Queenstown Districts

[penny_65]

Hi all, we will be moving to Queenstown in the very near future and I will be working at the Lakes District Hospital in Frankton. We will be looking to rent a property, hopefully something with a bit of space around it. Does anyone have any info on which districts are best to live in? Because I will be on call much of the time I can't be based much further than a 20 min commute into Queenstown. Any info would be appreciated...

[Andy-Dee]

Cant help except to say LUUUUUUV Queenstown - lucky you!

[penny_65]

It looks so beautiful..... we have been to the North Island but not the South, so really looking forward to exploring. Not sure about heading for another winter though..... perhaps a bit of skiing will make it all good!

[singlefin]

Coming into winter, it would be best to avoid places like Fernhill, and along that side of the lake, as they don't get much if any sun, so houses are cold and damp.

Sunnier areas are Kelvin Heights (costs a bit to rent though), Frankton, Quail Rise, Arthurs Point. A bit further out of town, there's Lake Hayes Estate, lots of new houses, but a bit out of the way, and Arrowtown, which is lovely, a bit cheaper to rent, and 15 minutes or so from town, but maybe only 10 minutes from the hospital. Decent rentals are hard to find there though, and it's important that anywhere you get has sun, insulation and heating - because it gets really cold!

40 minutes away, there is Kingston and Glenorchy, maybe Cromwell, but the drive into Queenstown can be hard work if it's snowing or icy. Those places are a lot cheaper though.

A lot of it depends on your budget for renting. $400 a week is the starting point for 3 bedrooms in a decent enough house. You can pay up to about $650 a week for a $1m house on the lake in Kelvin Heights.

Have a look at Ray White for rentals in Arrowtown, or Executive Accommodation and QAC for Queenstown rentals.

It's a great place to live if you don't mind the cold in winter, and especially if you like winter sports.

[penny_65]

Thank you for that Singlefin, thats really helpful. We had budgeted for up to $500 a week, we have dogs which is going to make it a little more difficult I think.....

How do people survive the winters without heating They must be a real hardie lot!! I think we are going to invest in a few portable oil fired heaters to bring over.

Thanks again.

[aberdian]

Thank you for that Singlefin, thats really helpful. We had budgeted for up to $500 a week, we have dogs which is going to make it a little more difficult I think.....

How do people survive the winters without heating They must be a real hardie lot!! I think we are going to invest in a few portable oil fired heaters to bring over.

Thanks again.

Oil heaters are cheap as chips here but expensive to run. Better to get a house with insulation and decent heating. Queenstown and Arrowtown are cold just due to their position, tucked in under the mountains so morning sun is hard to come by. Wanaka is much nicer

[barbapapa]

btw, not only is housing more expensive in wanaka and queenstown, but also food at supermarkets is. i have noticed this is def true for beer. compared to the surrounding non touristy towns

[andrewp]

btw, not only is housing more expensive in wanaka and queenstown, but also food at supermarkets is. i have noticed this is def true for beer. compared to the surrounding non touristy towns

That's what I've also heard. Coincidentally, I have just applied for an IT job in Queenstown, so been researching. How far out of town would one have to move to see the food prices return to normal? I've seen some lovely houses out Arthurs Point way that look lovely and are only 6km out of town. Now that's a commute I could live with!

[singlefin]

btw, not only is housing more expensive in wanaka and queenstown, but also food at supermarkets is. i have noticed this is def true for beer. compared to the surrounding non touristy towns

Most of the bottle stores do locals discount cards. You just need to ask, and most places give you 10 or 15% off if you live in town. Queenstown is definitely more expensive than Christchurch, petrol is 3c a litre more, and the weekly shop is about 5% more. It's worth bearing in mind that skilled employees are really hard to find, so it's not hard to get a few more $$ on the wages to make up for it.

Arthurs Point is nice, but a few bits of it don't get much winter sun, so if you're going to live there, it's worth checking the houses out morning and evening. Sun is really important if you are looking for a house. Shady places may be cheaper, but the heating bills will be more.

[macs gold]

There are plenty of newer tourist apartments that are largely empty over the winter except for the peak season. If you were arriving in the next couple of months you could potentially get a deal on one of them for a rental out until October or November, by which time you'll know where you want to be. As singlefin says look for places with winter sun, which is more difficult than it sounds around Queenstown.