# Auckland -schools / suburbs etc



## ozroses01 (May 20, 2008)

We are investigating a move to Auckland in October with our girls (aged 8 and 3). We are looking at The Kristin School (advice or alternatives sort) as we ideally want an international style school. Is it feasible to live in Devonport or Herne Bay or Remuera (or similar) and drive to Albany or is the traffic horrid? Hubby will be working in CBD Warf area, is the ferry to Devonport easy to use or how long would the drive to Devonport take by car in peak hour traffic?
Is Realestate.co.nz the only mass rental site to check and/or do I need to look at individual agent sites for rentals? Thanks in advance.


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## Liam(at)Large (Sep 2, 2012)

I wouldn't want to drive Devonport to Albany everyday. There's only one road in and out of Devonport and, frankly, it sucks for traffic.

Ferry is great, nice way to commute. Drive from Devonport to Northern Mortorway in peak traffic could take 30-40 minutes. Then about 10-15 over the bridge to CBD.


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## anski (Aug 17, 2008)

ozroses01 said:


> We are investigating a move to Auckland in October with our girls (aged 8 and 3). We are looking at The Kristin School (advice or alternatives sort) as we ideally want an international style school. Is it feasible to live in Devonport or Herne Bay or Remuera (or similar) and drive to Albany or is the traffic horrid? Hubby will be working in CBD Warf area, is the ferry to Devonport easy to use or how long would the drive to Devonport take by car in peak hour traffic?
> Is Realestate.co.nz the only mass rental site to check and/or do I need to look at individual agent sites for rentals? Thanks in advance.


If you are certain you want to commute to Kristen School or CBD then I would consider living in or around Albany or along the Bays, Castor Bay, Mairangi Bay etc. There is a bus service to the city which is faster than commuting by car because there are express bus lanes. You do not want to drive from the North over the harbour bridge to & from the city, it is terrible.

Or find a school in the Devonport area. Good schools in Remuera or Kohimarama Primary. I'm biased about Eastern Bays lived in Mission Bay for 12 years & it's heaven on a stick if you have to live in Auckland.

For rentals look on Trademe most real estate & private rentals are listed on Trademe & Realestate


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## Liam(at)Large (Sep 2, 2012)

anski said:


> If you are certain you want to commute to Kristen School or CBD then I would consider living in or around Albany or along the Bays, Castor Bay, Mairangi Bay etc. There is a bus service to the city which is faster than commuting by car because there are express bus lanes. *You do not want to drive from the North over the harbour bridge to & from the city, it is terrible.*


Terrible is a bit harsh, I did it on and off for 6 months. It's bad for NZ; having commuted in Toronto, NY, London and Paris, it's actually pretty tame (I know GTAers who commute 3 hours each way in bad weather in TO). That said, plenty of people from the Shore time shift for work and avoid the chaos (you can cruise over easy just after 6pm). On the other hand, if you are near or can get to Albany, Constellation, Sunnynook, Smales Farm or Akoranga Stations, the Northern Express is excellent.


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## ozroses01 (May 20, 2008)

Thanks so much everyone - your replies are most helpful.


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