Verdant

Hey folks,

We're looking to move over to North of Welly within the next few months - our Visa application (long term essential work visa) has been sent and are just waiting on processing. We're excited about the opportunity but as it gets closer, i'm starting to have some doubts (which i'm sure is normal). Cost of living is one part - I know the closer to Wellington the more expensive houses become, while the reverse is true the closer to Palmerston North you go- so we're trying to figure out the sweet spot between affordability and proximity to Welly. We're in our early 30s with no kids (or plans to have any) so schooling isn't an issue, but we would prefer to live in an area that has opportunities to make friends outside work. I know that we're going to have to throw ourselves into stuff 200% to get anywhere on that front as it seems many people do struggle and it's going to be even harder without children


I've read up some horror stories about NZ housing - how bad is it? And what should we look out for? My understanding is to expect single-glazed homes with no to minimal insulation and problems with damp in the colder months.
As we're coming from owning here in the UK - will having bank account statements and job contract be enough to take out a rental agreement as we won't have previous references from renting here?
Is it difficult to build / get planning on an out of town lifestyle section for a modest sized property? We're thinking of something like a 2 bed bungalow with cavity wall insulation and triple-glazing and a couple of acres of workable land for gardening (i'm an avid gardener and being able to grow more exotic plants and for longer is one of the main attractions). I've noticed by scouting homes for sale that despite homes with gardens, not many people in NZ seem to grow their own veggies despite the cost in supermarkets - is gardening less popular?

Thanks for any replies.

MrsFychan

if you are going to be working in Wellington then the travel will be an issue on where you would want to live, I personally would advise anyone to try a couple of area's before you decide if and when you want to buy. There are new rules in place as to what you are able to buy dependant on your visa in NZ.
Housing here is hit and miss, you just have to be aware that houses are built to with stand very strong winds and earthquakes, and putting layers on is much more cost effective than adding insulation, DG and heating. The newer built houses will have better insulation and heating but you will pay for the privilege. Unfortunately the rental market here is so under stocked that you may not have the luxury of much to choose from.
Lots of people grow their own vegetables and fruit so not sure where you are getting the information that they don't here?

Verdant

Thanks for the rapid reply MrsFrychan. Partner is actually working along the Kapiti Coast, which opens up potential areas to live along the region to Palmerston North (at a push) down to Paraparaumu. Yeah with the new rules we might not be able to buy initially. Although partner is working in healthcare in an area that is difficult to recruit for and so we might be able to demonstrate long-term commitment to the region and thus get a waiver, but obviously that's not guaranteed and it makes sense to rent beforehand. We're quite lucky in that we've got quite a wide area where we can potentially live.

MOSO

You're moving to a great area by moving to the Kapiti Coast. The weather is much better than Wellington and the land is flatter and yet you're in an easy commute by train (up to Waikanae). There are plenty of lifestyle blocks around the Kapiti Coast. Triple-glazing may be a pipe-dream though!!!! Gardening is very popular and due to the great climate and lack of frost the gardening is great - most people have citrus trees and the area around Otaki-Levin is renowned for their market gardens and there's a vineyard at Ohau. Check out Te Horo, Reikorangi and Nikau Valley for lifestyle blocks on the coast. We live in Waikanae town in an average house and have single glazing but good insulation on a concrete base - definitely no problems with damp. We've probably used the fire in our lounge 10-15 evenings this winter. We have a heat pump too which acts as instant heating in the winter mornings and air conditioning during the summer. Most winter days are between 10-16 degrees during the day and 5ish at night. We hardly have any frost in the town, although some areas are lightly frosty a few nights a year.

There is a new expressway (dual carriageway) being built at the moment between Waikanae and just north of Otaki. There are plans to extend it north of Levin (but the current Labour government have temporarily halted the funding), but (and it's a big but) the route hasn't been finalised. It will probably run east of the current single lane highway (SH1) through Manakau and Ohau and then east of Levin - you will need to check very carefully if you plan to buy in this area as it could run west of the current highway. It's a complete mess with lots of people stuck in limbo unable to sell their lifestyle blocks. https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/we...orth-of-levin/

Paraparaumu is the biggest town in the area as regards social life (shopping centre, airport, cinema etc). If you are going to be commuting to Wellington, I wouldn't go north of Waikanae as there is only one train per day to Wellington (no - I'm not joking!). There is plenty of free parking at Waikanae though (my NZ standards), so lots of people drive south to Waikanae to catch the train. If you want advice on specific areas, let me know.

