MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Jan 11th 2009, 9:32 am
#16
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Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 84
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
I was just looking at this site and it seems that street view is not available in alot of Hillmorten, just seems to be the main arterial roads.
Streets that are nice are the streets on the other side of Halswel road being West Watson Ave, Warren Cres, Charles Upham to name a few.
Streets to avoid would definetly be Mc Carthy Street, Haslam Crescent and some of the surronding streets as this is alot of state housing area.
Jan 11th 2009, 9:44 am
#17
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Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 84
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
When you say your DHs work is in this general area is he in the industrial area behind Hillmorton?
Have you looked at any of the other surronding suburbs because I can also let you know about any of them.
As a lot of the others have said on here Halswell is also a nice suburb and right next to Hillmorton, Hoon hay is another nice suburb to live in and also borders Hillmorton.
Christchurch is a very flat city apart from the port hills of course and very easy to bike through. I wouldnt want to be biking in the middle of winter though but that is just me alot of people still do.
Jan 12th 2009, 6:32 am
#18
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Location: Dunedin now, Rangiora and Christchurch before
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Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Westburn Primary is an excellent school over in Ilam near the university. It also enjoys an active relationship with the College of Education and music links in with the orchestra downtown. You children can take most any muscial instrument and the school has three suzuki violin classes. If you liked High School Musical, you will be thrilled with the school productions put on by Westburn. Merrin is another very good school
Jan 12th 2009, 11:43 am
#19
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Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 7
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Hi Ang,
Thanks for the great information on schools, that is the biggest worry for me as you can imagine for a mum. I had already checked out cashmere primary school and it looks fab!
My husband is a HGV driver and is employer's depot (where the lorry is) is based near the Hillmorton area of Christchurch, therefore we have been looking on trademe and harcourts for rented accomodation in that area.
Is it a reasonably nice area to live?, I mean no gangs or trouble etc?
When you said to drive around Christchurch takes roughly 15mins, is that through city traffic? or where is it to?, we didnt really understand that bit?!
We are wanting to survive being a one car family (we have 2 cars in UK), I will hopefully get a wee part-time job to suit school hours and holidays for the children.
If you have any other useful tips they are gratefully recieved.
Thanks for getting in touch, Tricia x
Thanks for the great information on schools, that is the biggest worry for me as you can imagine for a mum. I had already checked out cashmere primary school and it looks fab!
My husband is a HGV driver and is employer's depot (where the lorry is) is based near the Hillmorton area of Christchurch, therefore we have been looking on trademe and harcourts for rented accomodation in that area.
Is it a reasonably nice area to live?, I mean no gangs or trouble etc?
When you said to drive around Christchurch takes roughly 15mins, is that through city traffic? or where is it to?, we didnt really understand that bit?!
We are wanting to survive being a one car family (we have 2 cars in UK), I will hopefully get a wee part-time job to suit school hours and holidays for the children.
If you have any other useful tips they are gratefully recieved.
Thanks for getting in touch, Tricia x
We too are a family looking to emigrate to NZ, in particular Christchurch.
You stated in your earlier email that your husband is a HGV driver and has a job offer in Hillmorton. My husband is also a HGV driver, we are hoping to get into NZ through a work to residence visa. This entails my husband being offered a permanent job with an accredited company - that is recognised with NZ immigration - with a salary of $55k (basic - working no more than 40 hrs a week) and after two years, if no problems - health etc, we should be entitled to apply for residency. Is this the route you and yours are thinking of taking? If so could you please advise how your husband was able to get a job offer? We have emailed all the accredited haulage companies in south island - basically asking what job opportunities are there for UK truck drivers. We have received no response.
Thanks
Jo
Jan 12th 2009, 12:05 pm
#20
Tartan Treasure
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Scotland
Posts: 20
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Hi
We too are a family looking to emigrate to NZ, in particular Christchurch.
You stated in your earlier email that your husband is a HGV driver and has a job offer in Hillmorton. My husband is also a HGV driver, we are hoping to get into NZ through a work to residence visa. This entails my husband being offered a permanent job with an accredited company - that is recognised with NZ immigration - with a salary of $55k (basic - working no more than 40 hrs a week) and after two years, if no problems - health etc, we should be entitled to apply for residency. Is this the route you and yours are thinking of taking? If so could you please advise how your husband was able to get a job offer? We have emailed all the accredited haulage companies in south island - basically asking what job opportunities are there for UK truck drivers. We have received no response.
Thanks
Jo
We too are a family looking to emigrate to NZ, in particular Christchurch.
