EvannTel

We really liked the commercial, good landlord, nice food, no ag from the locals.

POW148

The commercial is good but the Northside Tavern leaves a lot to be desired

Barney

POW148

[QUOTE=sudzs;

I don't suppose you or your brother could recommend another town nearby we could consider?? What's Rruce Rock like? How long is the drive from there to Merredin?

Do you happen to know anything about where exactly the new power station is being built... how far is it from Merredin?]

Hi Sudzs

I will give my brother a call this weekend and get you your answers.

Regards

Barney

sudzs

[QUOTE=POW148;9467660] Thanks a mill, you're ever so helpful!

poppyandpeanut

Hey sudz, we lived in a very smilar town in the north of the state, 150km inland about 2 hours drive to the nearest big town, with a smaller population. it has the same 'issues' that merriden has, crime rate, lack of facilities etc etc but we loved living there and do not regret being posted out there either. We heard lots a lots of bad things before we movede out and listened to lots of people who had not lived there trying to scare us.
you need to make contact with people already out there in the town, one way to do it is with Facebook, simply search for anyone who has listed Merriden as there home town and send them a quick message. I know this may sound weird but most if not all the townsfolk will empathise with your plight and will understand why you are reaching out. When we did this for our town we got one reply within an hour and was actually chatting on the phone to them the next day, again this may sound a bit weird but i think the attitude of small towns is very welcoming, warm and accepting. When we got to know, (through FB) some of the townspeople we started to learn about the real town and all the goings on that you wouldnt know about unless you lived there.

We are still close friends with several people that we FB'ed all those years ago and do not regret living there.

Embrace the lifestyle change and jump right in to sports, clubs, community events!!!

Gems

I agree with poppy and peanut.
I live rural WA, have lived in quite a remote town 9half hours from Perth. I too contacted people via facebook.
I got a reply from a local woman who had lived in the town for years and gave me a true picture.

Most people on here actually live in the city so dont have all the facts.

I dont know Merredin, However a couple of weeks ago bumped into a lovely couple visiting Dongara (small beach town near my town) and got chatting. She was from the UK but had been in Australia 30years and married to an Aussie. They liked Merredin the negatives were that it had been in a bad drought. So one mans hell hole can be anothers favorite place.

Other place to try is mums forums like Bubhub com au, Essentialbaby com au
Just put a post in with the town and you will get the locals answering.

Good Luck

Gems

Wendy66

Good, helpful post Gems

sudzs

Thanks gems, you've cheered me up!!!

Can anyone suggest where is best to look for property rentals. I've had a look at realestate.com.au, homehound.com.au and a few others but there doesn't seem to be much available. are these the best sites to keep an eye on?

flippa

I grew up in rural WA, far more isolated than Meriden that's for sure, about a 9 hour drive from Perth, but passed through it regularly on my way to and from Perth. You will find the sense of community second to non, as a previous poster has said get involved in the local sports teams etc. In my experience, a lot of rental properties in rural towns are more by word of mouth than via estate agents or websites. The local post office or paper shop are usually 2 of the best places once you have arrived to glean a little local knowledge, the pubs notwithstanding. Good luck, and I am sure once you get a feel for it you will love the experience, I wouldn't change my formative years for all the tea in china. People in rural Oz really are the salt of the earth.

HelenTD

Look for accommodation ads in the local rag http://www.merredinmercury.com.au/. They will have ads for the local agents and you could contact them directly. Also try www.gumtree.com.au where you could place your own ad as well as looking for accommodation available. Follow up on other posters' suggestions about using Facebook to ask locals for help - they can look at notices at the shops/post office and get to hear of what might be available.