[Tui2too]

Is there anyone on the forum living there who would care to write and share their experiences ? Or pm me ?

We are possibly moving to Wellington in early 2009, and I am considering Paraparaumu as a place for us to settle. From all I can find on the internet it seems ideal...but I'd love an insider's perspective!

We are a family of five, I'm a stay-at-home mom with three kids (aged 7-16) and OH would need to commute daily into the CBD by train. We understand it is about an hour's commute which he seems agreeable to ... we've also considered the Wairarapa but that seems a little further out (and more expensive to commute from).

[Helsandfamily]

I don't live there but have visited once or twice an would consider moving there. The rail link is very good, and it has a nice shopping center, and the beach is lovely. IMHO

[Steven & Ann]

Pros

More chance of larger sections, friendly, good services, rapidly being developed, investment in roads, rails and car parks, lower humidity than some places, more healthy, beeches, walks, cycling, cafes, beeches, micro-climate, no particular high risk areas, property likely to inflate fast in the medium term, mainly flat, local bus services, rail station, lifestyle blocks.

Cons (depending on what upsets you, and what you are comparing with)

Not geered up with lots of options after midnight, longish commute to Wellington CBD, not many pubs, no marina, shortage of employment opportunities for OH other than retail and usual local industries, no A+E overnight, we live there

Steve

[Tui2too]

Thanks the pros list sounds all good and nothing bothers me about the cons list!

When I search 4 bdrm houses under 400K in the Wellington area and then rule out the areas with not so good schools I am left with Kapiti...so I'm kind of putting all my eggs in one basket! ;-)

I checked the library website and it looks good too (another plus!)
I'm happy to see recycling has begun!
Are there things to do for a stay at home spouse (book clubs, yoga etc)?
Are there some nice gardens? Walking trails?
I've heard traffic is bad...is it really bad? I am not a 'city' person at all and Para will be our first city-living experience in a long time, so hopefully it has more of a small town feel?
Does it seem a walkable place? (I loathe driving)
Is there a community feel ?
Does it feel isolated since the road is reputed to be bad?

I have a million more questions (LOL) if anyone cares to describe more here or pm me I'm hungry for details! :-)

[JasonS]

we live in paraparaumu beach and feel it is just right for us. we moved here from the suburbs of phoenix, a city of over 3 million people, and feel that this town has just the right amount of people. so, when people say the traffic is bad, it is nothing compared to what we were use to. sitting and waiting in queue at the main roundabout, off hwy 1, where traffic seems to back up the most, for five minutes is no big deal in my book.

the other nice thing is that most of the shops that you would need to buy many things at are right here in town, cutting down on travel. that is important to us with petrol prices going up. plus, depending on where you lived, you could walk to the shops. it takes me 15 min to walk to downtown paraparaumu beach, or to the beach.

DH takes the train to the CDB everyday and actually enjoys the times on the train relaxing, or sleeping, and even socializing with the regulars. i take the train as well to my part time job in poriua and i also enjoy the down time while on the train as well as watching the scenery.

we bought a house that is located between paraparaumu beach primary school and the college. which we felt was perfect so our kids will be close enough to walk to both schools. there seems to be a fair amount of families here and plenty of kids. since this use to be a big retirement community, there are many older people as well. and that is all good, most are extremely friendly. :D

there are a few walking trails and tramping trails near by, including along the waikanae river, queen elizabeth park, and otaki gorge is about a 20 minute car drive away. and of course, there is the beach to walk along as well.

it does not feel isolated here because the towns of waikanae and raumati are right next to us and wellington is about a 45 minute car drive away.

as far as clubs for SAHM, i am not sure. i was a SAHM when we first arrived, but i now have a part time job to keep me occupied while the kids are at school. plus, having a part time job was a good way for me to get out and meet some new people. :yes

anyways, i hope i have helped to answer some of your questions. if you have more, PM us. :nice1

laurel

[Tui2too]

Thank you so much Laurel! It is great to get a north american's perspective too!!

We want to live within walking distance to primary and secondary schools too. Does that mean the train station wouldn't be walking distance? I have a million questions so I'll pm you tomorrow! I'm just up now at 1:30 AM with a sick kid..so glad I checked the forum too!

