al150n

I don't live in a great area either (apparently) but love it where we are & we're very impressed with the local state school our kids attend. We'll be looking to buy in the same suberb when finances settle down (& I can hold down a job for longer than half an hour).

Alison x

Little Lisa 1971

Which are the good suburbs with good High Schools?

Can any tell me what Secret Habour is like? Does it have a good High School? Also Halls Head or Lakelands?

If anyone can name me some good High Schools it would be great, I'm constantley looking on the net at the school rankings etc but as I don't know where they are and I am getting totally confused with the different areas.

Fremantle sound great but it also sounds really expensive......How much would we be looking at for a descent 4 bedroom house? We don't mind having a bit of a mortgage but don't want the worry of a massive mortgage along with the worry of finding work and settling the kids down!

We are coming for a holiday later in the year before we move for good so any help on the area's we need to visit would be great.

Thanks loads x

Little Lisa 1971

Thread Moved???? Why and where to?

I was getting loads of help!!!!

Lois1

Hi Alison, would mind me asking whereabouts you are? We too are trying to narrow down suburbs whether north or south. It appears we would get more for our money in terms in property in the south? and that on first impressions properties seem to be "newer"?

With the state school you mentioned, is that junior or senior ? We would be looking at junior schools initially.

Thanks

al150n

Hi. We're in Merriwa (across Marmion from Quinns). It's an older suburb so you tend to get a bit more for your money but it's not to everyones taste. Ridgewood also uses our school & that's a newer suburb. The kids are at the primary school here. The high school for here is Clarkson which doesn't have a great reputation locally but I've got a little while before I have to think about that. There's are rumours of a new high school being built in Butler which I will be interested to find out about.

Alison x

lancastrian48

Maranantha private school
Mandurah Baptist private school
Living Waters private school

eddie007

Eton, Harrow and rugby are all "good" schools. Doesn't mean your kids will get in if there isn't enough room in their year or if you can't afford the fees... Or have other plans for the money it would cost to send the little darlings there...

Little Lisa 1971

Thanks for that info. What areas are these schools in?

I think we are going to try and live in the Fremantle area, not too bothered about being very close to the beach so maybe one of the suburbs inland (30mins drive). Whats Hamilton Hill, Spearwood, Success etc etc like.....can anyone in Fremantle area give me the low down?

If anyone can name a few nice places around Fremantle I would be most grateful......or name the areas not to live in would also be great!

We are coming for a recci soon so I want an idea of where to check out while in Australia and who better to ask than the people already there with all the inside knowledge!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply, you've all been great

Dorothy

Merriwa is in the Clarkson school zone from what I understand. Butler high school will be for Butler and Alkimos.

eddie007

eton is about 50mins by train from waterloo station, harrow is in harrow and rugby is in warwickshire....

Fees are about 30,000 uk pounds a year


Plus extras

EvannTel

Freo I think is most likely out of your budget ($450 pw IIRC). Check the websites for housing/rentals though.
30 mins takes you a long way from Freo and basically thats east if you want to get away from the beach.

South and south west of Freo get mixed reports; they used to have not great reputations but as the desire for Freo increases so the ripple effect lifts the adjacent burbs. I saw a report a couple of years ago that listed Hamilton Hill/Spearwood as one of the growth areas but do your research well.

All the burbs directly north and east for Freo are expensive but lovely.

Vegemite Kids

I dont live in Freo, but have a few friends that live around that area and would suggest Palmyra, Hilton, Melville or Willagee as your starting points.

(Willagee could be a good speculative bet as its about $50-100K cheaper than all surrounding suburbs and as they go up Willagee becomes more and more attractive to a lot of buyers).

If you are willing to go as far away from Freo as Success then can I suggest you also check out Bibra Lake and maybe Leeming as well.

One area to be aware of is Yangebup. Its got some really nice houses but it also has quite a large aboriginal population. One of my friends is part aboriginal and has a house there and says that if you're not used to it, it can be difficult to live there. Just a heads up.

Good luck with your move

VK

HelenTD

I posted this in another thread the other day:

OK, list of suburbs heading north from Fremantle, along the coast (perhaps someone else could add beach suburbs south from Freo). Suburbs just to the east (might be cheaper) in brackets:

South Fremantle (Beaconsfield, Hamilton Hill)
Fremantle (White Gum Valley, Hilton, Palmyra, East Fremantle, Bicton)
North Fremantle (Mosman Park)
Cottesloe (Claremont, Mt Claremont)
Swanbourne
City Beach (Floreat, Wembley Downs)
Scarborough (Doubleview)
Trigg (Karrinyup)
North Beach
Watermans Bay (Carine)
Marmion (Duncraig)
Sorrento
Hillarys (Padbury)
Mullaloo (Kallaroo, Craigie)
Ocean Reef (Connolly, Heathridge)
Iluka (Currumbine)
Burns Beach (Kinross)
Mindarie (Clarkson, Merriwa)
Quinns Rocks (Butler)

These suburbs would enable you to walk or cycle to the beach, or drive if you prefer. Plenty of other suburbs not too far from beach as well - the further east you go, usually the cheaper it will get (and considered less desirable for all sorts of reasons).

Look up suburbs on www.realestate.com.au or www.domain.com.au, put in your maximum and select the suburbs you want.

Professional Princess would be able to help with info on Spearwood. Last year a friend of mine was looking in Hamilton Hill, but from what I could gather, you have to know which bits to avoid.

If your youngest was born between 1 July 1997 and 30 June 1998, he/she would be starting Year 8, the first year of high school, next week. The private schools have already shifted their Year 7s into high school, but state primary schools still have Year 7s. It would be easier for you if you only needed a high school now, rather than having to look for primary and high. It will be important that you are careful with checking the catchment areas for the state high schools.

Little Lisa 1971

WOW!! I would love to send the kids to Private School but that is way too expensive for us!

I think we'll have to take out a mortgage to top up the cash we're bringing and buy a house in a good catchment area. I think we'll be driving a fair few miles on our recci checking out the areas and high schools around Fremantle!

Thank you to everyone replying it's very kind of you to take the time. xx

kar-kier

We live in Halls Head, which was identified as being the most desirable suburb outwith Perth. I like Halls Head, and with the money you have you would EASILY be able to afford a brand new 4x2 with money left over.

Private education is VERY affordable. My eldest (12) is starting year 8 at Mandurah Catholic College, and I will be paying about £140 a fortnight. The state schools in Mandurah are generally regarded as very poor, however the senior college (year11 &12) gets a good name!