Simone

Yep, it's very 'ugly' and cheap looking too, compared to Carousel which is the most decent(and biggest in Perth) shopping centre around the south east.

Still, Maddington Metro is the only mall around, Gosnells I don't even see a 'centre' of town, and Thornlie has only 1 big one, which I haven't been in but looks just as bad as Maddington.

I work on the industrial side, on Davison st. Pick up the mail from Gosnells occasionally, go to the National Bank in Maddington to drop off cheques(still can't believe in a system where I have to DRIVE to the bank and drop stuff off!!!!) and the postoffice and shops at Metro sometimes.


It's wierd these suburbs(Maddington, Gosnells), you can tell that not that long ago they were more towns, at least the suburbs at the edge of the city. Now they're more into it, but you still have the odd paddock in between, with horses for example Or older cottages in between the newer houses. Even in the city you have this, along Great Eastern Hwy there's some old cottages in between all the industrial area's(and new appartments being built along the riverfront). It shows how fast Perth has grown/is growing, very fascinating.

For example, when you drive through Welshpool, along Welshpool rd in the direction of Lesmurdie, you come past a petrol station(around about Maddington/Banksia Grove). This is the type of petrol station that's found in the country, not city, but behind it is the new suburb if Banksia Grove


So, prices.... Kalamunda, Gooseberry Hill, Darlington, Mt Helena and Mundaring have all taken off majorly(and more). I guess this is because these have the easiest access to the city(great eastern highway). Up that end, I have a feeling Gidgigannup will be next. It's not that far from Midland when you go along Toodyay rd, or you can drive down via Mt Helena.

Jacqui

Funny that, me and the kids have been out star-gazing tonight. It's completely pitch dark outside, no light pollution from Mandurah city, no clouds, and at a warm 20 degrees, perfect for watching the night sky. The kids were excitedly pointing out The Southern Cross, Orion's Belt, Sirius, The Milky Way, etc, but then our torch conked out and we couldn't read the chart we had with us!

We are only a 10-minute drive from the nearest beach. We were told to be prepared for warmer temperatures away from the coast, but I can't say I've found it noticeably hotter, probably not really far enough inland for it to be a problem. And yes the beach novelty does wear off. In the UK it was a good two-hour drive (in holiday traffic) to get to the beach from where we lived and you could guarantee it would be chilly when you got there, certainly too cold to swim and the kids would run around in cossies with goosebumps. Now we can go whenever we like - but we don't, not anymore anyway. At first we went for a stroll every so often, or loaded up the car and took a picnic, but even the kids get fed up building sandcastles once they do it too often. In some ways, it's nice to keep the beach as a "special treat", something to look forward to once in a while.

Having seen the destructive force of the recent Tsunami, which could so easily have hit the WA coast if the epicentre had been further south, I'm glad to keep some distance between our home and the water! In any case, many people I've spoken to who craved a house close to the beach and ended up moving away, said that whilst the ocean views were lovely, there were many complaints that they never considered such as 1) high winds blowing everything around the garden 2) sand permanently inside the house 3) the continual noise of the waves 4) the coastal air ruining the car bodywork 5) having to constantly clean the windows. Not to mention the fact that all beachside suburbs have smaller and smaller blocks and are so crowded now. As crowded as any estate in the UK. In our old house in Halls Head, there was just no privacy. We could hear everything our neighbours said out in the garden, and could hear them flushing the loo and talking on the phone. Whilst our children splashed about in the pool, doing bombies and screaming, we were accutely aware of how much we could be disturbing our older neigbours behind us, who may be trying to sit quietly in the garden reading. If a dog barked anywhere in the street, just seconds later, the rest of the street's dogs would be barking.

We have moved to an area of Mandurah which is expected to become much sought-after, with the completion of the railway and freeway. We live on a peaceful 5 acres, just 10 minutes out of the city with easy access to all facilities. We are no further away from most things than we were living in Halls Head. We will be just minutes away from the freeway entry/exit points but far enough away that noise won't be an issue. The train station will be a short 5-minute drive, also this close will be the new developments at Lakelands (new schools, large shopping centre, recreation areas, housing). It will take about 45-50 minutes to reach Perth city centre from here, so for hubby working in South Perth, he will soon be able to look forward to a shorter commute every day. We are so glad we moved when we did, looking in the real estate pages, our house is going up in value already, with all the talk of the freeway construction. There aren't many suburbs with 5-acre blocks to choose from in Mandurah. We are in the Parklands/Stake Hill area. Or you could look at Barragup and Furnissdale. Otherwise for 1-acre blocks it's Pleasant Grove (heading south towards Dawesville). To give you an idea of price, 5-acre blocks are currently around $250,000 or to buy established houses, about $450,000. There is a place nearby though which is advertised at $650,000 which I gather has 5 bedrooms, home theatre, stables & paddocks, swimming pool, landscaped gardens. Any 5-acre blocks that come up in this area are snapped up quick.

Simone

Right, you've got me interested! I guess I've been put off before with the distance to Perth(Pascal works in Subi, so it will be his decision in the end..) and I thought prices were higher already.

What area's/suburbs do I type into the reiwa etc websites to find area's with prices of around the 200,000 mark, and not to far from the train and freeway?

