I will be arriving in perth april 2004 with my partner and 2 children can anyone PLEASE advise me on where to settle. We would like an area close to schools low house prices and friendly. I would like Fremantle but believe the house prices are rather high there. I would be very gratefull for any assistance.

Thanks
Mags

Try this link for the suburbs:

http://www.aussiemove.com/suburb7.htm

and this for real estate prices:

http://www.reiwa.com.au/content-home.cfm

tried them but my head is still scrambelled. Too much to take in.

Maggy

Your best bet is to rent somewhere for a bit (see 'for rent' section on the REIWA website) and then scout out the areas that you will eventually settle in. A lot of us are doing that.

thanks very much for the advice i will check it out

Hi Mags,

Have you been to Perth before, lots of areas have quite different 'feel' about them, you can get all of your requirements in lots of areas (it depends on what you are calling low house prices).

Your decision would also be reliant on your employment and what distance you would be happy to/ or can afford to commute.

Renting is a good idea until you can check things out for yourself. There are quite a few people in Perth now who post and they live across the metro area, north, south, and inland suburbs so plenty of direct questions you can ask. But what suits one person may not suit you.

Where are you initially staying when you arrive?

well my wife and i cant wait to move out of the city too busy and you cant park any way just like living back home


it was good to be living here to start with because we didnt have to travel into the city every day and to start with you need to sort all your bank, medicare, car insurance and stuff like that


we have been all over from north of the river to south looking around and we have found that the north of the river is very established and housing is expensive

we went to the rockingham area and liked what we saw housing cheeper close to the beach and not many people on the beaches

and if you want to buy straight away i can see you making a good investment for the future

my wife and i have just rented a 4 bed house with pool in a lovley area called waikiki which is near rockingham for 265 per week
we have a 10 min walk to the beach and its a lovley area

hope this sheds some light on your problem

Paul and Ursula

thanks i will check it out on reiwa and let you know how i get on

not sure just yet we dont know whether to rent or check into a hotel. We have to arrange accomodation over the internet before we arrive. Im a little apprehensive about being tied to a rental contract incase we are unable to find employment in that area. My partner is a painter and I work in child care but my qualifications are not recognised in Australia. I am hoping to pick up any work which will help pay the bills

Have sent you a PM Maggy

Hi Maggy

I think renting will be a lot cheaper than a hotel. You can rent furnished accommodation for short periods, without being tied to a long contract. You are wise to do this, I know people who have signed rental agreementa on arrival, to find them very expensive.

Try this site.

www.pomsinperth.com

I very much agree you should look around before choosing a suburb.

I think Fremantle is lovely. It is expensive to buy in but rents in Australia are increasingly affordable, relative to buying. There are also some nice suburbs adjacent to Fremantle, offering the convenience of access to Fremantle at lower cost. Examples include Bicton, Palmyra (where we stay) and White Gum Valley. These areas have excellent primary schools, adequate senior schools, though you might have to go a bit further for top notch senior schools.

Good luck!

David

Hi Mags,
We have only just arrived in Perth ourselves, 3/4 weeks ago, so dont really know enough to advice you but can only say it as we find it. We stayed at one of Poms in Perth houses in Maylands which is quite close to the city, which is good for those fist few weeks when you have so much to do ie tax file nos medicare etc.. and it is cheaper than a hotel, hire cars are easy to find and rental properties also easy to find, If you do not have a cedit history here it will be expensive to get a mortgage repayment wise, from what we have gathered. we have ended up in Mount Nasura, nr Armadale in the hills about 30 mins from the city, you can find a 3 bed house roughly $150,000 or rental $150 - 200 per week. we have found good schools for both primary and senior.
but suburbs are one of those things that you will just have to do when you get here and spend time driving round.
Sorry I cannot be of more help
Suz

Maggy, if by childcare you work in a nursery, there appear to be loads of jobs here, they seem to have a qualification system similar to the NVQ, are you NNEB qualified?

It may be worth writing to a couple to test the waters before you arrive.

If you let us know what your accommodation requirements are we can offer some suggestions, some things are more expensive than others.

Donna