Stephen Jones

Many apologies if I have asked this question before, but how do all of those who are there, like living in the Wellington area?

Where do you think are the best places to live if you need to commute into the city centre and where are the best-priced areas?


Steve

Purrball

Wellingtonian, born and bred, but no rose-tinted spectacles... promise.

First two things you have to understand about Wellington is that it's hilly to the point of being impractical for easy walking and bike riding in some areas. It's hemmed in by some fairly steep ranges and the ocean, so it can feel a little claustrophobic in terms of getting out of town. Secondly, the weather can be horrible and windy as hell, and we're not talking breezes here. We're talking gale-force storms.

Visted there again (from the UK) some time ago and it felt like the most European city, to me at least. Compact, relatively dense city centre. Lots of cultural events and places to hang out, good bars, coffee shops and restaurants. There's always something going on. My friends in Christchurch think it's more of a 'real' city. In comparison, Auckland to me feels like a series of suburbs, roads and malls: more car-centric, a bit of a sprawl, like an American city.


This question is unanswerable without knowing more about your personal situation, your family and their needs, what you're looking for in a place to live... and what you're willing to pay.

For me, in an ideal world, I'd live within walking distance or a quick bus hop into town. Maybe Mount Vic, The Terrace, Thorndon or maybe nearer the hospital like Mount Cook or even near Cuba St. I like living in or near city centres and I don't drive, nor do I have kids. I like doing things, being out and about in the evening and night, so wouldn't want to rely having to catch the last train home out to some far-flung suburb. I also don't like gardening or fussing about with house maintenance, so I'd look at apartments.

For some, places in the western suburbs might suit: larger houses, near to train stations, places like Crofton Downs, Ngaio, Khandallah, Johnsonville, Churton Park. Less expensive, but close to trains might be Tawa, Porrirua, Titahi Bay, Pukerua Bay or parts of the Hutt Valley. Cheaper still are suburbs like Wanuiomata, in a valley, a bit cut off, but no trains there. Or much further out, the Kapiti Coast where the best weather is, or small towns like Featherston where you can still catch a train into town, but where properties are cheaper. Eastborne/Days Bay and all that are nice, but once again, no trains but ferries.

And then you have all the suburbs to the east and south, which tend to be more exposed to the weather, but have better bus services.

All of them have their pros and cons. It depends on what you can afford, how many bedrooms you want, how new the house is, what the schools are like, if it's handy to the things you want to do and so on.



Not sure what best-priced means. Do you mean inexpensive? And what's more important: moving somewhere fairly established or up and coming for younger families. A bunch of friends of mine in their 30s swear by Titahi Bay, near Porrirua for the shops, but near a sheltered beach. My parents bought their first house in Plimmerton back in the 50s, but I'd guess that Plimmerton might be out of reach for many young families now.

Do you want a flat section where you're not fighting a hilly garden and the kids can maybe bike to school? Look to the Hutt Valley. Don't mind train journeys longer than 45 minutes? Look further out.

The way you've posed this question is like asking how long a piece of string is. Being a bit more specific about your personal and family needs and your planned-for budget would be useful if you're going to get helpful advice.

MrsFychan

Purrball has summed it up exactly, depends on what you want, near to beach and away from the CBD or right in the thick of things?

crap coffee

great.

Stephen Jones

[QUOTE=Purrball;11053656]Wellingtonian, born and bred, but no rose-tinted spectacles... promise.

Thanks for the information Purball -it is very informative and provides a good starting point for us to work from.

Yes, by best-priced I mean inexpensive.

Circumstances: 4 adults of working age requiring good links into the city with as little day-to-day driving as circumstances will allow but who would also like shops and markets nearby.

If possible we would like a 4-bedroom house. Price range between 300,000 to 450,000 Dollars.

Purrball

Then my best guess would be to start looking somewhere in the Hutt Valley or perhaps Tawa, Porrirua, Johnsonville maybe, where there's a mall... or parts of the Kapiti Coast. All of these areas have commuter trains running nearby.

