marson

Hello forum folk,

Just trying to decide on a place to start our ozzy adventure, until we have had a damn good look around WA we're not going to choose a permanent home, so it's a case of finding a nice base-camp for a few months.

I've got 2 places in mind which are near the beach and not too far from my new job (I want to keep commuting to a minimum), if anyone has any info on them please post it here ! many thanks,


1. Mindarie
2. Quins Rock
3. Any area near these you think is way cool !


Mike

Loopy

Hi, take a look at the suburb descriptions on here

http://www.movetoperth.com/info/subu...r.html?page=11

They are pretty accurate. For Mindarie, the dive shop has now moved out to Joondalup and they are renovating the marina area with new pubs/restaurants etc. planned to open in the near future. The Boat (pub) is still open in the meantime. Housing in Mindarie is fairly expensive with a wide range to choose from. It depends on your budget but it would be a shame to rent, fall in love with the place & settle & then not be able to buy in the future if you wanted to. The new section of shops at Ocean Keys is now open so plenty of local shopping around.

Quinns is, as mentioned in the suburb blurb, three differing areas. Definetly worth a look. Housing ranges widely again depending on where & what it is. If you've got children think carefully & check out the local schools before you make a decision as some are definetly better than others in Mindarie & Quinns.


Loopy

renth

If you want to live with lots of Poms (mainly northerners) then Mindarie is where you should live.

If you want to live with bogans and aboriginies then Quinns is the ideal choice.

boom_meringue

Or Clarkson!!!

bal56

You and your northerners renth!
All of our kiddies are at school in Mindarie and we're happy with it, but don't really want to live there (price + don't particularly like it). There are good and bad spots in Quinns Rocks. Butler I believe is OK but a bit new and distant for me. We'll be living in Kinross from mid-Jan.

marson

Thanks for the replies, Kinross is a good idea too, thanks for the links, I can do a bit more research into it with those.

Have to rush off now,

Mike

sj oldfield

Kinross is fine...........then again it would be as I live there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chr1sarter

Mike,
You mentioned you wanted to keep commuting down to a minimum, but it depends on where you are going to work.

If you live in Quinns/Mindarie and work in city, then this can take you over 1 hour, depending on what time you leave in morning.
I live in Iluka, which is about 15-20mins away from butler, and i leave at 07.30am. It takes me 45-60 mins to get into city each morning by car.

Frodobaggins

I think bogans and natives sound more attractive than a suburb full of Whinging pomms, moaning that things aren't the same as they are "back home"

Exile

It actually only takes 10 minutes from Butler to Iluka, and that's keeping to the speed limit. Just feels much longer.

movetoperth

As far as local schools go, if you're looking at primary and government......

Mindarie, good reputation, happy kids, most parents don't have too much to whinge about, it has performed well in it's 5 year plan and it's walna results were good this year. Both Quinns schools have their problems, Quinns Beach probably more than Quinns Rocks. Kinross has a good reputation and also has the benefit of having a middle school which will take kids up to year 10, years 11 and 12 which will be compulsory in a years time will either be at Mindarie Senior College for academic courses and Clarkson for vocational courses. Butler primary is the newest of the northern primaries, so facilities may be slightly more modern, it also has a good reputation, there will be another primary in Butler from Feb 2007.

Also don't ignore Clarkson and Merriwa, both areas are growing in popularity and a teacher friend of mine would rather teach in either of these over either of the Quinns schools. If your price doesn't stretch to Mindarie prices then both could be worth a look as would Ridgewood, although trying to find property in Ridgewood is like hens teeth at the moment.

Commute times to the city, although i'm presuming you don't work in the city as you said you wanted to be close to work, from Clarkson station to the city is 35 mins any time of day, Butler to Clarkson station, 5 mins by car, 15 by bus, and Butler to joondalup around 12 mins.

Hope this helps
Lynn

marson

Hi all and thanks very much for your info, I'm going to be looking into those areas over the next couple of days.

Commuting to Pearce AFB from Mindarie or Quins is around 40 mins, which is ok by me. It's 20m as the crow flies, 26 by roads.

I was lucky to get a job while out on a trip in October, and it's a secure feeling, but the job doesn't pay as much as I like. As you might guess, this is a starting block for us. Middle school and upper school are not that important right now.

When we get to N.Perth we will have more of a chance to explore and find what we really want, and I'll look for a higher paid job. This will no doubt mean a move and again I'll ask you folk in the know. Moving around is no problem for me, I've been in the RAF for years and you move a lot.

Thanks again for your tips and info.

Happy Christmas.

Mike

Exile

Mike,

Be sure to take a look at Quinns Beach (both the estate and the beach itself). Quality beach and nice area, in my view.

Chris

marson

It's added to the 'look into' list
Thanks Chris.

steveyp

Me too... the area has really gone uphill since I moved there.