[andrewandjane]

hi, just a quick intro,


Me and Jane and two kids Dylan (5) and maxwell (2) are hoping to move to Auckland end of feb begining of March, have a permanent job offer with Auckland City Council, and am waiting for my ITA which should come through on 17 Jan. then its a case of submitting the Visa Application As soon as i get it.

Any info on Auckland Area Schools etc would be welcome

thanks

Andrew

[Smiler]

Hi Andrew

I can't help with Auckland info, sorry, but there's loads of people on here who can. :nice1

I just wanted to say - Welcome to the forum and good luck with all your plans. :cheers:cheers

P.s. Just thought, there's a book called "where to live in Auckland" I've seen people on here recommend, that might be a starting point.

[willowshouse]

Hi there,

Do you have any idea which area you'll be living in? There are lots of people who could give you an idea of schools to consider.......

Good luck,
Dawn

[StevieD]

Welcome to the forum guys, wish you all the best of luck in your move.

Steve

[The Hodges]

Hi guys and http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/signs046.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org)

The book Where to Live in Auckland (http://www.wheretoliveinauckland.co.nz/) is pretty good and someone I know in NZ sent it over for us. Although I'm not sure how true it is, perhaps someone in Auckland can advise.

The book is good though as it rates the suburbs and comments upon the schools, shops and leisure facilities. It also gives guidance what streets to go for in each suburb.

However, in the mean time, you might want to look at this map of Auckland (http://www.wises.co.nz/?_cmd=Search&_zoom=4&Location=Center,Auckland&_qckmap=Town) or you can use google earth (http://earth.google.com/) if you have that installed.

However, in the mean time, you might want to check this thread (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9052&highlight=schools+auckland), but using the search tool might through up a few more posts.

Good luck to you both, and we may see you out in Auckland at one of the forum meets.

[andrewandjane]

thanks for the responses, we have the where to live in aukland book, as jane fiound a site selling it. we are thinking about parnell, if its not too expensive to rent, we have also considered waiheke but are not sure how isloated it may be. Also North shore. basically i would like to be able to walk to work and dont mind a 1/2 hour to forty mins walk. we cant really get our heads round the scale of things on maps etc and the where to live in auckland book gives times by car from CBD. i would really love to know how long it takes walking from areas and what places outside and around cbd are that we could live. as we have two kids we want to find somewhere thats good for them and with a good school.

we are aiming to be out there end of feb begining of march as the job start date was end of feb. i have 4 wks accomodation privided by job to start woth so we need to find rentals etc once we are there but would like ideas of where to look first.

look forward to meeting people at a forum meet when we get out there as we dont know anyone at all in NZ!!!

[Mexican in NZ]

Andrew and Jane i just want to wish u the best in this new adventure u r taking in your life.
I really think the areas you are considering are good, the only thing is that in the North Shore there are areas that u should avoid as they are consider as ghetto!
This areas are:
Birkdale and Beach Heaven
If you want to avoid most of the traffic it will b better u stick with Parnell, but if what u want is more safety i will deffinately will recommend the North Shore.
Good luck and if you want more input just pm me as my husband can tell you more.
Good luck!
Adriana

[lollypop]

hi, just a quick intro,


Me and Jane and two kids Dylan (5) and maxwell (2) are hoping to move to Auckland end of feb begining of March, have a permanent job offer with Auckland City Council, and am waiting for my ITA which should come through on 17 Jan. then its a case of submitting the Visa Application As soon as i get it.

Any info on Auckland Area Schools etc would be welcome

thanks

Andrew

Hi there

Welcome to the forum!

My OH was offered a job a Auckland City Council initially, and as you know they are an Accredited Employer so all your visa stuff should go through really quickly, ours did. What line of work are you in?

We are living on the North Shore and love it. The East Coast Bays are very popular with families. However, getting into the CBD by bus (bus lane not completed yet) or car can take a while peak times. Unless you go for somewhere in the Devonport area and you can catch the ferry.

Best of luck with the move.

[andrewandjane]

ive been offered a post as an open space planner, working in parks project management and strategies for parks within auckland (apparently from my research so far theres quite a few!)

