boulderdash
4th December 2006, 12:28 PM
Hi everyone,
I thought I would be proactive and helpful for those of you planning on moving to NZ. I am a Canadian living in a village called Dunsandel which is a easy no traffic 40 minute commute to the centre of Christchurch city. Being on the south side of Christchurch literally means cheaper realestate and no traffic. The reasons for this I believe are that on the north side you have another small city within reach, but the traffic that side is shocking. The reason the traffic is so bad on the north side is that you have to cross a big wide river and there is only one bridge en route to Christchurch. Now for you horse (or land) lovers Christchurch is a great city.
Literally you can find a place to keep a horse within 10 minutes drive to city centre. You can own land to keep your horse on your own property within 20 minutes of the city (if you can afford the realestate)!
This is where my proactive side is coming out. My husband and I are moving back to Canada early 2007. 6 years ago we bought 25 acres of bare flat land, we designed a house plan and had our home built on this land. We have spent the last 6 years landscaping, fencing, planting trees, and everything else that comes with making a house and farm a home. We have run a successful calf rearing/beef farm and had many horses for my pleasure. We both worked full time in the centre of Christchurch and commuted 5 days a week. It is so wonderful coming from a city like Vancouver with its massive traffic situation to a place like Dunsandel where I had my horses, fabulous mountain views, peace and quiet, and space to enjoy ourselves. There is so many places to ride around here where you will never see a car, the verges are at least 20 feet wide, and we have a gate into a forestry directly behind the property. We have been earning enough money off the beef to pay for everything we do around the place-like a driveway, ride on lawn mower, more calves, post and rail fence... the list goes on.
My point being if you love the country but have to work in the city you can have the best of both worlds here. Now let me tell you about the house. Being Canadian again meant that I was not going to tolerate a shabby, hallway, dull, cold NZ home. We built with a company called Stonewood Homes. We put as much insulation as we could in the ceiling and walls, we insulated the concrete slab boarder, we put in a heat pump and a gas fire- and lots of windows to enjoy the mountain views and sunshine. Did I mention it does not rain a lot down here on the Canterbury plains. The house has 4 bedrooms, two living areas, two dining areas, the most impressive en suite to the master (giant spa bath, two sinks, a shower), also another full bathroom. We have modern colours, stainless steel appliances, an internal double garage. The list goes on. And for those of you that love dogs we built an insulated giant dog kennel and run for our Great Danes. The property is divided into seven paddocks with a central laneway running down the middle. The fencing is for cows and horses. The house is located on a 61/2 kilometre block with barely and cars going on it- great for running, riding, walking. In Dunsandel village 10 Kms away there is divine shop that makes homemade meals, coffee's and supplies. Yes I love this place, but the time has come for us to sell it and move back to Canada. So yes it is for sale, I know it would appeal to many UK residence (I have spent a lot of time there too). Have a look at the realestate website open2view.co.nz and put in the number 124638 to view the property. With your strong dollar this is a bargain for so much land. Please feel free to ask any questions about living this side of the city. :nice1 Also you will not believe how cheap good horses are down here have a look at nzhorses.co.nz or trademe.co.nz
I thought I would be proactive and helpful for those of you planning on moving to NZ. I am a Canadian living in a village called Dunsandel which is a easy no traffic 40 minute commute to the centre of Christchurch city. Being on the south side of Christchurch literally means cheaper realestate and no traffic. The reasons for this I believe are that on the north side you have another small city within reach, but the traffic that side is shocking. The reason the traffic is so bad on the north side is that you have to cross a big wide river and there is only one bridge en route to Christchurch. Now for you horse (or land) lovers Christchurch is a great city.
Literally you can find a place to keep a horse within 10 minutes drive to city centre. You can own land to keep your horse on your own property within 20 minutes of the city (if you can afford the realestate)!
This is where my proactive side is coming out. My husband and I are moving back to Canada early 2007. 6 years ago we bought 25 acres of bare flat land, we designed a house plan and had our home built on this land. We have spent the last 6 years landscaping, fencing, planting trees, and everything else that comes with making a house and farm a home. We have run a successful calf rearing/beef farm and had many horses for my pleasure. We both worked full time in the centre of Christchurch and commuted 5 days a week. It is so wonderful coming from a city like Vancouver with its massive traffic situation to a place like Dunsandel where I had my horses, fabulous mountain views, peace and quiet, and space to enjoy ourselves. There is so many places to ride around here where you will never see a car, the verges are at least 20 feet wide, and we have a gate into a forestry directly behind the property. We have been earning enough money off the beef to pay for everything we do around the place-like a driveway, ride on lawn mower, more calves, post and rail fence... the list goes on.
My point being if you love the country but have to work in the city you can have the best of both worlds here. Now let me tell you about the house. Being Canadian again meant that I was not going to tolerate a shabby, hallway, dull, cold NZ home. We built with a company called Stonewood Homes. We put as much insulation as we could in the ceiling and walls, we insulated the concrete slab boarder, we put in a heat pump and a gas fire- and lots of windows to enjoy the mountain views and sunshine. Did I mention it does not rain a lot down here on the Canterbury plains. The house has 4 bedrooms, two living areas, two dining areas, the most impressive en suite to the master (giant spa bath, two sinks, a shower), also another full bathroom. We have modern colours, stainless steel appliances, an internal double garage. The list goes on. And for those of you that love dogs we built an insulated giant dog kennel and run for our Great Danes. The property is divided into seven paddocks with a central laneway running down the middle. The fencing is for cows and horses. The house is located on a 61/2 kilometre block with barely and cars going on it- great for running, riding, walking. In Dunsandel village 10 Kms away there is divine shop that makes homemade meals, coffee's and supplies. Yes I love this place, but the time has come for us to sell it and move back to Canada. So yes it is for sale, I know it would appeal to many UK residence (I have spent a lot of time there too). Have a look at the realestate website open2view.co.nz and put in the number 124638 to view the property. With your strong dollar this is a bargain for so much land. Please feel free to ask any questions about living this side of the city. :nice1 Also you will not believe how cheap good horses are down here have a look at nzhorses.co.nz or trademe.co.nz