You stated in your earlier email that your husband is a HGV driver and has a job offer in Hillmorton. My husband is also a HGV driver, we are hoping to get into NZ through a work to residence visa. This entails my husband being offered a permanent job with an accredited company - that is recognised with NZ immigration - with a salary of $55k (basic - working no more than 40 hrs a week) and after two years, if no problems - health etc, we should be entitled to apply for residency. Is this the route you and yours are thinking of taking? If so could you please advise how your husband was able to get a job offer? We have emailed all the accredited haulage companies in south island - basically asking what job opportunities are there for UK truck drivers. We have received no response.
Thanks
Jo
We live in Dumfriesshire which borders Scotland, we saw the job advertised in our local paper The Cumberland News Paper which is a English newspaper based in Carlisle.
The firm is called FW McDowalls Ltd and they are a big company throughout South Island and with depots in the North but mainly South. We are travelling out on the maximum of 3 year working visa's with this firm giving my husband a 3yr job offer (they are an accredited employer), I will be applying for a work visa and student visa's for the children so they can go to school. But our application is through my husband's job offer.
Once we have been in the country and if we like it we will then apply for Residency from NZ. My husband will be back to driving long hours again between 50-70 hours per week for $16 per hour!! This is not a fantastic wage but it is a start and we are very grateful for the firm that is employing my husband for this opportunity and it will enable us to live our dream!!
I will of course be looking for a part-time job, once the children are settled in Christchurch etc as we will need the other wage and I will need to make friends etc.
Hope this helps in anyway Tricia x
Jan 12th 2009, 12:09 pm
#21
Tartan Treasure
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Scotland
Posts: 20
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
When you say your DHs work is in this general area is he in the industrial area behind Hillmorton?
Have you looked at any of the other surronding suburbs because I can also let you know about any of them.
As a lot of the others have said on here Halswell is also a nice suburb and right next to Hillmorton, Hoon hay is another nice suburb to live in and also borders Hillmorton.
Christchurch is a very flat city apart from the port hills of course and very easy to bike through. I wouldnt want to be biking in the middle of winter though but that is just me alot of people still do.
Have you looked at any of the other surronding suburbs because I can also let you know about any of them.
As a lot of the others have said on here Halswell is also a nice suburb and right next to Hillmorton, Hoon hay is another nice suburb to live in and also borders Hillmorton.
Christchurch is a very flat city apart from the port hills of course and very easy to bike through. I wouldnt want to be biking in the middle of winter though but that is just me alot of people still do.
You are being really helpful so thankyou very much for all your assistance. My husband is going to be working for a firm called FW McDowall Ltd and their depot is in an area called Magdala Place, Middleton, Christchurch.
The firm perhaps thought that we should look to live in the Riccarton area as it is close by.
I am writing down all these great tips from you and everyone who is kindly replying to me down in my diary.
Cheers Tricia x
Jan 13th 2009, 5:51 am
#22
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 84
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
I thought it might be in that area. That is a huge industrial area in there and close suburbs are Riccarton, Sockburn, Hillmorton, Addington.
Depending on what you can afford to spend on accomdation will factor in where you want to live. There are some good and bad areas in all of these suburbs.
Spreydon and Barrington are quite nice areas as well but these do have a lot more of your older weather board homes but in my opinion they do have nicer schools.
My DHs office was based in the exact same area as where your DH will be based and we used to live in Spreydon and he could easily bike to work. We moved from Spreydon as we were in a old villa which looks really nice but they are very cold and damp in the winter. We wanted a more modern house and more rooms which is what we got but we are now living in a suburb on the other side of town to where your DH will be based and there is no way he would be able to bike to work from here, unless of course he is very fit.
Riccarton I have no idea about any of their schools as I dont know of anybody that has ever attended or lived in that area.
Depending on what you can afford to spend on accomdation will factor in where you want to live. There are some good and bad areas in all of these suburbs.
Spreydon and Barrington are quite nice areas as well but these do have a lot more of your older weather board homes but in my opinion they do have nicer schools.
My DHs office was based in the exact same area as where your DH will be based and we used to live in Spreydon and he could easily bike to work. We moved from Spreydon as we were in a old villa which looks really nice but they are very cold and damp in the winter. We wanted a more modern house and more rooms which is what we got but we are now living in a suburb on the other side of town to where your DH will be based and there is no way he would be able to bike to work from here, unless of course he is very fit.
Riccarton I have no idea about any of their schools as I dont know of anybody that has ever attended or lived in that area.
