# Got a job offer, recommended area to live



## lousy.engineer

Hi, I just got a job offer and the job is in Ngauranga, Wellington.

Do any forum members here have any recommendation on a reasonably nice and affordable (somewhere between $300-400 rental/wk) area to stay (or bad areas to avoid) for a family of three (one spouse and a 9-months old baby)?

I looked at Google map and one of the nearby areas would be Khandallah but rental seems expensive from my survey at Trademe.

I hope to stay near the working place temporarily so that I don't have to commute to far from the place I live.


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## escapedtonz

Hi,

So Ngauranga is purely industrial. It is mainly known as the place where State Highway 1 (part of Wellington's motorway) splits away at sea level, heads up the Ngauranga Gorge and rises hundreds of metres to get up to Newlands.
Yes Khandallah is a really nice area and expensive.
Other choices you have close by are Johnsonville, Newlands, Tawa, Glenside, Churton Park, Grenada North, Ngaio, Wadestown, Wilton, Crofton Downs. 
You could even go as far out as Aotea, Whitby and Cambourne heading North or maybe even Karori heading South and still have a pretty decent commute of half an hour depending on the time you leave for work.
The further out of Wellington you go the lower the rent will become. It is pretty pricey all over as the demand is there for it. We lived there 2.5 years and lived in Woburn, Lower Hutt, Churton Park and Tawa and the cheapest rent we got whilst being in a nice place for a 3 bed was $550 a week.

As for bad areas of the Northern suburbs, it's all pretty much decent near to where you will be working apart from tiny little pockets in each of the areas.


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## lousy.engineer

Thanks escapedtonz for the suggestions.

I read elsewhere that some ppl actually lives in Kapiti Coast, especially Paraparaumu area and commute daily to Wellington for work since the rental and property price over there is lower and the place is also near the beach. 

I looked at the map and it seems to take about 40 mins to travel via State Highway 1 (without traffic), which sounds like a reasonable amount of time (?)

Do you think this is a good option?


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## escapedtonz

lousy.engineer said:


> Thanks escapedtonz for the suggestions.
> 
> I read elsewhere that some ppl actually lives in Kapiti Coast, especially Paraparaumu area and commute daily to Wellington for work since the rental and property price over there is lower and the place is also near the beach.
> 
> I looked at the map and it seems to take about 40 mins to travel via State Highway 1 (without traffic), which sounds like a reasonable amount of time (?)
> 
> Do you think this is a good option?


Yes they do and by road or train. We considered it and in my eyes a good option. 
The car probably 45 minutes, the train 1hr.
SH1 out of Wellington is pretty good until you get to Mana as it then becomes a 50 zone until you get to the roundabout for Plimmerton Garden Centre where it becomes 100 again until Pukerua Bay then goes back to single carriageway and a lower speed limit until you get to the Northern side of Paekakariki. That section for both road and rail is the constraining part of any commute as there isn't really an alternative.
There is a new road being constructed called Transmission Gully which will bypass all of this and make SH1 dual carriageway all the way from the North of Param to Wellington. Due to be completed by 2020.

Transmission Gully | NZ Transport Agency

Pukerua Bay is a nice little village on the hill with a few shops and of course the train station and although not official it marks the start of the Kapiti Coast.
Paekakariki is much the same but virtually at sea level and a little bigger than Pukerua Bay with a few more shops. We really liked both Raumati South and Raumati Beach as places to live. Raumati Beach more than South as there's some decent shops and a few bars and restaurants plus the local park is awesome for the kids with splash pad and a small gauge railway. 
The beach itself runs all the way up the Kapiti. It isn't a sunbathing beach in my opinion. More for walking the dog and the kids having a run around as it is very windswept. You can get some decent days on there where you may be able to have a swim but in general the West coast of NZ (Tasman Sea) is rough and cold. You'll find many deposits of driftwood etc on the beach. We've been on there many times and given up because of the wind and the waves constantly pushing you North. Beautiful for a walk or even a drive but anything else not often.
Paraparaumu (Param for short, or Pram as the locals call it ) is the biggest town on the Kapiti with a small airport for domestic flights and lots of residential areas with a small shopping centre and supermarkets etc. We looked at buying in the Nikau Valley which is nice but we decided not to risk it since the new road will pass through part of it.
At the moment I wouldn't go any further North, however places like Waikanae and maybe even Te Horo/Otaki will become commutable once the Wellington Northern Corridor opens ?
Property prices and rental prices will rise all the way up the Kapiti when that road is due to be completed. 
You've also got to consider how often you'll be travelling in to Wellington. If it's only twice a weekday for work then fine, but any more so for example for leisure or sports or shopping yada yada you'll get sick of the travelling. If you're happy to steer clear of Wellington unless you are working and stick to the Kapiti (which is doable) then you'll be fine.