There are markets in various towns and cities in New Zealand, but they often tend to be weekly ones on weekends in town rather than daily ones and some of them seem to specialise in certain things on the boutique scale of things, rather than for cheap daily shops. You won't find anything like a massive daily market like Walthamstow Market, for instance, or even a rash of local markets in each suburb. Living without a car in New Zealand is difficult; people tend to jump in them for their weekly shopping and in Wellington, often to drive up the coast for hitting the big box stores in Porirua and Kapiti.

Hope that steers you in the right direction.

Stephen Jones

Hi Purrball,
This is great information.

Many Thanks.

Steve

moonie2011

Hi we are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 kids, we live in Papakowhai, Porirua. Hubby works in the city. He gets a train to work, 20 mins ride. With the walk from the house and to his office it's 40mins door to door and fares are a lot cheaper than England
Wellington city is great, but for me, only for a day trip or special occasion.
Where we are and further up along the Kapiti coast beaches are very accessible, with Mana having a harbour and Plimmerton and Mana has lots of paddle boarding, kayaking, sailing, wind surfing, kite surfing.
As someone said earlier it is not flat, almost everywhere is on a hill. So family bike rides consists of loading up the bikes and driving somewhere, however the kids are gradually getting fitter and walking home, cycling and even a bit of running. Me, I started jogging when I arrived and have even run some hills myself
Overall I love it here, it has everything and it's far enough out of the city that I feel we are living by the seaside.
Porirua city has everything that you need, supermarkets, furniture, DIY shops etc etc.
We have just bought a house but for more than you budget, you need to be careful as any room in a house with a built in cupboard can be classed as a bedroom. I was looking at some 4 beds and bed 3&4 were so small. Have a look at real estate website, open 2 view http://www.nz.open2view.com/All-Real...ent/Wellington
It will give you an idea. Also they tend to fill their plots with house and have small gardens.
Good luck and if you want any more info send me a message

Stephen Jones

Thanks Moonie,
much appreciated.

Steve

DennisBergkamp

Been in Welly 3 years.

Most points already covered.

I rent near CBD and its nice being near to work and Oriental Bay/Mt Vic
However if i was going to buy only places i could afford are out town

Kapiti Coast is nice - Waikanae is 1 hour on the train and Paraparaumu is 50 mins. Lindale Centre in Paraparaumu has a weekly farmers market, not that big though

Featherson and Masterton are over a massive valley and at least an hour on the train. Masterton is 90km from Welly CBD so a huge commute.

For your 300 to 450 range nice areas would be Waikanae, Paraparaumu (not all amazing though so have a browse), Raumati, Pukerua Bay, Whitby (again not all areas amazing), Mangauraki, Normandale and at a stretch some of the northern Welly suburbs like Tawa and Johnsonville (i'm not to keen those, seem a bit dull to look at)
Upper Hutt you could afford but i find Upper Hutt a bit claustrophobic as youre surrounded by huge valleys.

Some places in Porirua are rough like Waitangirua, Cannons Creek and Porirua East - even Titahi Bay is a bit rough. Naenae, Taita, Pomare and Totara Park are rough places in the Hutt (IMO) Strathmore Park, Kingston and Newlands are a bit rough i think as far as Welly City suburbs go

Even though weather can be awful, its still better than where i was in the UK.

Have a look at Trade Me Property section to see what is available - http://www.trademe.co.nz/property

S_and_T

Naenae, Taita, Pomare and Totara Park are rough places in the Hutt (IMO) Strathmore Park, Kingston and Newlands are a bit rough i think as far as Welly City suburbs go

Even though weather can be awful, its still better than where i was in the UK.

Have a look at Trade Me Property section to see what is available - http://www.trademe.co.nz/property[/QUOTE]

Now hang on! I live in Newlands and find it a great place to live. That said, we are in the nicer part. When my wife told a colleague which part of Newlands we were in, she said "Oh. You live in that part of Newlands!"

All I would say is don't discount it.

Stephen Jones

Thanks to all of the contributors so far. This information is very much appreciated and given us food for thought.


Steve and Lynn.

MrsFychan

so what you looking for?

near the CBD ?
near a beach ?
or
further out and commute in?

Stephen Jones

I would say somewhere in between the CBD and the beach based on the information received so far. I don't mind a commute of around 30 mins if needs must.

Where Moonie lives sounds great.



Steve

MrsFychan

just down the road from me
just remember if you have good views you are going to get more wind.