the real christchurch

[Iain & Liz]

when we first arrived in chch city we were taken back with how different it is compared to all the books and video's we saw.
chch city is a smaller version of london,busy, lots of traffic,no parking and when you do find it ,it costs a fortune,dirty,and extremley over crowded.
and expensive.
it's ok if you like city life but if like us you will find it hard,and wonder what have we done.
BUT when you travel out of chch and reach the out skirts it's a little better although the houses are still cramped one behind the other,with very little gardens and no heating just wood burners or storage heaters that cost the earth to run.
when you start work the wages are really crap and after paying the rent ,shopping , pre school fees, car insurance, petrol as every thing is spaced out and you use loads of it ,house insurance,telephone.elec, doctors bills , you don't have any left. so be prepared . and they charge bonds on all utility bills usally $80/$100.
i must say that the views are lovely and the people are great.
houes prices are not that cheap only the ones in the middle of know where which are no good if you have to work in chch city.
has any body else had these thoughts?

[Moorf]

Hi

I read your post through a couple of times... the first time I read it I got all defensive and thought "noo, Chch is lovely it's a great city"... then I read it through again and realised that alot of what you say is probably true!

I don't agree that's it's like a little London, having lived there and subsequently fled from the awful place... in that I am not tripping over homeless, I don't walk around clutching my bag, it's comparatively uncrowded and small enough to cover on foot.

Traffic can get busy (nowhere NEAR as bad as London (or any major UK town!)) and parking (at Farmers multi-storey or the one near the Bus Terminal) has never been a problem for us.

Like any other city you are going to pay more for space/home the nearer to the city you are, and also in the outlying green areas, and yes, the inner city housing isn't that nice except some of the more expensive areas and even they appear to have their fair share of neglected houses and subdivisions! Housing is very reasonable in Rangiora / Kaipoi if you want a more rural lifestyle and I believe the commute is easy too.. perhaps our Rangiora members could comment?

Expensive? Hell yeah - but isn't everything once you get into Kiwi $$ on a Kiwi salary We're feeling the pinch! Whilst we're on less than half of what we had coming in in the UK the shopping/bills etc aren't half of the cost of those in the UK.. and so it goes on..

Heating... nightmare isn't it! I don't think anyone can prepare you for just how cold the houses are! We had to buy oil heaters that we could move around the house and we are still using them now as we go into Summer

House prices aren't cheap at all. Unless you are coming from the UK with a sizeable stash for a deposit the house prices (taking into consideration crap NZ salaries) are high. It's appears to be a common misconception that house prices here are cheap - sure, if you're down Dunedin/Invercargill way you can pick up a great place for a good price but Chch Welly and Auckland are pretty pricey (in my opinion ).

BUT - having said all that - apart from work, why do you need to go into the city once you've seen the sights? You can shop and bank at the malls or at a more local supermarket and then the rest of the time you can head out of town to explore the real New Zealand

Moorf

PS - Are you the guys who had a BBQ today too?! Did you smell ours? I believe you are staying just of couple of streets down from us... drop me a PM and we can arrange to meet up and moan about Chch in person!

[Junnifer USA]

I am reading your posts with great interest.

For those of you already there, would you share your opinion on the following questions:

1. Is it possible to find well insulated flats or houses.... is everything so poorly insulated?

2. Modest 3 bed rooms in a good school area... what would you really expect to spend...? I thought the relative prices seemed pretty good. Not dead in the city... but an easy distance from the city.? I don't ecpect to go into the city much. Maybe a couple times a year... but not every week, or even every month.

4. Compared to home, do you have less access to leisure activities... I am not acking about the actual dollars inyour pocket... but can you go out for dinner as often... take a weekend trip as often... Or do you feel you have loss leisure buying power?

Not there yet, and still trying to figure it out!
Thanks!
Jennifer

[Moorf]

Hi

In my opinion:-

1. Yes, it is possible to find well insulated property - new builds are a good bet. Having said that, all the houses we have seen haven't had any significant insulation :?

