sparklyfrog

Hi! Myself, hubs and 3 yr old are in early stages of planning a move to NZ (yay!). I have an interview lined up for a job in Wellington and would like to have a better idea of how it might work for us financially if it is only me working at first.

Firstly - are there any places to stay temporarily when we first arrive that doesn't involve staying in a pricey hotel? What are the options?!

Longer term, I've been looking at properties to rent on TradeMe, but wondered if there were any areas to avoid/aim for? Are there any expat 'hubs' or is it all much of a muchness?

Also, if anyone here works for Ministry of Environment and would be able to give me any pointers for the interview it would be very much appreciated!


Thanks!

Midlander20

Hi

I am just on WHV but have been in Wellington for best part of a year so will answer your questions best I can!

Firstly not sure about other options than a hotel when you first arrived I believe there would be some options in Lower and Upper Hutt a bit further out of Wellington but Wellington itself not too sure.

I briefly worked in Parliament and a lot of the people with families were normally in areas such as Kelburn, Karori and Brooklyn these areas are close to the CBD without being right in the city. Places like Oriental Bay will be pricier due to the coast setting I would assume. Areas to avoid are more in Lower and Upper Hutt, Wellington itself is a very safe place!

If you already have a interview lined up from UK it means they definitely like the look of your profile. My only pointers would really is just relax in the interview and be friendly. Jobs in New Zealand albeit professional seem to have a lot of emphasis on the personality of the person too. Also government jobs in my experience and with many friends working in the sector in Wellington are very good jobs to have with the environment being more laid back then you would think!

Hope this helped.

Jack

escapedtonz

Hi,

Look at motels instead of hotels. They are cheaper but have all the amenities you need in a neat package.
Also consider a fully furnished holiday home where you pay for the period of stay you want and the price includes all your other bills and maybe sky tv/internet etc. We did it this way and rented a 3 bed traditional kiwi cottage in Woburn, Lower Hutt for 8 weeks. It did cost $725 per week but that included everything and my new company footed that bill.

Areas to avoid for a family surround the city in my opinion. We initially came to Wellington with a 13 month old so avoided anywhere surrounding the city which is why we ended up across the harbour in the Hutt.
Other areas to avoid are Wainuiomata, Naenae, Taita, Stokes Valley, Timberlea/Maoribank, Cannons Creek, Ranui Heights, Porirua, Titahi Bay.....all very subjective though you must understand.

Nice for familes - Silverstream, Pinehaven, Riverstone Terraces, Northern suburbs of Lower Hutt across SH2 from Korokoro up to Kelson.
Karori, Wadestown, Ngaio, Khandallah, Johnsonville, Churton Park/Glenside, Grenada North, Tawa, Aotea, Papakowhai, Whitby, Mana, Camborne, Pauatahanui, Plimmerton then everywhere North up SH1 up the Kapiti Coast, around the bays surrounding the airport.

sparklyfrog

Thanks for the useful comments and ideas - great help!

Can I ask why some areas are suggested over others? And why to avoid some areas?

Will start comparing holiday lets!

escapedtonz

Just lower socio-economic areas.

A good thing to look at that will show the socio-economic level of an area is the decile rating of a school in the area. The decile ratings are from 1 - 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest.
The decile rating is calculated off census data every 5 years and considers 5 factors of the familes who's children attend the school in the recruitment zone of the school :-
(a) Household Income
(b) Occupation
(c) Household Crowding
(d) Educational qualifications
(e) Income support / benefits
If the school has a high decile rating then (a) will be high and the property value high most likely, (b) parents will have well paying jobs, (c) no overcrowding in one house (d) parents will have good qualifications (e) no or little support.

Lower socio-economic areas attract gangs and drugs and crime just like anywhere else in the world.

sparklyfrog

That's really useful, thank you! Good to know there's a quick way or assessing areas!

escapedtonz

The intention of the decile rating isn't to show how affluent or not an area is or how good or bad a school is. The decile rating is all about funding so the calculation is made using the census data to determine how much money that school will receive from the government. The higher the score the less money the school gets per child.
However the affluence of the area surrounding the school is a by product of the decile rating so useful in other areas :-)

Bo-Jangles

It may be a little bit chicken and egg, as good schools do attract more affluent people and that in turn can affect prices of houses but it is wrong to say the surrounding area is a by product of the schools decile rating.

The poverty v affluence of the area is the primary driver for the funding and therefore a decile 10 schools gets least funding as they have the lowest proportion of 'low socio-economic' students.