[tigerlily]

I live in Wellington, but I really like the Kapiti Coast. Parapara does not feel like a city to me. It feels like a town. The biggest draw back that I see, as a family, is that OH would have that long commute into the CBD. But the property prices out there sure are better, and Wellington is still available for visits when you need them. There are some places about half way out of Wellington that I also like- Plimmerton and Whitby are about 30 minutes by train (which is a nicer way to commute than car IMHO).

[incredible hulse]

Thanks the pros list sounds all good and nothing bothers me about the cons list!

When I search 4 bdrm houses under 400K in the Wellington area and then rule out the areas with not so good schools I am left with Kapiti...so I'm kind of putting all my eggs in one basket! ;-)



Hi - You'd be lucky to get a 4 bed up here for less than 400k to be honest - if it is I suspect you would be very disappointed when you see it. I would see that as a very bottom price and would think upwards of 500k would be more realistic

[Steven & Ann]

Dont recall a book club, but I am aware of DIY coffee clubs via various forums. You can Walk North and South, but not a lot of routes. If you want to start a club you probably could with a little advertising.

Like many places outside Auckland, its not so big that there is an endless number of options for walking and riding, etc., so you may struggle if you want lots of different walks. But you can drive to plenty of places where you could walk for days if that your thing, especially going east towards the Hut. Gardens are called reserves here. Some are basic with swings and grass, others can be good for 2-3 hour visits, especially if you are prepared to drive to them.

Traffic can be a real pain at the Raumati end. Sometimes there is a traffic Jam and I have to wait for 4 cars at the junction with the state highway. Some of the locals wont pull out in less than an 8 second gap, frustrating to those of us who learnt to drive in London. Much of north Paraparaumu feeds into one road near the shopping centre, which can have 30 car queues on exceptional days.

Driving to Wellington is no real problem till you get to Tawa, Johnsonville. Traffic is bad on rainy days. The real issue would be a bad crash, as there is only one viable route at some points. A three Helicopter crash can set you back two hours (only had one of these). I once got stuck behind a house on a truck on the way to an early flight. Nearly missed the plane, but the pilot was also late. Figured out he was the one behind me hitting the horn.

I generally leave Raumati at 7:35+ for 8:30 at the CBD edge. I work unusually long hours and the train timetable doesnt work for me.

Incidentally, bar the holiday weekends and rush hour, the roads are relatively empty. We don't plan on travelling with the traffic on one of the big holiday days, as you might spend a few hours in queues.

The whole Kapiti coast has less of a city feel than most of the rest of Wellington. The roads can be wide, as are the footpaths and burns. The area can be particularly green. It has no CBD, just light industrial areas and the retail centres. The 3-4 big schools are the largest employers, followed by the council, the hospital (no A&E), the two call centres, the police, the fire station, retail units, doctors, dentists, family businesses, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers.

Kapiti attracts a large number of retired people and young families, and probably therefore slightly more stay at home mums. Like anywhere in NZ, striking relationships can be difficult. Many of the locals families have both parents working, so I guess this may be a good thing for Kapiti.

I don't think there's a potted community here beyond the normal ones, the school gate, the coffee shop, amatuer dramatics, bike clubs, bowling clubs (crown + ten pin), golf club and yacht club, and Gym sessions.

You are "isolated" from Wellington. Many south Wellingtonians won't commute beyond the CBD, and to most - Kapiti is a holiday destination. It means you don't bring most of the work relationships home. Conversly if you do end up knowing local work colleagues that can work for you. You can find however that most of what you buy elsewhere you can get for the same price or better locally. We shop in Porirua or lower hutt for the variety occasionally.

The lifestyle blocks can get a bit isolated, I suspect. Possibly not a great strategy if you have social kids, with all the driving you will do.

Its worth knowing Kapiti is for you before you buy. We have noticed a few migrants never settle and head to Wellington to reduce the commute or go back overseas . But for others its also the place they would most likely move to next.

Kapiti is very walkable. Bring a hat for the sun. Encourage the kids to walk, but expect to be called out to get them home occassionally. It attracts older people because its particularly flat, rare in Wellington and the surrounds. That makes it easy to get around. Some other wellington locations cant be safely walked by children because of the absence of a footpath.

