Where to Live in Auckland Area?

[UktoKiwi]

Be really nice to get some sensible advice and input from some people in NZ.

We have recently been granted PR status and expect to move to NZ about Easter time 2006.

We are a family of Dad, Mum, 3yr old and new born.

Work wise we are able to live anywhere.
BUT WE WILL EXPECT TO BE IN THE AUCKLAND AREA FOR SURE due to not being able to have too much culture shock moving from a large city as well as numerous other reasons such as travelling from NZ, people visiting, the reasonable climate etc..

SO WHERE IN AUCKLAND AREA?

We are fortunate enough to be able to afford a high value house if required.
We might consider renting a place for some time and getting a new house built if we cannot find the right house.

WE DO NOT WANT:-
To be too close to the Sea (although close to river or canals/estuary for canoeing etc could be great)
To be too remote as the wife is used to people and neighbours to some degree.

WHAT WOULD BE NICE ALTHOUGH WE REALISE THAT WE CANNOT HAVE EVERYTHING:-
To have a house which could be a family house for the rest of our lives.
In a good zone area for schools (schools good for sports would be nice)
For much of the plot to be reasonably level enabling good use of gardens for sports etc..
If within walking distance of good food supplies, food markets or good supermarket great (we are not lovers of cars and prefer not to use one too often, and we do love to be able to shop almost every day if we can for fresh provisions)
Close to large Mall would also be convenient.
Nice to have a view with mountains or hills if possible (seeing the sea is ok also)
Could be nice to be part of a semi private estate or estate which had some recreational facilities such as sports/gym/health club/golf etc.. Any special developments like this in NZ or Auckland area?
Place which is low on crime and good on security.
Close to places good for walking and cycling (nice if pavements to leave property so not having to walk on roadway etc.)
Little pollution (dirt and noise)
We would want at least 4 bedrooms, good size room for office and would be great to have separate or annexe accommodation for visitors)

Hope what I wrote not too long.
Thanks for reading

[Smiler]

Hi UK


Have you seen Ivy's thread on Wattle Cove, it's here, www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3456

Ivy is an absolute mine of info and the pics are fab. May give you some idea of what you get for your pennies.

Good luck.

Deborah

[gil]

Hi UKtoKiwi,
We're not in NZ yet, but seem to have similar criteria for living. Done lots of web research and thought the following links may be of help:

Schools:
http://www.cocklebay.school.nz/ , http://www.howickcollege.school.nz/ (high school, but fed by Cockle Bay Primary), http://www.bbps.school.nz/ (Bucklands Beach Primary) http://www.macleans.school.nz/ (fed by Bucklands Beach). All these schools are extremely helpful if you contact them. On Cockle Bay Primary's website, if you go to FAQs, select "is your school zoned" and you'll get a multimap type thing of the streets atht you need to live in to attend the school.
These schools are in the Howick area, see this link for more info http://www.howickvillage.co.nz/index.html
For casting the net wider, http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/index.php is THE place to look. Other people have posted about this site, including (I think) Carol, who teaches in NZ.
Property:
As Smiler mentioned, Singel's posts on Wattle Cove are brilliant. It is in a different part of Auckland, so the above schools wouldn't apply.
Hope that is of use,
Let us know what your research uncovers,
Gil

[jubjub]

I would say east is probably your best bet for quality schools, but to get a house in a good school zone, you do have to pay, MacLeans and Howick seem to have the best school reputation in this area.

The area itself is nice, green, but a little hilly, so not sure you would find your flat section, although you may get flattish! And the shops within walking distance would mostly be a "dairy" the local version of our corner shop, and probably a bakery and a takeaway of some sort. Most supermarkets seem to be a bit away from the houses, which is good for avoiding traffic in residential areas, but not so good if you want to walk to them. A couple of houses I found on a quick search of the Barfoot & Thompson Website that are in a good school catchment area

http://www.barfoot.co.nz/scripts/db....0.2&ref=319873

http://www.barfoot.co.nz/scripts/db....0.2&ref=316729

Of course if you are feeling real rich, you could go for the Auckland Grammar catchment area, that is THE top school, http://www.ags.school.nz/ have no idea what the area is like, but I bet its posh!

[Singel]

Hello UKtoKiwi

If you want to send your children to the gifted-children school, this is the place to live : www.rwmanurewa.co.nz/show?rd=1&ref=MAN11278
Information about gifted children in NZ : www.giftedchildren.org.nz

The houses in The Gardens are 0-3 years old and situated next to the Regional Botanic Gardens :


The gifted-children school is new, started this year : http://www.alfristoncollege.school.nz/main.cfm?id=61
http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/disp...school_id=6929

[gil]

I just checked out Auckland Grammar and found that it's boys only. Shame, as we have 3 girls and 1 boy!
Still, it looks great, thanks for the link,
Gil

[kiwidebs]

Gil - check out Epsom Girls Grammer and Auckland Girls Grammer - EGGS is a fantastic school and I think their catchment area is similar to Auckland Boys. People pay a huge premium to live in this area though. If you can afford it (to live in zone - the schools are state schools) then I'd go for it!

Debs

[gil]

Thanks Debs, EGGS looks really good, so I've starting browsing properties aound there. For whatever reason, I am very drawn to the Howick region, but till we get there, we can't tell.
Thanks for the advice,
Gil

[kiwidebs]

Funnily enough Gil, we've started looking fairly seriously at Howick and Bucklands Beach. There are three decile 10 high schools in the area - Howick College, Pakuranga College and (best of them all) Macleans College. There also seems to be lots of good shopping, cafes, beaches, close to the city but not right in there. It ticks alot of boxes for us.

Debs

[jubjub]

We live just down the road from Howick, its a pretty place, has its own high street with boutique kind of shops, cafes & restaurants (tried a couple and they were good). also close access to beaches, some streets have fab views over the bay. there is also historic village of Howick nearby along with an excellent sports centre/swimming pool (free swimming) and lots of different sports clubs/activities around.

As we dont need schools for around the next 3-4 years we did not move over that side of the road as it was a bit too pricey for us, but our two local first schools have a reasonable decile anyway.

You are also not far from Botany town centre which has just about everything else that you could need.