Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

Hi,

We will be moving to Auckland in January 2015. My husband will be based out of the Greenlane clinical centre. We wanted any advice regarding the best suburbs to look at about 30 mins from here. Any help would be great.

re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

loads of nice places around there. depends on how loaded you are lol

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

Hi Casper. I'm Welsh too, and hoping to move in January.

My brother has lived there for 2 years and lives in 'Te Atatu South' in Waitakere. Seems quite reasonable prices and a nice area for families. We also know another Welsh family who live there.

Looks about 20 mins from where you mentioned, but obviously more in traffic.

This is quite a useful guide: Neighborhoods in Brief in Auckland | Frommer's

then just look on google maps for the distance between whichever location you like the look of and the clinic.

Good luck :)

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

To be fair, this really does matter in terms of what you are able/want to spend, adjacent to Greenlane there are some very nice areas, but budget & family situation hinges massively on this.
You can spend a good 15mins on the bit of Greenlane road itself near the hospital at rush hour...
We live local to the area and wife works at Greenlane, if you want any pointers message me. Happy to help.
NH

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

If you're working in Greenlane it can be advantageous to avoid the southern motorway heading north. If you can afford Mission Bay, St Johns or Meadowbank then you'll have an easier ride - Mission Bay has a great beach and good restaurants. If you can afford Parnell (quite expensive) then you'll head against traffic in the morning, but the motorway into the city at night means you'll want to cut through Remuera to get home.
Point England, Glen Innes and Glendowie are becoming gentrified with some good sea views to be had from some areas. There are still some areas with a lot of state housing, though.
Stonefields is a new area built in the old quarry - houses are expensive and on small sections, but are mostly new.

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

Thanks everyone for the replies. Please feel free to add anything else that we may not have thought about

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

Area around the new development out west could be an interesting bet? Good access to a few places around, including the alternative route North through some nice country, and the harbour of course. Massey is a good old fashioned suburb with a fab rugby club. Not sure about the commute to GCC from there though. Could transfer out to Waitakere after a bit?

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

@Bearskin - the problem with living out west and commuting to Ellerslie are:
1) Sunstrike in both the morning and evening for some of the year because you're driving towards the sun in the morning and evening
2) Central motorway junction is problematic every day
3) Heading north on the southern motorway at night is chocka every night, and even if you go through Parnell you've still got to get on at Stanley St where there are often long queues right back under Wellesley St bridge at 6pm.

Of course you could get a motorbike and then you wouldn't feel the traffic pain so much.

I lived in Oratia and commuted to Newmarket for a couple of years. Never again.

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

Aha. Good to know. I don't really do a commute, so it's good to get those facts straight.

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

Can I be honest? Greenlane is an absolute hole of a place.

Some will say... how can you say that - as Greenlane is one of those "desirable burbs"? It's busy, you generally have to send your kids to a private school to get a half-decent education (I worked with 3 people who do this). Cornwall Park is lovely, however to me the entire area is just gridlocked with cars and ugly business estates. Northern Henry has pointed out how bad the traffic is there.

We have recently left Auckland and returned to Wales. I have to say, it is a lot quieter, lots of stunning coastline and its a heck of a lot more affordable here than it was in Auckland. On the job front I have found there to be many more job opportunities for what I do (IT) than I did in Auckland.

Sorry if that sounds rather negative above, I am only trying to toughen you up and prepare you for whats ahead if you do make it so.

In terms of helping you with your question, plenty of suburbs about with a 30-minute commute, maybe checkout blockhouse bay way down towards Titirangi? That part of Auckland is quite lovely, but again, you will need deep pockets and about 150-200K NZD of savings for a deposit to have a chance of buying a reasonable house.

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

To help keep this in perspective:

er no, driven down something like Aratonga street recently? There are lots of very nice residential parts. keeping factual rather than opinion: This area attracts high earners/ good schooling/ easy access to city etc. Has beautiful park and volcano, amenities on the doorstep and easy access to the motorway. It does have main routes running though it, which in itself is part of its attraction.

Again wrong. Greenlane is zoned into Double Grammar, so Auckland Boys and Epsom Girls, Cornwall Park Primary being an excellent school also. Just so happens the cluster of big private schools are also in the area.
Agree, very nice park which adjoins to One Tree Hill volcanic cone and fringed on one side by the Greenlane Clinic.
Don't write off Greenlane, it has a busy road running through it which many people take as their instant snapshot, Greenlane very diverse with wide tree lined streets, high end housing and associated socio economic mix (google map and street view generally tells you a lot). Rush hour around there is not far of that 1-2 hours of busy stop/start (motorway stationary southbound). I left Cornwall Park today at 5.30pm and was over towards Meadowbank/ Rem in less than 15 mins. (on a friday "bank holiday" weekend)

Plus we don't know what the posters situation is, doesn't sound like they are job hunting given they are starting at Greenlane..

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

I think what we see here is the different perspectives people can have of any area.
Personally, after spending 2 years in Aux I would agree with Davros. I simply dont understand the fascination people have with Auckland.
In the grand scheme of things its a boring little city with a hundred soul less suburbs, who's only attraction is of having a more affordable over priced house than the suburb next door. No matter where you live traffic is appalling, if you travel in to the city there is no, or only rip off parking and when you get there, there's nothing to see or do. Of course you'll tell yourself its got lots of nice coffee shops (Are you really wanting to move half way around the world for a nice cup of coffee) and bars (that you wont visit if you've got kids and wont visit if you havent because the taxis home cost more than your night out) and beaches nearby (that you might visit once in a blue moon if your honest). The shops are exactly the same as all the shops on any other new zealand high street, You do get a better choice of theater (how many times a years do really do that) and there are more second rate musicians adding Auckland to their tours nowadays for you to go out most weekends and listen to stuff you weren't bothered about in the UK but you will love here because they are a British band / singer / comedian.
My advice to anyone coming to NZ would be to ignore Auckland and look elsewhere, unless of course all the above appeals to you.

This is just my opinion of course, I'm sure others will see life as a wage slave with postcode envy as something to be desired

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

Surely Casper was after some level-headed advice on potential local areas, given a new job starting at Greenlane (a wage slave for The Man apparently), rather than more tiresome generic bitter whining about Auckland :confused:

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

I would also recommend looking at areas down the southern motorway. Yes it is busy in peak hour, but so is everywhere. There is a lot of prejudice about South Auckland and yet there are some lovely locations there. You will definitely get more bang for your buck including more land if you want it.

Re Greenlane, I met an expat living there recently and I was really impressed with the nice tree-lined street and it was a well-built new home. It was quite small compared to what you would get further out, but it was very livable.

Re: Welsh Family Moving to NZ -advice on suburbs around Auckland
 

You've summed up Auckland perfectly, there is a bit more going on up there but this doesn't justify all the negatives you have to deal with to live there. It took us less than a year to realise it and get the hell out.