[jamilliah]

i would really like to hear your thoughts on this..we are looking for an affordable area,with great public transportation..we dont drive..nice schools and a happening place..we are used to the city live in brooklyn ny...and we're looking for something close in nz...
people seem to say yeah papkura is ok...better than living in gang infested manurewa..so people seem to like the howick area...which again is more expensive to rent..our budget will be $300pw..which is too much anyway..compared to the states..

so tell me your thoughts...

[jubjub]

I would say its a nicer area, but you will prob struggle to find something in your price range that is in a nice street. The area is generally good, although the nearer you are to the Tamaki River, the rougher it tends to be, the school that side of the road was a decile 2 or 3 last I knew, whereas nearer to the sea/Bucklands Beach you start hitting decile 7 - 10 schools. (The higher the decile the higher the income of the parents in the area)

Our neighbour pays $300 but she has been there years, she did look at moving and the cheapest she could get was $350-380.

Its an area thats close to everything and has all the facilities you need, if you are commuting to Papakura, we now have a new motorway junc that will help timewise a bit, and prob take you about 30-40 mins?

If you want anything else let me know.

[gil]

i would really like to hear your thoughts on this..we are looking for an affordable area,with great public transportation..we dont drive..nice schools and a happening place..we are used to the city live in brooklyn ny...and we're looking for something close in nz...
people seem to say yeah papkura is ok...better than living in gang infested manurewa..so people seem to like the howick area...which again is more expensive to rent..our budget will be $300pw..which is too much anyway..compared to the states..

so tell me your thoughts...

Howick is quite nice, suburban and quite expensive, although you can rent a one bed flat for $300 per week, I think. It's quite "middle class" by British definitions, so not exactly hip and happening, but family oriented. Nice village, but whilst there are bus routes and the ferry from Half Moon Bay, timings are a bit rubbish, for example, the last ferry back from Auckland on a Saturday is at 16.15 hours. Honest!
It suits us with our family, havig good schools, but it's not everyone's idea of heave!

Gil