[hosebergine]

Somebody started a really useful thread about the careers people have and I wondered if people would be up for doing the same with where they live in Auckland.

I'm sat here thumbing through my "Where to live in Auckland" book and have come up with a list of areas based on the cost of housing and the primary school decile but now what?! I have a list of 33 areas and whilst we won't settle on an area before we arrive, a list of about 15 would be less scary!

I need some advice from those already there I think. So, if you're ok with people asking questions about your area, where do you live or have you lived in Auckland?

As an aside, if you had the ability to choose, which decile would be the lowest you'd go? Are they even worth bothering about? Is there another way of checking out schooling? My eldest will be five in March 2010 and we're planning to arrive in Auckland in about July 09.

[JandM]

From your last para, it looks as if you're using deciles to judge quality of schooling. Deciles are not a measure of how good the school is, but of the social background measured by income of the neighbourhood, and therefore of how much government funding is made available, with the intention of correcting disadvantage. There can be excellent teaching in schools with low decile rankings, and vice versa.

However, a low decile ranking for the school may show that the district has some areas you would rather not live in, given the choice.

I would suggest that what you're doing, asking on here for personal experiences, is a good way to check that out, as well as answering your question, 'Is there another way of checking out schooling?' And of course, you can get a visual impression of districts by using Google StreetView.

What about giving your 33 for starters, and seeing how many of those people would suck their teeth at?

[Oregonkiwi]

This was very helpful when we were choosing a school for our son (who turns 5 tomorrow! :) )
http://www.ero.govt.nz/ero/publishing.nsf/Content/Home+Page

I personally don't pay much attention to deciles, that just tells you roughly how rich/poor the parents in the area are, doesn't tell you much about the quality of the school.

To narrow things down a bit, perhaps you could list your 33 areas and we could comment on those?

[edit: J&M beat me to it :)]

[hosebergine]

See, I knew I was floundering! Sharing my list sounds good to me. In no particular order:
Blockhouse Bay
Grey Lynn
Mt Albert
Mt Eden
Mt Roskill
One Tree Hill
Parnell / Newmarket
Helensville
Henderson
Kumeu / Huapai
Swanson
Titirangi
West Harbour
Albany
Belmont / Bayswater
Forrest Hill
Glenfield
Hibiscus Coast
Lower East Coast Bays
Northcote
Upper East Coast Bays
Beachlands / Maraetai
Botony Downs
Bucklands Beach
Howick
Pakuranga
Whitford
Manukau / Clover Park
Manurewa

These are as per the book so some include several areas eg Lower East Coast Bays = Castor Bay, Campbells Bay, Mairangi Bay, Murrays Bay and Rothesay Bay. So the list is probably more like 120!!!!! Why did I even start this?!

[gil]

All of those sound fine as broad areas, tbh, but once you drill down in each area, there are places in some you may not want to live in, e.g. in Manurewa,there are some very ropey areas and equally some lovely ones, like Wattle Cove. I'm a great one for intuition, because it works for me (may not apply to everyone!). Thus, we had narrowed down to 2 main areas (Howick/BB and Browns Bay) to explore when we arrived. I arranged visits to schools (primary, intermediate AND colleges) in both areas. We stayed at the Howick Motor Lodge and afer spending time in this area, we cancelled our visits to the other places as we felt very much at home here straight away.
Of course, you could say "Ah, but you were not fully informed". It felt right for us. What I'm trying to say is until you are here, it's a something of an academic exercise as it's the feel of the place that matters and all the research in the world can't give you that.

I think Millemoo started a thread along the lines of what you're asking which may be of interest. Found it http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12174

Good luck and fee free to ask lots of questions!

Gil

[Helsandfamily]

We moved to the Browns Bay / Rothesay Bay area and really like it. The beaches (all of them on this side) are extremely beautiful and the area is very child friendly with lots of reserves, play area's. There is a small shopping centre which is large enough for most things. My children (aged 8 and 5) have started in Brown's Bay school and I feel that it is a really good school, and they settled quite quickly.


There are good bus links from anywhere in the North Shore to central Auckland so a reasonable comute.