We have looked at devonport and thats on the list, main concern is we want to be in an area thats good for the two boys, schools and somewhere thats not too isoltated as jane will be at home with the youngest for a while. Waiheke was a firm favourite but not sure as to whats there and if it would feel isolated etc, but its cheap rentals and sections seem just about affordable there.

other BIG worry is schooliong and how our 5 yr old will adapt to moving schools and settling in in a new place.

just waiting now for the visa EOI to be selected on wednesday as we have 140 points so should go through automatically.

have read cases where people have had a visa within weeks of applying once invited to, like you sa as auckland are an accredited company this shouldnt take too long.

hopefully we will be there end of feb, begining march.

[andrewandjane]

EOI selected !!!

[Smiler]

EOI selected !!!

:clap :clap

[lollypop]

Andrew and Jane - I have PM'd you.

[Tia Maria]

Hi there,

I live in Devonport, so if you decide its the place for you but would like some more specific info on schools (I have 3 boys ages 5, 3 & baby), and houses etc then send me a PM.

To give you a quick overview:

Positives:

1) Lovely village like atmosphere, yet just 15mins from CBD

2) Good facilities/Very good schools/parks/beaches/shops/ferry to CBD & Waiheke/cafes/community centre

3) Heritage area, so less subdivision than a lot of the North Shore (however, I still think the plot sizes are quite small).

Middles:

1) Mainly heritage villas - much in demand, but colder and more work to maintain.

2) On a penisula so only 1 road in and out which means less crime and less through traffic. But it can take ages to drive in/out of at peak times

3) Large expat community means you will meet lots of people who have been through the same as you and will go out of their way to help you settle. However, less likely to get a 100% Kiwi experience.

Negatives:

1) Price of house to buy & rent - very expensive in comparison to other places

2) Poor availability of houses to buy and rent.

And if you've got a bit more time here are some links to other Devonport info that me and others have posted previously:

Description & some photos of beaches:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9190

Various bits of local info:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8698

Experiences of looking for Rentals:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8997

Some more photos of Devonport:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=8421

Sorry I'm being kicked off the computer as the boys want to play Nick Jnr, but as I said if you want any other info do ask.

Cheers

Tia

[andrewandjane]

thanks for the info, devon port does sound really good we think it may be a bit pricey for us but are looking into it. waheike seems to be top of the list at min as its a bit cheaper and we could rent and sort out a mortgage to buy a plot etc once we are settled. but havent a real idea untill we see the places. we have 4 wks accomodation paid by emplyer so have a chance to have a good look round when we first arrive. will be visiting parnell, devonport, waiheke so far but the list will be growing.

[willowshouse]

I live in the eastern suburbs and I think it's great here. Renting is approx $500 for a 3 bed house but if you want to buy you should look at spending $700,000 and the interest rate is about 8.5%.

Like most places, the closer into the city you are the less space you have and the more expensive it is. Hence, Parnell is Lovely with a capital L but expensive and Waiheke is cheaper but with not a lot of facilities (although if you want that sort of life I think it could be uber-cool).

I think a lot of english people seem to settle on the North Shore as it offers value for money. It was never really an option for us as OH loves the coffee culture of the Eastern Bays.

It is quite a tall order to decide where you are going to live with just 3/4 weeks to look, decide and get it all sorted out but at least if you are renting initially is doesn't matter too much if you don't get exactly the right area with your first attempt. You will at least know where NOT to settle even if you don't know exactly where is best for you to live.

Good luck,
Dawn

[andrewandjane]

thanks,
I think we are still leaning towards waheike, due to space and price etc. that sort of lifestyle small town feel may be similar to Cornwall in Uk where we live at present, were not too sure about suddenly ending up in the middle of a big city straight away.

[saabmania2]

hello and welcome can't help with your dilemma but wish you all the best with your move :clap

[andrewandjane]

hi latest update...
i will submit the visa application tomorrow in london, and am giving notice at work on tuesday depending on how long they think it will take when i ask the visa officer people tomorrow

[westies]

Hi there
We live in West Auckland, although the drive is 20-40 mins into the CBD you can get the train, can get some lovely houses over this way and the schools are good too! All in all the travel time will probably be less where ever you are in Auckland compared to the ferries from Waiheke, but at least you can rent first to get a feel of the areas you are interested in. There are negative and positive points to all areas, and everyone is different you need to allow plenty of time in my opinion before you buy!
Good luck to you all, we arrived early March last year, it was great!

[andrewandjane]

hi we looked at titirangi, as an option and will definately have a good look round there in a few weeks time (once visa comes through) we are thinking of renting for a while now to make sure we find the right area and also need to save a deposit..