[Wahlet]

Hi,
My wife & I will be renting in Wellington when we arrive. We found a very attractive place in the suburb of Newtown (3km south of Welly) online, and might sign up for it before we arrive (fully aware of the risk involved).

Can someone tell me what Newtown is like? We'd be on the east end against the town belt. How are the shops? Any supermarkets? Any natural / organic food stores? We'll not have a car (intentionally) so it would be nice to have services within short walking/biking distance. Friendly community? Clean? Safe for my not-so-city-savvy wife to get about? Kindly tell me about your experiences there.

Thanks,
David

[IanW99]

Hi,
My wife & I will be renting in Wellington when we arrive. We found a very attractive place in the suburb of Newtown (3km south of Welly) online, and might sign up for it before we arrive (fully aware of the risk involved).

Can someone tell me what Newtown is like? We'd be on the east end against the town belt. How are the shops? Any supermarkets? Any natural / organic food stores? We'll not have a car (intentionally) so it would be nice to have services within short walking/biking distance. Friendly community? Clean? Safe for my not-so-city-savvy wife to get about? Kindly tell me about your experiences there.

Thanks,
David

Well if you ask my OH she will think you are mad!

We stayed just outside Newtown when we first arrived, it does have a New World supermarket and library etc and its not too far to walk/cycle into town and a main bus route if you don't want the exercise.

I suppose it depends on what you are used to IMO it is quite rundown, I would look elsewhere, or at least check it out first.

Ian

[Anita & Marco]

Hi

In my opinion Newtown is a nice, multicultural, student type suburb with a great atmosphere, especially when you are young and like the city life. It is an easy distance to the city and it has enough bus services.

Yes, I agree with Ian - you are not going to live in Newtown when you want to be in a family suburb and when you like everything to be green and neat, so it really depends on what you are looking for. Friends of ours (kiwis) live there very happily with children.

Cheers
Anita

[Wonderbob]

Can someone tell me what Newtown is like? We'd be on the east end against the town belt. How are the shops? Any supermarkets? Any natural / organic food stores? We'll not have a car (intentionally) so it would be nice to have services within short walking/biking distance. Friendly community? Clean? Safe for my not-so-city-savvy wife to get about? Kindly tell me about your experiences there.

Thanks,
David

I'd rate it a 5/10. It has a supermarket, nearest Organic store is Kilbirnie which is 5 min drive, it's very close to Wellington Hospital, and transport into town very good,but I agree with Ian it is kind of run down, and certainly wouldn't be one of the safest surburbs in Welly. My 5 cents worth would be to keep on a lookin....

[gpbenton]

nearest Organic store is Kilbirnie which is 5 min drive

You take the No. 3 Bus to Kilbirnie if you stick with the plan of managing without a car.

But, as others said, I wouldn't choose Newtown without seeing what you are getting in to first.

[Carol]

I'd rate it a 5/10.

My 5 cents worth would be to keep on a lookin....


Agree!

Unless you are a student....

[Wahlet]

Wow, thanks everyone for your input. We are a young couple with no children, not students, I'd be walking or biking to work in the Wellington CBD.

Can you please explain "certainly not one of the safest suburbs in Welly?" What makes it this way?

Also can you explain "it is quite rundown?" What do you mean by this? These things are rather subjective. Would a person be in fear of being robbed / mugged walking down the street? Or do you mean just that the buildings are neglected and aging? I couldn't find many pictures online.

Mainly I'd want my wife to be comfortable while I'm away at work, to go out to shops by herself, walk the dog, go out into the Town Belt, etc.

[Wonderbob]

Wow, thanks everyone for your input. We are a young couple with no children, not students, I'd be walking or biking to work in the Wellington CBD.

Can you please explain "certainly not one of the safest suburbs in Welly?" What makes it this way?

Also can you explain "it is quite rundown?" What do you mean by this? These things are rather subjective. Would a person be in fear of being robbed / mugged walking down the street? Or do you mean just that the buildings are neglected and aging? I couldn't find many pictures online.

Mainly I'd want my wife to be comfortable while I'm away at work, to go out to shops by herself, walk the dog, go out into the Town Belt, etc.

