colinc

What do you except to get for your money when moving to New Zealand?
I.e. property prices and general cost of living.
Could anyone recommend and places to live in New Zealand considering we have 3 teenage children, one is now working web page design

The Simpsons

If you've got lots of UK Pounds to bring, then you'll be able to get a nice property etc.

I've only just stopped converting back to pounds everytime I buy something and I'm a lot more carefull now I realise how little my NZ salary will buy!

We have fortunately/unfortunately managed to rent in a more expensive area of Auckland. We love it here, but we will will have to have a hefty mortgage if we want to stay as the house prices are high. It's hard to find anything in this area for under $500,000. But we don't have a huge deposit, so it would be much easier if you have a good deposit.

theguitardoctor

HI there,

It totally depends on what you are looking for - you can get a hell of a lot of land and property away from the main cities, but if you have to work in the city, it limits your choices. Auckland is the most expensive area followed by most of Wellington, so you have to commute and have the property / lifestyle or live in a smaller place in the city (but this is the same world over). All areas have lower priced zones, but there tends to be a reason for this so make sure you investigate an area before making a purchase. Some bad areas are so close to good areas that it's hard to decide where one ends and the other starts.

There's an IT market in most cities, so by avoiding Auckland and Welington, you should get a good sixed property (3 beds on some land) for about £100,000 - £130,000.

Rich

rickandkara

Hi Guitardoctor

We are thinking of moving to Wellington, could you give a bit of advice. How far is Porirua or Kapiti coast from Wellington (for commuting to work), what is property like in these areas and are they nice areas. We leave a week today.

How are you doing, things any better? I've read a couple of your posts and know your having a hard time of it.

Thanks
Kara

theguitardoctor

Hi there,

If you come to Wellington give us a shout - you can mail me via [email protected]

As regards Porirua, (approx 20km away = 30 mins in traffic) it depends on what you want - its' not the best area by all accounts, though it beats a lot of UK areas with an average of only 4 shopping trollies in the local Hutt River. The housing is cheap, but there are better areas to locate yourself. Plimmerton is slightly further North and it's pretty quiet with very few shops etc, but it's easy enough to get to the city / Kapiti. The Kapiti coast is beautiful, but is a good hour away from Wellington...even on the train. The drive is 48km and is a b***tard around the Porirua roundabout. Petone is ok, a bit industrial, but very close to the city. There are plenty of suburbs in which to buy, but they vary in price vastly.

Personally, I'd rent until you get a feel for the place as you could make a bad decision if its hasty. We rent for $295 in a place just south of the city (25 mins in traffic, although it's only about 10km away maximum), but we're moving further up the coast if we stay as it's really exposed when the wind and rain hits (plus it's on a bloody huge faultline and the wife is concerned about the earthquake risk)...

We may go as far as Kapiti, but it's a fair trek back into Wellington city, so we'll have to gauge it if we decide to stay. Things are still pretty difficult but we are trying to pull together rather than destroy it all...time will tell which way it goes.

Rich

rickandkara

I'm a Business analyst therefore I need to live near the city to get a job. We want to buy as soon as possible but don't want to make a mistake with the area. I think its really important to settle on an area as soon as we can so we can enroll the kids in their new school for the end of Jan and not uproot them again.

We have a wish list of what we want in our new house but for me the top is a view of the ocean that's why I ask about Porirua and Kapita.

Hope things work out for you.

Kara

theguitardoctor

Hi again,

You can't see the sea from Porirua so that rules that one out !! It is next to water - a harbour, but there is very little that happens there with regards to boating etc. If you want to be close to the sea, then you'll need to look at Lyall Bay, Island Bay, Kilbirnie, Oriental Bay, Seatoun, Khandallah, Karori, Kelburn, Kaiwharrawharra, Hataitai, Evans Bay, Seatoun Heights, Petone Seaview, Eastbourne, Days Bay etc. Some parts can see the sea, other parts cannot, so you'll have to look for a house with a view...you will pay more this end of the city, but it will save you in costs of transport etc. Some are a little further afield than others too, so it's worth a month or 2 in rental just to gauge the journey etc..

Rich

jandjuk

Kara,

I presume you know of www.open2view.com, www.nethomes.co.nz, and www.realenz.co.nz....

If you search for property on these, you can then look up the suburbs on www.ero.govt.nz to see what the schooling is like.

Depending on what kind of sea view you want, you could also investigate the western hills of the hutt valley. Maungaraki is up and coming I believe.

If you want an amazing sea view, 3/4 bedroom house, a good school zone, a flattish section, and a 30 minute commute - you could easily be looking at $600,000 and above. Compromise on one of those features, and I think you'd get something for a lot less though - say $350,000 and above.

Rich,

about the fault lines - my partner researchs natural hazards for a living, and she says that unless you live DIRECTLY on a fault line (ie where the ground is likely to open up and swallow you!) or on an area prone to slip, then living near a fault line is not too risky. (just don't hang pictures above your bed, and firmly attach bookcases etc to the wall - so they don't fall on you!)

Earthquake risk in Wgtn is very real. But the buildings in the CBD are built to sway rather than crumble - so the biggest risk is that the only road into Wgtn will be completely cut off by earthquake, slips, or tidal waves!

Don't worry, I live in terror of these things because I hear about them all the time! But she assures me that there really is nothing to worry about!

(PS good to hear you're sticking it out for a little longer).

jandjuk

Hi Colin,

Tough question to answer. It really depends on what you and your family want from life... what sorts of things you like to do in your spare time etc?

Also it depends on what you do for a living....

Unlike the UK, it is often difficult to pick a place and then find work in a commutable area around that place. The popn is much thinner in NZ, and transport connections make lond distance commuting difficult.

Generally, I would say this.

If you at all into the arts - and you want any kind of selection - I would stick to Wellington or Auckland. Compared with many UK cities, the choice is still very limited, but the culture shock may be too big if you went from London to Dunedin for example. Same sort of thing with shopping.

Many people on this forum make the mistake of thinking that they need to emigrate from city to rural as well as from the UK to NZ/Aus. Even coming from Oxford UK, I know I couldn't go back and live anywhere in NZ much smaller than Wgtn or Auck (not at first anyway). The lack of shopping, worldy attitudes, and arts would bother me too much. I'd get used to it after a while - but as nice as places like Nelson and Napier are - I would find them too small and isolated.

Just some things to think about - but it really depends on what kind of life you're looking for - and if you prefer spending your weekend tramping, surfing, or skiing, or having at least a moderate amount of 'urban' style activities. The reason I wouldn't venture far from NZ's cities - is that you can easily have the first three things and still live in a city. Not so easy the other way around.