it funny when people describe it as 'crowded and built up' but compared to the rural areas I suppose it is.
Albany is largely a new area and is getting expensive. When we moved here in 2002 it was slightly cheaper than the bays but now it is the same if not more. The new mall is being built there so is attracting plenty of new development but if new housing areas are not your thing there are still little areas around that are more rural but still close to amenities. My daughter has a few friends who live out in an area called Dairy Flat which is country living 10 minutes from Albany.

Jude

thebears

We bought near you in 2001 [Devonport] then sold in 2003/04

Kiwi

uk+kiwi

Hi,

Peoples opinions are naturally comparatively based. So for the size of town that Browns Bay is, I find it crowded in a residential sense, ie the homes all being on top of each other, not in a too much to do/going on way. This is compared to the commuter belt patch of Surrey in which I currently live, plus what it used to be like.

It's pretty hard to find a decent sized garden/plot now as a lot of people have subdivided and are happy to have a really small garden due to being close to a beach/es. Personally I find that a bit weird, as I consider local parks, reserves and beaches a bonus in the same way I do in the UK. I also have youngish children (6 & 4) who need a safe place to play at home with friends. I imagine this could be different as children get older and more independent socially, although a decent sized swimming pool would always be welcome!

Browns Bay still has a very pleasant relaxed vibe about it, as I was reminded each time I visited Starbucks and waited forever for my coffee. Glad to see its presence, although we ended up frequenting a different cafe on the strength of its yummy Rotorua Mud cake. We loved it so much we orderd an entire one for our Xmas day pudding!

Oooo, would love to be on the Shore today....

Jude J

Hi,

It is a bit cold here today, and as I passed Starbucks this morning it had its usual queue of customers waiting!

I can see what you mean about garden and plot size but coming from Portsmouth I find it very spacious here