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Thread: New Brighton, Christchurch

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Canada
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    65

    Default New Brighton, Christchurch

    Hi,
    We are moving to NZ in Feb so my husband can attend law school at University of Canterbury. We have been looking at different areas of Christchurch and we really want to live near the ocean. We both love surfing so it would be great to live closer to the ocean. We are obviously going to be on a tight budget because I am taking care of 2 infants while he's in school.

    We have been looking online at houses in New Brighton. I am really confused. I don't understand why it's so cheap being so close to the ocean. Any thoughts/advice on New Brighton? We'd love to live near the pier, and my husband is ok with the 50 min commute by bus to U of C. Is New Brighton a good neighbourhood to live in? I see a lot of houses being advertised as coming with alarms, is burglary common?

    We currently live in Toronto Canada and we pay an exhorbanant amount for rent and all our commutes anywhere in the city take 45 min - 1.5 hrs by bus. So to us New Brighton seems so perfect.

    Also, is it within reason to arrive in New Zealand and be able to find a place to rent and move in within 2 weeks in New Brighton? Things I should look for/avoid?

    Any advice would be much appreciated!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Christchurch, New Zealand
    Posts
    69

    Default

    Hi there and welcome
    My husband is from Christchurch and we move over in about 1 month. We visited around 18 months ago and i quite liked New Brighton (the beach there is lovely) the town itself was a little shabby but not awful by any means, however my husband was not too keen, it's apparently one of the rougher areas of Christchurch?? I can't really give you much detail as to why all i can say is that my husband turned his nose up at the area??
    Hope that helps a little

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Christchurch, New Zealand
    Posts
    100

    Default

    Hi,

    We live just north of New Brighton (an area called Waimairi Beach).
    New Brighton beach is lovely - its a long stretch of sand, and its pretty popular with surfers, even in the middle of winter. The pier is really nice. There are a mixture of nice houses and shabby houses (old wooden houses that have not been cared for enough) in New Brighton, which can lead to it looking a bit shabby overall. New Brighton Mall (the strip where all the shops are) looks a bit shabby, but I have heard people refer to it as 'shabby chic'. We were keen on NB until we got here, but then found it just a little bit too shabby for us. Having said that, I don't find it an unsafe area at all, and I wouldn't be opposed to living there if I found teh right house on the right street. If you don't find it unsafe, I think its perfect for kids - the beach, lots of open spaces, forest land etc.

    Waimairi beach is just as well placed for the beach, but further from the local shopping in NB. More expensive to rent than NB, but the houses, as a whole, are much nicer to look at. Parklands/Queenspark is in the same area, a little further from the beach (but still walkable) but cheaper than Waimairi and seems excellent for families.

    In terms of how long it will take to find somewhere, we gave ourself 7 weeks, but it only took 2. I think 2 weeks is enough time to find somewhere, there's quite a healthy rental market, quite a lot of run-down houses, but there are some crackers out there. Definitely wait until you get here and have a good look around - one person's hell hole might be your paradise!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Chch, NZ
    Posts
    2,226

    Default

    New Brighton use to be where all the action is about 20-30 years ago. The city has poured lots of funding to make NB a better place - most recent was New Brighton Library which is right at the pier. Many say this area is pretty dingy because of the age of the houses, and every year when they have the fireworks out at the pier, Christchurch people flock to NB at night and litter the area with garbage. There isn't really much shopping, most go to the Palms or East Gate mall. I would say these 2 shopping malls have sucked the shopping life right in NB.

    The problem, and I speak frankly in my opinion, is the weather isn't all that great. If you're coming from Toronto, you're going to have to get use to the strong gusty winds. I myself born and raised in Canada still can't get use to the strong winds coupled with rain. I would take a -30°C winter in Canada any day inside a centrally heated house than to put up with walking in rain that blows sideways. Maybe this is a main reason why propery prices are a lot less.

    You probably don't mind the 50 minute bus commute to Chch Uni. But I must say we're talking travel that is at opposite ends of the city. Upper Riccarton is pretty damn far away from NB and in peak rush hour traffic, this venture could probably take over an hour by city bus transit (considering the transfer bus you would have to take downtown). Don't forget bus fares in NZ won't be a cheap like in Canada. The price of gas/fuel speaks for the difference.

    If you wanted to be close to the beach, I would pick somewhere from Sumner flats to Redcliffs. This way when you do have to go into town, you drive down Ferry Road. When you have to go to school in Riccarton, you drive down again, Ferry Road. From NB, the road is quite twisty to end up on Hills Road & Bealey Ave.

