soon to be a sheila

Hi all

looking for a bit of insight into the suburb of clarkson.
Have been checking out the houses on the internet. looks really nice. could anyone advise if this would be a nice place to live when we move to perth in october.

liverpool12

Hi,
We stayed not too far away from Clarkson when we went over in April and went to see a few new build houses there. They seemed OK price wise but seemed a bit smaller to what you could get elsewhere, albeit we stayed in Mindarie and some of the houses there are like mansions. Still Clarkson looked OK, its got a big shopping area at Ocean Keys which isnt too far away with Coles, Bunnings, KMart, KFC, Burger King, Pizza, Chinese etc.....even a pub called the Whale & Ale !!!

The train and bus station is now at Clarkson, so Perth CBD is only about 30 -40 mins away on the train.

We spoke to a few people who lived in other suburbs north of the river, (Kinross, Jundaloop, Mindarie to name a few) and some gave it a bit of bad press, something to do with the local council buying so many houses on the estate for people with low incomes or unemployed families to live in, so if you bought a house there, you could end up with some 'low life' as they put it, living next door.

Now I am not one to judge before I know the facts, so I would say take things at face value and take a look at the place, thats what we did and it seemed really nice, so I wouldnt have any reservations about living there.

Just because you dont earn lots of money, doesnt make you a 'low life' does it...

Unless any of you guys know any different????

Rob

mark213

Too many brits live in the north for my liking

harveyhare

We live in Clarkson in the somerly estate and we love it here.
As mentioned in previous post there is a shopping centre, lots of take away places, a pub, library, doctors, dentist etc..
We chose Somerly for the transport network and with 2 teenagers its been great having the train station so close.
Not all the houses are small or on small blocks, it depends on what part of the estate they were built, the last few being developed do seem small as the land prices have shot up and people are cashing in by sub division.
We have a decent size block and a 4x2 home, we are not overlooked in any direction.
Home west have some blocks in somerly and you can view these in the land sales office, just to give you an idea, there are 2 in our area of 200 blocks so they are not in abundance, You would not notice the difference between a privatly developed home and a home west home, you get low life in all the suburbs.
The older part of clarkson offers real value for money and although the houses are older you get a decent size block.
As for people in other subs slating Clarkson.... most have never lived there and go on old rumours from way back when Clarkson stood alone with little around it, and lots of social problems.

Let me know if you need any further advice but you need to see for yourself, depends on what you are looking for and what sort of services you need also schools.

Di

Bobcat

Clarkson did have a bit of a bad name several years ago along with nearby Merriwa; but there's good and bad in all areas irrespective as to how high the house prices are in that suburb.

If you can afford it i would recommend Somerly; we aren't allowed to advertise the area as Somerly because technically it's still Clarkson........ albeit a posher part of Clarkson.

The good thing about buying in Somerly is properties there are relatively new whereas in Clarkson the houses there are hovering around the 10 -11 year old mark so they are more prone to maintenance needs and perhaps a face lift.

Mindarie just across the road is very upmarket; an affluent suburb and a real nice place to live...... but .......... re there being good and bad in all areas; a young girl was sadly murdered within the grounds of the local school a couple of years or so ago so it just goes to show.

There are a lot of Brits living in Clarkson/Somerly. it's very handy for everything especially shops and transport. There's nothing at all wrong with the area so don't believe everything you hear.

I came from a Council House Estate in Preston, Lancashire........... it never did me any harm. Granted, Homes West do have a fair quota of 'Council Houses' in Clarkson........... but they are also in Butler......... and Quinns too.

nickyjohnt

Dont forget about Ridgewood either ! Its not far from Clarkson, There is the older suburb which is quite small ( where we live ) but has large blocks and good value for money ! The newer part is still being developed, It will also have a railway station there soon.

Nicky

BadgeIsBack

I can't see anything wrong with an 11 year old house - apart from the paint fading.

I'd much rather buy a 20 year house - you can paint and renovate but you can't change the location!

Bobcat

A new paint job is usually on the cards. In addition, water heaters are usually on the verge of collapse; or in drastic need of a service which usually means spending a few bob on replacement parts and labour.

Also, the retic systems are apt to play-up on an aged property. Don't know if it's the climate......... or what?

Obviously it all depends a lot on quality of work in the first place, and ongoing maintenance and general housekeeping.

Once upon a time they used to make houses much stronger in olden days than today.

Dorothy

We live in Clarkson, in the newer Somerley part. Our house is on a smallish block, but we still have a nice alfresco and a nice back yard for the dog. The kids are older now so they play at the parks nearby or go down to the youth centre and play at the skate/bike park. We're a 3 minute drive to the train station if I decide to take public transit or 40 minute drive to my office in Leederville. Either way takes me from 40-60 minutes, depending on what time of day I leave or what traffic is like.
My kids both attend the public schools here and are very happy. My 11 year old son is in year 6 at Clarkson Primary and my 12 (nearly 13) year old daughter is in year 8 at Clarkson High School. They have made lots of friends in the area, as there are tons of younger families with kids in the area. Lots of greenspace for them to play, too.
There is a shopping centre in town with 2 grocery stores, 2 butchers, a Baker's Delight, a few coffee shops, the usual clothing shops, etc. There are also lots of smaller retailers in town and we tend to support them as much as we can. There is a medical clinic, which bulk bills and has very nice doctors, a new library, a nice pub/restaurant, all the major banks and petrol stations in the shopping district. For major services like Medicare and licensing, etc you would need to go into Joondalup, but that's only a 10 minute drive down Marmion Ave.
You can drive to Mindarie marina in about 5 minutes or if you like the beach there are plenty nearby.
As for the public housing, there is a house being built across from ours by HomesWest and it is just like the other houses being built on our street. Unless you lived in the house, you wouldn't know it was social housing at all.
All in all, we're fairly happy here. Love the suburb, as it's the right fit for us. You may find it's not for you, but then different strokes and all that.

Bobcat

My son and his girlfriend bought a block on the estate around the middle of last year; they can't wait for the building work to commence.

All in all, Somerly is a magic suburb........... it caters for everyone. A feather in the cap to the developers that designed it as a lot of thought went into the area.

soon to be a sheila

All sounds very nice to me. As i said houses all look lovely.

Thanks for input

Nu-Shooz

Clarkson has this bad reputation for some reason.

But from what i have seen, there is nothing wrong with the place. Close to all amenities etc, nice suburb, decent house prices compared to some.

Dorothy

You'll have to get in touch if you move up this way.

soon to be a sheila

Dorothy

You mentioned that you can register for medicare and licensing in Joondalup
licensing of what exactly. excuse my ignorance

Bobcat

I think Dorothy is referring to the registration of motor vehicles, issuing of third party insurance stickers, driving tests, and the issuing of driving licences etc.

Go there, pass your test.......... get all the red tape out the way........ then round the corner is an excellent Chinese Restaurant called Crystal Palace which do a nice lunch at very reasonable prices. Highly recommended.