Perth Advice
 

My contract is about to finish in Spain and we are on the way back we were in Brisbane for 9 years but we are looking at Perth for our return. i have been looking at Warnbro but it is really like sticking a pin in the map for me.
Im just looking for a nice suburb as I do contract work it dosnt have to be to close to the city. The kids have all gone so no real concern there. Really looking for some areas where I can look at houses that are good value for money

Re: Perth Advice
 

Kim67 or Dorothy or others that know Perth maybe able to help.

Re: Perth Advice
 

Houses good value for money in Perth? Who can say prices have been falling but the industry continues to talk up the market. If Perth is your wish, I would suggest a spell renting and find a locality that suits your particular fancy. I prefer inner city. Not for all, but just a stroll to cafes, shops and one stop to city. Pretty much Bogan free, unlike a lot of burbs, a little too many hipsters perhaps, but a vibe of sorts not immediately associated with a lot of what some may call 'dreary Perth suburbia'.

Re: Perth Advice
 

Good value for money and Perth are a bit of an oxymoron. Housing is ridiculously expensive here for what you get.

Why Warnbro? What's there that's appealing to you? AFAIK Warnbro is just another suburb in the south of the river suburbs - part of the City of Rockingham. There's nothing particularly outstanding about the area that I'm aware of.

If it were me and I didn't have to come to the city to work I would look much farther south around Harvey, Australind or Bunbury. We had thought of buying land around Waroona a while ago but have pretty much decided to move to Canada for retirement.

Re: Perth Advice
 

Canada? A bit cold for retirement surely? One could become a snow bird I suppose and fly away to Caribbean or Central/South American locations for the extended cold period.


Back to topic. I too thought why Warnbro. A once looked in Rockingham to buy but afraid a bit of surveillance of the area day and night did change my mind, regardless of how good the deal was likely to have been.


Yes I would tend to agree, if not needing CBD why confine oneself to suburbia? A 'nice' location further South would probably be more ideal. Bunbury can be 'hit and miss ', but there are a few decent areas and further afield.
There is really nothing special about Perth that would not entice one elsewhere.

Re: Perth Advice
 

Not everywhere in Canada is that cold in winter. Besides the houses are built to handle the cold weather so it's toasty inside. And it's home for me. After 13 years here I'm missing my family. Australia has been pretty good to me, but I have also had some of the worst of times here too.

Yes Bunbury can be hit and miss. But there are some really nice places a bit farther south where real estate is more affordable.

Re: Perth Advice
 

Hi, Warnbro for me would not really "do it for me" the homes are cheaper thanmost of the subs of Perth, Rockingham has a shopping centre and I enjoyed visiting the Rockingham foreshore and of course you are closer to Mandurah which is a" nice day out" now and again. For me though there is no character to the area we did have a block of land there (yes another one lol) not long after we had bought in the "hills" as we wanted to be nearer the coast but after a good long look around the area it really just had the coast and not a lot else...now if that is what you are looking for and you do not mind having a "trek" to the city then it might be the place for you as you do not need to worry about schooling but you do need (like a lot of areas) to choose your area's well...our friends bought a fab house (new ish build) with all the bells and whistles ( for a heck of a lot cheaper than we had bought at around the same time but a lot closer to the City) and they had nothing but trouble, after a couple of years they moved to a much nicer "estate" but still in Warnbro. You have to look at your lifestyle as well and also what you would enjoy having near your new home rather than just a home that is good value. Good luck with your move.

Re: Perth Advice
 

Seen from afar, Rockingham and Mandurah can look like middle-class seaside suburbs of Perth. But they're not, they can be quite gritty and are relatively low-income areas, and aren't necessarily all that close to Perth. It also has one of the lowest percentages of people with university degrees in all of Australia.

I live in the WA regions and don't know Perth very well except in generalities, but here when people look at retiring there or moving to be closer to kids etc., the rule of thumb is look north of river first, east (Perth Hills) second, and south of river last.

When government employees out here (teachers/police/nurses etc) are looking to transfer out of the country towns, they often look at Rockingham/Mandurah because they see it as a stepping stone to get a job later on in Perth City, and also there is enough turnover in Peel (consider why that might be) that there are enough vacancies that perhaps they can get something easier than if they keep waiting for a vacancy in the City that a whole heap of people are going to apply for. Quite often they do this with blinders on, they just want out of the regions so badly and reason that Rockingham is "close enough" to the city, that they end up in worse situations post-transfer and regret it.

If we were ever going to move to the Perth Metro, quite frankly the Rockingham area would not be a place we would consider.

