Pollyana

Done It was just caught in the queue as you are a new member and there was a link in it - all fine though

Jackier

Best advice I can give is don't buy a house until hubby's done his training at Joondalup and knows where he'll be posted. Plenty of rentals around Joondalup in Ocean Reef, Carramar, Currumbine, Kinross, Tapping & others. Get yourselves out here & have a good look around before you use up your first home buyers allowance & nil (or discounted) stamp duty - that's a one time only offer as we found out to our cost when we decided Carramar was too far from the city centre for us (but it's great if you have a young family and don't have to do a long commute).

HelenTD

[QUOTE=bibblybobbly;9258437] There are good and bad suburbs NOR, SOR and to the east. World War III might erupt here on this subject, but generally speaking, the further away from the coast you go, the cheaper it gets. There are exceptions to this, such as NOR inner suburbs east of the freeway (North Perth, Leederville, Mt Lawley, Coolbinia, Menora, Mt Hawthorn, Highgate, Inglewood) and in some Hills suburbs.

For me personally, I do not like areas where there are industries that might cause pollution or noise, such as Kwinana, Cockburn (cement factory in news today, affecting residents' health), Perth airports (international, domestic and Jandakot), Landsdale, Wangara, Malaga, Carramar, Canning Vale, Kewdale, etc. I would also avoid major roads (highways), such as Tonkin, Roe, Leach, Reid (east of Erindale) Highways. Other people aren't as bothered by these things, or unfortunately, they might not have the choice.

bibblybobbly

Thank you very much for all your replies.. I now have a bit better idea of where to look at. I didnt really think about all the other issues,like which areas are near very busy main roads. I like the sounds of the family oriented places especially. Hubby is off on sunday,so I need to have my "list "by then.
Does anyone know anyone who has done police training in Joondalup? If so, could anyone tell me if, when you finish the training,do you get a choice of where you want to be placed. I am worried by the thought of moving the kids out of their present school, only to find a school in Joondalup, then if he gets placed a long way away,having to move them again.

Thanks everyone

bibblybobbly

I have narrowed down my search to 5 places,thanks to all the helpful views from people here
Looking on the realestate sites,I see that Clarkson has alot of properties for rent. Is it a nice place, as in good place for the family to live? Or should I give it a miss?

ozhappy981

In my view, Clarkson is a good place. It is close to a train station, doctors, several schools, Joondalup (police academy as well as shopping centre), close enough to the beach to benefit from the ozean breeze.

bibblybobbly

Thanks for that,will add it to the list

JBJ14

Clarkson is full of rentals, and in my opinion (we have to be careful here not to offend), Clarkson would not be a choice of mine. I owned a rental there once and spent a few nights in the place when renovating, was loud to say the least. I also have a friend who was a teacher at Clarkson school, and they said they would never send their own kids there.

Joondalup Police Academy does ask for preferences where you want to be posted (well they used to, not sure if it's changed), but there is no guarantee that you get them! But they try to look after families with 1st preference (to save disruption) over single young people.

To stick around Joondalup area in more family friendly suburbs : Currambine / Connolly / Ocean Reef (Beaumaris Primary School is a very well respected public option) / Kallaroo / Even Joondalup itself.

Depends on your budget too, rent can vary from $400 - $700 week, in these areas.

Hope it helps .... again, just an opinion (Where is Weebie for this one?)

Good Luck!

bibblybobbly

Thank you very much for that,its always very good to hear from people who know these areas well.. I know that I really need to see all these places for myself,but I pretty much know that if hubby likes somewhere, then so will I. I wish I was going too,but as we dont really all NEED to go,it makes sense for him go alone. Kallaroo was one of the places I had written down,along with Landsdale,,Kingsley, Ocean reef,and Carramar. Is Joondalup a big place,it seems to cover a large area?
Thanks once again

JBJ14

Joondalup is fairly big, it has shops / pubs / clubs so that extends the suburb out. I would be happy to live in all the suburbs you have listed above, and I can be a touch fussy according to the wife

bibblybobbly

Nothing wrong with fussy, thats what I say!!!. Also added connolly ,looked it up after your suggestion,and it has a high rating on the real estate site,so cheers for that!!

