EmilyCambridge

Hi all!

After trawling the Internet for the last few weeks I am starting to confuse myself so I'm hoping to get some advice! My husband (aged 34) and I (aged 28) will be moving to the Wellington region permanently this October. I am going to be working in central Wellington and he will be working in Trentham. We are looking for somewhere to live that won't give either of us the commute from hell!

I'll try to include as much info as possible here - we don't have kids so we aren't bothered about schools, we would like somewhere nearish to water (for kayaking) and somewhere with a couple of nice places to eat out or go for a couple of quiet drinks would be ideal. Somewhere quite friendly, where we might find other "young(ish) professionals" would be great too, so that we can beg some people to be our friends and won't spend the foreseeable future with only each other to talk to!!

Budget wise we are currently thinking up to $500 p/w to rent a 2 bed, but we could go up on this if there was somewhere really nice.

So far I have been looking at Plimmerton and Whitby, with a view to me catching the train to work and hubby driving. The main reason I am looking at these places is that I keep getting seduced by the pretty views of water from the balconies on trade me, but it would be very much appreciated if anyone could contribute some suggestions to the list (or tell me that I'm barking up the wrong tree entirely!)

Emily x

EmilyCambridge

Oh dear, just realised that I've accidentally put this in the forum for immigration questions! Sorry to anyone who was looking for useful advice on filling in forms and got me banging on instead!

moonie2011

Hi Emily, we have just moved to wellington and are renting a house in Paremata (very near to whitby & plimmerton) I am told the whole area there is very nice with lots of water and views
My hubby will be getting the train to wellington city which takes 21mins from Paremata and will cost $185 month.
Plimmerton has its own station but I think whitby you may have to get the bus or drive to the station.
We also were seduced by the views, here is ours from our decking
Get in touch when you arrive, good luck with everything

MrsFychan

You could move slightly more North and get slightly better weather. Have a look at the Kapati area, Paraparumu, Paraparaumu Beach Waikanae and Waikanae Beach which are both coastal have train links to Wellington and slightly better weather (from what I'm told)

EmilyCambridge

Hi! Wow that is one extremely nice view :-) I am very attracted to the whole decking/view scenario and seem to have this idea in my head that I'll spend all my time sitting in the sun drinking wine. I'm sure the reality will dawn on me when I still have to go to work..! Hadn't even heard of Paremata so I will add that to the list, your husband's commute is both quicker and cheaper than mine is in the UK (and I bet there's better views out of the train window!) so winner all round!

Very good to have a real life person tell me that the areas we're looking at are reasonable so thanks for putting my mind at rest. I will definitely get in touch when we get over there, we are going to be massive loners! Where in the UK did you move from?

EmilyCambridge

Thanks MrsFychan, we started off looking at Kapiti but weren't sure if we would have crazy commutes. May well have to reinstate it on the research list for having good weather though! I can take or leave hot weather but I swear my husband has that SAD condition, he is grumpy October - March over here :-)

MrsFychan

my hubby suffered from SADs in the UK, not so much here, but still have his sun light if he ever needs it.

moonie2011

There is certainly better views, every morning as I drive the kids to school I can't help but smile
We moved form Torquay in Devon, and yes Devon is very nice and pretty as well
Speak soon

skybluestu

Hi Emily
We live in Raumati / Paraparaumu Beach and commute (drive) to Wellington and Lower Hutt every day. Train will take you 50 mins from Param to Wellie but you will always get a seat. Your Hubbies trip will take about 30-40 mins to Trentham by going over paekakariki hill and through the Haywards Hill. A nice drive with no stress, if you are anywhere north of Plimerton and on the main highway one you will always have hold up at Pukera bay as it goes down to one lane. Everybody is chilled out and "merge like a zip" so I dont get stressed out. Raumati has a great bar called the waterfront and about 10 of us expats have a good Social life there. You also have the sea at Paraparaumu which is sheltered by Kapati and very good for Kayaking / Sea fishing. Great views from all over the Kapati coast the one attached is from the top of Paekakariki hill looking towards Raumati.

simonmarkellis

I commute from Whitby into the CBD and Willis Street... takes about an hour door to door... includes bus to Paremata, Train into Wellington and a good walk.... tis an easy commute...

cappuccino

Join one of the many www.meetup.com social/activity groups when you get here - great way to meet people and explore the city whilst having lots of fun.

EmilyCambridge

Hi everybody,

Thanks so much for all the really helpful advice! The commute from the Kapiti area doesn't look as bad as it did on the map (nothing like a bit of local knowledge!) so it's back on the list! Currently busy worrying about medicals next week - not for any reason, just that that's the only thing left on the list that could go wrong! Once they are out of the way we'll be getting the paperwork all sent off with a view to hubby arriving in September and me turning up in October. We'll definitely join a club as suggested in the last post, as it will be great to meet some people in a similar position!

MrsFychan

you might be pushing it a bit for September if you are going for PR Visa. Timescales from when we applied back in 2011 was a minimum of 3mths and we went slightly over. What Visa are you hoping to come over on?

babybella

What about Petone. That is a straight train line for both of you, on the water and has become very trendy, heaps of good resturants. And close to Wellington.
Kaz

Snap Shot

Did they fix the landslide under the railway tracks near Petone yet ?