Dunedin with kids - love to hear your experiences!

[Dropbear]

I'm originally from Australia but I married a kiwi and we've been living in Auckland for the past 10 years (with a few stints living elsewhere, but always coming back to Auckland in between). We're thinking more and more about moving to Dunedin for a better lifestyle, more affordable houses, good schools etc etc. We both really like colder climates, so the weather doesn't put us off. My husband went to Otago Uni many years ago, but of course his experience as a student doesn't really set us up with information on moving down there as a family.

We have two wee boys who are currently aged 5 and 3 respectively, so we're going to have to think about areas with good schools.

If anyone else lives, or has lived, in Dunedin with primary school-aged kids, I'd love to hear all about your experiences both good and bad. What area did you live in, what school did your kids attend, what do you think of it all? Any advice or recommendations for us? For housing we'd be looking at a 3-4 bedroom house with a decent back yard attached with a budget of around $400k.

[ralf-nz]

Dont fit the criteria re kids - so just a warm welcome from Dunedin!

[newarrival]

Hello and welcome- I only fit part of the criteria.., but thought I should note some of my thoughts/ experiences.
We lived in Dunedin for 4 years, although not with primary aged children- ours were a bit older, the youngest being 9 1/2 at the time, he started in Intermediate, three oder one in Highschool.
As far as that goes we had very good experiences, and I have to say that we did not research regarding decile of the schools or anything similar. Our daughter had a look at schools online, her criteria was that she wanted to attend a single sex school (after 9 years of co- ed and with three brothers), so she looked at what courses there were and we went from there.
I can only comment on where we lived, I am sure there might be other great areas, too.
Our first rental was up in Green Island Bush Road, which is on the edge of the city, second was in St. Clair, third in Anderson's Bay.
The issue with rentals in Dunedin is that lots of the bigger houses are rented out to students, but I think you should be fine with your price limit.

I am sure that someone else will come along with more relevant advice to your questions!

[Dropbear]

Thanks so much for the responses ralf-nz and newarrival. Great to hear from both of you!

newarrival, when you say you researched schools online and your daughter picked one - does that mean that schools in Dunedin aren't zoned? For example, in Auckland most schools, at all levels, are zoned tightly so that only people living within strictly defined boundaries are guaranteed a place at the school, and everyone else has to apply and hope they get one of the very few 'out of zone' places offered (if there are any offered at all). This drives up real estate prices significantly in the most popular zones. Is it not such a big thing in Dunedin?

[newarrival]

As far as I can remember (and it might have changed in the meantime, we're away from Dunedin four years now), there was no real zoning, no. Dunedin is not that big, and , for example, there is a private, more Christian orientated boys- school, for example, on one end, which I know the son of friends who lived on the other end attended.
We picked the school first and then looked for a place to live (we rented some holiday accommodation first, which happened to be in the same area, and we liked the suburb, so were looking there in the end, anyway).

[dbonnett]

For zoning info, take a look here: http://nzschools.tki.org.nz/ and scroll down to Dunedin City, select it and then click the blue Search button. If you look through the list that will be shown, you can see which schools have an enrolment zone (they have blue pins) and if you hover over the pin for a school (zoom in first) you can will see the zone outlined. That said, just because a school has an enrolment scheme in place does not mean you can't get in from outside, only that they don't automatically accept every child from beyond the zone.

[Polly Doodle]

Hi We're in Dunedin with 3 kids (4,6 and 8). We live in Waverley and the kids go to Grants Braes School, which is great. Teaching, facilities and activities all excellent and everyone at the school has been very friendly and welcoming. There seem to be lots of good primary schools in Dunedin all over the city. Dunedin's a great place for a family and the lifestyle is pretty hard to beat as well (5 min commute to work, great beaches all around).

[pear]

Hi Dropbear, you can use http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n#Dunedin_City to evaluate schools by decile. I recommend Maori Hill School for primary. If you're looking for private, Columba College is a state integrated Presbyterian school that accepts boys and girls for primary. From year 7 onwards it only accepts girls. Kaikorai School is essentially in Roslyn and as such is decile 9 and is a very good option as well.

In terms of where to live, Maori Hill and Roslyn my two picks (and 2/3 of the most obvious). They are both beautiful, well-established areas with greenery and character houses. They are just up the hill from the CBD (teenagers will appreciate the easy walk into town) and close to all the best schools, but don’t have a busy in-town feel. St Clair (the 3/3) is very similar. It's right on the beach (but it's Dunedin so not the 'right on the beach' you'd expect), so further away from the CBD. Belleknowes is next to Roslyn and a lot of it is quite nice too. 400k should find you a relatively nice house in Dunedin in those suburbs.

Areas to avoid at all costs are South Dunedin and Brockville. These are Dunedin's two 'worst' areas. Also be wary houses are actually in the suburbs they say they are. This is particularly important with St Clair. Listings love to claim the surrounding less-desirable areas are St Clair. The easiest way is to always copy and paste the street number, street name followed with Dunedin from the Trade Me listing and Google it without the suburb name. e.g. '123 ABC Street Dunedin'. The first result should be Google Maps and it will tell what suburb it's really in.

Mosgiel is a town/suburb 15 minutes or so away, and can also be popular with young families (and the elderly) but may be too quiet for you, coming from Auckland. Dunedin really is a very small town. Everywhere you live is relatively central. All the major facilities are in the CBD or in the industrial area of Anderson's Bay/South Dunedin e.g. the Warehouse Extra, Mitre 10 MEGA. Everything is within an easy drive. A big bonus for Roslyn/Maori Hill though is the 'Roslyn Village'. It has a relatively new Fresh Choice, a smaller New World, a few very nice cafes, etc.

[david.fluid]

On a side note, what do you both do for jobs?

Highgate / Maori Hill is nice but expensive. Belleknowes can be a good option, while you are looking, check out Wakari as well. There are some well built houses in that area with nice family sized sections.

Thanks

David

[newarrival]

An additional remark re Maori Hill- I have a friend in Dunedin who would never consider moving to Maori Hill, in her opinion it is one of the coldest parts in town.., and yes, she is a local.

Having said that- I don't think that this thread is 'alive' any more.., the questions were all asked last October/ November......