I've seen Mandurah grow over the decades and find it a little plastic now. For a medium sized locality it has its fair share, some would say more than its fair share of social issues as well.

As with all things will suite some and not others.

I agree you really cannot compare Aus to the UK, rural is the true sense in Aus where rural in the UK means lovely countryside dotted with maybe tiny villages etc but never a huge drive to a City. I found Mandurah really nice and a lovely day out and we did visited Mandurah often but I did find it to small to live but that's just me, I like to have a choice of venues, cafes, shops, Museums etc. the travel to and from Perth in Summer etc even on an aircon train was not something I would of liked to do (if I had to do that).

There are plenty of Hospitals in the region of Perth, mainly private ones (many of my friends left the NHS in the UK to work in these hospitals) If your really sure migrating is what you want to do then first get the best quals you can (usually helps more when applying for work) then look at what YOU like in the way of lifestyle, if Mandurah (it is quiet and small) is what your cousin likes it might not be what your lifestyle would suite, so look at what you like, look at areas that offer these things then look at the Hospitals in the area, that what I would do if I were migrating again. Good luck with everything

Yes to all of that

Really want to go to Osaka,on my bucket list.

Hello from someone who lives in Mandurah.
We live in an area called Dawesville, which is one of the southern suburbs of Mandurah and have been here 6 years and are building our own house here.

The things we like about it are:
It is very water based - lots of people spend a lot of spare time on the water in some form as the city is sandwiched between the peel and the ocean. So, water sports, fishing and beach play a big part in people's lives. Which we like.

The town is very pretty and as some have already said, one of the prettiest in WA.

It has fantastic beaches that suit all types of people from world class surf beaches to very gentle flat ones that are perfect for young children.

It has good amenities for shops and things - I rarely go to Perth.

The housing is more affordable. My build is with one of the better builders and the block with stunning views and a fully completed house is costing less than just a tiny bit of land in Perth.

It has a small town friendly feel, but we are only 50 minutes from Perth CBD.

We have great wildlife. I can swim with dolphins most of the year. See kangaroos all the time.

We have some of the best national parks in Oz on the door step.

We are close to Margeret River and wineries and have a few wineries within Mandurah.

The weather is better than Perth - we are on average 3 degrees warmer than Perth in winter and 3 degrees cooler in summer.

I have also met a number of nurses that work at Peel Health campus (the local hospital) and they love it there.

People have mentioned "isolation" I find that very funny. Australia is isolated. All of the cities are isolated. The eastern states seem to point that Perth is isolated. Well, guess what, so are the eastern cities. You still need to get on a plane to go between them. You can't drive from Sydney to Brisbane for lunch. They are isolated. If isolation is a factor, then don't move to oz!

Your tone has changed a complete 360 degrees from how you expressed it for a large number of those years experienced here.

Your understanding of the social isolation was very clearly identified in post after post. It wasn't funny back then.

I note now only positives expressed without mention of the things that bothered you for a long time. Some expression of the other side would have proved a more balanced post I feel.

A very interesting change indeed.

Everyone and anyone can change their views. I personally don't feel isolated here in Melbourne. I've driven to Adelaide and Sydney plenty of times in a day. In my earlier and crazier years here I even drove to the Gold Coast in one go.... Although that took 20 hours non stop. I'd still drive to Sydney and Adelaide and can do it fairly easily arriving early afternoon, leaving Melbourne 4amish. My last big drive was from Melbourne to Port Macquarie in one hit, which is close to 400ks north of Sydney... I wont be going that far in one day again.

Anyone can change views but in that case it was somewhat dramatic. Overnight conversion so to speak. To my mind from one extreme to another without consideration for a view years held.

Of course one could commute to Mandurah on a daily basis. Wouldn't be my idea of fun but for those wanting a water lifestyle in an okay but somewhat plastic town fine. Just get the entire picture warts and all.
Hardly a bad place to live at the end of the day for creating a traditional family setting.