Moomoo

Thanks Sarah

One question - how far would the commute be from Beachlands to Manukau? Also, what are the rentals like in Beachlands?
One more - what schools are in zone for Beachlands (intermediate and colleges?)

Thanks
Moomoo

Moomoo

Thank you - would definitely like to meet up when we have found our feet. Please PM us and we will let you know our apartment telephone number.

We had a drive through Bucklands Beach and Eastern Beach, looks very nice - visited the local schools. The kids thought Macleans was a bit stern, and the person who showed us round wasn't very user friendly! The kids looked very focussed there though, which was great to see.

We are going to see what rentals come up in the Macleans, Howick College and Botany College zones and then make a decision on where we may settle (taking into account we have dogs and our choices may be limited!)

One other question - can you recommend any good car dealers in the area as we are thinking of buying something like a Mazda Atenza station wagon and possibly a small car like a Honda/Toyota.

Speak to you soon
Thanks again
Moomoo

SarahB

Hiya.... hows things now?? I was up at Botany this afternoon, my little lad starts school soon but the uniform the school sells isnt small enough for my dinky little chap, so we were up at Postie + buying him some shorts that dont come down to his ankles!!

Here to Manukau is definately do-able... I would ask OH how long he thinks but hes tired and gone to bed already.... he does Beachlands to Penrose everyday and finally stopped moaning about it now. We rented here to start with and paid a lot but had a lovely large house.... there are the usual bunch of smaller cold damp crappy rentals here too..... in Beachlands try talking to Dale in Barfoot & Thompson..... be warned it might be a nice place to live but its not cheap.

My kids are still pre-school age so not sure about the local colleges yet but lots of Beachlands kids go off to Howick College on the bus.

Moomoo

Hi Sarah

We may have found a rental in the Whitford area, we are just talking things through at the moment ... fingers crossed. We'll keep you posted. We drove out to hubbies work from Botany last night and had we got it right first time it should haven only taken about 15 mins (well, it took a little longer at first, as we drove too far down and didn't turn off for Manukau central near Rainbows End!!) Anyway, the commute from Whitford would be fine, so we'll see what happens today regarding the house.

If we do go for the house, the school would be Botany College, and the kids seemed really happy with that. It is only a 10 min drive to town too.

We will definitely have a drive out to Beachlands though, as it looks lovely, The rentals certainly aren't cheap in certain school zones/areas, so I know what you mean.

We'll keep in touch and hopefully meet up at some point?

Thanks

CCGM.IN.NZ

Hi, hope everything is falling into place, have PM'd you.

nukiwi

Great North Road, West Auckland was recommended to us there are hundreds of car dealers and we had a good deal. We used Discount City Cars which are in New Lynn, Great North Road.

Happy hunting

lardyl

not too close but Croydons in Henderson are pretty good, that do Jap imports and have good service and a decent reputation - our Demio from there has done more than expected. Plus they have a good online catalogue, useful to get an idea of prices (on the expensive side but I'd say worth it), specs, etc:

http://www.croydons.co.nz/the5thdime...n.asp?pageid=9

lardyl

http://www.autotrader.co.nz/Default.aspx
http://turners.co.nz/Branches/Turner...5/Default.aspx

are useful too

lardyl

and at Mount Wellington - opposite Sylvia Park is the HQ of Custom Fleet, they sell some ex-fleet vehicles that are probably better maintained than what you might get from Ellerslie Racecourse - you pays your money....
http://customfleet.autotrader.co.nz/...d=117AC8AE5A25
my old comapny car went there to end its days.......
good luck
Ian

Kiwiprincess

Sorry.... but Still struggling to get internet access so sending this from Starbucks.......... got me giggling.

That won't change

lardyl

yeah, the A&L survey comment on internet access being good here had me giggling at bit........
at least competition is starting to get into it......

SarahB

Hiya... how did it go with the Whitford rental? Whitford is lovely and hey if you need a dentist the one there is great!! Not too expensive either compared to other Auckland prices. I keep a horse at livery just outside Whitford on the way to Beachlands and ride him down Clifton and Potts Road, lovely area with very very nice lifestyle properties.... nice little beach and estuary to ride on... in my dreams I would live down Clifton Road!!

On a nice day drive onto Maraetai, keep driving a few K's down the coast road as the beaches and views are gorgeous! Wharf Cafe on Maraetai beachfront is very friendly... we go there every week. The beaches there do get very busy in the summer but not too bad at the moment.

The beaches in Beachlands are getting busier and busier too on nice days but we can tell you where theres one thats a bit quieter than the rest.... gorgeous little beach lined with Pohutukawa trees....

Bad weather forecast for this long weekend... I reckon it followed you here!

Keep in touch

Sarah

Moomoo

Have PM'd you! (well just typing it now!)

benandlea

Glad to hear you have arrived safely.

Now chill out and relaz.
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