chippy64

Any of you that live in ChCh, where would you like to live and where would you not touch with a barge pole?

We will have 15yr old son - sports mad and a large dog!

Your personal views most welcome!

chippy64

Someone, anyone?????!!!!!

paulst30

MY wife and I were thinking of going to Rolleston as the houses are nice and affordable, however the shaky economy everywhere over the world is causing us to re-think our steps. ChCh seems to have the dryest weather too according to the Met office, which is a bonus. I'm in IT so jobs there a scarce in my field, Network Support..

What area were you looking at? i use Google Earth to have a look around NZ

toria

Hi,

We've lived in Ch for almost 2 years. WE lived in Northwood in a rental and have now brought a lifestyle block in Clarkville. It's really hard to tell you about areas, as you don't know what people are looking for.

Schools are obviously a big issue in CH, and you have to live in the right zone, but those areas are very expensive for the 'best' schools', unless you can afford private schooling in which case you can live where you like.

I have heard that the best secondrey schools are CH boys & Lincoln - but that's just hearsay. My children are much younger than yours so I don't really know much about that age group yet!

If we were to live in town again, I would go for Waimari Beach, Parklands, Queenspark, Tumara Park - as these are near the beach, the forest etc with great recreational options.

The 'posh' areas in town are Merivale, Fendalton, Cashmere, St Martins.........

You really have to come and see for yourself I guess!!!!! We live in Clarkville, it takes me 30 minutes to get to the CBD, including a nursery and school drop off, so that's great for us - the best of both worlds we feel!

Hope this helps.....

ohnojo

Hi. We live in ChCh with a sports mad teenager and medium sized dog !

We live in New Brighton and it has something to suit us all. Dog loves walking across to the beach, also the river behind us and Bottle lake forest ( as do we ) Teenager loves the choice of basketball parks he can walk to, also the ease of public transport to town where he goes to school amongst other things. We're also close to QE11 sports centre which has a great selection of swiming pools, gym etc. Husband also busses to work in town as it's cheaper than driving, quick and easy. There are local shops and restaurants that we can walk to in the evenings and weekends.

We rented in St Martins when we first arrived which is also nice, it's got a river running through it, is at the base of the Cashmere Hills and close to town.
I don't think there are that many places to avoid these days. Aranui has a bit of a bad name, and Bexley was a bit smelly last year to due probs with the sewerage works but I believe they've fixed that now.
The good thing is, wherever you decide is right for you you're never too far from beaches, mountains, shops, country side .........

ohnojo

Forgot to say, son goes to Hagley College ( which is v good ) in the city which is not zoned so we were able to live where we wanted instead of settling for somewhere just because it was zone for a decent school

Wiz'n'Ton

Some great replies there that I agree with.

The shortest list is definately the 'where wouldn't I live' one:

South or East of the City centre within the 4 aves
Linwood
Aranui
Hornby
Woolston
Phillipstown
Waltham
Bromley

This list is simply cos I am a snob. Also, I have had stuff nicked and vandalised by people going to and from Linwood as our house is on the walking route between there and the city centre.

Saying that though, even some areas of those places are OK - there isn't really a 'no-go' area in ChCh.

Otherwise, all around ChCh is nice. St Albans, Riccarton, Merivale, Sumner Cashmere, Rolleston, Rangiora, North Brighton, Burwood etc etc - all nice, and with lots of both old and new housing stock.

We were going to build in Rolleston and have a section there, but now want to sell it to move closer to the city - anyone want a section? 2050 square meters, $199k - bargain! (yeah I know, trust me to try and sell something on someone elses thread )

kiwinow

I agree about those negative places, although there are nice bits and bad bits in most of them. When I drive the kids up for Gym competitions we usually stay in Papanui, which seems quite nice and handy to QE II Park. St Albans is OK and Burwood. If you want the beach and have lots of $$$$ Sumner is lovely. If you have not quite so many dollars Brighton is much nicer than it used to be and the beach front is all done up now. Cashmere/Port Hills have the views but a drive to the beach, but nowhere is that far to drive really, as it's a smallish city. The areas around Hagley Park are quite nice. Biggest problem is familiarising yourself with the one way system, but once you've got it, it's much faster.

