Dorothy

Hi there. Yes, I live in Perth - have done for 16 years. I worked at Royal Perth Hospital for 13 years before being seconded to the Department of Health working on the WA State COVID response in March 2020. I left Health at the end of November to take a governance job in the private sector.

Suburbs are really down to personal preference. And of course where your work is. For example if you work at Joondalup Hospital you don't want to be living in Secret Harbour. My ex and I built a house in the far northern suburbs in 2010 and I lived up that way until December just past. My new husband and I are living in an apartment near the city now, as he's FIFO and I work in Belmont (near the airport), so there's no need for us to live an hour's drive from where we need to be. Personally, I love city living, but with a couple of kids you'd probably want something a little more suburbish. My advice would be to rent a short term accommodation near the city until you or your wife have jobs then find something near where you plan to work.

Contrary to what Moses (who lives in Ireland, not WA) says, not everyone wants to live by the beach. There are some really lovely suburbs here that are in the hills or Swan Valley. Honestly, I can't remember the last time I was at the beach. However I do use the pool at our apartment pretty much every morning before work. My nearest beach would be 20 minutes drive I'd say.

MO_90

Sounds excellent, I like the look of the Northern Suburbs. Ellenbrook looks up and coming, a bit of a drive from the city but that wouldn't put me off.

I really can't see us making the move without securing employment before we go so we'll just need to wait and see.

Moses2013

That is close to the beach (20 mins drive) and with wanting access, I meant not involving hours of driving. (Where I live now is irrelevant, where I have lived is and everyone can still comment, or shall we stop people living in AU commenting on UK or Europe). Fact is that nearly everyone in Australia wants to be near the beach even if they go or not, the interior is just too dry or hot without a sea breeze and there's a reason why cities along the coast are so big. If you are used to a house in the UK, it's likely you will want a house in AU.

Retirednow

Couldn’t pay me to go to a beach. Beaches have sand, and sand gets into places it shouldn’t.

Moses2013

You could walk along the promenade, although you wouldn't want the sand in your eyes either. Sunglasses can help there.
I suppose it can sometimes look a bit odd when us elderly build a sandcastle on our own, but with kids it will be grand.

brits1

I would not live in the northern northern suburbs anyway way too far out from Perth (I always like to be able to have my city “fix” when needed) We bought land once near Joondalup (just before the shopping centre was refurbed) and sold it on as we liked living in the “hills” at the time but also the distance to Perth, Freo, Rockingham, Mandurah and further south that far north was just too far for us, Your right about everyone wanting to live by the coast we liked a view of the hills and also the beach so we choose an in between when we actually left living in the hills. I suppose like anywhere it depends on where your work is as traffic in Perth was not great in rush hour even back when we lived in WA. Belmont forum had the best Chinese food in their food court and the movies just a short walk away were always really clean and very nice staff. Which beach is your nearest? we lived a lot closer to the coast than you and our drive was 30 mins on a good day. Personally we much preferred the southern subs over to the northern subs, anything past karrinyup, balcatta at a push and I had nosebleeds lol but again it’s all down to personal taste and of course the dreaded “work” lol Rolystone, Kalamunda, Armadale Hills, Kelmscott Hills. Mundaring are different options other than being in the “flats” of Perth and yes I either lived, had friends or visited these places quite often. FIFO that is not always easy (had plenty experience of that as well lol) but the money benefits can be a bonus

Dorothy

Don't be fooled by the brochures. Ellenbrook, for want of a better word, is a shithole. Full of crime and people wanting out, and it's a long way from anything. They've been promised a rail line for years, but it's never going to happen.

There are much nicer areas in the north, if that's where you want to be. If you really want to be that far north you would be better off looking at places like Kinross or Edgewater. They're closer to transport and much better places to raise kids.

MO_90

I Was looking up information of Ellenbrook last night and starting to get put off by the place.

Thanks for suggesting those two areas, I will have look. Any other suburbs a little closer to Perth?

MO_90

What are areas like Butler, Clarkson, Quinns Rocks like for crime, schools etc?

brits1

We bought land in Butler in the first stages, we backed out for a couple of reasons, way too far out, we did not like the surrounding subs (may of changed by now) but back in 2010 they were not popular subs to a lot of people but they were a reasonable prices. If I did have a not such a great budget and wanted to live closer to the ocean and a long drive to decent shopping ie Garden City, Perth Innaloo then go for it. Maybe start at where you would be working, how much you can actually afford to buy a home and what rents you can also afford because I would definitely rent first, someone’s hell maybe someone’s dream. Good luck