If there was any downside to this area, for me it would be that the gardens are quite small. I am sure that there are exceptions to this but those houses tend to be very pricey

hth If you want any more info about the area feel free to Pm me

[hosebergine]

Thanks for your reply Gil. Your approach sounds great to me. And you're right, it is a pretty silly exercise but it will keep me from checking that NZIS website for progress on the ITA and at least makes me feel like I'm doing something New Zealandish.

What I don't want to do is spend three weeks driving round Auckland getting stressed! We want to be within 20mins of the beach, an hour from CBD (preferably by public transport), have places for the kids to play and have a bit of space between houses to ease us back into city living. A good primary school and kindy are pretty important too, plus leisure facilities nearby so we can swim, climb and, when the kids are a bit bigger, sail. As we're not selling our house in the UK, we can't afford Parnell or Devonport. We're also a bit reluctant to rent in an area where there is no chance of us being able to buy. So, Gil, how far to the beach from your house?!

[IanW99]

...
I think Millemoo started a thread along the lines of what you're asking which may be of interest. Found it http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12174
...


Still not got the hang of posting thread titles then :D, had to check that this was the Auckand Suburb guide which it was.

Ian

[YouMeAndThree]

So, Gil, how far to the beach from your house?!

I'm sure Gil will be able to quote you in how many steps (not many) :D

Wherever you decide, be prepare to change. We said "never going to Auckland", okay job is in Auckland, right "we are not going to the East, it's West Auckland for us", hmm that changed when the job location moved. We live a couple of streets away from Gil and are very happy here. We are 5 minutes walk from the Half Moon Bay ferry, a couple of minute drive from shops and less than 10 minutes from Botany Shopping Centre.


and have a bit of space between houses I did find this very hard though. I was surprised at the limited size of gardens and how very close to each other some houses are.

[hosebergine]

5 mins to the beach - wooohoooo! Is the Half Moon Bay ferry reliable for commuting or does it just sound romantic? Can you use a bus if the ferry isn't running? I thought I'd read somewhere that a ferry service was in jeopardy....

[Bergita]

As far as I know, the ferry service has been saved. You can use the Half Moon Bay Ferry to get to Auckland CBD. There are also bus services running in that area that will get you to the CBD. I live in Farm Cove or Sunnyhills depending on who you talk to... The schools in the area are great - Sunnyhills Primary, Farm Cove Intermediate and St Kentigerns College (this one is private). I really like this area, and hope to buy here once my residency is approved.

By the way, it's about 10 minutes to the beach and 45 minutes to CBD from here.

[dharder]

I think it would be good to look at what is most important to you and then narrow it down from there, if you like.

For example. If the most important thing for you is space around the house, then pretty much all of the more central parts of Auckland are out. I love Mt Eden, but the houses are mostly very close together.

If you say close to the beach, how close would that be for you? And is that walking or driving? If that is the most important thing for you, central Auckland, Mt Roskill, Mt Albert, One Tree Hill, etc, would be out. And what kind of beach are you after, and how accessible do you want it to be?

For me personally, it was the schools I was most interested in, as that was the only reason I agreed to move away from the UK. I did read ERO reports, and looked at school websites, and also listened to what people said about various schools. I found the lack of secondary schools a major reason to rule out certain areas, and even though the deciles don’t directly say how good a school is, it will give you a lot of indications as to what you can expect. Not trying to sound like a snob, but there simply are different issues a decile 1 school is dealing with than a decile 10 school. There is no cutoff for me as such, but I would look at make up and feel of area and school in order to decide.

On the whole, I have found all desirable areas in Auckland to be very expensive, and all areas with ‘good’ schools desirable. I have found largely the same issues as in London: you move to a more expensive area to get your children into good schools, or you go private.

We live in the Eastern Bays/Suburbs (Glendowie or Glen Innes, depening on who you ask), btw, but my personal favourite is Mt Eden.

Good luck,

Daniela

[andrewandjane]

Waiheke is 0 mins from beaches and 35 mins to CBD not traffic problems (unless theres whales or dolphins in which case the boat has to stop or slow down), often overlooked in planning probably because ferry is the only way on and off our little island. Prices are very reasonable compared to other parts of auckland and teh three schools ont ehisland are all good. Also in the zone for Takapuna Grammar school but housing is significantly cheaper than takapuna. but theres the matter of commute by boat if if you chjoose not to send kids to the schools on the island.

