Recently seen some posts asking about Wellington so thought I'd give our account of life so far here!
My family and I came to Wellington at the start of April.
The city is great - all the facilities and and good 'vibe' about the place that sometimes just makes a smile crack across the face.
Sure the weather can be trying - coming from the UK I am used to some grotty weather - and the wind can be difficult but so far most days have averaged about 17C since I got here which is pretty good considering we are approaching the heart of winter - but I'm told the worst will be around sept/oct
We spent the first three weeks in a 'serviced' apartment on Willis Street in the city centre - which initially seemed superb as it seemed a good location and I started work just a quick walk away......But we soon realized the place was above a Korean Karaoke restaurant so that made evenings initially interesting but it soon became despair with a real struggle to get two young children to sleep and then to try and get some sleep ourselves. Still it was funny hearing Bohemian Rhapsody in a Korean accent though!
Anyway we thought - lets get the rental sorted. Before we came I thought we should take a week or so to settle and then go looking - but that would have been a big mistake for us a there is so much to do when you arrive here. We ended up going out to look at suburbs the second day in and I am so glad we did. I think it is really important to get out and try and look at the various suburbs to get a good feel of them - repeated visits were also important. It does take time and those serviced apartments are not cheap - so get going early.
We are a family of four with two young boys and the missus is not a city girl so our take on a lot of the suburbs will be different from others but I think it is important for anyone coming here to get out there asap and try and do as much research as possible. We don't want to keep moving our eldest who is in primary school so we need to make this one right so we don't disturb him any more than necessary.
We had some set criteria for a house and tried to meet most of them - although I found the big thing is deciding on compromises.
We've ended up in a rental in Greenacres on the side of Tawa
Good points:
Excellent primary school
Easy access to Wellington
All day sun
Good views
Good variety of local shops and amenities although a car drive away
Quick train ride into Wellington
Sheltered from Southerlys - though yet to really experience them
Newish house (6yrs) so clean tidy
Not so good points
No garden - no area for kids to play in
Very exposed to Northerly winds and this rattles the house - so lack of sleep which is an issue
Newish house but poor insulation so can be cold!
We thought we could live with these compromises - but the lack of garden is a big issue we are finding. Also the lack of sleep cannot continue. But its all a learning curve and it has given us a base for now.
When I discuss this with locals the standard response is - "well you did move to Wellington!" which is fair enough I suppose but I am convinced you can find what you want or need - living in Wellington just restricts your options if the things we are after are important to you - for instance the next place we move into won't be on the side of a hill - which rules out 75% (Well maybe 95%) of Wellington!!.
All these things may mean we have to move further out which will mean longer commutes and other issues ..........but it's all about the compromises - I know that and accept it.
If these things are not important to you then there are a lot more options
Initial thoughts were to keep renting - considering exchange rates and house prices etc - but I have also come to realise it is very important (for us) to have a base you can call home and relax in, so we are now considering buying to give that base for the family. So yesterday was a trip to the bank to see what can be pre-approved on the mortgage front - excellent feature here that makes house hunting easier! It may not be the best time financially to buy but the the family requirements are the most important and as others have said on other threads - it can sometimes be necessary to make decisions and not regret them later.
We've got a couple of cars now , a decent one for shifting the family around and a very cheap banger, so I can drive into the city or leave a car at the station and the OH still has the freedom to get out and about with the youngest in tow. Which also means she can scout out areas while I am at work
Our container arrives tomorrow - thanks the gods - it will be sooo good to have our stuff again but I am also aware that we shouldn't unpack it all as we will be moving again soon! But it will just be good to have access to it all.
At times money seems to haemorrhage out of the bank account as it takes a lot to get going - you forget how much the basics cost - the stuff you need to tide you over till the container gets here - the stuff you did not bring - the stuff you could not bring - it all adds up pretty quickly! Try and factor it in to budget plans if you can.
The thing I have tried to focus on for the family - albeit not always successfully - is to try and make it as easy as possible for the family. Children generally are more resilient than you give them credit for - while it is the adults that sometimes will struggle...which could then affect the children. All you can do is try ....... and try to enjoy this roller-coaster!
enough ramblings for now