Jan 13th 2009, 7:49 am
#23
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 336
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Hi there,
Thankyou very much for all your very useful information :0). Everybody has been so kind and helpful, I wish I had joined earlier!!
You say some areas of Hillmorton are dodgy (suppose like anywhere in UK or other countries there will be a GOOD & BAD area!!)
Is there anychance you remember the Street names to avoid, my hubby likes the look of the brick rental properties in this area!!, and it is close to his work as he plans to push bike to work, so I have the car (when we get one).
Thanks again for the help,
Cheers Tricia x
Thankyou very much for all your very useful information :0). Everybody has been so kind and helpful, I wish I had joined earlier!!
You say some areas of Hillmorton are dodgy (suppose like anywhere in UK or other countries there will be a GOOD & BAD area!!)
Is there anychance you remember the Street names to avoid, my hubby likes the look of the brick rental properties in this area!!, and it is close to his work as he plans to push bike to work, so I have the car (when we get one).
Thanks again for the help,
Cheers Tricia x
Lin
Jan 13th 2009, 8:12 am
#24
Tartan Treasure
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Scotland
Posts: 20
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Hi Tricia yes we do have bad areas just like most in the world it will all come down to how much you can pay to rent what price have you been looking in? (if you dont mind me asking that) but have to say I would not like my husband to use a bike in the rush hour you have to see for your self how people drive ...pull out in front of you:curse: ..do a uturn right in front of you....:curse:dont indicate especially at roundabouts:curse: woops must stop now as we do have some good bike lanes but cars can park in them.
Lin
Lin
The biking idea is my husbands!!, we have a good car in the UK and he has a older work car, he is thinking to bike ( he will be heading off for work probably 6am) so we can survive on being a one car family to start off with. Everything is IF's and BUT's but we won't really know what to do or where to live until we are in Christchurch and seeing it for ourselves..think I will avoid rush hour traffic lol !! sounds a nightmare especially for a 'wee towny girl' like me I ain't used to city living AAARGH!!!, will have to get used it soon though :0).
Cheers Tricia x
Jan 13th 2009, 8:24 am
#25
Tartan Treasure
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Scotland
Posts: 20
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
I thought it might be in that area. That is a huge industrial area in there and close suburbs are Riccarton, Sockburn, Hillmorton, Addington.
Depending on what you can afford to spend on accomdation will factor in where you want to live. There are some good and bad areas in all of these suburbs.
Spreydon and Barrington are quite nice areas as well but these do have a lot more of your older weather board homes but in my opinion they do have nicer schools.
My DHs office was based in the exact same area as where your DH will be based and we used to live in Spreydon and he could easily bike to work. We moved from Spreydon as we were in a old villa which looks really nice but they are very cold and damp in the winter. We wanted a more modern house and more rooms which is what we got but we are now living in a suburb on the other side of town to where your DH will be based and there is no way he would be able to bike to work from here, unless of course he is very fit.
Riccarton I have no idea about any of their schools as I dont know of anybody that has ever attended or lived in that area.
Depending on what you can afford to spend on accomdation will factor in where you want to live. There are some good and bad areas in all of these suburbs.
Spreydon and Barrington are quite nice areas as well but these do have a lot more of your older weather board homes but in my opinion they do have nicer schools.
My DHs office was based in the exact same area as where your DH will be based and we used to live in Spreydon and he could easily bike to work. We moved from Spreydon as we were in a old villa which looks really nice but they are very cold and damp in the winter. We wanted a more modern house and more rooms which is what we got but we are now living in a suburb on the other side of town to where your DH will be based and there is no way he would be able to bike to work from here, unless of course he is very fit.
Riccarton I have no idea about any of their schools as I dont know of anybody that has ever attended or lived in that area.
Very useful information that you gave us on the older weatherboard houses. These would be no good for us, especially if they are prone to damp conditions in the winter months as both my husband and middle child suffer from Asthma.
We are very very pleased that you have passed this info on as we would never have known this until it was toooo late and perhaps in a contract on a property.
I think we will be opting to rent a newer property probably brick.
Many thanks Tricia x
Jan 13th 2009, 8:40 am
#26
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 84
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Some of the older brick houses can be damp too so just be careful of what you get. If you aim for a house built after the 1980s you should be right as it was about this time that full insulation became compulsary in houses built here.
With some of your family having asthma I would avoid completely a weatherboard house unless it has been fully redone and insulated. A lot of ppl love these houses as they think they are romantic and have character but I think they are just cold and would never ever live in one again.
