[nickydwuk]

I know there have been many threads regarding good/bad areas around Christchurch and I am about to start another one.

We have been looking at lifestyle properties in the Canterbury area and have seen a few listed in areas north of Christchurch - in particular Balcairn, Amberley, Sefton etc... Does anyone live near here or know anything of the area? and how long would it take to comute to Christchurch? :nice1

[Smiler]

I think you need Moorf here. :cool:

She gets up around midday ;)













:eek:

[mossum]

Hi

We live in Rangiora - so not too far from any of the areas you mentioned . Amberley very popular with ex pats - is the furthest away perhaps 40 minutes to Ch Ch - depending of course on time of day . Balcairn & Sefton are both nice areas too - just dont buy anything with out seeing it - lots & lots of pylons run through sefton/ ashley - if it seems too good to be true - it is !

Closer in to CH Ch Ohoka - & mandeville about 25 mins to town (pip can help you more on commute times ) - naturally their proximity to town is reflected in the price .

Remember If you both work full time a 4Ha block can become very hard work . there are smaller parcels of land availiable (around 3 acres ) in some areas but they are generally the same price as the larger blocks as they are FAR more desirable to many people .

HTH - feel free to ask as many questions as you like .

Vic

[Moorf]

*yawn* I'm up early today :D

I'm not too familiar with the areas north of Chch I'm afraid, I use Rangiora as a local town occasionally, that's about it. We're out on the west side of Chch which we believe is the easiest area to get in to town from. Areas round here are West Melton/Kirwee/Darfield/Hororata/Sheffield/Waddington/Courtenay/Annat/Springfield - all of which are seeing more and more sections going in - in fact this area, the Selwyn District of Canterbury, is NZ's 2nd fastest growing area.

Have you looked at Oxford / Cust area - lots of lovely lifestyle sections going in around there. I believe Oxford can be a bit of a long drive in to Chch - perhaps an hour or so? Lisa/Andy live that way and are on the forum.. (adamsat / lisa) and I know Andy commutes in from Oxford/Ashley area.

Agree with the comments about lifestyle sizes - if you're both working full time,or one of you is) you might want to consider something up to 5 acres (2/3 is a manageable size depending on how it's used). We have just over 2 acres (albeit split in to tennis court/vineyard/paddock/veggie area/chook area/gardens) so it's all quite easy to manage although as I'm working more full time from home these days I've had to hire a gardener and he mows all the roadside and lawned areas and vineyard once a week... a great help...

[Pip]

Hi


Closer in to CH Ch Ohoka - & mandeville about 25 mins to town (pip can help you more on commute times ) - naturally their proximity to town is reflected in the price .


Vic

Yep, Ohoka /Mandeville is about 25 mins into the heart of town (outside of rushhour - yes, there actually is one!), and about 30 mins into town using back routes to avoid traffic on the mainroads. We looked at a lovely property in Loburn, but decided it was just that but too far for us.. as we reckoned that we'd be looking at 45 min+ commute time. I would reckon that Amberley could be getting towards the hour at busy points of the day.

I also echo peoples comments about ten acres - we have four, and thats plenty. We are just about staying on top of it - but have lent our paddocks to people with ponies in order to keep the grass down, as just the garden and the olive grove is a good couple of hours on a ride on lawn mower!

also you can get pretty rural here, without being that far out of town, so don't equate UK rural with NZ rural!

What length of commute did you have in mind ? - then we can maybe give you some suggestions to consider.. !

[nickydwuk]

We would consider anything up to about 45-50 minutes commute. As I am a nurse I won't be travelling into ChCh during peak times as I would be starting about 7am or 2pm so hopefully would avoid the 'rush' hour:) OH would not be working full time (well that is the plan) so 4-5 acres would give him something to do (he would be in his element, he loves gardening and working outside):yes

Having spent months waiting for OH to make up his mind he is now looking at lifestyle properties and wants to bid on them all and move out ASAP. I don't want to curb his enthusiasm but I am a little wary of buying before I see it. But he just doesn't want these 'perfect' properties to slip through his fingers. However we have not done anything silly yet and hopefully we won't. :uhoh

[benandclare]

Travel up the Marshland road, alternative route to state highway1, to work at 6.30 on Monday and Friday mornings and it's bumper to bumper coming into town all the way to Kaiapoi. A liitle bit quieter at 8.30 the other days but not much.
You might struggle with parking coming from the north of the city as most of the nurses park south of the Hospital. Clare is going to dust her leathers off and buy a scooter to help with the problem:laugh

Ben

[nickydwuk]

Is there not much parking at the hospital then? Do the nurses have to find parking in the streets or public car parks? How long does the journey normally take Clare?

[benandclare]

Is there not much parking at the hospital then? Do the nurses have to find parking in the streets or public car parks? How long does the journey normally take Clare?


Parking is limited to a public multi storey which charges and there is a staff multi storey but around 3 year waiting list to get in so most nurses use roadside parking about 5 to 10 mins walk from Hosp, there is nearer parking but its metered.
Most of the free parking is south of the hosp and the early bird gets the worm or rather the space:laugh
When Clare has done lates, finish at 11.15pm, I've dropped her off and picked her up.
From our new house , move in tomorrow :raebanana , it'll be about a 20 min journey.

[Piper]

This is obviously completely the opposite direction, being south of Christchurch, but it's within your travelling range and is right up, or down, your OH's street methinks :nice1

Oh, oh look at that big shed! 6.5 Ha, oh, oh!

And all for the price of an ex-council house in the UK's South East!

http://www.overseasrealestate.co.uk/Australia_NZ/new_zealand/Akaroa/akaroa.html

[debnjohn]

A really REALLY handy tool to use is the distance calculator in Google Maps.
Put in the first line of the address of the property you are looking at, followed by 'nz' to give Google a clue.
Then click the 'Get directions' hyperlink and put in your destination e.g. Cathedral Square NZ (centre of Christchurch City) or better still the work address to intend to commute to. I have found this free software tool to be pretty consistent at timings; the route shown can be changed by clicking and dragging (it selects main roads I think) with a corresponding update on time and distance travelled.

Cheers,
John & Debbie

PS We went unconditional today on this property north of Christchurch :)
http://www.rwredcliffs.co.nz/show?rd=1&ref=RDC10988

[Pip]

OOh... thats fantastic.. and you're practically neighbours to us! - we're a couple of miles down the road from you in Ohoka.. its a really friendly area.

[debnjohn]

OOh... thats fantastic.. and you're practically neighbours to us! - we're a couple of miles down the road from you in Ohoka.. its a really friendly area.

Thanks Pip, I know where you are (not that sinister - I came to your coffee morning when Deb was visiting the UK :) )

[Pip]

of course.. sorry that John (he who recommendeth locksmiths!) - well you know where we are if you need anything!

[mossum]

[QUOTE=debnjohn;161569]

PS We went unconditional today on this property north of Christchurch :)
http://www.rwredcliffs.co.nz/show?rd=1&ref=RDC10988[/QUO

lol - i was doing the rangiora marketing on this one !!!!!

vic

[adamsat]

we live in Oxford (in the centre now having given up the farm, but that's another story) and I work In central chch (by the square). I find it a pretty easy journey, 55km door to door and less than an hour even leaving work at 5:30pm. There's a lot of blocks for sale around Oxford, and by comparison with other areas the price is very realistic. Happy to give more info if you need it (including a run down of life on a lifestyle block)

[nickydwuk]

Thanks adamsat - might just take you up on your offer.