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looking at christchurch

looking at christchurch

Old Apr 8th 2009, 7:50 pm
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Default looking at christchurch

hi everyone,need to speak to people living in Christchurch.
I have been offered job in Christchurch, with a company based in the Woolston district. We are trying to find out the better areas to live that are within a 30 minute bicycle ride away,as we will only have one car.
Ideally the area should be in the catchment area of some good schools as well as we have 2 young girls aged 7 and 4.
we have read some threads on forums before that say Halswell and Lincoln are nice areas with good schools but they might be a 2 hour bike ride away which would be a bit too far for me!
Anyone with some advice would be, as always a great help
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Old Apr 8th 2009, 8:08 pm
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Wink Re: looking at christchurch

Originally Posted by kiwiwoodpecker
hi everyone,need to speak to people living in Christchurch.
I have been offered job in Christchurch, with a company based in the Woolston district. We are trying to find out the better areas to live that are within a 30 minute bicycle ride away,as we will only have one car.
Ideally the area should be in the catchment area of some good schools as well as we have 2 young girls aged 7 and 4.
we have read some threads on forums before that say Halswell and Lincoln are nice areas with good schools but they might be a 2 hour bike ride away which would be a bit too far for me!
Anyone with some advice would be, as always a great help
hi ...woolston is grim,but just across the ferrymead bridge is a 'better world' ...mt pleasant,redcliffs and sumner...all with very good schools,great living environment and by the beach...we have lived in this area twice and pretty well see it as the only area for us if we return to NZ........good hunting.
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Old Apr 9th 2009, 12:51 am
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

Originally Posted by daisycutter
hi ...woolston is grim,but just across the ferrymead bridge is a 'better world' ...mt pleasant,redcliffs and sumner...all with very good schools,great living environment and by the beach...we have lived in this area twice and pretty well see it as the only area for us if we return to NZ........good hunting.
Hi As daisy said, Woolston is not hte best, but within that sort of catchment you also have places like Cashmere and Cashmere hills as well as Sumner Redcliffs and so on, and all within a 30 min bike ride so plenty of choices

Good Luck
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Old Apr 9th 2009, 3:00 am
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

Just thought I'd say that Woolston is actually a rather interesting 'suburb', in that its one of the few in Chch that has held its character and sense of community. Even has a 'high street'. What you'd call a working class suburb. Must have been a nice place in its heyday. Some of the housing areas are actually rather nice in that there are numerous tree-lined streets with modest homes that have still managed to keep their large gardens (haven't been subdivided), and some areas have rather nice views of the hills too.

Unfortunately the schools are not amongst the best - or so is presumed, as they are lower decile (decile, though, has nothing to do with quality of the teaching/education, it's all about socio-economic status - the poorer the student body, the lower the decile. But then the lower the decile, the more money awarded to the school by the gov't... so). Plus (the perception anyway is that) it's a higher crime area.

Nearest 'good' areas to look at would be starting way over to the west at Westmorland, then Cracroft, Cashmere/lower Cashmere, Somerfield, Beckenham Loop, St. Martins, Huntsbury, Murray Aynsley, parts of Opawa are just lovely, (Hillsborough worth a look in if on tight budget)), then a jump over to Mt. Pleasant, then anywhere from Mt Pleasant over to Sumner. Sumner and Redcliffs are the most popular areas with Brits, they're more 'village' feel than anywhere else in Chch (other than maybe St Albans), with beach, cafes, restaurants, shops, cinema, hills. Probably best to start at Sumner and work your way back to Westmorland.

A lot of Brits have moved from other areas of Chch to Sumner/Redcliffs and feel much happier there - quite understandable, many who have found themselves more isolated from any kind of British 'community' have had a hard time settling in. Oh, but Sumner/Redcliffs are considered a bit 'upscale'. The less 'upscale' beach area popular with Brits is New Brighton, South Brighton - cheaper, more 'wild nature' feel to it.
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Old Apr 9th 2009, 2:51 pm
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

thanks everyone for that. Black sheep you mention the decile rating of a school which i have heard of before but how can i find out about these ratings for different schools?Is there a website i can look at?
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Old Apr 10th 2009, 12:01 pm
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/publishin...tent/Home+Page

Find the school on the map of the area you are interested in and then search the school on the ERO website for details about the school
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Old Apr 10th 2009, 3:09 pm
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