Not sure of house prices, other than they range from $165K for a small wreck, to $4m for film directors. Waikanae is cheaper, but has less facilities.

[Tui2too]

Steve and Ann, Thanks for such an informative post!!

"The whole Kapiti coast has less of a city feel than most of the rest of Wellington. The roads can be wide, as are the footpaths and burns."

What are burns? I'm guessing what we call the shoulder of the road?

"The area can be particularly green. It has no CBD, just light industrial areas and the retail centres. The 3-4 big schools are the largest employers, followed by the council, the hospital (no A&E), the two call centres, the police, the fire station, retail units, doctors, dentists, family businesses, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers."

LOL about the candlestick makers! What is A&E ? I saw it in a previous post and took it to mean arts and entertainment but with the word beside hospital it got me wondering accident and emergency???

I guess I'll be starting a book club then LOL

OH and I are seeing this as a pre-retirement move away from the ice and snow of Canada...so it sounds ideal so far! I take your point about not buying right away, I imagine we will rent in the short term to make sure Para is for us. We will be anxious to get settled, get the kids into schools, and we won't want to throw too much away into rent (we find nz rents exorbitant!)...so I'm trying to do as much virtual leg-work as possible before getting there! :-)

As far as I can tell from the online real estate listings there are quite a few houses under or around 400K that seem just fine for us. Are there bad areas to advoid?

[Tui2too]

I agree Tigerlily, a big attraction for us about Wellington is that there are trains to commute by! OH currently does a hour commute into work but it is by car to a park and ride and then two buses, I am sure once he tries the train into Wellington he will find the hour fly! Hoping so anyway!

I hadn't looked into Plimmerton or Whitby...a major criteria for us is walking distance to a good primary and secondary school...(??)

[migratory birds]

We spent a week there when we visited NZ...

The library in Raumati is EXCELLENT! And the coolest kids library cards I've ever seen!

There's a wonderful Steiner school if the philosophy speaks to your interests/educational needs at all. http://www.tera.school.nz/. This school would also offer ample opportunity to meet many new families - including many other immigrant families. They were very welcoming when we looked at it.

Traffic back-ups in the area??? Depends on where you're moving from. Ottawa? Shouldn't be a problem at all.

IMHO, it would be a great place to land and get started. Very relaxed, safe, quiet, good schools. From there, depending on satisfaction of commute, you can explore neighbourhoods closer to Welly if ultimately that's what you need to do.

[Tui2too]

Thanks mbirds! Te Ra school looks beautiful! (nicest looking waldorf school I've seen!)

I had wanted to move to Belmont when I found out about the waldorf school there (I had never heard of a steiner school being PUBLIC!! Amazing to make it affordable!!!) But the housing prices in Belmont deterred me. Too close to Welly I guess.

Does anyone know how far Raumati is from the nearest train station (I'm guessing Para)?

[JasonS]

yes, paraparaumu is the closest station to raumati. guess raumati was promised years ago for a station to be built there this coming year, but that has been slated for one reason or another. the locals are starting a petition to get it reconsidered. i don't blame them...makes sense to have one there.
laurel

[Steven & Ann]

I thought of another pro. No parking meters. No parking costs. I went to Roturua and Napier recently, lots of parking meters (and some cool buildings / smells). Anyway answers to the questions.

Some roads have grass burns between the footpath and the edge of a road. It’s the place the utilities bury the pipes.

I lied about the candlestick makers. Candlestick making was outsourced to the Australians some years ago, which is currently causing a problem, as candle making is all the rage now. We now have a severe shortage of skilled candle makers. These will shortly be added to the list of skilled occupations in the next revision, so an opportunity for many aspiring forumites. This change however could be delayed due to the shortage of skilled list makers in NZ.

Accident and Emergency centres (A+E) in the US/UK sense are based at main hospitals. There is a day A+E centre in the shopping centre. There is an A+E doctor service based at one of the GP practices, who is called out to the state highway on a frequent basis, and is probably also on callout to homes. Porirua has an A+E hospital that currently admits to midnight due to staff shortages. Wellington has an A+E main centre.

