clairey b

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a great xmas.

Hope someone can come along with some words of advice and wisdom!

We are having a real dilemma at the moment. We currently live SOR in Perth, but are wanting to move North. We both work in Nedlands (by Kings Park), so currently driving to work takes us about 45 mins + (which is fine).

We were going to just rent again, but have now decided we would prefer to buy, so have got pre approval for a mortgage all sorted-now the dilemma! where do we buy and where do the kiddies go to school!!

Everyone at work is encouraging us to buy nearer the city, but for what we would need there is just no way we could manage that at the moment, and plus the fact we came here for the lifestyle and not the investment and returns potential (although would be nice!!)

Our son has been accepted into John xxiii (in Mt Claremont), St Marks (Hillarys) and also St Stpehens (Carramar), so now we are not sure on the areas to concentate our search on and then which school he should go to!! He is quite a bright lad, (especially in maths and science).

We quite liked Mindarie, Quinns Rock and around that area, but then would it be a nightmare to get our son to school and also us to work from there, or do you think it would be ok? I know the traffic gets really heavy, so that its something else to think about i know. Or are there any good schools in that area we could look into for him?

Sorry for all my ramblings-i just hope some of this makes sense!! We are just a bit muddled at the mo, and not quite sure of the best thing to do, so any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Many thanks for reading,

Claire xx

northernbird

If you have written offers for all those schools then you are one lucky family

St Stephens would be well and truly out of your way if you are doing the drop off on the way to work so I would discount that one. My daughter is going to St Marks and it takes me between 10 and 15 minutes with the traffic from Connolly which is not as far north as Mindarie so you could add another 10 minutes on from there. When my daughter has been going a while she will end up taking the bus. Private schools up that way are Peter Moyes and Quinns Baptist, neither of which are considered the same league as the others you have offers for.

Not many kids up north as far as Mindarie will be going to John XXIII so think about friends. I have seen quite a lot of St Marks uniforms so likely to be more kids around the area attending there. Connolly, Currambine, Ocean Reef are all nice suburbs too, maybe worth a look.

irishbloo

Whatever school you choose try not live too far from it.Otherwise it makes it difficult for play overs .If you chose Saint Marks in Hillarys depending on your budget you could look at Karrinyup,Carine,Padbury or Kingsley.Im not sure on areas for the others .Think about it carefully as you really dont want to spend your whole time driving all over the place.
We live in Greenwood and kids went to school in Karrinyup so had to do lots of driving on the freeway as none of their friends lived near us.Eldest starts high school in February at Sorrento but this time their are some kids in our area going there too.Im moving youngest to North beach school.Good luck with your decisions.

clairey b

Thanks so much Northernbird-i really appreciate it.

Such a dilemma at the mo! Do you think Quinns would be too far for St Marks, or would it be ok? We really liked the look of Connolly, but not alot on the market at the moment, which isn't alot of use!!!

Also how are you finding St Marks? Is your daughter happy there? It seemed a lovely school when we looked round.

Anyway, thanks again,

Claire

northernbird

She isn't there yet. Her offer is for 2011. Connolly is a lovely suburb with a fantastic little primary school too. Personally I wouldn't live in Quinns or Mindarie full stop but that is just me. Lots of people like it there.

clairey b

Many thanks Irishbloo. We had thought about the whole friends thing-which has been making our decision even more difficult!!! The problem is that we could afford to live in those areas you mentioned, but with only getting a 3 bed, which with 5 of us isn't so great! We could do it, but wouldn't be that easy!!! oh decisions decisions!!!!

clairey b

Thanks again. Given us something to think about!

Claire x

irishbloo

Padbury or Kingsley are reasonable priced suburbs.Im with Nb.I think Quinns wouldnt be for me.Besides it seems too long of a drive for work for you.Then you have to take your other kids into consideration.

Dorothy

Think about how far north you go, too. If 45 minutes is too long to commute now then Quinns or Mindarie are too far north. I work in the city and it's at least an hour to drive from Butler, so 45 from Mindarie or 50 from Quinns during rush hour. I would go with Irishbloo's suggestions if you're looking to get closer to work.

clairey b

Many thanks for your suggestions. Will look into those areas too.

The commute doesn't bother me as i used to drive at least an hour to work at home, its the kids and schools that concern us more really, so we just have to make sure we make the right decision for them really!

Thanks again Irishbloo and Dorothy, i really do appreciate it.

Claire x