escapedtonz

No not really.
There are some areas more undesireable than others that's for sure but in general one is safe anywhere.
Personally don't like a lot of the South of Wellington as areas to live. Just a bit scruffy in our eyes.
When we first arrived and had a scout around, there appears to be a lot of older, more "in need of a lick of paint" housing to the South and West of the CBD. Places like Mount Cook, Newtown, Berhampore, Brooklyn, Hataitai etc. One thing that really makes areas look scruffy is having the LV electricity system running on poles above the streets with the added wires overhead that the trolley buses use. This tends to be all around the South of the city. Really makes a difference to an area.
This is one of the main reasons we looked out to the North of Wellington where there is very little of this so areas always look more appealing.

Yes Wellington is a great place to live. Can be a bit windy often but there's plenty going on, great places to eat and drink, next to the ferry terminal to get to the South Island and the rest of the North Island a drive away. Good shopping in the city and out in Lower Hutt on the opposite side of Wellington Harbour.
Unfortunately not many really good beaches for lying about sunbathing with/without the kids, but there are many beaches and excellent for an outdoorsy lifestyle.

luvwelly

Agree re the ugliness of the overhead wires. You could also use the decile rating (higher the better) of the local state school as a rough guide to an area's desirability e.g. Island Bay scores higher than Berhampore and I would agree with that although Island Bay also is quite weather-beaten in places.

Driving through would also likely make you come to the same conclusion. Try Google Maps streetview to see for yourself.

Snap Shot

I was staying at a hotel on Featherston Street a couple of weeks ago. It was great to be able to get to the harbour promenade so I could go for a run, past the ugly historic boat and onwards to Oriental Parade, effectively behind Te Papa museum of New Zealand, about 3km. I saw a plane coming into land at Wellington airport, descending over Evans Bay as it came into land. Oriental Parade was part of last year's marathon route but I did the 10km run which started and finished at the, 'cake tin' which is the Westpac Stadium which can be seen from the other side of the harbour. This area of the promenade is pedestrianized so it's good for joggers, cyclists, walkers, pushchairs etc. There's a metal statue of a guy looking like he's about to go skinny dipping in the sea. Oh the temptation to put a pair of trunks or shorts on him for a laugh........!

The dairy (corner shop) on oriental parade has the remark, 'last stop before the big day' written on the side of it's awning.

There's a great coffee shop in Central Wellington called, 'Butlers Chocolate Cafe' you get to choose one hand made chocolate from the display to go with your coffee.

We went to a concert at the TSB Arena, Wellington that's right on the harbour. I went to see a play at St James Theatre, Courtenay Place. Last year I saw a comedy at Wellington's Opera House. Courtenay Place is kind of Wellington's Theatre land. Um, it also seems to be where the sex shops and probably plenty of etc are located too.

I took the bus from outside Kirkaldy and Staines department store, Central Wellington to Seatoun (pronounced Seaton locally), it took half an hour in the middle of the day. Seatoun is a nice looking but quiet beachside suburb. I remember eating hot soup and drinking hot tea in a nice café as the rain poured down outside. Then I took the bus back into town.

Yeah, Newtown didn't impress me either, scruffy like some parts of the east end of London. I also agree with overhead power cables and the electric lines for the buses looking unatractive. Albeit, this cuts down the stink of exhaust from buses. Some buses are diesel, but mostly run on electricity from roof mounted machinery like trams do.