It snowed this year for half an hour in Raumati !!! You’ll therefore feel at home. It inspired me to dig deep into the unpacked boxes to find my car mitts, ice scrapers and heated ice knife with the ice catcher and a eject button for Ice chads. I am now waiting patiently for more snow next year. I know it made sense to bring everything.

You can now get just under 10% interest on any money you have saved. If you have a lot of equity, and if you delay buying a home you may be able to pay rent and have some interest left. There was an article on this the other day. I think the break-even point was $450k. Local rents surged recently as the housing market locked up, as people needed to start new jobs etc., and had to find a rental till they sold. There are some signs this is easing a little, and rents may fall.

Where not to buy? That's a difficuly question, likely to cause upset, and depends on your budget. There's no "no-go area", so go anywhere. To be honest your budget will define where you live, and the more you have to spend, the greater your expectations.

A cautious buyer would avoid homes in a 10-year flood plain, or directly on one of the many NZ fault lines. Cliff edges have a habit of slipping, so not above or below an unstable area (Kapiti does have some hills to the East). Personally I'd also avoid the railway line \ state highway corridor. Not next to the fire-station (like many in NZ its not manned permanently, and summons crews with a world-war 2 air raid siren). Some would say avoid East of the railway line, as the hills have lots of rentals and poorer quality homes, but they have just started building executive homes there.

The only real place to avoid in Kapiti is the beach area. It’s a definite no go area. It’s full of tents and looks like a refuge camp. Its full of unemployed candle wick makers, so best avoided by those with loose change.

P.S. I hate the steiner school. its a regular location for speed traps.

And the railway station is about 10 minutes in the car from Raumati including parking.

[migratory birds]

Does anyone know how far Raumati is from the nearest train station (I'm guessing Para)?

Our friend in Raumati commutes into Welly on the train from Paekakariki

[incredible hulse]

P.S. I hate the steiner school. its a regular location for speed traps.


I'll second that - wife came home with 2 in 2 days recently (both about 800 yards from where the school starts btw) ;)

Was it snow in Raumati ? Thought it was just a deluge of hail

[Billy]

Some roads have grass burns between the footpath and the edge of a road. It’s the place the utilities bury the pipes.


I think you'll find these areas are called berms.......

[Kiwi-In-Texas]

Yes you are right there Billy they are called berms.

[Tui2too]

Ok thanks everyone ..berms makes more sense unless the burns was related to the poor candle-wick makers with nothing left to well you know ...
I like the sound of the speed traps near the school..makes sense!
The lack of a&e sounds like a concern though, especially as we age and may need it after a go at shovelling hail at 2 AM ...seriously though....that is an awful long way to an open emergency if its an emergency!
Ta again, eveyone's replies have been most useful...and entertaining!

[Greythound]

Hi ,we live at Paraparaumu Beach, moved here in June after arriving in April and renting in Wellington for a while. My husband works in the CBD and gets the train from Paraparamumu it's just a 10 minute drive to the station and takes about 40 /50 mins on the train. He says the journey is very pleasant and has some great scenery, he said most people are creatures of habit an sit in the same area which means you get to know a few people and they often chat /swap info which is nice....better that the tube at rush hour, where everyone ignores each other.:laugh

So far Iam loving it :nice1, we're a five minute walk from the beach , 10 min drive to train station or Coastlands ( shopping centre). The area is flat so walking or cycling is easy and there are plenty of pathways to get around. Coastlands and the surrounding area has enough choice of shops to allow you to buy most things without leaving town, but if you want a change you can always pop to the shopping centres at Lower Hutt or Porirua. ( there are probably more, still finding my way about).

Iam not working at the moment so have been looking at ways to meet people and have found there is the Kapiti womens centre which runs day courses on all sorts of topics and has a creche, they have a website if you want a look, they do all sorts from teaching Moari to pottery. You can also volunteer to help out. ( haven't tried it yet only found it the other day).
http://www.kapitiwomenscentre.org.nz/frontdoor.php
There are also a couple of Gyms you can join.

Goodluck hope it goes well.

