Queenstown's best neighborhood to live in, Frankton 5 miles, and why.

Queenstown is New Zealand's leading tourist city, and as such, it's a city that sees a lot of people come and go. Even if you're only living here for a short time, it's nice to be in a good environment, so I'm going to talk about one of Queenstown's most desirable neighborhoods, Frankton 5 Mile, and I'll explain why.

Queenstown Neighborhoods

Queenstown is a small city of just 10,000 people. However, it's surrounded by stunning natural beauty and has plenty of activities to offer, which is why it attracts so many tourists throughout the year.

I haven't lived in Queenstown for very long, but I think the main Queenstown neighborhoods are the ones you see in the photo above. There are also Arrowtown and Jacks Point neighborhoods, but they are quite far away, so please forgive the omission.

For reference, if you're curious about bus routes in the Queenstown area, you might find my post below helpful.

Best neighborhoods to live in Queenstown Frankton

Here are my subjective thoughts. In my opinion, the best neighborhood to live in Queenstown is Frankton. To be precise, the Frankton 5-mile area.

Both are great neighborhoods to live in, but my personal preference is for the 5-mile side. The Hub is a transportation hub, so living near it means less stress about transportation.

Because in the center of town, where there are especially a lot of jobs, there is nowhere to park a car, so even if you have a car, many people take the bus a lot. In this case, I think it's a big advantage to live near a hub that can be accessed by any bus.

Think of the hub and 5 miles as being one bus stop away, or about a 10-minute walk. Nevertheless, the My favorite neighborhood in Queenstown Frankton 5mileis better because of its amenities.

Why Frankton 5mile is a great place to live

I was born and raised in South Korea, so it's always been a given that I've always had a storefront amenity, but since moving to New Zealand, I've realized that's a really good thing.

I think New Zealand has a clear divide between residential and commercial areas, and while there are shops in residential areas, it's really just small stores and bakeries where you can buy the basics.

For some reason, I was uncomfortable with the idea of having to take a car or bus to buy or do anything. My first residential neighborhood that addressed this inconvenience was the Frankton 5-mile area.

Queenstown's most livable neighborhood Frankton 5mile Amenities

The amenities I think of are large supermarkets, banks, restaurants, cafes, places to buy necessities (including furniture), pharmacies, telecommunications companies, fitness centers, electronics stores, clothing stores, alcohol stores, etc.

This is the intersection that brings you within 5 miles of Frankton. Once you're in the middle of the traffic, you'll find these amenities

Needless to say, Woolworths is a staple in my neighborhood. Whereas where I lived before, I had to drive or take the bus, now I can walk five minutes away with a shopping cart, and I love it.

If you get your grocery needs met at the big supermarkets, you can get everything else at Warehouse. It's located right across the street from Woolworths. If you're wondering what you can buy at Warehouse, check out the post below.

Noel Leeming, New Zealand's most famous electronics retailer, is also located in Frankton 5 miles away. I'm very interested in smartphones, tablets, and laptops, so when new products come out, I go to check them out. It's fun to see new products earlier than in Korea.

It's home to all of New Zealand's major banks, including ANZ, KIWI BANK, and ASB. And, although it's not pictured above, it's also home to a number of other banks, Flex fitness centerso you can skip the drive if you like to exercise.

There is a K-Mart, Whitcoulls, sushi shops, Subway, Thai, Chinese, and Japanese restaurants, pizza parlors, cafes, and more. Whitcoulls sells books, stationery, toys, and more, and is a great place for kids.

Being able to grab a quick sushi at a sushi shop on my way to work when I didn't get to eat breakfast at home is also a big plus.

There's also a Korean supermarket across the street from the K-Mart, so if you're a fan of Korean food, you'll have no trouble finding the ingredients.

You can't see it in the photo, but Pak'nSAVE is just across the street from Woolworths, New Zealand's largest supermarket, so you can shop at either one.

Frankton 5mile nearest bus stop

This is a bus stop near Frankton 5mile, a desirable neighborhood in Queenstown. The bus numbers are 3 and 5. Both go through the Frankton hub, but the 3 travels between Quail rise and Kelvin Heights, and the 5 travels between the center and Lake hayes.

If you want to go to the center, you can take bus 5 from here, which will take you directly to the center via the Hub. The ride takes about 20 minutes. You don't even have to change at the Hub, you can just sit there. I usually use the bus stop in front of Billy's cafe.

If you take the 5 bus from downtown, it will take you back to Frankton 5mile via the hub.

Frankton 5 miles only residence

There are actually not many houses in the Frankton 5-mile area. The only residential neighborhoods currently are the three- and four-story houses shown in the photo above. I guess you could say they are subdivided houses.

There is still a lot of construction going on in front of the neighborhood, so we expect to see more people living there in two to three years.

Finalize

I've lived in many places in New Zealand, but this is the first time I've lived in an area like this. It's the first time I've realized that things I take for granted at home can be really beneficial in a foreign country. I think this is really important when it comes to living, not traveling.

If you're moving to Queenstown, or staying for an extended period of time, we thought it would be a good idea to write about the Frankton 5mile area of Queenstown's most desirable neighborhoods.

This article is based on my own subjective opinions and experiences, so please take it with a grain of salt when deciding where to live, but I absolutely love living here. Even now, when I need to buy a pair of shoes, I'll go to the store within 5 minutes instead of driving. Isn't that convenient?