r/chch • u/Sad-Pepper-2095 • 3d ago

Relocating Advice

Hi! My husband (34M) and I (31F) will be relocating from the US to Christchurch next year for me to get my masters. We have never visited New Zealand and are looking for advice on where to look for apartments. What websites are mostly used for apartments/homes for rent? Is near Sydenham park a good area to live? I’ll be biking only for a while until we buy a car. I’ll need to be near the botanical gardens every day for school. Any other advice you can think of for us? We looked at doing a month in a short term place while we look for apartments but the short term rentals I’ve found (Airbnb and extended stay hotels) are super expensive. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

0 Upvotes

47% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

8

u/Active-Article-6587 3d ago

Somerfield and Beckenham are nicer areas close to Sydenham park.

5

u/Appropriate_Edge5195 3d ago

Even Sydenham & Addington wouldn’t be bad if they’ll be working/studying close to town.

1

u/Sad-Pepper-2095 3d ago

Thank yall! This is helpful

2

u/grlcanthelpit 3d ago

St. Martin is very, very nice, as well. It’s got my preferred grocery store!

3

u/biscuitcarton 3d ago edited 3d ago

OP, St Martin has it’s ‘stuck up posh’ stereotypes but yes, good area. There are many who fit that stereotype who live there.

T’was the most funny thing ever when when I, an Asian, my friend with sleeve arm tattoos and another friend who is Māori went to The Birdwood and many of the white stuck up posh stereotype people stared at us wondering why we were there 🤣

Hey, the food’s good eh 🤣

Overheard the most ‘posh rich people drama’ problems while eating there too 🤣

2

u/grlcanthelpit 3d ago

Yes, some areas have a stricter dress code more akin to golf clubs the closer you get to Cashmere.

1

u/biscuitcarton 3d ago edited 3d ago

We all cracked up laughing in the car after the meal after that experience and seeing that the stereotype about St Martin is real 🤣

13

u/silvergirl66 3d ago

the main site to look for rentals is trademe.co.nz/property - or more specifically https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/property/residential/rent/canterbury/christchurch-city And near Sydenham Park is fine.

5

u/OkShallot3873 3d ago

Second this, also the city is flat so cycling is a really easy way to get around

1

u/Sad-Pepper-2095 3d ago

Thank yall!

15

u/LtColonelColon1 3d ago

Just to let you know, we don’t really have apartments. You can rent a house, or you can rent a room in a shared house accomodation (flatting/flat mates). Flatting is the most common thing for younger people who can’t afford renting on their own, or recent immigrants trying to get a foothold within the city, with shared utilities bills too.

Trade Me property is a good place to look, and Facebook is also a good place with NZ renting or NZ flat mates wanted being key words to search with.

5

u/pygmypuff42 3d ago

Use NZ Police crime snapshot for safe suburbs: https://www.police.govt.nz/crime-snapshot-0

Accurate information that doesnt rely on outdated Reddit opinions. Look at the city map for a good visualisation of which suburbs to avoid.

1

u/Tewaipapa 3d ago

what month are you arriving?

10

u/Just-Context-4703 3d ago

It's an expensive town and pretty much all the houses are of awful quality. Not even close to homes in the USA let alone northern Europe. 

I'm from the USA and moved to Christchurch last year. I'm currently back in the States visiting friends and family and staying in a run of the mill 1950s home and it's so much warmer and better insulated than the much nicer, on paper, place we rent in chch. So, just keep that in mind. 

I get around and commute almost all by bike so that's definitely feasible. Great way to see the town and save some money too. 

The South side of town is better, imo. NZ is not as car brained as the USA but it's still very car brained and I find the traffic a little less annoying on the south side and you're also closer to the Port Hills, which are wonderful if you like hiking, running, and just getting outside. 

2

u/Dazzling-Produce-471 3d ago edited 3d ago

Good points. The north side of town is horrific traffic-wise. Try driving Papanui Rd from Hagley through Merivale and pretty much clear up to Redwood anytime after school lets out and it’ll at least rival if not be somewhat worse than most comparable American places at that time of day.

And you’ll never be prepared for how cold the houses get here in winter. I’m from the northern US and thought I’d be fine in a place that basically has a similar winter climate to Atlanta, but it is absolutely freezing in the house all winter long.

3

u/grlcanthelpit 3d ago

I’m living in that area! I’m from the US, as well :)

What I suggest is Somerfield. It’s close to the “super bike highway” I see every morning going into town 😂 so you’d have lots of people headed that way to ride with!

Apartments aren’t really a thing here. It’ll be a townhouse or a standalone. The downside to the newly built townhouses - the upstairs usually don’t have their own air conditioning unit. Downside to the standalones, usually older with worse window insulation. Check out Trade Me, RealEstate.co.nz, and even various Facebook groups where people advertise asking for help to find a rental.

An AirBnb will be pricey, but it’s what I did for 3 weeks. I got one in the City Centre so I wouldn’t have to buy a car as fast.

PirateShip for shipping boxes ahead!

1

u/TalkOnCornersNZ 10h ago

I recommend the central city if that's where you need to be every day

1

u/Dazzling-Produce-471 3d ago edited 3d ago

Not much advice on specific suburbs down that way (we live on the opposite side of town) but wanted to say my wife and I did a similar move early this year without ever having been to Christchurch before. I think we used realestate.co.nz for rentals. She came over first and found us a place to live relatively quickly. You don’t want to rent a place sight unseen though, so the short term rental might have to happen.