Search for a suburb
BY TOM FITZSIMONSI need a new place to live.
Actually, first, I need a new suburb to live in. And it's got to be somehow acceptable to four people: me, the other half, the impending bundle o' joy, and Old Man bank balance.
But the trouble is that all of us seem to disagree about most Wellington 'burbs. If it's not too remote, it's too expensive. If it's not too damp, it's too hilly. If it's not too dingy, it's got ... what's the opposite of X-factor?
I've just spent four years living on the "city fringe". And they've been some fine years too.
I've ping-ponged back and forth between Aro Valley and Thorndon. I've lived on main streets and little cul-de-sacs. I've lived in huge bedrooms and a matchbox. I've lived as a student and as a worker.
I've never owned a car, and I've never wanted one. Most times, I walk where I need to go. If I could have it all my way, I'd probably stay this close to the city.
But that's where economic reality sets in - and the need to have a place to ourselves. So suddenly I'm hearing tales of Pinehaven and Petone and Johnsonville, where some of my workmates (and even bosses) have settled in with mortgages.
Or it's Kingston and Wilton and Whitby and Happy Valley, where the renters have ended up. Now no disrespect to anyone who lives in these dumps - it's hard times in a hard land at the moment. The great lottery of life could have left any of us in the same position.
But there's something about all of them that just gets me down. Maybe it's just my lack of familiarity - I still like Miramar, where I grew up listening to the thunder of the 737s.
To help explain my feelings, I drew up this representative guide to the suburban Wellingtonian:
* Northland - You're still working on your postgraduate degree that you started seven years ago. You spend too much time eating Hell pizza. Your car's brakes don't work anymore. Your dehumidifier keeps overflowing with water. You lose yourself in the labyrinthine streets on your way home. You probably voted for Peter Dunne. No one else in Wellington has any idea where you live.
* Mt Vic - You're too cool for school, except that you're actually a 25-year-old public servant trying to eye up the other public servants as you all troop up Majoribanks Street after work. Your house is falling to bits and you spend half your salary on a week's rent. You listen to your iPod too much.
* Lyall Bay - You're either a longtime resident and you drive a bus, or else you're a bum and you keep putting on that wetsuit and waiting for the surf, or else you're a new arrival and your life is a mess now you can't sip lattes at Maranui with all the other Lyall Bay mums. However you've done it, you're somehow pretty cool right about now. Pity you're probably still out of my price range.
* Johnsonville - You've bought a house. Some days you can take the car to work as a special treat, but mostly you catch the train. Your best friends live at the Malvina Major retirement village. You love all the choice in supermarkets you have. Somewhere deep inside, there is a sadness in you.
* Southgate - You're a phantom. Sure, there's a bus with your name on it, but where does it go? You're vaguely sandwiched between recognisable suburbs like Island Bay, but like your Northland brethren, you're lost in the maze.
* Brown Owl - Not strictly Wellington, but you're stoked with the creative naming skills of your town planners. Life's good in Brown Owl, where you can relax with a sherry pretty much any time of the day. There's only one thing that could improve your lot - living in nearby Poets Block, where everyone speaks in pentameter.
Okay, that was just butchery. But tell me: where do you live? What's to like - or not - about your turangawaewae? And where should a man of little means and expanding responsibilities be heading?
- © Fairfax NZ News
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I've lived in Kingston since March and I cannot tell you how beautiful it is up here. I have the most gorgeous view of the Brooklyn hills not to mention sunsets, a cute little (warm) house and safety - no cars getting broken into. It's brilliant. I think I'm showing my age.
BTW, I need a flatmate anybody looking?
Lyall Bay/Kilbirnie. It's perfect! Great little shopping centre, good supermarkets, fantastic schools (thinking ahead here), brilliant bus service thanks to having the bus barn here, walk to the airport through the cool tunnel under the runway, excellent beach, very family-friendly. Maranui Surf Club will be rebuilt but in the meantime there's Elements on Onepu Road. Rents not too outrageously expensive. Been here for 7 years and I love it.
Your house is going to be a mess, you will be sleep deprived but you will have a wee baby and be blissfully happy so who cares where you live!
I live in Mount Cook/Te Aro. I love being close to town but I hate the fact that I live in an apartment with no section and no parking. My bikes live in my lounge and I get lots of parking tickets when I forget to move my car out of the 1 hour parking zones on Saturday.
I've been there three years, when I was at uni it was awesome. Now that I am working I find that I am actually jealous of people that live in the burbs.
Johnsonville with a mortgage here. There is a deep sadness in me, due to the poor choice of supermarkets available. Positives are that if you have enough pegs, you can dry any item of clothing (and even small bits of furniture) in under five minutes on the clothes line. Items of clothing with not enough pegs end up in Broadmeadows. The downside is that all your t-shirts stretch to 7XL within six months. The train is indeed insultingly cheap, with a monthly pass available for sixtymumble dollars. Not much more than a weekly lotto ticket really, and I assure you that the odds of excitement on the 1950's vintage trains are far higher. You never know where you're going to stop, and you get to play the ever popular "what's that burning smell" game. My favourite ride home was enlivened by the train pulling the overhead wires down on us in a tunnel (holy bright lights batman!) followed by a two hour wait, then coasting back to Wellington with no power and somebody standing by to operate the handbrake if we had to stop. There are some nice enough and moderately priced places to eat if you're keen on takeaway foods, but I'm yet to find a decent coffee (any suggestions appreciated). Prior to that I was 20 or more years in Kelburn, the highlights of which were the two evenings where my car wasn't broken into, and the four walks to the shops where I didn't get ambushed by dog poop.
Kilbernie/Miramar/Maupuia for me - close enough to walk/bus/drive/bike but far enough to not be central city... I will never live in a more distant suburb - that removes all of the benefits of living in Wellington & who wants to spend 1/10th of their day with the lemmings? but you're having a baby - your life is over so I wouldnt sweat it... going out for dinner/drinking will become a distant memory... sounds like Johnsonville for you
@ leesel
I'm in the little village of Kelburn too, where the tiny dog wielding soccer mums mix with poor students who roll out of bed 10 minutes before their lecture because it's just that darn close! And I have to agree, the butcher is lovely! He loaned me 3 bucks once when the ATM was broken and I couldn't get the bus. If you ignore the dampness, it's a great place to be!
Newtown for me - far enough from the main section where it can be a bit 'dodgy' and the opposite end from where that recent murder was!!
Nice and cheap, great public transport, and walking distance to town as well if you fancy a stroll.
I lived in Aro Valley before too and thought it was ok, but prefer Newtown as it's closer to shops etc than I was in Aro Valley...
Mount Cook, Wellington - its proximity to town is its only redeeming feature. We receive regular notices in the mailbox from the police advising that burglaries/assaults/crime-in-general is on the rise in our area. Students wandering home singing drunkenly on any given night of the week are utterly tone deaf. The bus service is so sporadic that I don't bother checking the timetable anymore - I just wander down and settle in for a wait... Oh, and did I mention the gang presence?
Why do I live there again....? hmm.
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I used to live right on the edge of Kilbirnie/Lyall Bay and I LOVED it!! It wasn't even expensive! Yes, Maranui at weekends was a highlight! I now live in Kelburn, above the shops, and it is great, still close to town, but far enough out to have a cosy 'burby' feel to it. BTW public transport is ok too... AND a fantastic Butcher is in Kelburn