Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Hi there,

My wife and I are moving to Auckland landing on the 10th November (currently on honeymoon :) ) and have started to look at areas where to live, we are struggling and have little knowledge of the local areas when it comes to looking at houses. Firstly a little info about us:

- ideally don't want to be to centrally located
-looking for a 3-4 bed property
-$500-600 a week rental prices though we could prob go a little above this.
-I'm 30 & wife is 28 looking to start a family

Having done some research the north shore looks quite good but fairly expensive (not sure if this is correct), I've been offered a job that will either be based in and around the airport or in the CBD so the commute might be a little hellish from North Shore. Having said that we are moving from London and I've never had a commute below 1hr (usually around the 90mins mark).

Are there any areas to avoid at all?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks in advance.

James

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

West Auckland is your best bet IMHO. Try Blockhouse Bay and the suburbs close to SH20 (motorway to the airport), and its new Waterview tunnel to give you good access to the CBD via SH16.

North Shore is fine but you'll pay for it with a longer commute and more expensive rentals. Auckland has a pretty good motorway network but its all south of the Harbour bridge ;-)

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Not sure about your not centrally located, but some good suburbs for airport access would be:

-Parts of Onehunga
-One Tree Hill
-Royal Oak
-Three Kings
-Blockhouse Bay
-Hillsborough
-Maybe Elleslie

If those are too central, then maybe Pakuranga (not sure about traffic), West Auckland as above or South Auckland (but many areas are not nice)

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Also the whole Howick - Botany - Pakuranga area pretty good and about 20 minutes to airport offpeak. About 35 mins peak.

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

My suggestion longer to city than somewhere like Blockhouse Bay though.

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Titirangi is a great place to be. Also known as Britirangi due to a lot of Brits here thinking the same. Check it out - we love living here.

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

I agree. Titirangi is very nice. All those trees!

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

I lived in Blockhouse bay for a year, though will be returning home soon. I found the area fine. Not to expensive and easy to commute to CBD. Also my friend worked close to the airport and the commute seemed easy enough. The traffic can be congested at times, though I assure you it is nothing compare to London.

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Hey James just reread your post - Titirangi definitely great for you as we are 25 mins to the airport and traffic adds maybe 10 mins going out that way. Best thing to look for a rental is on www.trademe.com or go on Facebook and join the Titirangi Facebook group (go the one that just says Titirangi not the Titirangi Official Page as this one is crap) as lots of rentals listed on there. If you have some $$ and want to buy a house right by the village itself PM me ;)

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Hi James. I don't mean to hijack your thread but I am new to this forum, and soon to be new to NZ, expecting to move early 2018.

I'll be working in Auckland's CBD, and have seen a few nice looking rental opportunities, even close to work. But ideally I would be looking to buy shortly afterwards.
Problem is I'm in my late 40s, never owned a home (got stuck in London rentals) and will likely only have a small deposit.

Any tips on buying, as the only affordable flats/houses seem to be leasehold, often with unreasonable ground rents!

Don't want to get out here and find dreams falls flat before its taken off!

thanks, Mark

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

If you are considering buying soon after arrival you must understand that the majority of lenders here will insist on at least a 20% deposit. This also equates to a maximum LTV of 80% of the asset. The actual figures may differ slightly depending on your personal circumstances and the associated risk to the lender.
There are some exceptions to this rule - for example the Welcome Home Loan Scheme for first home buyers which is a deposit of 10% assuming you qualified of course as there is criteria to meet - see here :-
Am I eligible | Welcome Home Loan

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Beachlands may be worth a look - lot of pilots live out here. Used to be a little kiwi summer retreat but has recently been developed - can grab a ferry into town if you need to.

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Might be worth a read, don't help you with prices but does predict the up and coming areas - mostly round new transport hubs

https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/property/98826182/where-to-buy-to-catch-aucklands-future-housing-value-gains

Re: Moving to Auckland - need a little help with areas to live
 

Not the greatest article I've read - mentions Mt Eden, good luck finding anything under $2-3 million these days for a 1/4 acre section.