2. School areas - sorry, thats one subject I can't help you with! Cue Tanya / Nic !

3. I had to think about this one... leisure has taken on a different meaning since we have been here. We loved to eat out and go for trips away and that was our leisure... but now we would rather take a picnic and head to the hills, or eat chips with the seagulls in Akaroa, or walk along the beach. We can still go away at weekends but we just don't do the 5* thing.. hostels/motels etc nice and relaxed and cheap! And then just think of all those other nearby places to visit ... Oz, Fiji, Raratonga, Antartica all on the doorstep!!


Moorf

[Tate6]

Wow--really gives one reason to pause and think about this. We are possibly looking in the ChCh area. Definitely not in the city. More like Akaroa. But Moorf, your take on it is similar to mine. It all comes down to rearranging priorities. Or deciding what your priorities are.

If you can figure a way to do with less money, that is the key, I think. And we are all coming from a generation and time of taking that for granted.

Best of luck to all of you!

Terry

[veronica]

Have got to agree with Moorf, I don't find chch at all like London. I wouldn't even say its like Chelmsford (Essex county town) really, its much more leisurely. We are living just outside the 4 avenues and its only 12 mins walk to Cathedral Square. The house we have bought is on a 1/4 acre and cost under $350,000. so I don't feel that it was expensive. We have bought it to convert to a backpackers so its location has been bought with that in mind as our choice would always be to live more rural. But even so I don't feel like I am living in a 'big' city. On the whole I am pleasently surprised by Christchurch. As for the parking, we park in the multistorey over the library at the end of Gloucester street and the 1st hour is free, so far we have done whats necessary at that end of the city and been out within the hour. Its also possible to park at the edge of the city and walk in. Spend some time talking (and listening ) to Moorf, shes a mine of info.

[Diny]

Can't help you on this one as I really don't know that area at all well.

However - I'd like to show you this:

www.open2view.com property I.D. 93763

Our friend (Kiwi) who's been living in Aberdeen for a long time has decided to go home. This is the property he has just bought. He takes possesion in a couple of weeks.

I know it's not Chch city - but heck .... it'd do for me.

Diny

[Tanya]

As for the parking, we park in the multistorey over the library at the end of Gloucester street and the 1st hour is free, so far we have done whats necessary at that end of the city and been out within the hour. Its also possible to park at the edge of the city and walk in.

There is also a FREE!!! shuttle bus that goes around the city from Moorhouse Ave to Kilmore street in a loop where you can hop on and off as you desire. Helps with the parking too!!

Tanya

[Moorf]

Hi Diny - yep, some lovely places available outside of Chch. However what seems of most concern to many I have met / seen arriving in Chch is a good school zone.

Warren and I are in the position to be able to move out of Chch to these areas but most with kids seem to want to stay in the city for schools.

Personally I don't know much about what the rural schools are like around Chch and wonder why more families don't move out to the rural areas for a larger plot and rural lifestyle (it's a personal choice, I appreciate that).

Anyone have experience of NZ rural schools?

Moorf

[Iain & Liz]

it was just a shock to see so many people and houses ,huge industrial buildings ,and alot of empty buildings too.
the park and cathedral sq are really nice but surrounded by all the above i have never seen any thing like morehouse ave,
the public transport system is fantastic but not so good if you have small children,and need to get shopping for the week.
we are constantly counting the cost of everything as there is a huge difference between shopping at the local shops and pak and save.
we live in sumner and to get in to the center it takes about 20 mins but there aren't really any short cuts(none that we know of).
we love new zealand just not chch,some people will love it and some like us wont.
A very wise kiwi told us that "it is so easy to be comfortably poor here"
and they were so right we have spoken to many kiwi's now friends and they have all said the same thing or very simular
We came out with the impression that the money from our sale in the
uk would set us up and buy a house, but like many others and others to follow this will not be the case and will still need a mortage a subsantual one at that
we don,t mean to winge on about it as we do love NZ just not CHCH