Hi, we live in the Browns Bay / Northcross area and it is very nice around here. There are some excellent facilities, both in Browns Bay and at the Albany Centre; a bit further down SH1 and you have Wairau park - good for buying electrical goods, BBQs, furniture, cars etc.
Beaches here are lovely and there are some lovely views out over Rangitoto and the Hauraki gulf.
I posted some pics a while ago on
www.fotki.com/DT123, they just show what the general area is like and there are some shots of the rush hour traffic, which seems to something a lot of people ask about.
Here's a pic of the shops at Browns Bay
[img:1226700b64]http://images8.fotki.com/v140/free/07604/4/438130/1543895/IMG_0625-vi.jpg[/img:1226700b64]