Nerine

Why not get hold of the latest edition of the "Where to Live in Auckland" book, full of useful information.

The advice to rent for a while when you get to Auckland is a sound one, everyone's perceptions are different and even yours will change after you've been there for a while. Waitakere emcompasses a wide variety of living conditions, some areas are less desirable than others.

Elizabeth I

That's ridiculous! You should be living in a mansion for that price, even in Northcote.

Elizabeth I

I'm in Glen Eden!

Elizabeth I

I could wax lyrical about Waitakere City all day long, I love it here!

Nicest area (to me) is Titirangi, especially if you get a nice view of sea and bush. There are a few bad areas, especially streets, but when you take a drive around and just "look," you'll be able to spot them and they are mainly in Henderson and Glen Eden. But I agree with the other poster, the "bad" areas here are prolly tame compared to some of the horrendous dumps one can come across in Britain.

I'd say the "general feel" of the place is pretty laid back and easy going. They like their recreation time here. There's plenty to do because of the National Park which is the massive rain forest and surfing beaches so if you like the outdoors, you'll love it here. I love driving around on scenic drive and then having lunch at the railway cafe in Swanson. There's great bush walks to waterfalls and terrific surfing beaches and cosy swimming bays that have almost no-one on them. I just discovered 2 new somewhat private bays last weekend that only locals know about and it was great! I was just about to go for a skinny dip and some guy comes strolling down walking his dog, lol.

And of course there's the vineyards and orchards which are nice to visit now and again. My favourite place is Titirangi village for the cafe life, it's lovely and totally chilled and relaxed there and everytime I'm there (which is often) I feel like I'm on holiday. I dunno about busy nightlife because I prefer to go into the (Auckland) City for that, but for everything else to "live" I think it's the best place in Auckland. I think the best swimming beaches are on the North Shore, but they don't have the unspoilt beauty of the rainforest that we have so this place is truly special and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Elizabeth I

yeah exactly, and all the pohms are over there!

Bo-Jangles

and there aren't any in Titirangi?

Elizabeth I

There's LOADS!!

Hooray, lol!

lardyl

there sure are and loads of mozzies........
got bitten to death there when we first arrived.
twas at a very nice pad though rented by a Pohm friend who must have been paying around $750 a week.......never had the cheek to ask her though

Elizabeth I

Yeah. I hear ya. The mozzies suck out here in the West. I'm getting myself ready for full scale battle with mozzies.:curse:

I got the coils, sprays, and candles at the ready. I even got one of those Robocans from Mitre 10 that are auto spray bug killers and they work! I've only had it a few days but the flies and mozzies have disapeared! Best $50 bucks I've ever spent and should last til the end of summer!

tonyhelen

No beer or wine think we will forget that area then

happynz

There is no beer and wine in the supermarkets in Waitakere, true. This is not to say that West Auckland is dry. There is plenty of booze in pubs and there are enough liquor stores about to buy plonk, piss and firewater. The only thing is you can't buy wine and beer in the supermarkets because the licencing trust wants to have that slice of the action.

dlmckay

But then the money made by said Licencing Trust gets put back into the community - plenty of houses out west that now have fire alarms, torches and first aid kits now. They also give major donations to local community groups and then there's the lovely new stadium!

happynz

Yup, nice things are done by the Licencing Trust.

Elizabeth I

That's good to hear, I never thought about all the "good" things they did, just too preoccupied being ticked off that they don't allow nice bars in Titirangi and the liquor stores out here close too early in the evening. :curse:

jueinnz

I agree the licencing trust does do a lot for the community, but it grates on me to buy a bottle of fizzy Jacobs Creek for $17 when I could get on special at the for as little as $9, yes we should support the local individuals and not the international companies....but $8 saved would buy a smoke detector!!!!