Wellington and where to live?

[Rabbit]

During our short visit to Wellington we looked at a few areas:

Khandalla, Wadestown, Eastbourne, Whitby, Island Bay etc.

We also looked in the Kapiti area – a bit far for a daily commute.

I suppose Khandalla and Eastbourne seemed the most suitable for us.

However, I did feel that many of the suburbs are a bit too built up for us and many of the sections are sub-divided and the houses are (in my mind) often too close together.

Many of the section sizes seem to be about 600m and I would like a minimum of 1000, or perhaps an acre.

Are there any other areas that people think might be a nice quiet place to live, with a reasonable commute into Wellington, without being too built-up?

I received my visa today, so I will probably fly-out sometime next week.

All thoughts, ideas, views and opinions greatly appreciated.

The wife is not too keen on the wind so I need to consider that also.

Rabbit.

[jess]

Hi Rabbit. There's a nice big thread on Wellington suburbs here.

There have been quite a few posts about the small lots in NZ. I have only been on one trip there so far, but we spent our time doing almost nothing but checking out suburbs, and I thought Silverstream and Belmont had some larger yards than other places. But not on the beach like Eastnourne of course.

Others who live there can offer better advice, but the thread above helped me a lot when we were first figuring out where to look.

J

[Rabbit]

Thanks for your help Jess, looks like there will be a few of us all arriving at the same time.

I read somewhere there are something like 87 suburbs in Wellington - a challenge to see them all.

[Avalon]

Rabbit -

My no. 1 piece of advise: Take your time and get to know all of Wellington - especially if you are buying. Talk to people who have been here years - and get the gossip (for want of a better description) about each area. It can avoid costly mistakes.

Its not so important for renting - as you are fixed - but I really am infinitly glad that we took the time to discover the area before we took the plunge.

Regarding Eastbourne - it really is very overpriced. 2 things which are important to know so you dont get ripped off - firstly - Landslides are becoming more common. One has had recnetly been demolished at days bay because of this. From what I understand - its due to too much building on land that isnt strong enough to take the load.

Secondly - any houses on the Left Hand saide of a bay (imaging you are looking at the Eastborne coast from Wellington) - lose the sun early in the afternoon - and wont get any at all in winter. You will have a lovely view - and you will lose your toes to frostbite

Id still love to live there - but we decided that for us it just wasnt worth the money we were being asked to part with. Obviously that may be a different kettle of fish for you - because its so personal, but thast just our thoughts.

HTH

[Rabbit]

Hi Avalon

thanks for your words of wisdom as ever, I was unaware of the landslide problem in Eastbourne, and ideally, I would like to live on a flat bit of ground. We do not want a pole house or anything built on stilts.

I do plan to rent for a while, but I thought it would be an idea to try and rent something that might meet my target 'buy' specification, so I can learn all the in's and outs upfront, perhaps from my 'rental mistake?'

The challenge of understanding the wind and sun dynamics in Wellington seems daunting - I will certainly take some knowledgeable person along with me to help in the decision making. I will probably need to visit a house several times at different times of the day, just to get a feel for the wind and sun issues.

[sizzlingbadger]

If you're looking for that kind of space Rabbit have a look at the Wairarapa. Okay it is an hours minimum commute by train but it's still, at present, good value for money.

If you've got a big pot of money have a look at Whitemans Valley in Upper Hutt and Akatarawa, both a bit awkward for commuting but probably somewhere were you'll get the land that you want.

We found it impossible to get what we wanted in Wellington so ended up over the hill in the Wairarapa. We wanted a 4 bed decent size property with 1000 sq metres of land or more. Every house we viewed one or the other was compromised. If you end up looking in Upper Hutt take care looking at houses in Pinehave and Silverstream. Houses in Pinehaven have very little sun during winter and you need to be on 'the right side of the road'. We viewed quite a few around there but found the ones on the right side of the road went fast and for a lot more money than those on the wrong side.

As Avalon says watch carefully where the sun is. It lays very low in the winter and very high in the summer. We found that our rental lost the during the middle of the day and became really cold, we're certainly glad we hadn't bought it as in summer we wouldn't have had any sun in.

[G&K]

As a very basic guide to the weather here in Wellington - the wind generaly blows from the North or the South.
Southerly's are cold and Northerly's not so.
Northerly's are mofre frequent than Southerly's by about 8-2 (guestimate)
Sun rises East and Sets West (duh!) But facing North.
I.E Northwesterly facing garden will get the most sun

Try putting all that lot on a flat section 800sq m+ in a nice suburb - not too far from the CBD and you got yerself the perfect section !

Now for the house - welcome to the fun of living in Wellington

Good luck !

[jess]

Thanks guys! Like Rabbit I will soon be looking to rent a house, and this is all great information!

J

[xanctus]

Anybody know a website that can offer a glimpse of how these areas that you guys talk about located?
I have read the other thread which is good thread indeed, however I am a bit lost...I got only couple areas. I have been to Welli last August, but it was a short trip and we didn't have the chance to take a look.

[miep]

I live in Eastbourne and as Avalon said houses are v expensive to buy. However renting there seems to be relatively cheap, so definately worth looking at renting there for a while and using that time to figure out how the sun and wind works. There are a lot of microclimates and Eastbourne is defo warmer in winter than anywhere in Upper Hutt for example.
Landslides seem to happen everywhere where its hilly, there were a lot of them in the Belmont region of Lower Hutt and in hilly parts of the city at the same time the couple in Eastbourne happened. It took us 2 days to clear the road, good bit of excercise!
I use the ferry to get to work, its a great way to travel and no issues with traffic jams or parking, but it does get a bit rough sometimes. (like this morning!)