[northernfive]

Hello,

Arriving in Wellington in September. Could anyone give us their opinion of Stokes Valley. Houses seem a little cheaper, which rings alarm bells. Anyone know what the primary schools are like. Houses seem to look really nice.

Thanks
Northern Five

[gonzo]

Hi there,

I will preface my comments by saying that I don't live there but I play golf just opposite. Not that much wrong with the valley but it is a little bit a way from things and not much in the way of major facilities, only a small shopping center so need to travel into Hutt (either) for any real shopping.Cannot comment on schools. Also way valley is situated means might be a little damp at times. Houses are reasonable value certainly compared to Wellington (central). You might want to consider looking at silverstream which is on the flat and closer to upper hutt.

[sizzlingbadger]

The fog usually sits in the valley there so if you're on the hill you would avoid it, but as Gonzo has said it gets very damp there.

Not sure what schools are like but we looked at Silverstream and Pinehaven both of which have good schools.

[jess]

We were originally planning to move to Stokes Valley due to the more affordable housing, but decided against it once we were here. It isn't that bad of an area, just perhaps less inspiring (to me at least) than some of the other neighborhoods.

It hasn't been updated in a couple of years, but there is this site (http://www.svn.co.nz/comminfo.html) with a list of Stokes Valley schools. Perhaps you could check the decile ratings for them, if someone knows where there is a list.

As an aside, there's a Buddhist monastery tucked in the back of Stokes Valley on Rakau Grove, and the public is allowed to take walks/hikes through their beautiful grounds. The view from the top of the hill is gorgeous (photo is here (http://www.bodhinyanarama.net.nz/album.ashx?albummode=Preview&albumpath=%2f%2fphotogallery%2fdscf0001.jpg)).