Originally Posted by CAN2NZ
http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/publishin...tent/Home+Page

Find the school on the map of the area you are interested in and then search the school on the ERO website for details about the school
Does anyone have any experience of Rangiora they can share???? thnx
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Old Apr 11th 2009, 3:19 am
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HEY!!! i live in Rangiora. There are many parks and it's a little village!! It's sooo pretty here and when you first come in there are little shops and then you get to go past a pub, a motel, Mitre 10 Mega, then you go past 2 schools, (a primary & intermediate and a Christian School that goes all the way through with a roll of about 300 students) then there are really nice old parts of Rangiora e.g olden houses and then there are the new areas e.g The Oaks, Belmont Ave and Kingsley Ave as well.

In the olden areas of Rangiora they tend to have smaller houses and bigger garden sections, but this can be different as i have a big house and a big garden in one of the nicest parts. You may find that a big new house e.g in The Oaks will be modern inside and have a big area inside but a small garden.

In The Oaks there are certain rules e.g your grass can't be over a certain length in height, you can't have a boat on the driveway because it has to be in he garage. Men can't mow the lawn without a top on and women and girls can't go out the front and sunbathe or have a waterfight in their bikinis.
There are more really stupid rules that you have to follow and you have to sign an agreement to that before you move in and if anyone complains more than a certain number of times, they can throw you out of your house.

These rules only apply to The Oaks and everywhere else is totally laid back.

If you have children there are many schools to be considered for example:
-Southbrook School (primary &intermediate)
-Rangiora New Life School (Christian-goes through from ages 0-18)
-Rangiora Borough School
-Rangiora High School

All of these are really good!!! =) So check them out. You can go on their websites e.g Rangiora New Life School is www.rnls.school.nz

There is one main High Street where all the shops are based around, but most roads lead you to different shops.

In Rangiora you're really safe.

People don't care what you wear to the grocery store (we go to Woolworths, we tend to find that New World is too expensive). You see people walking in with no shoes on, people walking in with slippers on, poeple wear their pyjamas in there too and no-one cares.

If you're looking for a job on the side there are little shops which you can work in and they pay pretty ok.

If you like alcohol there are many stores, the local grocers etc. or a big Liquorland is near the center of the High Street.

Also if you want to go out for a coffee or a meal or night out with your mates here are some highly recommended places to eat and drink at:
-Robbies Bar and Bistro -Indian (eat in or Takeaway)
-Victoria St Cafe -Thai
-Blue Rooster Cafe -Fish and Chips
-Monteiths Bar -Burger Bar
-Brew House
-Speights Ale House -Bakeries
-Subway (the BEST!!)
-KFC
-Pizza Hut
-Capones Restaurant

There are also many good shops and public services:

-Lotto Shops -Churches
-Dairys -Video Rentals
-Funeral Homes -Rental Cars
-Funeral Services -Garages
-Old Peoples Homes -The Rangiora A&P Showgrounds
-Special places where old people -The Regent Theatre (a little cinema
can live in a small community with upstairs and a thetre for
other old people performances downstairs.
-Vets -They have Jewellers, bed sellers,
-Dentist X-Ray, Chemists, a The Warehouse,
-Doctors Sports World, High Country Sports,
Greek, Chinese, Indian, Thai,
Fish and Chips, KFC and many more
Takeaway places.

It's about 10 minutes away from Kaiapoi and you only have to travel down one oad to get there. (Kaiapoi has more gangs, young people and taggers, while rangiora is more calm, but also has quite a lot of young people.)
It's about 30 minutes to the outskirts of Christchurch (Northlands Mall) and just a little longer to the city centre.

It's about 20 minutes from Waikuku with the all famous Waikuku Beach.
Rangi is 35-40 minutes away from Oxford and 15-20 minutes away from Woodend.

Seriously though, come and check out Rangiora. It may soung like i'm bragging but Rangiora is honestly totally awesome!!

I know i've rambled on alot but Rangiora has so much to offer and sorry if i have bored you lol!!!

Hope i helped,
LittleBird94
xox
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Old Apr 11th 2009, 3:22 am
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

on the restaurant thing it should be spaced out e.g

-Robbies Bar and Bistro
and next to it is -indian, well those should be inderneath eachother and are not a description of the thing infront!!!