You mentioned previously that your wife wasn't particuarly savvy/street wise from a city perspective, and I believe there are safer/nicer suburbs to live in than Newtown. In the last year there have been two particularly nasty rapes/serious assasults in that surburb - in the second assault the guy was beaten and left for dead - surburban crime of this nature is pretty unusual in Welly - but two in Newtown in the space of a year, puts that place in the list of surburbs I'd never live. It has nicer parts, but yes it does have a few buildings that are in the process of falling down. It was touted as the "Ponsonsby of Wellington" some years ago (Ponsonby in Auckland used to be a dreadful slum, but now it is a very expensive inner city surburb), but this transformation has never happened......As far as your wife being safe walking the streets during the day, it wouldn't be an issue however. As others have suggested, check it out for yourself is the best bet.

[ellenmelon]

i know plenty of people who arent students that live in newtown.
it doesnt just have a supermarket, i think it has a really great selection of shops as its on the flat. there are dodgy streets but there are some cute wee streets too. there have been attacks in newtown which are worrying of course! friends from school walk home at night but they do stick to the main streets..
i think if you're going to be without a car and don't want to be bus-ing everywhere newtown is a good place to be. there is a mediterranean food warehouse, a couple of great cafes, what looks like a wee boutique homewares shop, a new world as others have said,chemist,restaurants, a few clothes shops (but you'd want to head into town for clothes shopping anyway) etc etc. it would be a big bonus not having to head into town all the time i would reckon.

how long do you have to sign the lease for on the house you are interested in? if you could wrangle a 6monther you could see if that side of town is for you and if it isnt you arent in for too long.

[Wahlet]

Hi Ellenmelon, thanks for the broader perspective on Newtown. The answer to your question is: we'd begin tenancy in July and could rent for 6mo or 18mo (the landlady finds it easier to find tenants in the summer), so we might go for the 6mo option in case we don't like it...though I'm pretty positive we will...it's a sweet little 1880s gardener's cottage in a landscaped property with room for our dog to run, etc. :yes It is a little intimidating to think about committing to a place from this distance, but we've done it once over a 2300km distance in the US based on pictures and phone calls, and it worked out fantastically. At this point, the decision is in the hands of the landlady anyhow.

Any more perspective on Newtown from you or others would be appreciated! Cheers.

[ellenmelon]

Hi Ellenmelon, thanks for the broader perspective on Newtown. The answer to your question is: we'd begin tenancy in July and could rent for 6mo or 18mo (the landlady finds it easier to find tenants in the summer), so we might go for the 6mo option in case we don't like it...though I'm pretty positive we will...it's a sweet little 1880s gardener's cottage in a landscaped property with room for our dog to run, etc. :yes It is a little intimidating to think about committing to a place from this distance, but we've done it once over a 2300km distance in the US based on pictures and phone calls, and it worked out fantastically. At this point, the decision is in the hands of the landlady anyhow.

Any more perspective on Newtown from you or others would be appreciated! Cheers.

No worries Wahlet. I wasn't trying to 'talk up' newtown so Im glad the info from my perspective was helpful. (Does that make sense? lol) I study in Newtown and its easier to zip down to the Newtown shops rather than into town. we're pretty much smack bang in the middle. Thats great that you could be in there for a short-ish term..Good Luck with whatever you end up doing :)

[tigerlily]

We stayed on Manley Terrace in Newtown for a couple of weeks when we first arrived. By run down I think I would say that many properties look like they are rentals which are not being kept up by the owners. Gang tags abound from what I saw. Some properties are very nice and refurbished, we were sheltered from the winds to a degree, and I loved how multicultural it was (more than downtown- there are people from around the world walking down the street every day- women in burkas, Chinese children playing in the parents shop). The houses are tightly packed and I would expect a few of your neighbors will be watching you play with your dog in your backyard. It's an easy bus to town and there are many little markets, a post shop, a library, a meditterian food shop and lots of little shops and cafes along the main road. It's a vibrant place to live, not a quiet suburb.

The incidents which occur there seem to happen in the middle of the night- so good to bed and don't walk home at 2:30 in the morning!

[Wahlet]

Thanks to Tigerlily, very helpful comments.

[theSingsons]

About renting... try to see if you can get a lease that's not fixed term. There are a lot of other properties for lease like say Oriental Bay, which is like a stones throw away from the CBD. Read up some more on leases at http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenants-index and see what kind of lease will suit both you and your wife.

[sweetpea]

Newtown reminds me of some of the more residential neighborhoods in San Francisco - Bernal Heights, specifically. Full of character. Charming but slightly grungy. I liked it, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. As a bonus, there is a Mexican restaurant there, opposite the hospital.