Re: Perth Advice
 

I do realise that. At the end of the day, for many there is no place like home, I guess.
I'm considering moving as well, but more likely somewhere possibly classified as more 'exotic' than present. Definitely warmer. Off there in June to check out things on the ground.
I recall you had some less than pleasant experiences in Australia and Perth in particular. You've stuck it out well.


I still find The South rather expensive. Perhaps a slight decline in areas? I'd go more for Albany region personally, even if further from CBD than Bunbury. I find that area has progressed over the years to something far more acceptable than found in times past .........

Re: Perth Advice
 

I live in Australind, for 8 yrs now, lived in North Perth for couple of years and in Busso for a decade. I love Busso but recent stay in there, gotta say houses are much more expensive and although now a city by classification the infrastructure hasn't kept up with traffic and parking that would drive me nuts even though I already now all the back roads.

I love Australind, local high school great for my kids as was the primary schools. Not big fan of Bunbury but rarely venture there, between Eaton & Australind we have everything we need and new bridge over Collie River that opened last months shortened the trip between those 2 places from 20mins through highway or Old Coast Road to couple of minutes. Hubby works at LIA in Bunbury, takes him 20mins to get to work.

Thing I like about Australind, if you don't need to live in Perth, it's about 90 mins away but you still live the country atmosphere where it's laid back and fun, not busy and stressed. In regards to property, bit of a oversupply ATM as many FIFO workers used to live here and since the mining boom downturn, many went back to Queensland and NZ and have seen houses on the market for ages! Currently have 4 houses within a km from me to come down from 399k to 320k with no takers...

Re: Perth Advice
 

Australind Senior High School is very good one. But you have to be careful in the Bunbury area as school quality varies markedly, from very good to awful, including in neighbourhoods right next to each other.

Bunbury also has two excellent private school options, that a lot of farmers in the Wheatbelt and Great Southern send their kids off to board at.

The Bunbury area is not everyone's cup of tea; I don't particularly like it when I'm there, and I don't often hear it mentioned as a retirement spot (or holiday spot) for regional West Australians. Though I can see how someone who would want to get out of Perth but still have some big-city conveniences would find it appealing. Bunbury has changed a lot over the years - I think it's past history as a grimy port town is fairly ingrained among West Australians and works against it. It doesn't have that vibe but old thought patterns don't go away overnight.

Increasingly the Shire of Capel is becoming more popular as it's seen as a halfway spot between Bunbury and Busselton and isn't built up yet to the point of congestion.

There is a lot more to WA than just the coastal strip between Perth and Busselton. If OP doesn't need to be that close to Perth, but wants to be close enough to commute as needed, I would recommend taking a look at Dwellingup, or going the other direction north, like up around Lancelin.

Re: Perth Advice
 

I was going to mention Lancelin earlier but it's just so far from essential services. At least in the south there's services near (ish). Bunbury has SJOG which has both private and public services and it's got quite a few essential services that are no longer just visiting specialists. Albany Hospital is pretty good and has a lot of visiting specialists (the department I work in goes down at least twice a year to do clinics).

I do love it up on the northern coast, though. We quite often at this time of year will jump on the bike and go for a ride up to Lancelin for coffee. Even better is the fish and chips at Seabird.

One of the reasons we looked at the Waroona/Harvey area is that it's still sort of out of the way but in our retirement (we're both mid 50s now) it's close enough to the city for tertiary medical treatment should we need it.

There are definitely nicer places to live than Rockingham. I know the far northern suburbs get a bad rap, but the housing is relatively inexpensive and if you pick the right area it is pretty good up here. I walk to the train station (38 minutes to the city), I can walk to the shopping centre, we're 20 minutes to Joondalup and only 5 minutes to the beach.

Re: Perth Advice
 

You raise some very good points, Dorothy. I know someone in Harvey who loves it there.

Do you really bike from the northern suburbs all the way to Lancelin? Wow!

Country hospitals can really be hit or miss. For most things that require more than just cursory service, you are put on the first RFDS flight to Jandakot. If you require immediate attention, often the local doctor is video-conferenced in with a specialist in Perth who can walk them through the procedure to stabilise a patient until RFDS gets there - not ideal I know.

Re: Perth Advice
 

Oh dear lord, no! I meant the motorcycle 😀

Re: Perth Advice
 

Houses in Warnbro are very good value, but there are reasons for that being the case. Certainly not the worst place to live, but many issues at their schools.
I live not too far from there, so if you require any further info on the area I may be able to help out.
Have you got any work lined up in the area? Or are you looking to find a base and work from there?