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Wellington info please....

Wellington info please....

Old Sep 3rd 2009, 9:22 am
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Default Wellington info please....

Hello there! Am new to the site and will possibly be new to Wellington in the near future. Can any of you give me some information on family friendly suburbs? I have two small people of kindy and primary school age and a hubby who will possibly be working near to the city. I'm definitely NOT a city person so am looking for a compromise all round - a nice suburban area with good schools and parks versus good accessibility and distance to town. Oh, and we're not millionaires...

Any info or help would be much appreciated thanks.
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Old Sep 3rd 2009, 9:34 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

You may find this thread interesting, some posters give info on the areas around Wellington. I found it on page 4

Waikanae - tell me all!

D
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Old Sep 3rd 2009, 9:58 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

Well you could probably check out Whitby, Papakowhai, Paramata, Plimmerton all within spitting distance of each other just up the coast from Wellington. We've lived in Whitby for 2 years now and like yourselves didn't want to live on top of the city. We're a twenty min drive from the CBD, have excellant local facilities in Porirua, a great beach life, 20 mins from the Hutt Valley and 20 mins from the Kapiti Coast, positioned greatly for everything. There is a good selection of local primary schools, though secondary schools are not as good, however there are plans a foot for a new secondary school in Whitby for 2012. You also get good size plots of land for your money which is great for families, our son loves the outside space he has here... The commute to the CBD takes me around a hour using both the bus service and trains, as Porirua has good commutation links... Well that gives you a taste of our area...
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Old Sep 3rd 2009, 2:34 pm
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

Hi - I'm the author of Waikanae tell me all!

We looked at Karori within Wellington which has excellent schools and links into the city although it's probably too close for you.

We're now looking at Wakanae/Paraparaumu/Raumati beach on the Kapiti coast. On our reccie we looked at Whitby area but the lack of secondary school is a major concern and nearby Porirua secondary schools don't seem great either (but it looks like this might change?). It's also a bus ride to the station which adds to the commute so we've decided to go a bit further out and live near the station (and the beach!). Check out metlink.co.nz for transport timetables. It's about 50 mins on the train from Paraparaumu and the station is central near the coastlands shopping centre.

The Hutt valley is probably worth a look too. Lower Hutt we found quite industrial in places, but it's flat which is a bonus in Wellington!

For property prices look at realestate.co.nz or open2view.com.

We fly out 2 weeks tomorrow so can let you know first hand soon!
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Old Sep 3rd 2009, 8:23 pm
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

We are living in Paraparumu and I can tell you its awsome! Im staring out of my livingroom window and straight over at Kapiti Island- how good is that?!

Its about an hours commute by train or car from Welly and has everything you should need on the door step.

Take alook on Trade me for property in the area.

Good luck with your move!
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Old Sep 3rd 2009, 9:19 pm
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

Thank you all you lovely people for your replies and that gives me some very good starting points. Hubby had phone interview yesterday and looks like it will be a second interview next week!!!! The outer suburbs definitely appeal to me but he may find an hours commute too much.... that being the case, is there any middle ground that anyone can suggest?? I had heard Karori is nice but yes, I think it may be too close to the city for me. Of course you can never really tell until you actually get there and get the feel of it. Really great to have all your help and will keep you posted.
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Old Sep 3rd 2009, 11:06 pm
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

Originally Posted by Mary Lamb
Thank you all you lovely people for your replies and that gives me some very good starting points. Hubby had phone interview yesterday and looks like it will be a second interview next week!!!! The outer suburbs definitely appeal to me but he may find an hours commute too much.... that being the case, is there any middle ground that anyone can suggest?? I had heard Karori is nice but yes, I think it may be too close to the city for me. Of course you can never really tell until you actually get there and get the feel of it. Really great to have all your help and will keep you posted.
Remember the scale of Wellington means that even if you live in one of the city suburbs you are never far away from parkland or hills or the outdoors in some way or another.