HelenTD

There are all sorts of factors to consider, schools are obviously very important and high on the list for families, but couples or singles might consider pubs and restaurants to be more important. Another factor is safety, and you can look up the crime stats by suburb, to give you a general idea about what happens in that suburb.

Go to http://www.police.wa.gov.au/Aboutus/...8/Default.aspx to look at the stats for the suburbs of interest to do a comparison. When entering the end month date, you have to put in the completed month, ie not March yet. Clarkson's stats are interesting compared to other suburbs nearby.

Some suburbs have assaults logged against them. Having a pub or tavern in that suburb might result in a number of assaults, or if there is a bad section of Homes West accommodation, but the rest of the suburb away from that might be generally OK - it warrants further research, though.

bibblybobbly

I didnt know how to look for crime stats, so that is really helpful. I guess,to be honest I am looking for a certain criteria. Firstly is the crime rate,that is first and foremost, its very important to feel safe in the area in which you live. Secondly is decent public schools,thirdly is good medical facilities. Not that anyone is sick,thank goodness, but its good to know there are good, and adequate facilities. Have heard some people say its hard to get signed on with a doctor close to where they live etc. The rest I am willing to be very flexible on,not bothered about nightlife. In fact would prefer there not to be too much in the way of pubs etc. I would like a nice shopping centre close by, but even that isnt a big deal,in that I would be willing to do without one. I will go take a peek at that website. I know what you mean about neighbouring areas being different. I looked at Karrinyup, which looked very nice, but then its right next to Trigg, and that had a very low score on the safe and sound rating,so that made me think twice. Sorry,I really hope that anyone here doesnt take offence,I am not saying its a real bad place, just that people who lived there had expressed the opinion it was not as good as it ould be in being dead safe

geordiebloke

Clarkson may not be the best suburd around, but compared to most places in the UK, it is in fact pretty decent. Like most other places it has pockets of less desirable areas, but to be honest, in my opinion, it is a lot safer than some of the deemed better suburbs closer to the city.
Personally, I would say if your hubby is going to be at the academy for 6 months, then look for somewhere near to the train line, if you don't want to live in Joondalup, or the surrounding suburbs. After that he will have a limited choice as to where he goes, but that could be anywhere from Yanchep to Mandurah.

HelenTD

You have to be careful looking at stats (lies, damned lies and statistics) and ask questions about why crime might appear to be worse in a particular suburb. Let's look at 4 adjacent coastal suburbs close to Karrinyup:

City Beach, median price (Dec 2010) $1,546,500, local sales this year ranging from $1,850,000 to $3,650,000
Scarborough, median price $763,000, local sales this year ranging from $225,000 to $900,000
Trigg, median price $1,160,000, local sales this year ranging from $695,000 to $2,435,000
North Beach, median price $725,000, local sales this year ranging from $445,000 to $950,000

Scarborough has pubs, cafes, surfers, a multi-storey hotel, backpackers and lots of other tourist accommodation. Some might say it attracts a particular crowd, eg young people going from one pub to another, on a hot summer night at the beach. So, any demographics for Scarborough - and crime stats - are going to be very different from other suburbs nearby.

City Beach is immediately south of Scarborough, Trigg is immediately north, the next suburb up the coast is North Beach. There aren't too many differences between their crime stats. It is possible that Trigg's crimes occurred at the cheapest end, next to North Beach, which has some Homes West rentals. None of these 3 suburbs have pubs, which can attract a bit of trouble. These 3 suburbs are wealthy, so can be the target of thieves, eager to get their hands on flash cars and even flashier jewelry or household goods. Believe me, you would be very safe in these suburbs - but as in any suburb, check it out for Homes West. There are parts of Karrinyup I wouldnt' touch with a bargepole (don't know if there's still trouble in Paris Way?). Someone posted a link to suburbs and the number of Homes West properties in them - worth looking at (Doubleview, Scarborough and Innaloo all feature).