[Tui2too]

Thanks Greythound! Good to know about the women's centre, I'd like to sign up for some courses (T Reo to start!) Thank you for the link. Hopefully I'll get over my fear of driving on the wrong side of the road to get there lol

[jess]

We've lived in Waikanae north of Paraparaumu for a little over 2 years and like it here in Kapiti. Others have pretty much covered the pros and cons. We bought a 4 bedroom house we love for under $350K with views overlooking the sea.

You might enjoy this list of events in Kapiti and Horowhenua (http://www.naturecoast.co.nz/component/option,com_events/Itemid,81/).

There's a yoga center in Raumati that some friends use, there are martial arts classes and I took a sculpting class from the Kapiti WEA (http://www.kapitiwea.org.nz/Course.html). I haven't seen a book group listed, but if you come start one I'd be happy to join. :)

(I've heard Whitby has excellent schools. It's very suburban and riddled with footpaths for families, so if you decide on a shorter commute, it might be a good place to consider - though housing will generally cost more.)

[Tui2too]

Thanks Jess! The Kapiti WEA looks great!! I can't wait!! You've renewed my energies to get packing! :-)

Well, that's two of us in the book-club already! :-) :-)

[JasonS]

if there is wine or cocktails at these "book club" functions, then count me in too! :cheers

laurel

[Tui2too]

with plonk now we're three! :-)

[Greythound]

Count me in an make that four :cheers
Somehow I think it will take us a while to get through one book :laugh :laugh

[Mels]

We could always read a book about wine - hic
Oh, and chocolate :exit

Mels

[denisesykes]

Count me in for for the book/wine club!
We have been in Raumati for almost 3 years and have loved in from day one! Our kids are now 15, 12 and 8.The eldest is at Kapiti College (an average college as far as academic standards and behaviour I'm told, but she is doing well there), and the younger 2 are at Raumati Beach School where I also work.
We have a great community spirit here which I never found back in the UK.Of course that can have its drawbacks as everyone knows everyone else but it can be very reassuring when you first arrive.
I have found the people here amazing, I have closer friends here in 3 years than I ever found at home, I don't know why, people are so open, and although I am quite a reserved person,their openness encourages me to be more outgoing.
There is always heaps to do for the kids (although my eldest is a bit of a mall chick , but they well have happened at home too!) and my 12 and 8 years olds are spoilt for choice as far as sports and clubs are concerned!
We have a 5 bedroom house, 8mins walk from school, with views to die for and a large inground pool and spa and it cost $440,000 just over 2 years ago.Prices went up and then came down since then so it would probably be worth about the same now.
There are heaps of English people here as well as Dutch, Hungarian, South African, Australian and American.
I know one family from Houston who have been here the same time as us and absolutely love it but are going back to the US temporarily so their son can get a College education in the States so that may tell you something about their opinion of the education here compared to the US!

That is probably the only concern for us, there does not appear to be so much emphasis on academic achievement , it is a more holistic approach, which does of course have its place but I do worry whether my 12 year old who is bright is being challenged enough.
She is in Year 7 so has one more year at primary but has already completed many of the Literary and Spelling schemes at school so I do wonder what they will give her to do next year! She is no genius she was a slightly above average in the UK, nothing more. I know of a few other English families who have the same concerns .
However, all in all , a great place to be, from the tone of your posts , i would look at Raumati South when you come over, I'm sure you would love it there.

Best of luck , and don't forget about the wine, oops sorry book club!

Denise

[migratory birds]

the younger 2 are at Raumati Beach School where I also work...We have a great community spirit here

Ramati Beach School! What a sweet school! I may have even met you when we arranged to tour the school, Denise! Good to hear of your impressions of the college - I wondered what came after primary and didn't get a chance to visit the college. Too bad though as it seems many in that community would have high expectations for their kids, even (or esp) at that age.