=)
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Old Apr 11th 2009, 5:01 am
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

Hello, I live in Rangiora. We like living out here as it is relaxing, has the benefits of a small town atmosphere and is close Christchurch if you are looking for something in particular.

Our children attend the Ashgrove Primary school. Team Embro uses the New Life school and I believe that they are very happy with it too.

When considering where to live in Rangiora I suggest that you avoid the east side of town. The east side of town was recently surveyed as being at the very bottom of the social development ladder on the South Island.

We happen to live in the Oaks, and while the post previously was somewhat entertaining, it is not very accurate. It is true that there are building covenants on the properties in the Oaks, but they stipulate things like hieghts of fences, minimum size of house on the larger sections and maximum size on the smaller sections. When you own a vacant section, you are required to not let the grass grow tall and messy, which is a benefit to the rest of us who already live here. There are no rules regarding sunbathing or mowing topless, thankfully, the neighbours here all have sense enough to mow the lawn with a shirt on. I can't stand shirt optional neighbours.

We have a nice view of the snow topped mountains from our place, too bad it is from the driveway and front yard instead of the lounge. The kids school is nice, but I wouldn't give it a perfect score. The assistant principle is all smiles to the parents but is very disrespectful to the children and to my mind should have retired or moved on to something else more suiting his personality. I think there is room for improvement in many ways, but it is not a bad school at all.

Rangiora has two reasonable grocery store and a general merchandise store called the Warehouse. There are several places to get your car fixed, get supplies for your garden. There is also a department store called Farmers. As pointed out there are doctors and dentist offices too. So, much fo what you need is really handy. There are a number of church's too as was pointed out, but non have a Sunday evening service, which I like.

We like it out here as it is a quiet and pleasant place to live. I think the previous poster said something to the affect that Rangiora was pretty or something like that. I find it is much like many places in New Zealand. I wouldn't call it pretty, but I would say it is a nice place to be.

We are going to the beachtonight to watch the moon come up out of the ocean. The beach is only 10 minutes from town, the other poster must ride a motor scooter.

We were up Mount Thomas again two weekends ago. It is just over 1,000 meters high and presents a very nice view from the top of the mountains to the west and the ocean to the east. Mount Thomas is about 25 minutes from town by car.

We have a good library in town also. There is a new covered pool going in and a sports centre that is also used by the high school. The sports centre is adequate, but could use a pick me up now in my opinion.

Don't be alarmed with previous poster's comment about people out in pajamas etc. This is not the norm. You will notice that bare feet is not uncommon all over NZ. I have seen someone in the Warehouse in just socks and I have seen a person out in their slippers. I believe I have seen some young person out in their plaid PJ bottoms and a t-shirt.

The town has expereinced growth at different times in the past. This is possible to be seen in the variety of styles of homes. Many of the older homes have been done up just to the east of us and are very pleasant. I would say that the town is tidy all round.

I was out at the nursery at Woodend. I really enjoyed the drive back (only 10 minutes not the time specified by the other poster) and had a nice view of the snow topped mountains all the way. I find I have a nice happy relaxed feeling when taking in the views.

In the summer time, a local earth moving company, digs out a couple of pools in the river for swimming.

Living in Rangiora feels like home to me. Christchurch never did feel like home. I found Christchurch to be busy all over and didn't really seem to offer an improved style of living that would warrant a move. However, there are nice sporting clubs and facilities in Chch, but that does not make it unique as we have some good clubs out this way too. We use the tennis club here and enjoy it. The kids have also been playing basket ball. We have given up the soccer. Music and art lessons are also available.

If you would like some particular details or photos, let me know via a PM.
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Old Apr 11th 2009, 10:26 am
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

does anyone have any further experiences or details on Sumner,Redcliffs,Cashmere, or Westmorland.
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Old Apr 11th 2009, 11:11 am
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

Originally Posted by kiwiwoodpecker
does anyone have any further experiences or details on Sumner,Redcliffs,Cashmere, or Westmorland.
we rented in westmoreland before we moved to halswell - nice houses although big money, but very hilly - you'd need to have good biking legs if you lived up there. also nothing really in walking distance - need to get in your car even to get to the local shop for some milk :-)
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Old Apr 11th 2009, 12:01 pm
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

Originally Posted by kiwiwoodpecker
does anyone have any further experiences or details on Sumner,Redcliffs,Cashmere, or Westmorland.
kiwiwoodpecker, it's probably easier if you explain what kind of home, neighbourhood, nearby amenities, lifestyle you are hoping for ?? (I say 'hoping' because what we hoped for and what we found in Chch, in terms of houses/neighbourhoods/'clean and green' particularly, were not on the same page).

