Welly/Porirua area info?

[martybabe]

I'm after a bit of area info please, my friend and his family have just arrived in NZ and they have to live in Porirua because of his job commitments.

The thing is ,I know nothing about the place and neither do they.

Can any one local to there give me any info re dodgy areas to avoid renting , Good schools, infact anything about the place at all.

Obviously they have researched via the interweb but there's nothing like local knowledge. They are particularly concerned about a nice safe area to raise the kiddiwinks, 10 years and 13.

Anything you can tell us would be very much appreciated.

Thanx folks. mb

[Nasty]

we live in Porirua .... so we can ... I will PM you so we can chat.

[Trudes]

Well, Whitby and Porirua are slightly different. I'd live in Whitby, but not Porirua and stay away from Cannibal Creek. Tawa is ok, the more South you can get the better, or even North, like Mana. Sorry, that really wasn't helpful

[Nasty]

Whitby is part of Porirua - it is where i pay rates and I pay lots of them (bugger!!)... so was going to go through all the burbs to go to and avoid over the phone ... cos most don't realise there are some really good areas here. and some of them are quite north of the central Tawa is actually Wellington and quite inaccessible at times to Porirua ... a friends kid lives there and works part time in porirua and finds it difficult to get around.

There are lots sof viables such as where the job is and stuff to take into account ... so while I am not helpful on here talking on the phone might be

[XP@]

Whitby is nice, popular with ex-pomes.
live just up the road from Nasty,
Have teenage kids 1* 11 & 2* 14 is not too bad for them.

Also have a house which is soon for sale, if they are interested???

PM for more info.

[merv]

Porirua stretches from Kenepuru in the South to Pukerua Bay in the North and from the West side of Haywards Hill in the East to Titahi Bay in the West. So there are a lot of choices.

People like us live out here but work in Wellington and I'm not sure why you would say they have to live in Porirua. There are a lot of choices, but for easy travel the trains are good for commuting so you can be anywhere including Wellington, Tawa, Porirua, Paekakariki and Paraparumu and never be more than a 25 minute train ride from Porirua i.e. anywhere on the Paraparumu line.

Whitby is good to drive to and from because it is South of Paremata bridge and the lovely transit lanes at Mana and is handy to the Hutt Valley too but at what price per litre. The weather is nice too except for the wind.

Aotea is a recent new suburb next to Papakowhai and close to Porirua town centre but probably gets the wind harder than Whitby. Mana, Camborne, Plimmerton and Pukerua Bay are all nice too, but not so great for road access in rush hour.

All the Porirua suburbs that were developed as State House areas aren't so flash but Titahi Bay is undergoing a bit of renaissance and would be worth a look.

There are plenty of primary schools in the good suburbs and the best high schools are either out of area or the fledgling Samuel Marsden College in Whitby. Many buses travel each day across Haywards Hill to the private or integrated schools such as Hutt International Boys School at Trentham, St Pat's Catholic boys school at Silverstream, Chilton St James and St Orans girls schools in Lower Hutt.

[Shadows]

Stay well away from the reservation or anywhere within a spear's throw of it (Porirua East, you'll know it when you see it).

Stay North of Porirua.

Whitby isn't bad, personally I hate the place because it used to be our farmland view until Legoland sprung up, also completely ruining the inlet and the fishing with all the silty shit the developers let run into the harbour. But realistically as a place to live it's okay. If in Whitby I'd stay away from Omapere St (or any other non-nautically named place) as you'll be too close to the lowlife just over the hill. You'll smell the meth cooking whenever there's a Southerly.

Mana / Paremata / Cambourne / Plimmerton / Pukerua Bay are all good.

[mashman]

I moved here a couple of years ago from the UK and spent 2 weeks going everywhere from Paraparaumu through the Hutt Valley and back again. We ended up in renting a fridge freezer in Whitby. From what I could gather Cannons Creek (Cannibal Creek waaaa hah ha) is the main no go area and that side of the State Highway. Titahi had a bad name also, but seems dependent on where you are there... I now have a house for sale in Aotea (overstretched the budget by having another baby recently DOH!!!) and although it's windy, it gets the sun and that's made a huge difference to our heating bills. Like Nasty says, there's so many variables to choosing where you want to live... Primarily what they were used to from whence they came. We were used to insulated walls and double glazing (which we now have again) and it makes a difference. If they're looking for shelter, i'd suggest Paraparam as it's flat and most of the time sheltered by Kapiti Island. Same with Paekok (ish). Pukerua bay can be nice, but loses the sun relatively quickly. Whitby, depending on where you are will be cold and windy with very little sun... it all depends, but tell them not to jump in with both feet first, chill, have a look about check out each area during cold miserable days as well as sunny days as you'll then see what the weather is like at best and at worst... More than happy to meet them during the day for a chat as I work in Porirua...

All the best to them, it's nice here...

[Her_C4]

Mana / Paremata / Cambourne / Plimmerton / Pukerua Bay are all good.

and Papakowhai

[MIXONE]

and Papakowhai

We've lived in Papakowhai for just over a year and it's a bloody good area.Great schools and with the police college at the bottom of the hill probably one of the safest places to live in the region.Property prices are a bit steep but there are bargains to be had because of the market slowdown.Far better weather than both Wellington and the Hutt Valley too.

[Shadows]

and Papakowhai

We've lived in Papakowhai for just over a year and it's a bloody good area.Great schools and with the police college at the bottom of the hill probably one of the safest places to live in the region.Property prices are a bit steep but there are bargains to be had because of the market slowdown.Far better weather than both Wellington and the Hutt Valley too.

Oh yeah. I forgot Papakowhai. That ruined our view on the other side. Not a bad place either, but.

[martybabe]

That's brilliant thanks for your help folks, never been let down on here when ya need to know somat.

Nasty, that's great thanx lovely we'll give you a ring later, hope you can understand northen pom.

[mashman]

hope you can understand northen pom.

Conference me in and i'll translate as I'm a northern Pom... Can translate Geordie, Brummie, Scots and anywhere down to the Watford gap... just don't make me delve into my Welsh side...

[Nasty]

That's brilliant thanks for your help folks, never been let down on here when ya need to know somat.

Nasty, that's great thanx lovely we'll give you a ring later, hope you can understand northen pom.

I work in a multi national team so should be a problem

[martybabe]

Conference me in and I'll translate as I'm a northern Pom... Can translate Geordie, Brummie, Scots and anywhere down to the Watford gap... just don't make me delve into my Welsh side...

He's a good Geordie mate and I'm a brummie, we needed a professional translator when we first met, I can get 90% now but I think the folk of the Welly region are in for a good dose of mutual misunderstanding.