[akoso]

Hi all,

I'm looking to move to Welly in Oct / Nov with two buddies and am wondering what the vibe's like in the various suburbs. The three of us are in our mid 20's and therefore are looking for a place that has something to it, as opposed to a safe neighbourhood for raising children.

We're coming from Toronto, Canada, but I lived in Cape Town, South Africa for 6 months last year. I'm not sure how familiar people are with it, but there was a pretty solid suburb there called Observatory that was close to the uni, had a lot of pubs and cafes, loads of students and recent grads, and had an artsy feel to it... even though it wasn't necessarily the most well kept of all places.

So basically the two things I'm wondering are:

a) what suburbs are more like this?

and

b) how do rental prices compare in these suburbs compared to places right in Welly Central.

Thanks in advance guys,
Anthony

[Wonderbob]

Most of the hip young things live in the city in apartments, but I guess the closest suburb to what you describe would be Aro Valley - close to the uni, pretty small shopping centre, but easily the closest to what you would call Bohemian....Being down low in the valley however, it doesn't always get a lot of sun, and some of the housing is a bit rough.....Close to the CBD though at around 15-20 mins walk (or a 5 min cab ride), so never far from some great nightlife.

[ellenmelon]

yep, definately te aro...some of it is in sun but as wonderbob said, some is a bit shady so to speak :)

newtown! you'd love newtown. lots of artists and musicians live there..drama school down the road means that there are lots of actors/dancers and general creative types. there was a great thread on here recently about newtown...umm here! (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16097)

it generally is cheaper if you get further out but you'd be best to check here (http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-me-property/index.htm) to see what prices houses that would suit you are priced at.

[akoso]

yep, definately te aro...some of it is in sun but as wonderbob said, some is a bit shady so to speak :)
Cool. I'll keep that in mind.

there was a great thread on here recently about newtown...umm here! (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16097)
Ha. It was actually creeping through that thread that made me decide to write this one. Thanks though.

Any other areas that have a bit more nightlife to them? Mt Cook? Mt Vic? Oriental Bay? Thorndon?

Thanks again guys,
Anthony

[Wonderbob]

Any other areas that have a bit more nightlife to them? Mt Cook? Mt Vic? Oriental Bay? Thorndon?

Thanks again guys,
Anthony

Ahhhhhhh nope....As world capital cities goes, Wellington is incredibly small and compact (with a small population) and easy to walk around - nothing is very far from anything else really. Those suburbs you mention are all easy walking distance from the city bars, cafes, clubs etc, and whilst they may have some local cafe's/bars of their own, you wouldn't describe it as a "nightlife" as such...

[ellenmelon]

welly is compact so suburbs wouldnt have their own nightlife center really. maybe a local bar or restaurant but not much more than that..you just head into town for all that...its not far into town from any of the city suburbs really.

[tigerlily]

Most all the buses in town go through Courtney Place- where all the nightlife seems to be centered. You could peek on a map to see how far a prospective rental is from Courtney.

[Potato]

Cool. I'll keep that in mind.


Ha. It was actually creeping through that thread that made me decide to write this one. Thanks though.

Any other areas that have a bit more nightlife to them? Mt Cook? Mt Vic? Oriental Bay? Thorndon?

Thanks again guys,
Anthony

Newtown is quite a multicultural area relatively speaking, some run down housing of course, and not exactly close to uni if you like that vibe. People's Coffee is meant to be one of the best in Wellington if you're into it. :)
Kelburn is perhaps mostly what you're looking for. Mix of students and rich people. Interesting shops in "Kelburn Village", more diverse than you may expect really (well, they surprised me). Lovely location, houses perched on hills, overflowing bush. Cool.
Mt Vic and Oriental Bay are fairly close and though they do have their own dairies and restaurants and cafes, as others have said for nightlife you go into Wellington Central. I really like both as far as locations go. They are very convenient for town, but if you have a car you'll have trouble with parking.

[Anita & Marco]

Hi Anthony

Unfortunately I have never been to Toronto, so I have to compare with Europe mainly. I would not know a "hip/bohemiam" area in New Zealand. If you are really into that, maybe another country would suit you better.

However, if you would like to come to NZ I definitely recommend Wellington, but please don't expect the vibrancy being like you are possibly used to. Of course Courtenay Place is the 'nightlife' centre of the city, but still it does not have the vibe of the real cities. But that is exactly what makes Wellington a great city; at least to me. Try to find a place to life close to the city centre and you would be fine.

Cheers,
Anita

[Wonderbob]

Hi all,

I'm looking to move to Welly in Oct / Nov with two buddies and am wondering what the vibe's like in the various suburbs. The three of us are in our mid 20's and therefore are looking for a place that has something to it, as opposed to a safe neighbourhood for raising children.


Anthony

One of the fabulous things about NZ currently (and Welly in particular I understand) is that there is currently a "man drought" - there is something like 40,000 less women available (across the country - no B.S) in the 20-35 age group than men..... getting a mental picture yet? I know of plenty of evidence of this as well as the published stats, as our regular babysitter who is 21 regularly goes out as she calls it "hunting in packs" with her buddies, hitting the bars on Friday and Saturday nights looking for eligible young men.......So (depending on your orientation of course , i don't wanna be presumptious!), you and your buddies are going to have lots of fun in Welly! First stop Courtenay Place! :cheers

[Carol]

you and your buddies are going to have lots of fun in Welly! First stop Courtenay Place! :cheers


I would agree with you there!
Courtenay Place is cooool!

[Wonderbob]

there is currently a "man drought" - there is something like 40,000 less women available (across the country - no B.S) in the 20-35 age group than men.....

Doh....Brain fade. That should of course read 40,000 less men available......hence the man drought. ;)

[akoso]

Ahhhhhhh nope....As world capital cities goes, Wellington is incredibly small and compact (with a small population) and easy to walk around - nothing is very far from anything else really.
I checked out a map of Welly with a legend and I don't think I really understood just how small the city is (area wise). It looks like only 2 kms from Newtown to the CBD. Crazy... gives me a whole new perspective.

However, if you would like to come to NZ I definitely recommend Wellington, but please don't expect the vibrancy being like you are possibly used to. Of course Courtenay Place is the 'nightlife' centre of the city, but still it does not have the vibe of the real cities.
Yeah, that's what I've heard. I'm not looking for a New York "city that doesn't sleep" party scene. I'd just rather have a few local pubs that are nearby to watch a game or a have a few after work and figured I'd see if that exists much in the suburbs or if most people trek into town for that. But I totally get what you're saying.

One of the fabulous things about NZ currently (and Welly in particular I understand) is that there is currently a "man drought"
Wow. You should work for Welly tourism, cause that's probably the best sales pitch I've heard yet! (not that I needed one... the stunning views was good enough for me). I'll definitely keep that "stat" in mind.

Thanks again for the replies all.

Anthony

[Wonderbob]

Thanks bud, although it's not a sales pitch, I just love the place! Hey another good thing about the bar scene whilst I remember it, is that they no longer have closing hours as such, and Courtenay Pl can be rocking until way past 4-5 in the a.m sometimes. We have some friends from Iraq who had a Kebab shop on Courtenay Pl, but decided to sell it as the hours were killing them - on a big night (like a major Rugby game- e.g All Blacks in town etc), they were still serving Kebabs at 7 a.m - worked all night, with family members in shifts. Highly profitable, but they never got to see the light of day....It's a fun town if you're young and have a spare dollar or two!