Jacqui

Are you looking for established houses or blocks of land? Presumably land because you won't get a decent size house at $200k anymore, well not if you're after something modern in a nice suburb anyway. For the shortest commuting time to Perth, you really have to avoid all the suburbs south of the city eg Halls Head, whilst a great suburb with all facilites, it adds 20 minutes onto the journey. New developments happening on the north side of the city include Madora (coastal) or Lakelands and Meadow Springs. There will be a train station built at Lakelands, and numerous other facilites to be in place over the next few years, according to the map shown to me by the land developer. For acreage, Stake Hill and Parklands will be connected to the Lakelands area once the freeway goes in, and will no longer seem to be out of town. All the suburbs north of town are also better for access to private schools, Mandurah High School and TAFE college. Hubby likes it here because we're closer to Bunnings too!

wombat42

The WA coast off Perth is 1,500+ KM's away from the Tsunami epicenture and there is no volcanic activity or fault line off the WA coast. A Tsunami is no more likely to hit Perth then London.

Simone

Established house, but certainly not modern. Looking for something to do up. I'd rather have an old cottage with lots of land than anything else.


Not interested in schools yet, certainly not high schools or even private schools!

bridiej

I think it's more likely to hit Perth than London, given that London is way inland.

Plus they do get tsunamis over here, just last week was a programme about one that hit the Bristol Channel several hundred years ago.

I would think the odds of it happening though are miniscule....

possoms

Hi Bridie aah I was trying to remember how far it was, we drove inland from Perth accross country to wave rock, then down to esperence then to Albany (beaut place) then along the coast to Bunbury. The caves around Bunbury are fantastic you must visit them.

We spent a night at the Cave House Hotel in Yallinup Its a lovely old hotel with nice gardens which lead down to the sea. Well worth a stay for a treat (rooms have spa baths in them).

Larissa

Sorry to be controversial, but isn't it a bit snobby to dis an area because it has a high percentage of Poms?
Good thread though, it's well worth taking time to look at the different areas before buying / renting a house. We looked as far as Falcon and just preferred the feel of the Northern Burbs. Since then we looked out East and considered going semi-rural, but decided it was too much hassle with two young children. Make sure you make the decision based on your own preferences rather than where most people seem to be going.
BTW The hills area is lovely, but for us there were too many negatives.

Simone

It is. And I hope it doesn't seem like I was doing that?(can't be bothered to check my posts now...)
I don't like some of the area's, but it has nothing to do with how many 'poms' there are!!

Yep, there are plenty of negatives, and I think the biggest one is infrastructure/distance to city/jobs. Even from Kalamunda it's not nice and easy to get into the city. Kalamunda rd is probably busy, Gt Eastern Hwy is very busy, and then either the causeway or the tunnel, both are nightmares in rush hour!!

walla

Little Britain

Larissa

Have you been to Joondalup Badge?
In 6 months here I don't think I've seen a Pom in a Man U shirt, maybe 3 in St George Footy tops.
Maybe there are loads of Poms here as they have sussed the infrastructure and ammenities plus the older established areas nearer the city are a bit too expensive.

Muzza04

For infrastructure/location wise, yes livin in the hills is a negative should you be havin to commute to the CBD area by car. However, there are a lot of other areas in the Perth metro which are affected likewise, so it's neither here nor there as a negative against other similarly affordable suburbs, which also have a lack of rail infrastructure and only one main highway to town.

Dreamaway 10

That sounds really nice and certaintly a life style I would want for myself and family.WE went to Kalamunda recently on our Rekkie of Perth and thought it was really nice.Someone has also recommended Mount Helena in the hills which is an area we would look at if moving out to Perth.
A sense of community is important especially if you have children.

Simone

Yes, sort of.
But coming from Mandurah you will soon have a train, and already north. Nothing Mundaring/Kalamunda/Lesmurdie way.
And I'm quite sure it will take you longer to get from Kalumunda(and maybe Roleystone) into the city than it takes coming from Joondalup(or even above Joondalup)


Ok, going to do some proper research, instead of guesses

Roleystone -> West Perth by car: 50 minutes (add at least 20 for rush hour?? Map is saying go via Albany Hwy(argh! a million traffic lights!) and then the causeway and through the city!! (argh, major traffice jams!!). Probably via Roe Hwy/South st/Kwinana fwy is a better route. Maddington- Perth takes me 30 minutes via that route, and that's NOT in rushhour(going in the wrong direction))
http://www.whereis.com.au:80/whereis...rt=1&x=77&y=17

Roleystone -> West Perth by public transport:
1 hour and 20 minutes!!!
http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/Desk...&Time=8%3a30AM


Kalamunda -> West Perth by car, says 35 mins, well, I know for certain it will be a lot longer in rush hour, don't know how much, but I guess about an hour.
Kalamunda -> West Perth by public transport: 1 hour
I'd be suprised if anyone can afford Kalamunda anyway(or at least wants to pay that much..!)


Mt Helena -> West Perth by car, says 56 mins, will be longer in rush hour when taking Gt Eastern hwy and tunnel/graham farmer fwy.

Mt Helena -> West Perth by public transport: 1 hour, 10 mins


Byford is also 50 mins(+ time for rush hour) by car.
Public transport 1 hour/1 hour 10 mins.... not to bad I guess...



It's alright if you can get work closer to home, but we're stuffed as Pascal loves his job, and all other graphic design jobs will be in same area anyway(Subiaco is even further than West Perth...)
And fact is fact, if you're not a tradie, but more an office person(is that white or blue collar??), most work will be Perth/West Perth/Subiaco/South Perth/West Leederville etc. This is proven by the ammount of traffic that goes in every morning. And you can't(well, not often), be picky about jobs when you've just migrated


Just had a look, even places far out like Mt Helena, Roleystone and Byford are already to expensive for us! Looks like something decent in those areas already starts at 300,000!
Not much available under that price on www.reiwa.com.au.....
hmmmmmmmm