Kandallah and Ngaio are maybe worth considering, nearer to the city (both on train line into Wellington and about 20ish mins bus ride into town or 5 mins in the car) and both feel like you are up in the hills (because you are), and if you get it right some amazing views over the bay back towards Welly. More expensive property than up the coast mind you
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Old Sep 4th 2009, 1:02 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

Tawa. I prefer redwood because it's more established and has a good school. Some people like Greenacres because of the newer homes.

I grew up in redwood. Sunny home too so don't believe people when they say that part of the suburb is cold.

It's got a good high school (although like anything things go up and down...it's always got a waiting list a mile long). But if you didn't like the school it's perfectly common for kids to get the train to school in the city. If you have girls, Wellington Girls College (and Queen Margarets) is only a short walk so they can get a train at 8am.

If boys, they need to get an earlier train but still not a lot earlier. It's not really different commute wise than the local kids walking to school.

Last edited by Kiwiprincess; Sep 4th 2009 at 1:05 am.
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Old Sep 4th 2009, 5:24 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

This is great to get so much info so quickly - thanks to you all. It really helps as I have NO idea where to start. My research begins....
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Old Sep 4th 2009, 6:22 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

oops when I said that Wellington Girls and Queen Margarets is only a short walk....I meant a short walk from Wellington railway station.

It's a considerably longer walk from Tawa!
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Old Sep 4th 2009, 6:31 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

Hi again, try looking at Google earth at some areas. Remember Wellington is not a city in London terms and places such as Karori, Khandallah etc are not jam packed areas like in the UK. Karori has a great mountain bike area, you can get to the coast easily and Karori Nature reserve www.sanctury.org.nz is amazing - we couldn't believe you are in a capital city, you could be in the middle of nowhere. Having said that, the plots are smaller and some areas suffer from damp and/or wind and the prices are higher because of the position close to the centre of the city.

We had a classic situation with my husband's cousin who lives in Wellington, when we went last year. We were waiting for my husband outside the station to finish his interview, it was around 4.30 and she said 'I do hope he hurries up it getting very busy now' as a few people ambled by... I felt like saying try seeing Kings Cross at 4.30!!!

Are you able to go over on a reccie and have a look or are you too far down the track for that?

Good luck with all your research.
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Old Sep 4th 2009, 8:45 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

We are up Mount Kau Kau in Khandallah. The views are amazing with native bush, sea, mountains and a glimpse of the city all from the kitchen window (and most of the other windows of the house). The primary schools are great and there are lots of options for college. We are just 5 mins from the city by car and 30 mins to the Kapiti Coast so the best of both worlds. It is very peaceful and about the only noise is the wind which you will get familiar with when you get to Wellington. Good luck with your search.
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Old Sep 4th 2009, 8:50 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

That sounds like my kind of city! Whatever happens with this job, Wellington is definitely our plan for the long term. I'm hoping we can get on and get settled in the very near future so we'll be sure to make a trip to check out all of your suggestions asap.
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Old Sep 4th 2009, 7:26 pm
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

This lists all the schools in Wellington which is very useful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n,_New_Zealand
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Old Sep 5th 2009, 2:18 am
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Default Re: Wellington info please....

I've been here 6 years with 2 young kids and have lived in Wellington and Upper Hutt (30 mins drive into Wellington). I prefer to be further out as the wind does get a bit much after a while, but there's the down side of having half an hour to drive if you work in the city (however it's nothing really compared to commuting in UK as I've never been in more than a 10 minute traffic jam since I've been here). Anyway ..... I live in Pinehaven in Upper Hutt and it's lovely. It's a mountainous region with rivers rather than the beachy side (20 mins drive away). The primary schools are great and although I haven't got to secondary yet, there are semi-private boys and girls schools within the area that have a good reputation. As far as I understand it, state comprehensive schools don't have such a good reputation in Wellington/Upper Hutt (I think NZ education overall is lower than UK - but don't quote me on that). Anyway I could go on forever and I'm sure you're going to get a lot of conflicting advice. The best thing is to decide what is most important to you - less commuting, best schools, wind or no wind (!) beaches, mountains, cost and take it from there. Good luck. On the positive side, it was the best move we ever made for the kids as they have such wonderful freedom here.
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