babysinead

We are joining you lovely people in June and need a bit of advise as i have never been to OZ and require some advise.

We have been offered a holiday rental, fully furnished, bills included, no extra's apart from internet and food costs for $604 p/w

I have looked at long term rental (which i believe is very hard to get before you get to OZ) these seem to be around the $400 p/w mark but no furniture and bills ontop.

I dont know how much more you pay for electric/gas/council tax/tv license blah blah blah.......

Do you think that the extra $200 extra p/w all in makes it good value for money? bearing in mind we have no furniture aswell

The above property is in Quinns Rocks.....is this a good area?
We are a family of 3, young daughter aged 4.

ozhappy981

It really comes down how you prefer you live.

$604p/w is a good price for a fully-furnished rental with all bills included. We arrived in Perth over two years ago and we paid more than that.

No, you would not pay $200 p/w for electricity and gas (landlord always pays the council tax and we don't have TV licences).

But it's not very realistic to move straight away into an unfurnished long-term rental. You really must look at the rental, the street it's in, and the surrounding area.

I would move into the furnished rental. But make sure it's a short-term rental, e.g. one or two months. Think about when your container with your belongings will arrive. During that month or two, drive around, decide where you want to live, and then find a long-term unfurnished rental (they usually come with a 6-month or 12-month lease).

hoofie2002

Furnished rental until you find something permanent. You don't need a lot of furniture [hint : buy an outdoor set of table and chairs; you can it on it and eat off it for quite a long time until you get some furniture]. You don't pay rates if you are renting but you will be liable for gas/leccy/water.

Bear in mind that the difference is nearly $1000 a month and there are a number of shops that sell furniture "starter packs" that are very cheap. Ok the quality isn't crash hot but it's something to sleep on, sit on and eat from.

Quinns is Ok although there is "new" Quinns and "old" Quinns; the latter used to have a dodgy reputation despite the fact the houses are near the beach and the land is worth a bomb.

The primary school was very good when we were there 5 years ago, excellent staff and there is a child care centre across Marmion Ave in Merriwa. There are always a number of rental available up there.

More than anything else a furnished rental has no permanency; at least with an unfurnished rental you can turn it into a home.

babysinead

So i think what you guys are saying, the furnished property for short term 2-3 months then look for a perm

Gives us time to sort out furniture aswell and get a feel for the areas and schools, i believe there is a big IKEA in perth somewhere aswell, which will be a big help.

ozhappy981

Yep, that's it. Short-term furnished rental for 2-3 months, then a lomng-term unfurnished rental.

And yes, we have a large IKEA. It is near the Cedric street entrance/exit of the Mitchell Freeway.

Genevieve

The other thing is that the furnished rental owners will probably give you a rental reference for when you look for an unfurnished long term rental. We do this often for people new to Perth who stay in our properties and it does make a difference having a local referee.

Do either of you have employment yet? I ask because Quinns is a fair way north of the city, which is where a lot of organisations are based. However obviously if you or your other half have work that's up that way, it's not going to be an issue.

babysinead

No we dont have jobs yet, but thought it was only 40 minutes from perth......is this not correct?

Plus the nearer we get to perth the price is starting to shoot up.

hoofie2002

It depends where you are working - if you can take the train in the CBD then you can drive/get a bus to Clarkson station and ride the train into work.

If you need to drive [a distinct possibility since public transport is not existent outside some major routes] then you might find yourself in for a long commute since the freeway south is incredibly congested in the morning.

babysinead

Very interesting and i really appreciate all your advise on this.

We have just been offered another property in Joondulup/Connolly area, this looks to be close to perth and is only $10.00 p/w more, but im thinking the commute would be better????
What do you think of this area, bering in mind i have a 4 year old to entertain.
Is Joondulup a better choce then quinns rocks

ozhappy981

For your first couple of months, Joondalup is defintely a better choice than Quinns Rock.

We also stayed in Joondalup when we first arrived. You've got the Licensing Centre (for Driver's Licence), library, Medicare office, internet cafe, train station - and the shops all close together. (We stayed in Davidson Terrace which was actually in walking distance to all of the above.) That makes it easier to get everything organised and set up.

From Joondalup it's only 20 mins to the CBD on the train - handy of you are registering with agencies in the city for job interviews.