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## lousy.engineer

escapedtonz, thanks for the wealth of information here. It was really helpful.

Recommended areas aside, I was wanting to ask if it's possible for my spouse and son to enter NZ separately for the first time or do they have to enter together with me because they're my dependent. 

Most likely I'm just getting a work visa (because this is a quicker route). 

Do you think it's wise for the whole family to enter together if possible? 

I asked because we have a 8 months old infant with us and we have never been to NZ before, so I expect a lot of "bumbling" around , getting to know the place; so I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do with an infant.

I was thinking of settling down in NZ for few months before asking them to come over.


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## escapedtonz

lousy.engineer said:


> escapedtonz, thanks for the wealth of information here. It was really helpful.
> 
> Recommended areas aside, I was wanting to ask if it's possible for my spouse and son to enter NZ separately for the first time or do they have to enter together with me because they're my dependent.
> 
> Most likely I'm just getting a work visa (because this is a quicker route).
> 
> Do you think it's wise for the whole family to enter together if possible?
> 
> I asked because we have a 8 months old infant with us and we have never been to NZ before, so I expect a lot of "bumbling" around , getting to know the place; so I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do with an infant.
> 
> I was thinking of settling down in NZ for few months before asking them to come over.


Shouldn't make any difference whether you are on a Resident Visa or a temporary work visa, all persons will have their own individual visas so should be able to travel separately.
It does happen quite often that the main or principal applicant travels months ahead of the rest of the family to start the job and find a place to stay etc.

There are advantages and disadvantages of both scenario's where you travel alone or all travel together.
Travelling alone is much easier as you only have to worry and look after yourself. You can live almost anywhere on arrival without having to worry if it's safe enough for the kids etc etc. In these cases many people share a house or flat or basically live with a colleague etc for the first few months and use their off work time to get their bearings, maybe find a car or research transport and look at places for the whole family to live without the pressure of having the family with you.
On the other hand coming together means you all share the experience but you'll have the added pressure to find a place to stay for everyone in a safe place. You can't just stay anywhere when you are a family unit.
We all came together and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
We arranged a place to live for the family for 2 months which was in a really nice safe area, fully furnished with all heating, power, water, sky tv included in the price.
We arranged bank accounts before we arrived. We got NZ SIM cards for our phones before we arrived. We did as much as we could to alleviate the stress of first arrival.
Our boy was 13 months the day we arrived.


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## lousy.engineer

Thanks for the reply! 

You mentioned you have a 13-months old boy when you arrived. 

Do you have any vaccinations on the boy that you didn't manage to complete in UK, but will need to continue in NZ?

Over here in Malaysia, we have a list of immunization jabs that our kid needs to go through (flu jab is one of the immunization planned ). 

I was wondering whether I could go to NZ's general hospital to complete the jabs for my boy.



escapedtonz said:


> Shouldn't make any difference whether you are on a Resident Visa or a temporary work visa, all persons will have their own individual visas so should be able to travel separately.
> It does happen quite often that the main or principal applicant travels months ahead of the rest of the family to start the job and find a place to stay etc.
> 
> There are advantages and disadvantages of both scenario's where you travel alone or all travel together.
> Travelling alone is much easier as you only have to worry and look after yourself. You can live almost anywhere on arrival without having to worry if it's safe enough for the kids etc etc. In these cases many people share a house or flat or basically live with a colleague etc for the first few months and use their off work time to get their bearings, maybe find a car or research transport and look at places for the whole family to live without the pressure of having the family with you.
> On the other hand coming together means you all share the experience but you'll have the added pressure to find a place to stay for everyone in a safe place. You can't just stay anywhere when you are a family unit.
> We all came together and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
> We arranged a place to live for the family for 2 months which was in a really nice safe area, fully furnished with all heating, power, water, sky tv included in the price.
> We arranged bank accounts before we arrived. We got NZ SIM cards for our phones before we arrived. We did as much as we could to alleviate the stress of first arrival.
> Our boy was 13 months the day we arrived.


