Christchurch and surrounding area

[KC]

I am doing some research in where we would like to move to when we eventually decide to go for it and push the button to submit our eoi and I recall reading a while ago a thread that listed the best and worst areas to live in and around christchurch (our prefered area) which now I can't find. Does anyone remember this or could you please point me in the right direction, I have tried searching but with no luck: or is there anyone that could advise me.

Thanks
Kellie

[MotherBear]

Moggy had a bit of useful info about areas around Christchurch.

Kokopeli's down that way as well.

[moggy]

There are no real bad areas to chch, not bad as in like some of the towns in the UK where they are a no go area on foot after dark.

It would probably be easier for you to say what you are looking for in an area the sort of house proce you need and then suggest ones that would be to your liking.

for example St Andrews Hill - posh area, known as Mortgage Hill (cos you need a huge to to live there), nice views but the sections are so steep as to be almost vertical in places - no good if you want a nice garden for the kids to play in. It is horses for courses as they say.
We are in the middle of nowhere and many people ask us why we moved here, because there is nothing there, because there is nothing there is our reply. No neighbours, no noise, no pollution, just miles of open land and a beach that is pretty well our own private one. But to many it would be their idea of hell, no takeaways, no shops, etc etc

[KC]

Thank you both for your replies,

Its very nice to hear there isnt any really bad parts. I think we would be very similar, ideally would like to be out of town with a bit of land (we have motorbikes and wouldnt want to upset anyone!!) and we both like to idea of being in the middle of nowhere.

We are still working out the money side of things as O/H doesnt want to sell the house in the UK yet, just in case.

At least now I can look around property sites without worrying about areas.

Many Thanks

Kellie

[moggy]

Well in that case I would say look at the areas to the South of Christchurch, huose prices are reasonable and you are easily on the road to Castlehill.

I would think twice about bringing your bikes with you though, unless you have something really special, it probably is not worth the hassle or expense. I can say this because we brought our two SV650SKs out with us and have hardly ridden them since we got here and are planning on selling them next spring. The reason for this is that although the scenery here is fantastic, the roads for biking are pretty boring. Most are straight for miles and miles, then there are those straight gravel roads which I won't touch with a road bike, then if you want to go to the mountains, unless you are going touring you have to come back the same way you went. We are thinking of either getting a quad bike or a small off road bike

Lincoln is a nice town about 15 mins from chch
in fact if you don't want chch itself then all the area shown in this map would suit
Multimap - Maps

You can spot the less nice areas in chch as they are the ones with grafitti and loads of advertising posters stuck to fences.
Be aware that most peope living in chch will not understand a UK persons willingness to commute, it just is beyond their understanding, they will also tend to rubbish the smaller towns around as being backwaters, so take those sort of comments with a pinch of salt

[KC]

Between us we have 5 at the moment. (we wouldnt bring them all if we did decide to bring them) We would like to take them on tracks , but ideally would like off road bikes as well.

Thanks for the tip about south Christchurch, will have a look at the map in
detail. It will give me a starting point to look at property web sites to see what is out there and job avaliability in those areas.

Cheers

K

[moggy]

check out the regulations for importing non road bikes

Remember that if you sell your bike within two years then you are liable for the GST that you didn't pay when you initially imported it.

Another thing to consider is that bringing a bike or two means there is a lot of household stuff that won't fit into your container which you will have to replace when you get here. It is probably not a cost that you have not thought of.

Yes, if I was doing it again I wouldn't bring ours, at first we thought it would be cheaper, but overall it has cost us a lot more than selling and buying here.

If you do decide to bring them, do not pay to have them steam cleaned professionally. Despite what the shippers will tell you a "certificate of cleaning" is worth nothing to MAF because there are no authorised vehicle cleaners in the UK, they could charge you a second time to clean it in NZ, besides you can either buy a cheep steam cleaner for 20GBP from B&Q or just be scrupulous in how you clean it yourself.

[KC]

Thanks Moggy, certainly given me a lot to think about, just need to try and convince O/H to sell his baby here (CBR600RR) before we go.

Its weird how you get attached to them or perhaps its just me?

[duane1x]

We too are looking at the chch area. Moggy (or others) what do you know of Lyttelton and Sumner areas? We'd like a bit of land for gardening and that may not be realistic the way most of the pics I see on RE sites everyone is perched on the hillside. Still we've got to start narrowing the list somewhat - we've kept Nelson and Wellington on for now.

Also we'll be renting - not sure that makes any difference, but it might if there's nothing available or too expensive.

[kokopeli]

Hi Guys,

We live in Halswell, which is about 6 kms south of Chch - far enough out to be peaceful, close enough to get into the CBD in ten minutes or so.

Duane - Lyttelton and Sumner are nice enough, especially on a sunny afternoon with a mochaccino and a cake at a nice coffee shop. You're spot on about the hill thing though. The ground is hard rock, so I don't think either would be my first choice as a gardener. At this time of year, the low sun and big hills mean the houses there only get half a day of sun - whether you get am or pm depends on which side you choose. Housing density is quite high out there, so the sections out there seem to be quite small and the houses tend to have smaller gardens. If you find a house with a big garden in Sumner or Lyttelton, it will probably cost a fortune.

Looking to the south of the city, Halswell and Lincoln have a 'suburban feel' with wider roads, open spaces and slightly lower density housing (bigger plots). This gets less noticeable as you get closer to the city. Cashmere for example, is a nice place, but feels very urban - high density housing, busy roads etc. Some of the smaller places a bit further out feel very 'villagy'. A lot have got a domain (sports ground), shop, petrol station, school etc and are still within easy reach of the city amenities. Tai Tapu for example is about 15km from the CBD and has loads of nice wineries, cafes etc.

KC - if you've got PR and the bikes are newish, I'd bring 'em, especially the CBR. Those sweeping bends and hill roads are crying out for a good scrape with the knee pads. If you haven't got PR, you'll have to pay import duty as well as GST on current value and shipping costs, so it probably won't be worth it. There are a lot of Jap import bikes here and I reckon you'll find something newer and faster for less money! The bikes would have to be crated in the container, so Moggy makes a good point about space. A forty foot container costs a heck of a lot more than a twenty footer. On a practical level, you'll probably get more money if you sell the bikes than you would for your domestic goods and furniture.......