Sweet Spots: Maungaraki is the Wellington suburb that actually gets the sun

Life in New Zealand can be pretty good. At Sweet Spots, we are shedding light on some of the best places in the country to live, places where everyday kiwis without unlimited budgets can live a rich and satisfying life.

The sun is not something that is normally associated with Wellington, but one suburb in the region records an average of 2,110 hours per year, a statistic that helped surpass others to be crowned the sweetest place in Wellington.

But it wasn’t just the early hours of sunshine that made Lower Hutt’s Maungaraki top the list of the best places to live in the region.

Located in the western foothills of Lower Hutt, Maungaraki boasts panoramic views of Wellington Harbor, a diverse population, with 26 percent identified as non-Pākehā, and a low crime rate.

A 20-minute drive will get you into the heart of Wellington CBD, but many residents don’t bother getting in their cars – 14 percent choose to take public transportation, walk or bike to work every day, much higher than the national. average.

In the heart of the suburb is the Maungaraki school, which aims to include the community in everything it does.

A brightly colored mural incorporates photographs of all the children in the school, and a parent donates 100 hours to help the children develop their drawings and then transfer them to the wall.

It was the school that attracted Kulbhushan and Jeevan Joshi to Maungaraki along with their two children, Karin and Deepak, fifteen years ago.

Now, with their children graduating from elementary school long ago, the family says they can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Jeevan, also known as Lovely, said they originally settled in Wainuiomata when they moved from Auckland.

“We were there for just under two months and we were looking for good schools for our children. Maungaraki topped the list, so we moved here. It was a really quiet, peaceful area, we liked the view, everything. “

Jeevan drives to downtown work, which takes half an hour on a bad day, or it’s easy to catch the train. Kulbhushan said that the easy access to the bush and the community shops were another great advantage of the suburb.

Of course, every suburb has a downside. Like much of the Wellington region, home prices in Maungaraki have skyrocketed, rising 14% in 2020. But, with a median price of $ 686,384, the suburb is still cheaper than in the city of Wellington.

Kulbhushan said that when they moved to Maungaraki, they paid $ 250 a week to rent a three-bedroom house with a large garden and a double garage, and when they built their own house five years ago, the family was paying $ 360. But he guessed that that house would now rent for at least $ 600 a week.

“Affordability is definitely not what it used to be. What we are finding are people we talk to who want to live here but cannot get what they want because it is too expensive. We are lucky, very lucky and grateful ”.

While Maungaraki records the hours of sunshine, the hillside’s location means it is windswept.

But other than house prices and the wind, the couple say they are still very lucky to live in the community.

“There is a feeling that the neighbors know the neighbors,” Kulbushan said.

“When you feel safe, calm and comfortable, you naturally feel happy, that’s what we were looking for, and at Maungaraki we have found it.”

Maungaraki School Principal Shane Robinson said the number of families in the area is growing.

“As an anecdote, we have seen that this area has grown since we are here, we have seen growth within the area of ​​young families moving to the area. Every house that is sold, we have a family that comes here. “

Parents work hard to support the school community.

“They raise funds very hard, there is a great artificial grass that they raised in a very difficult way to get. They have to work hard to get nice things, they are not a community that is given things, but they work very hard.

“Our community is quite diverse, we have a high percentage of Asians, a high percentage of Indians, there are Pasifika, the Maori, our Maori students have an excellent attendance rate, better even than comparable schools with us.”

Owhiro Bay, on Wellington’s south shore, came in second in the race to become Wellington’s sweetest spot.

Outdoors

For 7-year-old Lucas, 4-year-old Josh, and 1-year-old Mitch Everton, the best part of living in Maungaraki is splashing around in the mud puddles on the preserve next to their house when it rains.

Trees are pretty good for climbing and playing hide and seek too.

But for parents Nikki and Tom Everton, it was the sense of community, having a choice of schools, and great outdoor spaces that drew them to Maungaraki five years ago.

The family moved from Petone, where they lived in a cold, drafty cabin.

“My husband and I are trail runners, we both really like outdoor activities, particularly living here you have trails literally 30 seconds away, so that was a great selling point.

And schooling. Have schools, have friends, have stores too. “

Their street is zoned for Maungaraki and Normandale schools, giving them options when it comes to educating their three children.

“Normandale School is really community focused, we have a key to the school pool during the summer, it is a very close-knit community.”

Safety was another important factor. Nikki said she never felt unsafe riding the trails alone, and the children were able to be outside on their bikes or jogging.

“Obviously we still see them, but in a couple of years I won’t mind having my oldest son on the grass just with his friends, because he feels safe.”

Both Nikki and Tom work at Lower Hutt, and Nikki can rush to work at F45 Training, while Tom runs or drives to drop off the younger kids at daycare.

The couple used to work in Wellington, and even on a busy day, they were able to reach the city center in 30 minutes despite the “perception that it is too far away”.

And even though the suburb is right off the highway, it didn’t seem like they lived near the main commuter route.

Like many, the family was concerned about rising house prices, and acknowledged that they were lucky to build when they did.

“When we built this place, we were lucky that we got a fixed price, so everything, even when we installed the curtains, would have cost around $ 630,000, and now one of my friends is a real estate agent, and he easily said more than $ 1 million “.

Everton said it would like to move to a bigger house one day, but there was nothing affordable in the area. “And we wouldn’t want to move out of the area, so it sums up what a great place to live.”

Homes.co.nz and dotlovesdata.com provided valuable insight into the Sweet Spots data.