[Lara Croft]

Hi!
We are trying to sort out a rental for when we arrive in mid-January. 4 properties that we've shortlisted look nice (and most importantly pet-friendly!) are in:

- Lynmouth Ave in Karori

- Pukerua Bay (no street name, but the area doesn't look that big??)

- Toru Road, Paraparaumu Beach

-St Louis Place, Brooklyn

Anyone able to comment on these geneal areas please? We are trying to find somewhere quiet and with a village-feel, rather than a standard city suburb. Loads of shops are not important.

Thanks!
Jane
ed to add 2 more properties!

[tigerlily]

Sorry I can't help, but I just wanted to ask if you are planning to try to pick something before you arrive? I was afraid that a landlord wouldn't want to rent to us since we are not actually there yet. Have you talked to a property management firm?
Just curious!

[james the mechanic]

Quotable Value Ltd, New Zealand's largest valuation and property information company, offer free online neighbourhood demographic profiles., and many other useful services (not all free) you can use when trying to suss out an area from afar.

www.qv.co.nz

[jackie m]

Toru Road in Paraparaumu Beach is not far about a 5 minute walk to the small high street,(small compared to where we used to live:D ) not very far to the beach. I would say its quite a nice area but if you have a house number I could always drive round to see what the neighbours houses look like.
Jackie

[Lara Croft]

Hi Jackie - thanks! It's no. 45 Toru Road (a white house).

TigerLily - my new employer-to-be are paying for 4 weeks accomodation for us when we arrive. Since the apartment they offered won't accept pets, I'm working with a relocation agent to find somewhere that does. I found these on TradeMe rentals, and the agent will work on our behalf to see if any of them are acceptable (from a company perspective, and I guess availability). I'm really glad that we've got this level of help and support, as I think it would be hard to try and do that remotely as well!

Cheers!
Jane

[IanW99]

Pukerua Bay is a nice area to live in, as you say quite small but good rail links into Wellington CBD.

It doesn't have much in the way of shops, you would have to go down to Plimmerton or to Porirua for the weekly shop.

The SH1 runs through this area and can be quite busy at times so makes it a little more interesting to get onto the main road, but mostly it is fine.

Ian

[gonzo]

Hi there,

Lynmouth Avenue in Karori is in an OK area but is closer to South Karori than the more favoured city side of Karori.

Karori is Wellingtons biggest suburb and has relatively good transport links to the CBD but probably does not have the "villagey" characteristics that you are searching for, although relative to most UK suburbs it is still quite parochial. Does have a couple of supermarkets, vets, library, take -aways, bakers and even a pub. It is also in a good catchment area for schools and is in the favoured (i.e expensive) western suburbs.

Hope this is of help.

ps check the heating on anything you consider renting as you may regret it if you don't come May :laugh

[eternalkiwi]

St Loius Place is located on a ridge in the southern suburb of Brooklyn.
The street is about 100m long and just off the street is a bus to the CBD.

Driving to the CBD is about 10 minutes by car, buses are 20-40 minutes depending on traffic and what part of the CBD you need to reach.

Also in Brooklyn is the Brooklyn Village shopping area which has a small range of popular stores and eateries. The south coast beaches are also about 10 minutes drive away.

Like some parts of Wellington the area can be a little damp in winter so heating and insulation can be an issue.

Shawn

[Lara Croft]

Thanks folks..... keep the comments coming! All feedback gratefully accepted!

Jane

[tigerlily]

Jane- I'm green! You are very lucky to get such good help- but with the pets I'm sure its still a challange.

What are the LESS DAMP areas of Wellington? If there is such a place?

[clg]

Damp areas tend to be those lower in valleys or those with southern exposures. As the sun drops in winter it will go behind hills so areas that look wonderfully sunny in summer may not get much in winter. Cool/damp air seems to drop so it will be noticeably in lower spots. One indicator is to look on the ground outside if you see lots of moss around the area it will be damp.

You will hear about Karori, Brooklyn, and Aro Valley being damp but it that is because of hills there which can create valleys that led cold air collect while the hills block the sun.

[tigerlily]

Thanks Chris. I'm starting to think I should have packed more sweaters!

[Big Puku]

It depends on where your job is how far you want to commute IMO :confused: - from Wellington CBD it's ~30 mins to Pukerua Bay, which could be fantastic (or awful if you are on the main road!), up to an hour to Param (which is nice, though I don't know Toru Road) or ~10 mins to Brooklyn or Karori (pleasant suburbs, but too central/busy for me).