Jayniebabes

We have finally got our visa - hurray!!!!
- we are now officially Australian residents - well almost just have to get out there now!! June/July is leaving date so now lots to prepare !!

If anyone can give advice on the following I'd much appreicate it.

I am having a few wobbles...... Hubby wants us to give Perth ago - cost of living, more for your money etc etc - I have never been - I have only ever been over the other side, Sydney, Brisbane etc. I'd love Sydney but we would be no better off (London prices etc.) so I was wondering if anyone could feed some advice as to what Perth is like:-

Is it a nice place to live??
I've heard mention of Freemantle, Mindaire, Rockingham, Manduarh, Kinross - are these nice trendy areas to live??
I'm still only 35 married with a little girl so we want to live by the coast in an area not too retired? (does that make sense)

Anyway what I am trying to say is any advice would be gratefully received

Jayne

angel17796

Congratulations

Clippy

Congratulations! Can't help you with any other questions cus I've never been

mark 'n' joe

Congratulations and all the best wishes for your new life. We enjoyed Perth when we went 6 years ago but cant offer advice as we didnt travel about too much. Hopefully going back Oct/Nov to have a good look around.

Good luck wherever you settle.

Joe

mick69

Congratulations with the visa!!!

michellemac

Hi Jayne,

Congrats on your visa.

I am from Perth and hubby and I are returning with our two children in May (if we get the visa!).

With regards to "trendy" suburbs, of course the trendier places are also more expensive! If I were you, and your budget allowed, I'd look at the "western Suburbs" like East & North Fremantle, Mosman Park, Cottlesloe, Swanbourne, Nedlands, Claremont and Subiaco. All are close to the beach (walking or short drive) and have good facilities like pubs, restaurants etc. Leederville/West Perth is also quite trendy. Also South Perth and suburbs around there are good as have good access into Perth - so South Perth, Como, Kensington, Victoria Park (has good bits and dodgy bits) are the kind of places you might want to look at,again with pubs and restaurants that would be walking distance or a very short drive.

My husband and I are looking around Fremantle - Palmyra, East Freo, Hilton, Willagee, South Fremantle because like you we like going out for supper and a few drinks often and we like to think we are think we are still trendy . We find the newer suburbs have some advantages - like more modern homes - but we prefer a bit of character in our house and to be within walking distance of shops, restaurants, cafes etc, soour life is a bit more like it is here without us having to rely on the car/taxis for nights out.

Mandurah itself is lovely and has lovely restaurants and a new arts centre and stuff but it is very "retired" with lots of older people (like my parents who live just south of Mandurah) and LOTS of golf courses. The shopping mall is absolutely rubbish for clothes shopping and the closest decent shopping for clothes would be Fremantle or Garden City (a mall) which are a good hour or more drive away. But some great restaurants and I have very fond memories of some nights out there. The nightclubs and pubs have a bit of a reputation for being rough though.

Rockingham is similar to Mandurah but a bit closer to Perth. Again, lots of newer housing estates of mixed quality - some very expensive homes by the beach (on Safety Bay Road for example) and by the foreshore there is a good safe swimming beach for kids and some nice resturants and stuff. I like day trips there. But there are also some dodgy housing estates and with Perth people it has a bit of a reputation for being the home of the Bogan (an Australian equivalent of a chav, for want of a better word) and again the shopping centre is rubbish for anything other than food. But again, there are also some really nice bits and you might like that. But in terms of being "trendy" I think you'd have to have Alistair Campbell-style powers of spin to be able to say that .

I'm not so up-to-date with places like Mindrie or Kinross. They are comparatively a long way from Perth City Centre and are quite new suburbs (so you might find it hard to get restaurants/cafes in walking distance).

So I'd go with Fremantle or similar if I were you!

Michelle

Larissa

Mindarie and Kinross are nice burbs; Mindarie has some eateries etc, and Kinross is convenient for Joondalup. Kinross is cheaper than Mindarie, which is a bit of a yachty/ harbour place. They are fairly new burbs, Mindarie a bit too new for my taste but I couldn't afford it anyway, so that's a good thing.
Although 30 mins from Perth I'd say we are pretty well catered for in schools and shops etc. Joondalup is set to become Perth's 2nd city. We also have good beaches and Joondalup is developing a bit of a cafe strip near Grand Boulevard. Train and freeway connections are also good, the Freeway is due to extend to Kinross soon. The burbs are improving all the time.
I guess it all depends on your lifestyle and what you want. Freo is probably a bit trendier and busier, but also more expensive.
atb
Larissa

kiwichild

I'd be tempted to forget perth and try williamstown (an outer suburb of melbourne). Nice place to live, beaches etc and not too far from hustle and bussle and advantages of a major city. the whole of perth feels like its 'retired' LOL. You will end up feeling isolated and bored shitless in my opinion.I'm outta here as soon as I finish my degree!!

Fremantle is overpriced and overated and mandurah getting that way. The others don't rate a mention in my book and I've been here since late 90s (unfortuantely)

kiwichild

Melbourne probably has as much to offer or more than Sydney and is cheaper, infact Melb property prices not a hell of alot diff from perth thesedays. Long as your not a high profile crim, u'll be right

AdelaideBlue

Why are you still here (Perth) then you muppet???

Siren & Brian

To get a shit education

AdelaideBlue

It would appear so!!!

MJELNC

Congratulations on getting your visa,we are pretty much in the same situation but its the other way round .I want to go to perth and oh wants to go brisbane.We are hoping to leave in july.

Jayniebabes

Thank you so much for the run down I am now going to print off and read carefully but I think you are right Freemantle here we come. Well we can give it a go if its not right we can move on - thats the whole point of renting - buying can wait a year or so until we are setttled.

Will have to try and keep intouch and maybe like others on the thread sset up a meeting place in Perth for a night of meeting each other, beers and barbies!!

Jayne

Jayniebabes

So maybe we will meet if you end up in Perth ??- I am going to give it a go , if we don't like then we head overland to Brisbane, this move is all about getting the best lifestlye and being happy so I will now get into Ozzie mode and take each day as it comes.

Good luck with your move, you are probably like us and in shipping nightmare, house move hell - oh the joys, I am hating this bit