There is apparently a high rate of violent and sexual crimes in Chch but having said that my husband and I stayed in a city hotel right next to the Avon River and walked the streets at night, enjoyed the pubs, restaurants and art places without seeing a single problem.

CAN2NZ

We now live in Rangiora, and used to live in Ilam/Burnside. I liked that part of town and realize more now that it had lots going for it. Burnside park is great, there is a squash club, tennis club, lawn bowling (yawn), rugby and football. Close by shopping too. Drawback, airport so there can be lots of airplanes going over and there can be lots of traffic. However, we found that there was lots of traffic all over. It was interesting looking at the Ecan website and finding that St. Albans has very dirty air in winter. Buses to city are handy and the university is close by.

Wiz'n'Ton

Kiwinow is spot on - Papanui = nice, around Hagley Park = very nice, Sumner = very nice but the commute/ traffic is an absolute bitch over the Ferrymead bridge in rush half-hour () and on sunny weekends. Great surfing in Sumner bay and over the hill in my favourite place of all - Taylors Mistake.

ChCh is small, and traffic here compared to Southend is - to use a Kiwi word - awesome. Kiwi's bitch and moan about 30 minutes to get anywhere - in the UK I used to joyously celebrate getting through a traffic light in 4 cycles. Here, if a traffic light goes 4 cycles then you've broken down! I love it!

As for the violence and all that - yep, just like anywhere there are idiots here. In 1.5 years of living here we've not seen it, but we read about it. The miseries on here will provide links to numerous sad news stories about crime here in ChCh, so do your research and draw your own conclusions. In the posh areas though, the most you'll worry about is neighbours parking over your drive!

Some love the more 'out of town' areas like Rakaia, Tai Tapu and Hei Hei but I just love living here in the city. We just walked for 20 mins through the city centre to good old Pac'n'Save, then walked back - right up and down Manchester St and past Lordships Lane and the new night-spot, Sol Square. It gives me such a buzz!

Just today I drove up on to Summit Road (a road that runs along the top of the Port Hills to the South of ChCh) and looked out over ChCh, the snow capped Southern Alps, the blue sky and blue sea, and just smiled all the way. I feel so smug being here, being a part of this, and not being in the stressed, struggling and discontented environment we used to live in whilst in the UK.

Love it

Yotty

Here's a link to The Press .. http://www.stuff.co.nz/0a6530.html

howardk

the only decent places ( apart from fendalton & merivale if you want to live in town ) are across the ferrymead bridge.....mt pleasant,redcliffs,sumner,scarborough & taylors mistake..........

TeamEmbo

Personally I don't see any great attraction in Fendalton, Merivale, Sumner or Cashmere. Didn't want to live on one of the noisiest and busiest roads in the city or in a place where the houses are stacked up the cliff face on top of each other. I like flat, peace, calm, country and sea. Dead easy commute in/out of city should the rare need to go there arise. I Rangiora! 10 minutes to beach, a town with shops to suit all needs/requirements, short drive to foothills, views of Southern Alps, 1 hr to ski fields, 1 1/2 hours to HSprings. Heaps of outdoor life pursuits. And real friendly, down-to-earth peeps. Beats keeping up with Jones-Smythes in Fendalton! Just my opinion

Staar

We live in Rolleston and its great. Public transport links are a bit of a bitch though, as there's only one bus into town and the service finishes at silly o clock, so a good night in town either costs heaps in a cab or some one(usually hubby) drives. But apart from that its lovely. West melton is very lovely too.

Dezza

The schools in these areas have excellent reps and very sought after which I suppose is one reasons why the houses are so expensive. I liked the high street and the proximity to Hagley Park and the City in Merivale/Fendalton but you do get a lot more for your money in Rangiora. We are undecided whether to go for Rangiora which is lovely and has a great feel or one of the posher parts of Christchurch with the great schools and compromise (alot!) on the house.