Chch is very smoggy from woodburners in the winter by the way. Seriously smoggy (so is Rangiora too I understand, although apparently nearby Kaiapoi is not anywhere near as bad), with something like an average 25-30 'red alert' days (dangerous levels of pm 2.5 in the air) every winter. Unfortunately, a large percentage of Brits who migrate to New Zealand/Christchurch don't seem able or willing to grasp the major health implications to their neighbours (and to their own children and themselves) of using logburners as a source of heat, or open fireplaces for a bit of ambience, and often actually seek out homes with logburners and open fires. Some areas of Chch are worse than others for logburner smog (Woolston can be particularly bad), but even in a less smoky suburb, you just need one neighbour with a smoky burner to ruin your enjoyment of life - in my experience unfortunately. NZ apparently has second highest rate of asthma in children in the world (UK has highest rate I believe), and smog is almost certainly a major factor in this rate... But for many, fire wood is cheap or free, so no chance the situation will get much better any time soon, no matter what Environment Canterbury does to try to reduce woodburning emissions...

Have you tried using 'street view' or whatever it's called on 'Google Maps' to have a look-see? Use 'satellite' view as well to have a look at the suburbs mentioned, to get a bit of an idea of how the suburbs are laid out (and how close the houses are to each other, and how small many of the gardens are!! If you're not looking for a large section, you'll be in luck)

Edit: Oh, Heathcote or Heathcote Valley is also another 'suburb' to look into

Oh again! 'Terrain' view in Google Maps is actually really useful for you to understand what south Chch is like in terms of the hills and valleys (the rest of Chch is basically very flat). Thing is, for each of the valleys you see (The north part of Sumner closest to the beach is a valley for instance), there are hills on either side that can reduce sunlight hours to your property. Hill properties tend to have better sunlight, but often at the expense of 'flat' gardens or lawns.

Last edited by Black Sheep; Apr 11th 2009 at 12:24 pm.
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Old Apr 11th 2009, 11:42 pm
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

With respect to air pollution, Evironment Canterbury does not monitor or publish PM2.5, which I agree is more of a standard elsewhere. Ecan monitors and publishes PM10 data. Also, you stated Rangiora has more bad air days than Kaiapoi, however the data below from the Ecan website indicates Rangiora has fewer bad air days.

PM10 exceedences (over 50 micrograms) in Canterbury air sheds


Place, number of exceedences, highest reading since 1999
Christchurch 14-51 220
Timaru 33-52 190
Kaiapoi 17-40 163
Rangiora 5-15 138
Ashburton 13-23 136
Waimate 0-10 95
Geraldine 1-5 62




You have to read between the lines to understand air pollution in NZ. I read that NZ suffers from a shortage of electricity. Certainly the very high prices for electricity seems to support the idea of a shortage. Also, people seem to suffer with lower incomes leading to the burning of wood over heating with electric heaters.

You know today is so stunning. The air is clear, the sky blue, the temperature warm and the air fresh. It is too bad as I scan the countryside today, columns of smoke are rising from the ground all over. Farmers are burning off their otherwise biodegradable waste spoiling the air and views.
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Old Apr 12th 2009, 12:22 am
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Default Re: looking at christchurch

LOL! CAN2NZ, sorry! I might have got the travel times a bit wrong - I'm usually plugged into my iPod whilst mum or dad drive. But I do think Rangiora is pretty. I have school friends that moved to The Oaks and it was their parent who were going on about all the rules and restrictions! I love where we live with the park opposite and that we can keep chickens. And yes people do where PJ's out to do shopping and go to the cinema here! When mum worked nights in the supermarket she was always laughing at the adults who came in in PJs and barefeet! (Mum's TEAMEMBO) I love that Rangiora's so laid back and not fashion conscious like some places and most of the people we know here are more interested in who you are not what you have or don't have. It's just so refreshing and we get a nice sence of freedom we didn't have before. Just my teenage opinion and my take on things Happy Easter by the way
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