Wellington... where to live

[deepthir]

Hi there,

I've finally got a job and its in wellington and so will be arriving there around the 12th of this month... I've never been to wellington before and i've been pouring over all the posts on wellington, trademe and any other site i could find only to find that I have confused myself with an overload of information.

My job's going to be in the CBD (Lambton Quay) and I'm looking for a 1-2 bedroom rental not too far away since i will be using public transport. I've been looking at Thorndon, Kelburn, Wadestown, Mts. Cook and Victoria.

Do any of you have any suggestions about a good place to live? Its just me and my OH so we're not worried about school etc... we do want easy access to conveniences, movies a nice view and if possible a little garden.

Are there any suburbs i should avoid? and what should I look for when hunting for a house? I've read that its important to check if the house get enough sunlight... but how much is enough?

Sorry about the long post but i'd really appreciate any info you can give me especially since i have so little time to plan the move!

[JandM]

Congratulations on the job.

[deepthir]

Thanks JandM!

[IanW99]

...
My job's going to be in the CBD (Lambton Quay) and I'm looking for a 1-2 bedroom rental not too far away since i will be using public transport. I've been looking at Thorndon, Kelburn, Wadestown, Mts. Cook and Victoria.

Do any of you have any suggestions about a good place to live? Its just me and my OH so we're not worried about school etc... we do want easy access to conveniences, movies a nice view and if possible a little garden.

Are there any suburbs i should avoid? and what should I look for when hunting for a house? I've read that its important to check if the house get enough sunlight... but how much is enough?
...

I don't use public transport often but never had a problem using it and it seems to have good coverage in and around Wellington, so you certainly don't need to limit yourself to the central suburbs if you don't want to.

You could check out MetLink and in particular their journey planner where you can specify a road you are interested in and it will work out which buses etc to catch.

For sunlight, the more the better there are many houses around that are in the valleys and don't get much sunlight so cost more to keep warm and they stay damp. If at all possible check several times during the day to ensure that the house doesn't just get e.g. morning sun. Also if you are planning on renting the same house for more than 6 months remember the sun won't be so high in the sky, or cover such a large arc as it does at the moment.

Ian

[rick@jayne]

Hi Dee

We have been in Wellington a year now and to be honest the quality of rental housing varies massively and somewhat regardless of what specific area you live in. You can get into town pretty easily from most suburbs so I would be inclined to find a good property first and then have a look around to see what you think of the area.
I would suggest the issue with the sunshine is tied to the fact that the majority of rental houses are poorly insulated so if you do not get a reasonable amount of sunshine the house will feel cold in places. Double glazing and central heating are pretty scarce so it can actually be hard to heat some houses in the winter even if you are prepared to throw a lot of money at it. My advice is to go for a newish property that has decent insulation and good window etc because you will notice a huge difference in the winter. No amount of sunshine will heat a house with rubbish insulation and old windows.

Rick

[ourquest]

I would suggest the issue with the sunshine is tied to the fact that the majority of rental houses are poorly insulated so if you do not get a reasonable amount of sunshine the house will feel cold in places. Double glazing and central heating are pretty scarce so it can actually be hard to heat some houses in the winter even if you are prepared to throw a lot of money at it. My advice is to go for a newish property that has decent insulation and good window etc because you will notice a huge difference in the winter. No amount of sunshine will heat a house with rubbish insulation and old windows.

Rick

I don't totally agree about the sunshine being there predominantly to provide heating...it is just as much about regularly drying out the exterior of the house, including gardens decks etc. Excessive damp around the house leads to rotting, mould issues and yes, obviously a colder house.

Insulation and double glazing are benefits over and above the requirement for sun. Given that rentals can be hard to come by, putting too many criteria in place will probably make finding a suitable one too difficult. So my suggestion is to concentrate just on finding one which faces north, and as an added precaution have a good sniff for damp when you inspect.

Checking for insulation isn't always easy, but a newer house should have it due to building code requirements at the time it was built.

Suburbs are fairly diverse so best to take a drive around when you're here. It's likely that you'll like some areas and not others and hard for either you or anyone else to predict that up front. Depending on your lifestyle I would recommend looking out further north (Porirua) but then I might be biased.

[Wooly_Cow]

Hi there. Firstly congrats on the job and for coming to one of the best places to live in the world (and I’ve seen quite a few of them!)

I agree with Rick that finding the right house is a lot easier if you don’t have a specific suburb in mind.

It’s going to be a lot easier also not having to worry about school zones, though to be honest there are only a few areas where that is a problem, and mainly for secondary school.

As for public transport, I use it every day and find it excellent. For $99 a month I get to travel throughout Wellington (Inner 3 zones) which covers a lot of great places to live.

Equally there are good suburbs within walking distance of where you are going to work and you are close enough to the train station to consider Porirua / Kapiti or The Hutt valley, as commuting by train from there are all less than 1 hour.

The question is what do you want out of a house?

Views, beach, space, old, new, access to parks / bush or access to the city. Maybe if you tell us what you are looking for we can advise.

Places which are lower socio-economic – will be pretty obvious when you go and look at them. (East Porirua, Cannons Creek, Tiaita, Pomare , Naenae).

[emaino]

Dee, me and my wife are trying to move to a bigger house and we are trying to find someone to rent our current apartment. Let me know if there's any interest. It's within walking distance from downtown Wellington.

You can check all information in this thread.

[pleccy2000]

I like Crofton Downs / Ngaio / Khandallah personally.

[deepthir]

Thanks so much for the info guys! unfortunately... the job deal seems to have gone all wrong... they need someone to start there on Friday and because I'm in Hamilton decided to hire someone who is based in Wellington But i am looking to move to wellington and all your advice sure will come in handy when I do.

Emaino: your apt would've been perfect! sorry though!