    The other controversy about NB relates to an act of God. One real estate agent told me 10+ years ago that the ocean sea level, possible tsnuamis, and earthquakes would devastate NB. This is not to predict that something like New Orleans would happen to Christchurch. But, who knows?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    65

    Default

    Thanks for the responses.
    So it sounds more like New Brighton is more run down than anything else. We'd also be open to living in Sumner but from what I've seen on the internet rental places are much more expensive there. If we could find a place there I'd be open to that area too, it seems really nice. And the commute seems a bit easier as it's a little shorter and one bus from Sumner to the Uni. As for bus fares, they are actually much cheaper than what we're used to in Toronto. It's $21/wk NZD in ChCh for unlimited bus fare, here we pay $121 / month CDN for unlimited bus. So it's much cheaper overall.

    I have also heard there is a big difference like you mentioned about the heating/feeling cold in NZ and similarly in the UK. That is going to be different for us for sure, not having central heating. Some houses are advertised as coming with heat pumps...what does this do? Is that kinda the same as central heating?

    I mean I don't think other than being inside will be a huge difference for us weatherwise or a huge shock. We don't own a car in Toronto and when a snowstorm hits and we have to get groceries in windy and 1 ft of snow. I have to bundle my little one up and bust out the stroller and still go for a walk. Wind and rain, I think I'll be ok with handling, the lack of snow makes the pushing the stroller much easier! lol

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

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    Re: heat pumps etc.. You'd do well to do a search on the site for old threads about cold houses, and there's also one currently running about heating. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=29465 Also, if you Google, you could come up with an explanation of what the different sorts of heat pumps actually do (I don't think anyone has written it all out on a thread here.)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Christchurch, New Zealand
    Posts
    100

    Default

    We have also lived in Sumner for a short time -it is 'nicer' but more expensive to rent (and definitely more expensive to buy), and you still get quite a few run-down houses there too. The only thing I would say about the commute is that it can get quite congested (by ChCh standards) as there is only one road out to Sumner, whereas NB has several different routes you can take (of course, that would be assuming you are driving). I work the other side of town (Sockburn) and it takes me 25-30 minutes, in what I consider as no traffic. It took about the same to Sumner when the road was good.
    The cafes and bars in Sumner are definitely a major plus point over NB - a better standard and more of them.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Christchurch
    Posts
    47

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    We've just rented a property in New Brighton near the estuary and a five minute walk to the beach. I personally don't feel its that run down, as I think most of Christchurch is run down apart from the really posh areas, and sure, some houses look neglected but its the beach and I think it does give it a rustic feel, I do think the shopping centre could do with livening up a bit. I lived in New Brighton as a teenager and it wasn't dangerous/dodgy then and I personally don't think it is now. Our rent is really reasonable ($300 per week) for a very modern, dry, warm sunny two bed with garage and large garden (and our dog is allowed). Its a 30 minute cycle ride into town or about 30 mins on the bus due to traffic. Its about 8.5km into the city centre.

    Its also really close to bottle lake forest with awesome mountain bike trails and the QEII pool. Its also slightly warmer by a degree or two than central Christchurch and I have been on the beach at times when its been really windy and at other times when its completely calm... depends on the day I guess.

    Sumner is nice, but expensive, and the traffic is horrendous, and if you live in the valley you lose the sun early.


  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Canada
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    Thanks so much for giving some insight. It's really awesome to hear from someone living in New Brighton now that it is a good area and that you enjoy living there.

    I'm just not sure we could afford Sumner, but we can always visit there on weekends The New Brighton mall seems nice to me from pictures I've seen. I mean I know it's not a "shopping mall" but more of just a place to grab a bite to eat or pick something up if you need it which is all we're looking for. We don't want to be near any huge malls, that is what we're trying to get away from (that whole consumer mentality), so NB seems like a nice place for what we're looking for.

  10. #10

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    We lived in New Brighton for about 4 months back in "07. Had our car window broken and 2 other break ins on our cars. Plus outside of our flat vandalised. And, we kept to our selves. Our neighbour was a 30 something stripper with a 16 year old boy friend, they had plenty of fights and loud arguments near our flat. New Brighton is next to Aranui, so some of the crims from Aranui do their dirt in New Brighton.

    The beach, library and shops are nice. Basically a nice place to visit during the day but you don't want to live there. We paid $$ to get out of our lease and moved to Rolleston

    Most of the flats are old and uninsulated, and unlike the US and Canada, landlords in NZ are not required to provide a source of heat. The plug in electric heaters only heat small areas, you freeze your bum off and pay a fortune in electricity.

    The other areas mentioned are nice, you may also want to consider Papanui. When searching for a rental be sure to ask about insulation and source of heating.

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