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## escapedtonz

lousy.engineer said:


> Thanks for the reply!
> 
> You mentioned you have a 13-months old boy when you arrived.
> 
> Do you have any vaccinations on the boy that you didn't manage to complete in UK, but will need to continue in NZ?
> 
> Over here in Malaysia, we have a list of immunization jabs that our kid needs to go through (flu jab is one of the immunization planned ).
> 
> I was wondering whether I could go to NZ's general hospital to complete the jabs for my boy.


He didn't have any overdue vaccinations from the UK, so when we arrived he slotted in to the NZ system and continued with the NZ system recommendations as they came due. There was a difference though so my Mrs had to do some research until she was happy with all the vaccinations he was due.
You don't go the hospital for vaccinations. You have these done at your local GP's. You'll need to register then following your new patient medicals you will be given all the necessary details and recommendations for vaccines. The practise nurse will administer vaccinations as and when they are due. 
You may find that your local GP does a lot more than expected - vaccines, minor surgery etc.
You would only visit a hospital in an emergency situation OR if your GP was closed and you needed to be seen OR you were unable to attend a 24hr centre OR if you had been referred to see a specialist by your GP as a hospital outpatient.


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## johnlee22

nice


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## lousy.engineer

Hey escapetonz,

I thought I want to update this thread- I have finally gotten my work visa! 

I'm getting giddy now that I need to land in Wellington, alone, and during the peak travelling season! Air ticket is expensive. 

We have made the decision not to have spouse and child coming together in the first trip.

I was wondering if taxi is a good way to travel in between work place and temporary rental in Wellington.

Would it be too expensive to schedule a taxi to fetch me back and forth between work place and temporary stay for at least a week?

Anyway, when you first arrived, how do you get around (i.e. going to your office)?


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## escapedtonz

lousy.engineer said:


> Hey escapetonz,
> 
> I thought I want to update this thread- I have finally gotten my work visa!
> 
> I'm getting giddy now that I need to land in Wellington, alone, and during the peak travelling season! Air ticket is expensive.
> 
> We have made the decision not to have spouse and child coming together in the first trip.
> 
> I was wondering if taxi is a good way to travel in between work place and temporary rental in Wellington.
> 
> Would it be too expensive to schedule a taxi to fetch me back and forth between work place and temporary stay for at least a week?
> 
> Anyway, when you first arrived, how do you get around (i.e. going to your office)?


Hi lousy.engineer,

First of all - congratulations 

Yes mid December to end of January is very much Kiwi holiday time as it's the school 7 week summer break so everything touristy from tent pitches to hotels to airplane travel is top dollar and very very busy.

There are many many taxis in Wellington but I would expect it'll cost you a fair amount of cash running you to and from work. I think the basic cost is around $3 as soon as you get in a Wellington taxi and then maybe $1.30 per KM after that. If you go to or from the airport there's a $7 surcharge. Just a couple of examples .....
Airport to Wellington CBD anything from $40 to $55 depending on the traffic.
Wellington CBD to Whitby $100/$110. Google those places and do the navigation thing on Google to appreciate how many KM's those journeys are which help you work out how much a taxi will cost you to and from the office. They aren't cheap that's for sure.
No matter where you are living you'll always have the option of the bus. Bus services all over Wellington are pretty good. If you are close to the city there is also an electric trambus service. If you are living in any of the Northern suburbs so from Karori all the way up to the Kapiti Coast or anywhere up the Hutt Valley then you also have the option of a train service which I can recommend. The trains are pretty new and very comfortable.

When we arrived my new employer gave us a rental car to use for 2 weeks but when I started work I left that at home for the Mrs and since our fully furnished rental was only a 10 minute walk from the Woburn train station in Lower Hutt City I used the train to and from work every day. Pretty good prices. I think it was around $5 return which funnily enough was the same price as the bus. You save even more by purchasing a weekly or 10 trip ticket. For even better savings you can opt for a monthly or annual pass.
I then bought a car after a month so used that as I had a parking space at work I could use.
Parking in the CBD is expensive. You'll find it's around $10-$14 a day to park outside of the city limits with a 15/20 mins brisk walk. Parking in the CBD is maybe $25 a day ?


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## lousy.engineer

Hey escapetonz,

Some updates from my side here.

Finally arrived in Wellington on Christmas day itself, lols.

It's almost a dead city here due to holiday season.

I have booked a Supershuttle taxi , cost about $38 (very cheap!)

They drove me to a temporary home (it's just a room) near Khandallah that I have booked via AirBnB, cost about $30 per night!

And yesterday I just bought a dirt cheap car with latest WOF for $1k at Trademe, pretty good deal.

And tomorrow I'll be reporting to work


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