[Kerry and David]

We live in Red Beach on the Hibiscus Coast and love it!

We are surrounded by great beaches, Red Beach and Orewa are just a stones throw away. In Red Beach we have a Doctors, Medical Centre, Dentist, Shop, Garage, Bakery and a couple of small bars. Orewa is a five minute drive away and there are a 2 large Supermarkets, large library and a shopping area.
In Orewa there are a few good restaurants.

My youngest will start school in July at Red Beach, it has a good reputation and although it is a larger primary school I think we will be fine. Older son goes to Orewa College who's reputation has improved and he is getting on fine.

For better shopping we travel 15-20 minutes South to Albany which has a Shopping Centre which isn't bad (not in the same scale as we were used to in the UK but the closest I have found:))

We can drive in to central Auckland in 30-35 minutes off peak, at the moment David is working at New Lynn - West Auckland and he can get there in 40 minutes if he leaves by 7am.
If we were going to do the commute to the city each day we would either go by bus - monthly pass $110 for any bus, or do the park and ride from Albany.

Where we are a bit further North, we think that the rent is lower, we pay £440 a week for a good sized 3 bedroom house with garden and views to the sea. Also there is some space between the houses!

We also tend to travel that bit further North from where we are based, which has been a bonus. We have seen some wonderful places on days out, yet when we want it Auckland is still close enough.

Good luck

Kerry

[CJ22]

The ferry services that were under threat have indeed been saved. It looks like it was just a negotiating ploy on behalf of Fullers.

The thing is, once you get here, logic goes out the back door, and as Gil says, intuition takes over. I can't for the life of me think why I like living in Devonport - it's over-priced, difficult to get in and out of, lacks facilities and the housing stock is mainly glorified sheds. But it's just gorgeous and once we'd set foot in it we didn't really want to consider anywhere else. So don't fixate too much on any area, just get here and look around, and I reckon you'll know it when you see it.

[Silverwing86]

Check out this thread (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18217) as well for more info.

We have settled in Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula (Hibiscus Coast) and couldn't be happier with our decision. With all the amenities one could require (check my post in the linked thread for info and links), Shakespear Regional Park just around the corner (literally !), good schools, and 14 beaches to choose from, what more could one want :nice1 ? Not to mention a lovely micro climate and soothing sea breezes during long hot summer days...

Hubby works near Ellerslie, so a fair drive every day (about 50 minutes off peak), but he leaves very early to beat the traffic. Also, the ferry is a great (relaxed !) alternative for the commute.

Good luck !

Cheers,
Silver

[gil]

Hi hosebergine, I live approx 1 minute's walk from the beach here in Bucklands Beach :D and about 7 mins walk from Eastern Beach. The schools in the area are excellent - Pigeon Mountain Primary, Bucklands Beach Primary, Mellons Bay Primary all v good (ours went to Pigeon Mnt, we were very pleased with it). PMP is on the same site as Bucklands Beach Intermediate, so the transition to a new school is very easy. Macleans College is one of the best schools in Auckland academically and has fantastic facilities. (Bit of trivia, 2 of the PE teachers are Valerie Vili, the world and olympic shot putt champion and her coach, Kirsten Hellier). There is a good Playcentre and Kindy here too, although I have not got personal experience of them.
I drive into the centre daily and it takes anything from 45-75 mins. Off peak, I can do it in 20! Buses take about an hour and the ferry takes 35 mins and is about 8-10 mins walk from house to Half Moon Bay, as mentioned above.

Howick village is lovely for cafes, bakers, butchers, takeaways and even has a Foodtown. Botnay is our nearest mall and is fime for most things. Have a google of all these and you'll see....

Gil
x

[Alan]

We live in Milford on the North Shore after originally renting in Devonport, which was not for us. We are 10mins walk from the beach, 5 mins from the shops and primary school and there is a 20/25 bus service into the CBD.

Another bonus for us was that we are surrounded by kiwi's and are not in any imminent danger of the area becoming a pommie ghetto, which was an import element to the move for us.

It is the first place we have no intention of moving away from, it really is that nice.

Schooling here is some of the best in Auckland, so many sports and activities to partake in, the days have never felt so long!

