wardiz

Hi everyone

The sun has actually come out in England this morning after a week of non stop bloody rain. The kids are back to school on Monday after their two week Easter break, life is good LOL

Anyway my husband has been offered a job in East Tamaki, does anybody know of any decent suburbs around this area.

We need a decent school for a 7, 9 and 11 year old. Average size house but ideally with a big garden, I really don't fancy feeling closed in. I suppose like everybody else moving to NZ I want to feel as though I am actually getting to experience some of the glorious countyside. I would love to live somewhere with a good community spirit that is not overcrowded.

Any advice would be great

Thanks

Lisa

annaerb

Hi Lisa,

The area where I live is called "Maraetai" which is about 25mins to East Tamaki and is semi rural and by the beach. The other areas around here are whitford,pine harbour,beachlands,maraetai,clevedon.
You also have Howick,Botany,eastern beach,bucklands beach, pakuranga, medowlands,dannemora,flat bush.

http://www.pohutukawacoast.co.nz/view.asp?PageNo=0

kiwichild

I don't know much about the area as I grew up on the North Shore. However I do know that the NZ PM during 70s-80s (National Party, equivalent to UK Conservative Party) lived in Tamaki for years and was the MP there. So I imagine Tamaki would be a comfortable area to live in but East Tamaki itself I'm not sure of.

annaerb

Kiwichild,

You would be really surprised at all areas now especially if you have been away for so long. I know I was surprised after I had been away for 7yrs.

My Friend has a 2acre block in East Tamaki which is off chapel road (Gracechurch drive) it was all surrounded by Farmland, small acre lifestyle blocks. Well it's not anymore Luckily she still has her land and will only sell to the developers if she gets desparate for cash.

The East Tamaki area/Flat Bush/Botany/Dannemora etc is really built up now. The Farms have all gone.
They are building a whole new town which is going to house 40,000 families, shops, schools etc at present they call this area Flat Bush but they are looking at changing the name to Ormiston(I think) .

SarahB

Yes, we've not yet been here a year but the Flat Bush area has changed so much even in that short time.

We live in Beachlands which is next to Maraetai. We like it here. My OH has joined the Volunteer Fire Brigade here and now we are actually talking about selling my house in the UK to enable us to put a deposit on a house here in Beachlands..... thats how much we like it here. You are more than welcome to PM me if you want any info on Beachlands. There is a thriving Brit Ex-Pat community in Beachlands too if youre interested.... most people here are friendly.... even the teenagers are non-threatening and say Hi to you when you walk past!!

Maraetai is a beautiful spot with gorgeous beaches and stunning views..... here have a look at Beachlands and Maraetai beaches.

annaerb

Nice photos Sarah

SarahB

Thanks..... Isnt it a beautiful place!! I love Maraetai beaches in winter as they are always so deserted.

I think we will feel more settled if we live in our own house. I will decide in next few months if I am putting my UK house up for sale.... my tenents lease is up for renewal soon so I will need to make some decisions. I spoke to an estate agent here in Beachlands the other day and he said house prices are pretty static at the moment and he cant see them rising much in the next few months so maybe a good time to think of buying?? We have looked at house prices nearer to OH's work but its simply not worth it and we like it here anyway.

annaerb

That sounds exciting Sarah. Just have a good look around first and don't rush. I know some people see the first house fall in love with it and that's it when there may be something better. Are you going to look at just Beachlands area?

A couple I met from one of the other sites who lives in maraetai were telling me about another family that has just moved to the area from UK and they were looking at buying a house etc. I knew about this particular house as we used to live around the corner from it, I said have they had a builders check etc and do they know there is an empty section in front so if someone decides to build on it it they will lose their view etc. They didn't look in to it and they paid 680k for it plus are looking at renovating it at a cost of another 50K. I felt that they could of got something brand new or something better for the same amount of money if they had only waited and not jumped in too quickly.

SarahB

Thanks.... we cant jump in quickly as I havnt even put my house in the UK up for sale yet. I have no worries about it selling though as its a small starter home in a good area... next door sold in 4 hours. Theres a lack of starter homes in the area so I know it will sell.... OH's house would be more difficult to sell at the moment.

We're only at the initial stage of wondering whether to buy.... and to see what we can get for our money which wont be much here. We think we can just about afford a compact 3 or 4 bedroom here in Beachlands if we only sell one of the houses. The mortgage would be about what we are paying in rent now.

We have open minds in regarding new versus old houses... will just have a look around and see whats available for what price. We have friends who bought on Bell Road... its their dream house and now there is 40-odd houses being built just behind them. I've just noticed that 2 of their neighbours houses are up for sale too.... I wonder why? The estate agent swears they knew nothing about the plans at the time they bought it... yeah I bet they didnt!

We will probably stick to Beachlands as we are starting to make friends here and OH loves being a Volunteer... so I can see us moving somewhere up near the Fire Station if at all possible.... nice views they get up there too.