[Tui2too]

I'm happy to hear the book club is growing! ;-)
Thanks Denise for the description of Raumati. We have children very close in ages! Ours are 8, 13, and 16!
I've been confused about Raumati...one house listing I saw there said it was walking distance to Coastlands and the train, I thought it was furthur away from Para ??
I fully agree about the friendliness of kiwis!! My husband and I made more friends in our six months in Dannevirke nz than we have in our eight years back in Canada. I feel most at home in nz and can't wait to get back!! We do have to sell our house here first though, and this is going to be a tough time of year (heading into winter) to do it.
Thank you for the schooling details....it sounds like it may work to our favour (?) if its a more holistic approach..at least for our middle child (13) who struggles in school. She has a mild learning disability (and an iep) and I would worry about her in a school that focused too much on academic achievement. On the other hand that may be not the best for our high achieving 16 year old...but he is already telling us he is not coming with us (!) so we'll see...I think our youngest will be happy anywhere he can be barefoot and catching bugs ;-)

[JasonS]

I've been confused about Raumati...one house listing I saw there said it was walking distance to Coastlands and the train, I thought it was furthur away from Para ??


raumati, raumati south, paraparaumu and paraparaumu beach are all right next to each other...almost seems like one town to me. coastlands is kind of on the edge of paraparaumu and raumati.

laurel

[Twig]

[I guess I'll be starting a book club then[/QUOTE]

We're also hoping to move to Parapara next Feb '09 and I'm also an avid reader, so count me in! :D

[Billy]

[I guess I'll be starting a book club then

We're also hoping to move to Parapara next Feb '09 and I'm also an avid reader, so count me in! :D[/QUOTE]

Better known round these parts as Param or Paraparam...........

[Twig]

We're also hoping to move to Parapara next Feb '09 and I'm also an avid reader, so count me in! :D

Better known round these parts as Param or Paraparam...........[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the tip! :)

[Billy]

Better known round these parts as Param or Paraparam...........

Thanks for the tip! :)[/QUOTE]

No worries. I reckon Levin is much better of course, but Param has a great beach and some real nice coffee shops (the weather is much better up here as well!).

[JasonS]

well Tui, you better get down here so you can get this book club going! :laugh

laurel

[Tui2too]

Sounds great!
Need to sell the house
Need to figure out the dogs (and that is an emotional land-mine in of itself!:wah)
and all this by January (unless the employer will give us an extension----here's hoping!!)

What do y'all like to read? I LOVE Shauna Singh Baldwin (Canadian author/international stories)
other authors who 'can write no wrong' for me are Barbara Kingsolver and Lisa See......that's just a start, any other suggestions?

Does anyone have links to good maps of Para etc or links to pics or video ? The maps I've found don't seem to include enough. Also does anyone have comparisons like Raumati (or Para) reminds me of ....anywhere in north america? or anywhere else in the north island of nz ? I know the north island pretty well but nothing below masterton -lol

/heidi

[Questor]

PERSONALLY (and this is only my opinion!) I wouldn't live in P'ram - I'd rather live in Raumati or Waikanae. I only say this because P'ram doesn't really have a "centre" of the town, Coastlands kinda fills that gap, and it just doesn't feel the same. Raumtai and Waikanae have much more of a community feel IMO

Love the Kapiti Coast though, hence why we bought here!

Jon

[JasonS]

yes, p'ram is not as "charming" as raumiti and waikanae. raumati is a bit more hilly and green with mature trees and gardens, and waikanae seems to be a bit more lush too while p'ram is kinda flat and open, unless you go east of the train station. IMHO, since all these towns are right next to each other, it just feels like one big community to me and i can easily enjoy each area for what they have to offer.

we did look at houses in raumati, and did enjoy the "feel" of that community, but for us it was important to be closer to the train station. commuters in raumati and waikanae have to go the the p'ram station (unless you pay a tad extra to catch the capital connection in waikanae, and there is only one train in the morning and evening).

the neat thing about here is that each of the little communities have their own "centre of town" and they are all pretty close in distance that you have an opportunity to access them all easily via car, bike, or bus (or even walk if you like). :nice1

for us, it just turned out that the house we liked best was in p'ram beach and even better for us was that it is right between the college and p'ram beach school, so the kids can walk to either.

we don't plan to live here forever...we feel this is a go community to raise the kids and it is close enough to welly for the commute to and from work. when the kids are ready to move on, then if things go as planned, hopefully jason and i can head for the south island to enjoy what it has to offer.

laurel