With your DH starting work at 6am he shouldnt have much trouble with traffic as I dont think rush hour really starts till after 7am. Rush hour is no where near as bad in Chch as it is in other major cities either so you might not find it too bad. I drive my DD 6km to school and it takes between 5-10minutes.
With some of your family having asthma I would avoid completely a weatherboard house unless it has been fully redone and insulated. A lot of ppl love these houses as they think they are romantic and have character but I think they are just cold and would never ever live in one again.
With your DH starting work at 6am he shouldnt have much trouble with traffic as I dont think rush hour really starts till after 7am. Rush hour is no where near as bad in Chch as it is in other major cities either so you might not find it too bad. I drive my DD 6km to school and it takes between 5-10minutes.
Jan 13th 2009, 9:07 am
#27
Just Joined
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 7
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Hi,
We live in Dumfriesshire which borders Scotland, we saw the job advertised in our local paper The Cumberland News Paper which is a English newspaper based in Carlisle.
The firm is called FW McDowalls Ltd and they are a big company throughout South Island and with depots in the North but mainly South. We are travelling out on the maximum of 3 year working visa's with this firm giving my husband a 3yr job offer (they are an accredited employer), I will be applying for a work visa and student visa's for the children so they can go to school. But our application is through my husband's job offer.
Once we have been in the country and if we like it we will then apply for Residency from NZ. My husband will be back to driving long hours again between 50-70 hours per week for $16 per hour!! This is not a fantastic wage but it is a start and we are very grateful for the firm that is employing my husband for this opportunity and it will enable us to live our dream!!
I will of course be looking for a part-time job, once the children are settled in Christchurch etc as we will need the other wage and I will need to make friends etc.
Hope this helps in anyway Tricia x
We live in Dumfriesshire which borders Scotland, we saw the job advertised in our local paper The Cumberland News Paper which is a English newspaper based in Carlisle.
The firm is called FW McDowalls Ltd and they are a big company throughout South Island and with depots in the North but mainly South. We are travelling out on the maximum of 3 year working visa's with this firm giving my husband a 3yr job offer (they are an accredited employer), I will be applying for a work visa and student visa's for the children so they can go to school. But our application is through my husband's job offer.
Once we have been in the country and if we like it we will then apply for Residency from NZ. My husband will be back to driving long hours again between 50-70 hours per week for $16 per hour!! This is not a fantastic wage but it is a start and we are very grateful for the firm that is employing my husband for this opportunity and it will enable us to live our dream!!
I will of course be looking for a part-time job, once the children are settled in Christchurch etc as we will need the other wage and I will need to make friends etc.
Hope this helps in anyway Tricia x
I hope you succeed in your new adventure!
Jo
Feb 1st 2009, 12:14 am
#28
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 336
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Hi kidscarer
Very useful information that you gave us on the older weatherboard houses. These would be no good for us, especially if they are prone to damp conditions in the winter months as both my husband and middle child suffer from Asthma.
We are very very pleased that you have passed this info on as we would never have known this until it was toooo late and perhaps in a contract on a property.
I think we will be opting to rent a newer property probably brick.
Many thanks Tricia x
Very useful information that you gave us on the older weatherboard houses. These would be no good for us, especially if they are prone to damp conditions in the winter months as both my husband and middle child suffer from Asthma.
We are very very pleased that you have passed this info on as we would never have known this until it was toooo late and perhaps in a contract on a property.
I think we will be opting to rent a newer property probably brick.
Many thanks Tricia x
Please if you can Do rent a property that is brick or your sure that the wooden house has had a full make over that includes INSULATION in the walls and floors, and a must HEATING , as a part time real estate agent I fully understand how cold the older homes can be, and the smell can be quite bad
some time I can do an open home an my suit smells even for the short time I am in the home. EVEN helps if the home has got DVS..Christchurch is all to do with school zone and good quality rental come and go so quickly as with homes on the market for sale.
Regards Lin
Feb 1st 2009, 10:04 pm
#29
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Blenheim
Posts: 226
Re: MOVING TO CHRISTCHURCH
Westburn Primary is an excellent school over in Ilam near the university. It also enjoys an active relationship with the College of Education and music links in with the orchestra downtown. You children can take most any muscial instrument and the school has three suzuki violin classes. If you liked High School Musical, you will be thrilled with the school productions put on by Westburn. Merrin is another very good school
you mentioned a music school? can you give me any info on it pls. will hopefully be moving to the Christchurch area later on in the year with a 15yr old who is heavily into music and drama. Not sure on the exaxct area yet but this will prob be based on schools.
many thanx
