Hamilton - opinions

[Gilly1973]

Many thanks for the reply Jeany. I think the beaches of Auckland were initially attracting me, but as stated I like the country, rivers and as you say it is centrally located for travelling to numerous other parts of the island.

Just waiting for the visas to be approved.

Cheers

[willowshouse]

I hope this isn't hijacking toooo much but I'm sure it would be relevant for anyone thinking of moving to the Hamilton area...

I am looking to buy an investment property (probably a 3 bed house) and Hamilton seems to be a good area to consider.

Is there anybody renting in/around Hamilton .. was it easy to find your rental? What is the quality like? Which areas do you like and which ones should I not bother with?

Any help gratefully appreciated.....

Dawn

[Jeany]

Hi there,

I just got a rental place for my parents who will be in Hamilton for another 6 months or so. It was difficult to find decent rental when we first moved down from Auckland, but that was 3 years ago, early 2004. Since the property boom in the past years, more rental places are available now, with many 3-4 bedrooms at very reseanable prices. The place I got for my parents is 2brm unit with own garage and big backyard, minutes walk from Westfield shopping centre and library etc in Chartwell, which is a very popular rental area. Also on bus route. Most of the rentals we saw recently while looking for them (didn't take long to find the right one) are in good condition, well maintained and in good safe location. Of course, always depends on how much you prepare to pay. The popular area for rental is Chartwell, Hillcrest (where the Uni is), and the Lake area (Where the hospital is and very close to CBD). Also some young families like the new area up North, with modern homes and low maintainance, still handy to the new shopping centres. Hamilton traffic is good, so nothing is too far from town. Personally I won't go for Frankton, it's central and cheap, but got some shabby houses and unattractive neighbourhood.

[Oliver]

Happy to hear that you managed to find something decent so quickly. I'm moving to Hamilton in May. I'll only find accommodation whilst there, as I'll be staying in a motel for the first couple of weeks. I'll be working at the uni, but I'm not keen on limiting myself to Hillcrest. The areas up north seem modern and low maintenance and very similar to the type of accommodation that I'm used to in South Africa. I'm on my own, and I'm not bringing any furnture down with me (not yet anyway), so I'll be looking for furnished accommodation. At the moment, I'm seriously considering going for a furnished studio apartment. They seem to offer good value for money. I'm looking to spend about $ 350-400 a week.

[KerryS]

Happy to hear that you managed to find something decent so quickly. I'm moving to Hamilton in May. I'll only find accommodation whilst there, as I'll be staying in a motel for the first couple of weeks. I'll be working at the uni, but I'm not keen on limiting myself to Hillcrest. The areas up north seem modern and low maintenance and very similar to the type of accommodation that I'm used to in South Africa. I'm on my own, and I'm not bringing any furnture down with me (not yet anyway), so I'll be looking for furnished accommodation. At the moment, I'm seriously considering going for a furnished studio apartment. They seem to offer good value for money. I'm looking to spend about $ 350-400 a week.

I personally hate the northern suburbs - the houses are all on top of one another, and there is no real character. It's probably because they are all new and need to establish, but I much prefer other parts of the town.
Your budget is pretty generous for a Hamilton rent for one person - you could get quite a sizeable property for that price.

[willowshouse]

Anyone got a comment on the Fairfield and Enderley area??

Coming to Hamilton tommorrow for a look-see...

[willowshouse]

Hmm .. just found this, might have answered my own question

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Postal_s...n,_New_Zealand

[Klipa]

Just wondering if there are any areas b/w Hamilton and Raglan for rural living. I may have a decent work opportunity in Hamilton but we want to be accessible to surf. If we weren't right in Raglan, is there an area sort of halfway b/w that would be suitable for rural living?

Just can't seem to find out the layout of surrounding areas of Hamilton...or if there are any?

[Kim39]

Just wondering if there are any areas b/w Hamilton and Raglan for rural living. I may have a decent work opportunity in Hamilton but we want to be accessible to surf. If we weren't right in Raglan, is there an area sort of halfway b/w that would be suitable for rural living?

Just can't seem to find out the layout of surrounding areas of Hamilton...or if there are any?

No actually area's as such between Hamilton and Raglan except for Whatawhata-mainly maori, but there's the odd development area's with a few house's on though. Its a case of taking a drive between the places to get the feel. Where we are in TA www.teawamutu.co.nz and its only a 45min drive to Raglan so pretty handy to the surf.

Kim

[Keith C.]

I'm curious about the best way to find a rental property, particularly via long distance. Ideally, I think a web site with pictures and descriptive text would be nice. Thus far, I haven't found a good one. Do people generally search ads in the local paper, drive around neighborhoods they like, or something else? I'm trying to get a feel for what one gets for his money.

I'm also curious about why some people seem to dislike Hamilton. The pictures I've seen make it look pleasant enough. I've certainly seen uglier places here in the States. (Houston comes to mind.) I realize that the pictures I'm looking at are generally showing the nicest parts of Hamilton.

Does Hamilton suffer from what many cities and towns in the US do - "big box" strip malls? Around here, there are many shopping areas where there are box shaped building with little aesthetic appeal. They generally house national chain stores and restaurants like WalMart, BestBuy, Chile's, etc. Many consider them a blight on the landscape.