Member
I agree Tigerlily, a big attraction for us about Wellington is that there are trains to commute by! OH currently does a hour commute into work but it is by car to a park and ride and then two buses, I am sure once he tries the train into Wellington he will find the hour fly! Hoping so anyway!
I hadn't looked into Plimmerton or Whitby...a major criteria for us is walking distance to a good primary and secondary school...(??)
Member
We spent a week there when we visited NZ...
The library in Raumati is EXCELLENT! And the coolest kids library cards I've ever seen!
There's a wonderful Steiner school if the philosophy speaks to your interests/educational needs at all. http://www.tera.school.nz/. This school would also offer ample opportunity to meet many new families - including many other immigrant families. They were very welcoming when we looked at it.
Traffic back-ups in the area??? Depends on where you're moving from. Ottawa? Shouldn't be a problem at all.
IMHO, it would be a great place to land and get started. Very relaxed, safe, quiet, good schools. From there, depending on satisfaction of commute, you can explore neighbourhoods closer to Welly if ultimately that's what you need to do.
Member
Thanks mbirds! Te Ra school looks beautiful! (nicest looking waldorf school I've seen!)
I had wanted to move to Belmont when I found out about the waldorf school there (I had never heard of a steiner school being PUBLIC!! Amazing to make it affordable!!!) But the housing prices in Belmont deterred me. Too close to Welly I guess.
Does anyone know how far Raumati is from the nearest train station (I'm guessing Para)?
Member
yes, paraparaumu is the closest station to raumati. guess raumati was promised years ago for a station to be built there this coming year, but that has been slated for one reason or another. the locals are starting a petition to get it reconsidered. i don't blame them...makes sense to have one there.
laurel
Junior Member
More on the Kapiti questions
I thought of another pro. No parking meters. No parking costs. I went to Roturua and Napier recently, lots of parking meters (and some cool buildings / smells). Anyway answers to the questions.
Some roads have grass burns between the footpath and the edge of a road. It’s the place the utilities bury the pipes.
I lied about the candlestick makers. Candlestick making was outsourced to the Australians some years ago, which is currently causing a problem, as candle making is all the rage now. We now have a severe shortage of skilled candle makers. These will shortly be added to the list of skilled occupations in the next revision, so an opportunity for many aspiring forumites. This change however could be delayed due to the shortage of skilled list makers in NZ.
Accident and Emergency centres (A+E) in the US/UK sense are based at main hospitals. There is a day A+E centre in the shopping centre. There is an A+E doctor service based at one of the GP practices, who is called out to the state highway on a frequent basis, and is probably also on callout to homes. Porirua has an A+E hospital that currently admits to midnight due to staff shortages. Wellington has an A+E main centre.
It snowed this year for half an hour in Raumati !!! You’ll therefore feel at home. It inspired me to dig deep into the unpacked boxes to find my car mitts, ice scrapers and heated ice knife with the ice catcher and a eject button for Ice chads. I am now waiting patiently for more snow next year. I know it made sense to bring everything.
You can now get just under 10% interest on any money you have saved. If you have a lot of equity, and if you delay buying a home you may be able to pay rent and have some interest left. There was an article on this the other day. I think the break-even point was $450k. Local rents surged recently as the housing market locked up, as people needed to start new jobs etc., and had to find a rental till they sold. There are some signs this is easing a little, and rents may fall.
Where not to buy? That's a difficuly question, likely to cause upset, and depends on your budget. There's no "no-go area", so go anywhere. To be honest your budget will define where you live, and the more you have to spend, the greater your expectations.
A cautious buyer would avoid homes in a 10-year flood plain, or directly on one of the many NZ fault lines. Cliff edges have a habit of slipping, so not above or below an unstable area (Kapiti does have some hills to the East). Personally I'd also avoid the railway line \ state highway corridor. Not next to the fire-station (like many in NZ its not manned permanently, and summons crews with a world-war 2 air raid siren). Some would say avoid East of the railway line, as the hills have lots of rentals and poorer quality homes, but they have just started building executive homes there.
The only real place to avoid in Kapiti is the beach area. It’s a definite no go area. It’s full of tents and looks like a refuge camp. Its full of unemployed candle wick makers, so best avoided by those with loose change.
P.S. I hate the steiner school. its a regular location for speed traps.
And the railway station is about 10 minutes in the car from Raumati including parking.
Member
Our friend in Raumati commutes into Welly on the train from PaekakarikiOriginally Posted by Tui2too
Senior Member
I'll second that - wife came home with 2 in 2 days recently (both about 800 yards from where the school starts btw)
Was it snow in Raumati ? Thought it was just a deluge of hail
Member
I think you'll find these areas are called berms.......
Senior Member
Yes you are right there Billy they are called berms.
Member
Ok thanks everyone ..berms makes more sense unless the burns was related to the poor candle-wick makers with nothing left to well you know ...
I like the sound of the speed traps near the school..makes sense!
The lack of a&e sounds like a concern though, especially as we age and may need it after a go at shovelling hail at 2 AM ...seriously though....that is an awful long way to an open emergency if its an emergency!
Ta again, eveyone's replies have been most useful...and entertaining!
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