[clg]

We just spent a very productive couple of weeks in NZ. I got a job and we have found areas around Welly we like. We really liked the Island Bay area. Does anyone have any comments on that community either positive or negative?

Thanks!

Chris

[jo b]

Hey well done on the job offer!!

Carol is in the know around Welly.

Jo

[sarahw]

Sorry - know I'm not Carol but we did look at moving to Island Bay but decided not to because of the section sizes (most sections there are subdivided).

However, if you're not worried about the size of your back garden then I'd say Island Bay is a pretty nice suburb, handy for the city for sure - there's a bus that runs from the beach to the city.

If DIY is your thing there's plenty of do-er uppers & beautiful old (well old for NZ) houses with character.

One of the girls at work lives there & has just moved house (within Island Bay) which always says a lot to me - she loves it there. And, I can't think of a better place on a sunny day than a zip round the bays to Scorching Bay for brunch at the Chocolate Fish Cafe!!!

With regards to community I know there's plenty going on there - kids sports at the weekend & there are community groups doing worthwhile projects (I work with community groups in my job).

Why don't you try renting there short-term to get a feel for it?

[paulwardle]

i love anywhere around eastern / souther wellington, island bay, lyall bay etc.
I like island bay a lot, nice beach, characterful too, great location for the city but far enough away, lots of shops in the town too, a couple of pubs & restaurants, & a supermarket (tho i dont like new world myself, prefer pak n save kilbirnie, but thats 10 mins away),
island bay is lovely, nice kids playground near the beach too if you need it, great views from the hills of south island.......i'd love to live there.

[clg]

Glad to hear the positve comments! We plan on renting for a bit first but it almost seemed too perfect for us so I was wondering if there was something I did not know!

We are keying in on either Island Bay, Karori or maybe Lyall Bay or Brooklyn. We will be out in August so we will look at all of those places some more and it will probably come down to where we can get the best rental.

The job market there is very strong although I have a PhD and I know that helped. I interviewed at 11am and had an offer that day at 5:00 with a relocaton package so that was nice!

Thanks,

Chris

[sarahw]

All the areas you're looking at are pretty nice - I wouldn't be adverse to living in any of those suburbs so I think you did pretty well in your recky!!

Good luck! :nice1