There are some really variaties of places in that list for sure both in demographic and real estate prices. It will be interesting to see where you go over time.

[hosebergine]

you're a useful bunch! I think probably the most important thing for us is to be within 20 mins (ideally walk but drive would be fine too) of a beach. It has to be a beach for playing on because I have a husband and a 3 yr old who are obsessed with building sand castles. I'm sure though we'll get there and still do a tour of the entire Auckland area!

[chocolate cake]

Check out this thread (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=18217) as well for more info.

We have settled in Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula (Hibiscus Coast) and couldn't be happier with our decision. With all the amenities one could require (check my post in the linked thread for info and links), Shakespear Regional Park just around the corner (literally !), good schools, and 14 beaches to choose from, what more could one want :nice1 ? Not to mention a lovely micro climate and soothing sea breezes during long hot summer days...

Hubby works near Ellerslie, so a fair drive every day (about 50 minutes off peak), but he leaves very early to beat the traffic. Also, the ferry is a great (relaxed !) alternative for the commute.

Good luck !

Cheers,
Silver


Well he must enjoy travelling that's 1hr 40mins in the car off peak, and well over 2 hours in normal traffic, a fair bit of every day. The ferry may be more relaxing, but I'd guess it's a long ride and that still leaves quite a trip from Auckland harbour to Ellerslie.

My half hour commute's enough for me, though I bike in anyway as it's virtually as quick. That's Cockle Bay, Howick way into Mount Wellington.

[hosebergine]

Can you commute to CBD by cycling from most areas? Or are there some places where major roads get in the way?

[JandM]

Rather depends how long a cycle ride you want to do - 'Auckland' covers a lot of ground! And whether you would prefer to cycle only on designated lanes/paths. Also, as has been said on another thread, no-one is yet allowed to cycle over the bridge (though it MAY come), so any direct route that would include that is out.

[dharder]

Can you commute to CBD by cycling from most areas?

Depends on how you define 'can' :) I'm sure you can, but you might want to check out how you find cycling here.

The most pleasant way into the CBD by bike is from the East, as there is a cycle path (or should I say 'the' cycle path...) along the water front (Tamaki Drive) all the way into town, and it is really flat.

There is also a cycle path coming in from the West, but it goes along the motorway, and isn't quite so nice.

Other roads vary in degree of unpleasantness, but I find using the bus lanes helps. As pointed out, the only way you really can't go (other than motorways, obviously) is across the bridge.

Daniela

[Wiltshire_Dave]

Alan,

How far from Devonport dockyard are you? Would it be commutable by cycle?

thanks

Dave


We live in Milford on the North Shore after originally renting in Devonport, which was not for us. We are 10mins walk from the beach, 5 mins from the shops and primary school and there is a 20/25 bus service into the CBD.

Another bonus for us was that we are surrounded by kiwi's and are not in any imminent danger of the area becoming a pommie ghetto, which was an import element to the move for us.

It is the first place we have no intention of moving away from, it really is that nice.

Schooling here is some of the best in Auckland, so many sports and activities to partake in, the days have never felt so long!

There are some really variaties of places in that list for sure both in demographic and real estate prices. It will be interesting to see where you go over time.

[Alan]

I would say it is approx. 10km, a friend a little further north up the bays cycles it in about 30mins if that helps and works at the docks.

[CJ22]

Worth pointing out that you can't cycle from North Shore into the CBD, as the bridge is currently classed as motorway. They are discussing building a pedestrian/cycleway, but the cost will probably mean it never gets done.

[Alan]

You can however take your cycle onto any of the ferry services.

[Silverwing86]

Well he must enjoy travelling that's 1hr 40mins in the car off peak, and well over 2 hours in normal traffic, a fair bit of every day. The ferry may be more relaxing, but I'd guess it's a long ride and that still leaves quite a trip from Auckland harbour to Ellerslie.

My half hour commute's enough for me, though I bike in anyway as it's virtually as quick. That's Cockle Bay, Howick way into Mount Wellington.

Hi Chocolate Cake,

I guess it has a lot to do with the choice of where we wanted to live. We love Gulf Harbour and when we first arrived hubby was stilll working for his former employer and thus worked from home. When that ended and he found work with his current employer, the travel time and effort were in no way such that he felt the need to move away from this area that we like so much, it weighs up for him.

