No Car?

[ScottNZ]

A question more for those living in NZ. Is it at all possible to get on without a car, just riding a bike or taking public transit? How about in Wellington, Auckland, or Hamilton? Everything is possible, but is it realistic without a major effort. Thanks for any commentary.

I'd like to leave my oil addiction behind.

[jiffy]

I can only comment on Wellington, but it seems to me that as long as you plan on staying in the city, there is no great problem (as long as you don't mind walking or cycling up hills!)

[tk1]

If I end up in Wellington or Dunedin I plan on bringing over an electric bike. They give you "peddle assist" for the hills and let you bike farther that you normally could. No way I could bike up those hills everyday without a bit of back-up power, but that is just me.

Here is the least expensive model ($500 USD):

http://www.amazon.com/Currie-EZip-Tr...3598031&sr=8-3

[ralf-nz]

I was without a car my first half year in NZ. As expected you are not as free in your choices but it is manageable.

[JandM]

As far as Auckland is concerned, if your main travelling is between the CBD and east coast areas, or on the North Shore (not across from the North Shore by road, but you're allowed to take bikes on the ferries), you could do it by bike. Other areas are mountainous, and certainly wouldn't be 'without a major effort'!

The public transport provision in Auckland is patchy - you'd need to research where you're hoping to live, and where you're likely to need to get to regularly. Of course, you could hire a car for particular outings. http://www.aucklandnz.com/index.php/...A/?L1=65&L2=95

[tigerlily]

We lived on a hill in Wellington without a car for a while. It was great exercise. We ended up renting cars on the occasional weekend so we could see a wider part of the country. Even getting to the beach is a long bike or bus ride if you live on the far side of town. Many people live in apartments that are walking distance to the city center and I see them walking home with their groceries. If I was on my own without kids I would choose that as it's a nice lifestyle. Walking in Wellington is very common. I have a friend who commutes by bike, but also takes the bus if she doesn't feel like riding. The wind can be hard to deal with on a bike at times. My impression has been that Wellington has the best public transport system in the country. Certainly it has wide coverage of buses and trains cover a few close in neighborhoods (Crofton Downs, Ngaio, Johnsonville) and the distant ones (the Hutt, Porirua, Kapiti Coast).

I heard something about car sharing being introduced, sorry I can't remember what the company is called, but I think it's similar to programs in the US. That might be nice for you to join if you were without a car. NZ has really wonderful places to explore, and you need a car for many of those adventures. But on a day to day basis, I think you could be pretty happy in Wellington without owning one.

We now live in a small town up the coast and my OH walks to the train station to get to his job. I can walk to the market and the kids walk to school. I use the car on weekends only, very different from my life in America. And I'm very happy with that. I know other people who live in my town who drive about 45 minutes each way to work and love riding in their car. To each his own.

[Moomette]

Depends very much on where you live and work, and your lifestyle. We live on the North Shore (Takapuna), and though we do have a car, we only use it in the weeekends. This is partly because I'm yet to brave driving here (haven't driven for years as never needed to in London), but also because we're within walking distance to most places myself and DD need to get to on a daily basis. Also, OH walks to Akoranga and catches the bus to Newmarket for work as this works out much quicker for him than driving.

In general the buses here (in our area anyway) seem to be pretty good, and if I didn't have a buggy in tow, I would probably use them much more too.

[ralf-nz]

I was without a car my first half year in NZ. As expected you are not as free in your choices but it is manageable.

I experienced limitations re area where to live as whole. Also public transport A/H leaves something to be desired; late at night public holidays in particular. And then of course shopping for groceries etc. turns into an event.

Overall I missed the flexibility!

[Kanga]

It would be easy in Hamilton- it's smaller than Auckland or Wellington, not as hilly as Welly and significantly smaller than Auckland and is less a town of suburbs. Also there's a river running through it with cycle path along so if you're lucky at least some of your commute could be traffic free. Go for it- if it doesn't work out you can always get a vehicle later. I salute you

[Manks]

I would say it's definitely possible in Wellington but it entirely depends on your lifestyle. For our first two months here, we lived in a central apartment so we had no (free) parking and went without a car. Like Tigerlilly, we rented a car for weekends when we wanted, and walked pretty much everywhere.

At weekends we occasionally ventured out to the Wairarapa on the train, or on buses to check out suburbs we might want to live in. But overall, we missed the freedom and flexibility a car gives you.

We now live in a suburb that has great bus links into town, except we live at the top of a hill which is served by a bus route that is purely for commuters (weekedays and only runs into town in the morning and out of town in the evening). I couldn't dream of cycling right now, but we also have motorbikes as awell as a car, which is a much easier way to get around the city (and park!).

But ultimately, yes you can live in Wellington quite easily without a car. It just depends on where you live and how much freedom you want/need.