MOSO

The commute from Palmerston North to Paraparaumu is not realistic (although some people do it). It is nearly all single-lane, with very few overtaking lanes. I work in Levin (which is 30 mins north of Waikanae), but coming south it takes people 40-50 mins to commute to Levin from Palmy - so add another 40 mins to get to Paraparaumu - not an easy drive. There is very little overtaking and lots of bends between Palmy and Levin.

Verdant

Thanks for the heads up about the road proposals - that explains why there's so much for sale north of Levin (Foxton / Shannon in particular). So i guess it would be unwise to buy north of Levin until that sitution is much clearer. Ideally, i'd prefer to be closer to the Tararua Forest park as we love hiking, camping and wildlife spotting, so east of Levin and Otaki are really attractive. Partner is actually working in the Kapiti Coast area not Wellington, but we want to be close enough where going to Welly every fortnight is realistic enough. It's really good to know about the train service from Waikanae - i just assumed there were no trains! Is the service the same on the weekends?

Justcol

Expect the worst to be the equivalent of living in an old rotten wooded garage

Consents to build are fairly easy easy compared to the UK (they are not called bungalows here, just a house )

Heaps of folks grow veggies, maybe you're not looking in the right places, although many with a good sized section
will have livestock rather than plants

MOSO

There are trains every 10 -30 mins from Waikanae to Wellington every day (depending on time). There is one diesel train a day from Palmerston North to Wellington return called the Capital Connection. There have been issues with it from the last few years as it's not profitable. They keep talking about getting rid of it, but it's still going for the moment. Train services are regular from Wellington to Waikanae as it's a normal electric line. The wires stop at Waikanae, so there's only the one train north of Waikanae from Monday - Friday.

katie8383

Hi there!

My partner and I are also moving to Wellington in the next few months and have been going back and forth on where we are going to live. If cost of living is a factor, you need to take into account the cost of the commute from the Kapiti Coast into the CBD if you are working in Welly. We worked out that although we would save on the house costs by living way out of the city, we will probably spend more on commuting, as we will both be working in the CBD!

We have decided we are going to decide where to live when we arrive, as we have 28 days in arranged accommodation to begin with. If we choose to live in the city we have narrowed it down to Johnsonville/Ngaio area. If we choose the KC we will go no further than Paraparaumu.

Exciting times !!!

BEVS

Kia Ora Verdant.

I have sent you a housekeeping message.
Please get back to me.
Thanks
BEVS

Browner_

Levin? I think not. Otaki, it's a way out if you are expecting to work or socialise in wellington.
Consider a new motorway will be open in less than 2 years which will open up the kapiti coast, heading north at least, lol.

Justcol

I thought there was already a new motorway. It was under construction but nearly finished when I was last up there a couple of years ago. I thought it opened last year, starts about 10k South of Otaki. I still wouldn't like it as a daily commute. Its a good hours drive on a quite day, can't imagine the door to door time in a wet winter rush hour

MrsFychan

Kapiti Expressway opened back in 2017, and is having on going repair work to it. it goes from MacKays Crossing to Peka Peka. Transmission Gully will open on to it from Wellington in a few years, no idea when the Otaki section will be finalised.

escapedtonz

Yeah there's only around 20km's of it 'completed' from Peka Peka to the Mackay Crossing and some of that was already there previously. I drove it a couple of times recently and it is shockingly bad for a new motorway. The quality is very poor. It is soooooo bumpy it is laughable and like riding the Grand National at Blackpool Pleasure Beach It's like they gave a team of navvies 20 bucks to build them a new road
I also saw the Transmission Gully route from the air very recently on a clear flight in to Welly. Impressive project but miles from being completed as yet with NZTA still touting it'll be open for traffic in 2020. I also wouldn't like it as my daily commute. No matter what is done to the mway the same constraints will be there at the bottom of the gorge in to Welly and the traffic will back up all the way to Tawa as it does now.

Verdant

Thanks for the replies. We're not actually working in Welly (which i did point out in my follow-up post), so we won't have to worry about daily commutes into the city. It seems like as long as you can get to Paraparamua in a reasonable time then a train to Welly is pretty regular and not too expensive for regular weekend trips into the city. We're quite use to travelling more than an hour just to socialise with our friends here in the UK from a semi-rural location into the city. Working in healthcare means a lot of our friendsare spread out far and wide so requires regular effort to meet up.