Also, the time it takes him now is shorter than it took him to get to work where we came from. It used to take him about an hour to get to work there for only a quarter of the distance ! So for him, it isn't that much of a big deal and he does like to drive, which helps as well.

As I mentioned in my post, he leaves very early so avoids the 'heavy' traffic which also means that he's usually home at a decent time which gives him the opportunity to do other (non work related) things if he so chooses.

My comment about the ferry being a good alternative was meant in a more general sense, rather than for his specific situation, although it does happen occasionally. He is then picked up by a work mate who comes by where the ferry docks anyway, so it works out fine. He finds it a very relaxing and enjoyable commute :nice1 !

Cheers,
Silver

[MaryMc]

We're in Arkles Bay (Hibiscus Coast).

It's a fab place to raise a family.

Beaches, shops, and a small friendly community, several lovely schools. Can highly recommend the place.

Been here 18 years, but now the kids have grown and left home, we've decided to sell up and move out more to the country.

[grady bunch]

Hello from the Grady Bunch

We arrived 7 weeks ago after never being here before also relied on the 'Where to live in Auckland' Book. We got down to 2 areas, around Browns bay on the Upper East Coast and Howick down south. Both promised easy commute, cheap big houses. We have ended up in Torbay with a fantastic 4 bed house, overlooking the sea, 2 min walk to the beach and 5 min walk to Torbay School. we love it here, everyone is very friendly and easy going. About a third of the school is from England, quite bizarre!

Most of the people that move here are European, with similar mind set, families looking to escape near beach and school. Apparently Torbay School was a decile 5 just 5 yrs ago and now is a decile 10, so not a great indicator really.

We pay 570$ a week for a fantastic house, if that helps with finance? My husband commutes into the CBD by scooter, which he bought in order to get to the bus park and ride which takes about 20mins from Albany (5 mins drive from here) on special fast lanes for these buses only. He found out that it is just as quick to bike all the way to work where it is free to park scooters ion most car parks, and he works next to Sky Tower. The bus should you use it only costs $38 pw, which I thought was a bargain!!

I hope that helps!!

We overlook Waiake Beach by the way which you can see on Google Earth, and has beautiful, safe swimming, no rip. Just bought a Kayak to play on the sea with our 4 kids.

Good Luck

the Grady's

[hosebergine]

When you all arrived, did you just book a few weeks in a motel to get started or did you try out different areas before committing to find a rental in a particular area? Seems it would be great to try out a week in the North, a week in the West etc but can I face moving with all those bags and two little ones...?

Interesting about commute times and rental costs. Is the Where to live book fairly accurate on those commute times?

[MaryMc]

When we arrived (18 years ago!) we moved straight into a rental in Whangaparaoa about 15 minutes drive to hubbys work. We loved the area so much, that's where we stayed. We were only in the rental a month I think.

[gil]

Yes, we stayed at the Howick Motor Lodge (search it on here for more info) for a month and then a rental for 5 months then bought. I don't think I could have faced trekking from motor lodge to motor lodge with 4 kids! Nowhere in Auckland is more than a couple of hours drive so you can get to visit the whole place if you feel the need, although I appreciate that's not quite like staying in an area.

Gil

[grady bunch]

I think thats really funny Gil, we did exactly the same as you, narrowed it down to two areas, Howick and Browns Bay bizarrely! We went to stay near Browns Bay at the Sea Vista Apartments, only 5 min walk to Waiake Beach, and Browns bay beach.

We loved it so much we never bothered with Howick! We went there last week to check we really had made the right decision and are quite relieved. I thought Howick centre was lovely but areas around are very built up. We have been here 8 weeks, and love it all, have a fab house overlooking the sea (just), our 3 kids have settled into the Torbay School and made lovely friends, my 2 yr old has gone to a playgroup down the road and loves it.

We are having a fab time, I guess wherever you land you feel is like home, we had a lovely couple who owned our apartments that helped with every aspect of emigrating and are now friends who pop in for tea!

Good Luck, its a mammoth task, but you will have great fun exploring!

Grady Bunch x