Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Hi,

We’re planning to move to Perth in November with our three kids. After a lot of research, we decided to go for Parkwood as a start for rental (6-12months). Is it really a nice place to live in with our kids (5, 7 & 12yrs. old) and to make a start from there?

We are also concerned about the quality of schools there (public schools); mainly, “Parkwood Primary School” and “Lynwood Senior High School”. We’ll really appreciate if some one can give us some feedback regarding these two schools as well.

Thanks

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Hi & Welcome

Any reason you have picked that spot? I personally wouldn't head out that way, but in fear of being shot down by others I won't suggest any areas in particular, otherwise we will find ourselves in a suburb war!

Pretty sure Parkwood wouldn't be considered a 'nicer than average' area for families. PM me if you want to go into it further.

But use this link to help you choose maybe?? : http://www.police.wa.gov.au/ABOUTUS/...8/Default.aspx

Also http://bettereducation.com.au/school...ol_rating.aspx for the schools

Again, these are good for a guide to help. Also for houses REIWA is good to see what the houses are like

Good Luck

Wayne :thumbsup:

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

I don't think that I've ever been to Parkwood, so can't comment on it. Looking at Parkwood PS on the MySchool website, a key feature is the high number of kids where English is not the language spoken at home (50%), hence the school having an English language centre, plus there's over 600 kids there, fairly high for WA. This language centre be something essential and useful for some migrants, but might be a concern for others. I couldn't get the high school rankings link to work, but from my records, Lynwood SHS appeared at position 133 out of 173 schools listed, with 29% of kids not speaking English at home.

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Thanks a lot both of you for your advices. Actually, we’re searching within Riverton as per a friend’s advice but we found that the rents are above our budget so we decided to go down south across the road and we found Parkwood. But now the whole south east is ruled out after going through the crime statistics along with the schools ranks.

Our budget is $400-500 per week and we’ll be staying there 6-12 months before we can decide where to buy. Accordingly, our priorities (within our budget) can be sorted in order as follows:

1.Safe and family friendly neighborhood (I may be doing FIFO and leave my family alone for weeks);

2.Good public schools (by the way, I really have no clue regarding the number of enrollments that can be considered OK for WA, please advise on that)

Many thanks in advance,

Cheers :)

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

the hills are the best place to live in perth..you ask anyone who lives in the hills..most of em wouldnt go down the hill if they didnt have to...

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Thanks Aston. Could you please suggest some names so I can make some research for schools over there.

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

If you look at the statistics only you'll never find anywhere. Mosman Park for instance has more burglaries than my suburb. (Mosman Park is the most expensive suburb in Perth).

As for the hills, Aston is a little biased. He lives in Kalamunda.

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

I think you will found the folks of Ppermint Grove disagree with a median house price more than double Mosman at a staggering $3.9M :eek:

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Maybe Mosman Park has the highest per capita income then. I remember reading something along those lines not long ago.

Anyway, my point is that even the "best" suburbs have some not so nice crime stats.

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Parts or Riverton are in the catchment for Rossmoyne SHS, one of WA's best high schools, so that would push up the purchase and rental prices. Same issue with Willetton next door. There do seem to be rentals within your price range in both those suburbs. Are Parkwood and Riverton in your price range for buying - some properties seem very reasonably priced.

The crime stats give the total number of different crimes for each suburb, plus there numbers for different regions. Suburbs can differ widely in the total number of residents, though, so 30 burglaries in a suburb with 10,000 residents is not the same as 30 burglaries as another suburb with 5,000 residents. Some suburbs have large commercial areas and only a few residential areas. Richer suburbs are more likely to have expensive cars worth stealing, so they can be targeted for their BMWs and Mercedes, etc.

When will your 12 year old actually start high school? If he/she was born between 1 July 1998 and 30 June 1999, they will be in Year 7 this year, therefore Year 8 next year - the first year of high school in WA. If they were born between 1 July 1999 and 30 June 2000, they will be in Year 6 this year, so another full year of primary school after that. If you can clear this up, it will help us with suburbs, as you only have to worry about a primary school for this next 12 months, and it is easier to find a good primary school than it is to find a good high school.

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Most of people that live in the hills don't work there, The main reason being there isn't a lot of work there. Must admit its beautiful there but too far from the beach for me;)

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

your right mate,the hills are nice, big blocks..but the sacrifice is the beach...

i read on this forum time and time agian about how you should rent and take your time before picking a place to live in perth, i purchased after 3 days of landing..frickin idiot.....

anyway..take your time before picking your little peice of perth..

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

not after this week dorothy ,were moving to albany,ive had enough of perth the fishing is shite,,,i would rather be wet with a fish on me line than warm with a blowy on it...were buying a caravan park and i hope to build a large lake and attract poms from all over to fish it..

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Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Wow! Sounds great. Good luck with it all.

Re: Is Parkwood, Perth a nice place to live in?
 

Lynwood/Parkwood were new outer suburbs in the early 80s. a lot of my friends from Singapore moved there when they migrated at the time. The suburb doesn't look like much now or then. houses are all about 30 years old which gives you an indication in what state rental properties are. Many landlords in Perth don't spent a cent in improving their properties.

I usually say to people try to find a newish house to rent initially because it feels better when you come home in a new country where you have to face other issues like new school, finding work etc.

Your children are young and most probably would enjoy spending time on the beach. Thus, i would look for a suburb closer to the ocean in your price range which means further away from the city.

I love the hills, eg Kalamunda, but I'm scared of the fire danger and in summer it is a lot warmer than when you live along the coast.