[jshack52]

Hi

Things are moving on now and my visa application is being assessed so i have started looking for a property.

Our budget is limited on a nurses salary and we have seen a property in Coastal Beach Haven on Gazelle Ave for 350 pw.

I have heard some bad reports about beach haven but wondered what everyone else thought?

We have a baby and are looking for a family area which is safe as my husband (the nurse) will be working nights and I will be there alone some of the time with the baby.

Is NZ crime as bad as in the UK. We have lived in bad areas in england but are not sure if this is a comparable thing or are we talking, just make sure you lock your doors and your ok?

The things i would like to know about beach haven:

Is there gun crime
Are there gangs or youths to worry about on street corners
Is there a drug problem, am i likely to see a drug dealer pulling up at the end of my road
what about prostitution?
will my neighbours be drunks or wife beaters that i have to avoid at all costs?
Are some bits ok and other not and does anyone know this road?

(all the above have applied to places we have lived in the UK so surely beach haven is an improvement?)

The only other thing in our price range seems to be new apartments in albany, which i am not adverse to at all but would prefer a house with a baby. What do you think?

I have seem some stuff in torbay which i know is nice but they have always gone by the time i email, even the next day after advertising. That or people dont email me back. The only thing i can think is they want to rent to immigrants.

Should i just take the one in beach haven for 6 months and see what it like or should i wait till i am over there and snap up a flat in albany as there are loads of them so no need to sort it out now.

It seems houses go really quick and are advertised a month in advance so if i want a house i will have to sort it out now.

We fly on the 9th Jan.

Ps if anyone is buying a house with an attached or seperate 2 bed unit thing in north shore that they want to rent where i am not going to get beaten up my a masked youth, please let me know!


Thanks for your help.

Regards

Jessica

[ellenmelon]

"Crime and safety

93 per cent of residents felt safe in their homes after dark
82 per cent felt safe in their neighbourhood after dark. "

speaks for itself anyway.

when you ask about wife beaters im not quite sure why this is a worry for you. it is unfortunate that it happens but it is often done behind closed doors and you never hear it or hear about it.

i wonder why you want to move somewhere when you obviously have preconcieved (realistic or not i dont know) ideas about the place.

have a look at the quality of life report on the north shore city council website...its quite informative...

[ourquest]

which i am not adverse to at all but would prefer a house with a baby.

Although some rentals come furnished, it is unusual even in Auckland itself to find small children, let alone babies, included as part of the rental. :laugh

Seriously, though, your points are valid enough but definitely show signs of having read too many crime reports in your spare time. Not having lived yet in NZ I am not the best person to advise, but our visits have not given us any suggestion that you should be concerned. We never once saw any burglar proofing on windows in residential areas anywhere in NZ, if people were feeling unsafe you would expect some evidence of this somewhere. People leave cars idling outside shops while they buy their bread, and they sit watching tv in the evening with their windows and doors open everything visible from the road. Garages full of toys (for big people and the leased baby) stand open all day in unfenced properties.

Long may this stay as it is now.

[dharder]

"Crime and safety

93 per cent of residents felt safe in their homes after dark
82 per cent felt safe in their neighbourhood after dark. "

speaks for itself anyway.

But don't people tend to feel safer when in an area they are familiar with? I have never felt unsafe, or too scared to walk home in my area in east London, I have never been burgled, left my car unlocked on occasion, etc. However, when in a different area, I might feel less safe simply because I don't know it.

My partner's parents' house here in Auckland has been burgled a number of times, most of the houses in this area seem to have an alarm system. I don't feel particularly safe here, mainly because there aren't many people to be seen around, as opposed to London. As far as the area goes, I don't think the eastern bays are considered to be a particular hotspot of criminal activity, but there you have it: all in the eye of the beholder.

I think it may be easier to just walk around an area to get a feel for it, but of course that may not always be possible.
Daniela

[jshack52]

In response to EllenMelon

I have no preconceived ideas about New Zealand and have only ever found kiwis to warm and welcoming people.

I have only read one thing about beach haven from wikapedia which was where it mentioned gang crime and domestic violence. I have not ready any crime statistics and am intelligent enough not to bother, it is all political propaganda that has been published in a bias way anyway. That was why we wanted real people’s opinions from the forum, everyone is so helpful here.

The rental agents were the ones putting us off the area and saying to stick to the bays, which would mean increasing our budget and we dont want to do this when only one of us is working initially, till we find childcare.

In relation to my questions about crime all the things mentioned have been on our door step in the places we have lived in the UK ( Manchester, Leeds and Halifax).

In relation to domestic violence we currently live next door to a couple which have had the police round due to him beating her up and believe me it is not nice when you live next to it and have thin walls and hear people crying or being thrown against a dividing wall. Now we have a baby and we don’t ever want her to hear that kind of thing, it doesn’t happen in my house and shouldn’t happen anywhere else for that matter.

If my neighbours in NZ were acting in this way I would call the police, there it is a moral issues that neighbours should be aware of and not ignore becuase it is behind closed doors. That is why I would prefer not to be in that situation again and that is why I asked if my neighbours would be the kind of people you can borrow a cup of sugar from or people that you want to avoid. I would add that domestic violence occurs just as often in affluent areas.

I hope this clarifies things for you.

We have emailed the agent to accept the property in beach haven if it is still available.

Thank you everyone for your advice.

Regards


Jessica

[Probyn]

Just got back from Torbay/Browns Bay area.Was there a month.Was very safe,worst thing is the dreaded NZ boy racers,who,s worst crime around that area anyway is noisy cars and throwing the odd beer bottle out of their cars onto the road.. not at people.
But this is an affluent middle class suburb,with the type of people you would expect to live in these area,s anywhere in the world.Domestic violence aside,which is across the board,and no doubt exists also there.It was a very safe place,but ofcourse its reflected in the house/rent prices.. you get what you pay for.

[Tia Maria]

probyn wrote:

Just got back from Torbay/Browns Bay area.Was there a month

How was your recce probyn? Have you found somewhere you like?

Cheers

Tia

[Probyn]

Hi Tia

Well.. sort of in a state of flux.. the weather in Dec was a bit crap,lots of rain,dont know if that is normal or not,but anyway not really a big deal.
Main problem is that it would look like I would have to be out of NZ for periods of a couple of months at a time, for work.We could then last fair few months in NZ on this pay(mostly UK pounds) and I was going for no mortgage,or a very small one.
Seemed a good plan,but now Iam not really sure about being away from the family.Airfares also pretty exp in NZ,was surprised as i thought Japan was very high,but NZ seems more exp.

I have till August to use the visa LTBV,so deciding .. Also a bit worried by all the tales of cold damp winters!! To be honest cant say I really fell in love with anywhere specifically.. but Browns bay/Torbay was very nice,somehow I didnt get that feeling of oh wow this place is great for me.
Maybe I have to go to Wellington,New Plymouth ? but still the problem of really only being able to make decent money out of NZ.Was in my business plan that I would be out of NZ a fair bit,didnt seem to be a problem,but just not great for me being away from kids/wife.

mmmm ... so short reply.. not really sure

Thanks for remembering me!