Areas north of Christchurch

nickydwuk · #1 (**permalink**) 28-10-2007, 02:36 AM

I know there have been many threads regarding good/bad areas around Christchurch and I am about to start another one.

We have been looking at lifestyle properties in the Canterbury area and have seen a few listed in areas north of Christchurch - in particular Balcairn, Amberley, Sefton etc... Does anyone live near here or know anything of the area? and how long would it take to comute to Christchurch?

KiwiHopeful · #2 (**permalink**) 28-10-2007, 08:35 AM

I've been through them, going up Route 1, and have visited Amberley beach as well.

They are what we in the US would call 'one horse towns.' Blink and you miss 'em. If I recall correctly, Amberley and Woodend (to the south) have little downtown areas and grocery stores. I don't believe there's much of anything in Sefton or Balcairn. Of course, they're not far from Rangiora or Kaiapoi for shopping.

As for the time it would take to Chch, you're looking at closer to an hour. I haven't driven it at what passes for rush hour here, but I've been stuck at a couple of the key roundabouts for 10 minutes at mid-day during mid-week, so it may take even longer.

That said, I wouldn't count out those locations as viable options. Again, it's going to depend on where in Chch you (or the OH) would be commuting too and how much time in the car can be tolerated.

kokopeli · #3 (**permalink**) 31-10-2007, 01:32 PM

Great waves for surfing and body boarding at Amberley. The beach is mainly pebble, but turns to sand just below the high water line. There's a petrol station and a sports domain with tennis courts, pitches for rugby and cricket and a play area for the kids. It's a great place for day on the beach or more relaxed lifestyle. And it's north of the Pegasus Town development, so you'd have to brave SH1 into town....

There are some nice 'One Horse Towns' along that stretch of Canterbury Coast though. Place like Leithfield and Hurunui. I really like Cheviot, which is a bit further north. The main street has got a scattering of shops, boutiques and cafes. As a town, it's got most of the amenities and the school let me use their fax machine when we were passing through during our travels in the campervan. And houses are cheap.

Have you looked a bit further inland? North of the Waimak will take you to places like Oxford. The south bank gives you Kirwee, Darfield and Sheffield. Prices tend to be a bit cheaper the further in you go, especially for lifestyle blocks. And there tends to be less traffic heading into Chch compared to SH1 north.

KiwiHopeful · #4 (**permalink**) 31-10-2007, 04:28 PM

Koko raises a good point about Pegasus Town. When it's completed (or should I say if) it's probably going to add a lot of traffic on SH1. Not a problem if you're not doing a daily commute into Chch, but if you are ...

kokopeli · #5 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 03:57 PM

A friend of mine supplies tools and stuff to the contractors at Pegasus Town. He reckons they 'lost' a huge mechanical digger when it sank into the soft ground. Apparently, they can't get enough purchase to break the suction and pull it out.

johnty · #6 (**permalink**) 04-11-2007, 09:12 PM

perfect timing
today we were looking at houses in sefton ashley,loburn ect.
alot is said about the amount of traffic coming in from the south to town,but and it is only my view .i travel in from rangiora as my firm is based there i have travelled in at 7 to 11 and every time in between and have never stopped for more than a few seconds there is traffic and it is bad for kiwis and soon enougth i will probably moan about it too ,but a work mate of mine is from rolleston and i sometimes start the day from his side of town and find it much worse coming in because that side on the edge of town is much more industrilisied(if there is such a word)
another sometimes negitive thing that is said about north canterbury is the amount of poms (mostly said by other poms)someone once quoted about 30% in some areas (i dont think there was that many where i lived in england)but they are like minded hence wanting the same life as you and can be quite helpfull with the process.
a welsh lad from work has been fab for us (imagine his discust being called a pom)

we are staying in a batch at the mo which dose not have a phone line so not getting much chance to post,although it dose allow our dogs and has a great forest behind us then the beach.
hope to be more help when we find somwhere more perminant