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suburb opinion - Willagee, WInthrop


Flames123

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It has one of the highest proportions of Homes West housing (council housing) in WA and has a reputation for social problems.

i see. :(

suburb hunting is extremely hard.

can someone please tell me , what exactly is the problem with hamilton hill?

i google maps search on some properties looks quite nice - as in some streets look rather nice and some streets look a total mess ....

whats the issue with this suburb?

the properties i like in Hilton/ Samson are too small (in terms of land and what i can afford) and the larger properties show signs of aging.

i really wanted a property that has a decent sized backyard for the kids to spend sometime outdoors.

 

for all the "nicer" suburbs- i will get a place but smaller land size :(

 

canning vale for now seems perfect but the commute for canning vale to Samson is quite a bit (where my kids will be schooling)

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i see. :(

suburb hunting is extremely hard.

can someone please tell me , what exactly is the problem with hamilton hill?

i google maps search on some properties looks quite nice - as in some streets look rather nice and some streets look a total mess ....

whats the issue with this suburb?

the properties i like in Hilton/ Samson are too small (in terms of land and what i can afford) and the larger properties show signs of aging.

i really wanted a property that has a decent sized backyard for the kids to spend sometime outdoors.

 

for all the "nicer" suburbs- i will get a place but smaller land size :(

 

canning vale for now seems perfect but the commute for canning vale to Samson is quite a bit (where my kids will be schooling)

 

Oh Flames123, finding a rental from overseas is so tough!

 

Hammy Hill - parts of it are fantastic, walking distance to the beach. My twin sister lives there near Manning Park, and that's a great place. Some parts of it are rough as guts. Same as Willagee, although Willagee definitely has more scary parts than Hammy Hill. Both have a fair bit of older housing stock. Willagee has a great nature playground. Hammy Hill does have some really big power lines but only in a few sections of the suburb.

 

If you are going to go for Willagee try looking at the part closer to Kardinya Estate, not the part nearer Leach Highway.

If you are looking at Hammy Hill, aim to get a house west of Carrington St. It's much nicer.

 

If I had to choose one over the other it would be Hammy Hill.

 

Listen I have lived in 'desirable' suburbs like East Freo and rougher suburbs (Hilton) and all I can say is that in the rougher suburbs the community is usually stronger, but it's street by street as to the desirability. As you have already identified.

You need to be able to check out the neighbours, look for unkempt houses close by which tend to be a sign of Homeswest, which CAN (but not always) be an indicator of some anti social behaviours. All the Homeswest families near me are lovely, and quiet, but that's only since the really bad ones got evicted :)

 

I don't know how many kids you have or what ages they are, but a huge backyard isn't always a great thing here. It's really hot and dry, you don't want to be responsible for trying to keep 600sqm of grass alive from October - April, believe me. There are lots of fantastic parks in most suburbs. I have 3 boys and a smallish garden - just enough grass for a bit of a kick around and some handstands, and of course the obligatory vegie garden, but lots of local parks within walking distance. Your kids will spend plenty of time outdoors anyway, believe me - at school, at the beach, at the park, at the river.

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Oh Flames123, finding a rental from overseas is so tough!

 

Hammy Hill - parts of it are fantastic, walking distance to the beach. My twin sister lives there near Manning Park, and that's a great place. Some parts of it are rough as guts. Same as Willagee, although Willagee definitely has more scary parts than Hammy Hill. Both have a fair bit of older housing stock. Willagee has a great nature playground. Hammy Hill does have some really big power lines but only in a few sections of the suburb.

 

If you are going to go for Willagee try looking at the part closer to Kardinya Estate, not the part nearer Leach Highway.

If you are looking at Hammy Hill, aim to get a house west of Carrington St. It's much nicer.

 

If I had to choose one over the other it would be Hammy Hill.

 

Listen I have lived in 'desirable' suburbs like East Freo and rougher suburbs (Hilton) and all I can say is that in the rougher suburbs the community is usually stronger, but it's street by street as to the desirability. As you have already identified.

You need to be able to check out the neighbours, look for unkempt houses close by which tend to be a sign of Homeswest, which CAN (but not always) be an indicator of some anti social behaviours. All the Homeswest families near me are lovely, and quiet, but that's only since the really bad ones got evicted :)

 

I don't know how many kids you have or what ages they are, but a huge backyard isn't always a great thing here. It's really hot and dry, you don't want to be responsible for trying to keep 600sqm of grass alive from October - April, believe me. There are lots of fantastic parks in most suburbs. I have 3 boys and a smallish garden - just enough grass for a bit of a kick around and some handstands, and of course the obligatory vegie garden, but lots of local parks within walking distance. Your kids will spend plenty of time outdoors anyway, believe me - at school, at the beach, at the park, at the river.

 

 

Hi KLO- your posts are by far the most helpful! Thanks so much:)

i suppose what i will do for now, is find a temporary place to stay and then scout around myself and see what suits me, my kids and the overall situation.

My kids are aged 11,9 & 6. My oldest will go to Seton and I hope to keep the younger two at a nearby catholic school so i don't need to make extra trips dropping them off to school.

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You will be surprised how different things can seem in reality compared to on line.

 

Before we moved, we were certain we had limited where we wanted to be to two suburbs. When we arrived and went to look around, we realised that these two suburbs were the two we liked least! We ended up falling in love with a suburb we had never heard of and 8 years later are still there now.

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You will be surprised how different things can seem in reality compared to on line.

 

Before we moved, we were certain we had limited where we wanted to be to two suburbs. When we arrived and went to look around, we realised that these two suburbs were the two we liked least! We ended up falling in love with a suburb we had never heard of and 8 years later are still there now.

 

That's how we ended up in Leeming - never heard of it before

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hello everybody. can i get any opinions on Willagee?

the house costs are more within my budget

 

Willagee is a suburb undergoing massive changes. It used to be almost totally social housing, with a very large indigenous population. In the last 10 years a lot of the social housing properties have been sold to private investors/builders/families, and there are some very lovely areas and properties now within the suburb. There are still the social issues that SOME social housing brings, but it is a suburb evolving. I actually like it, and I have friends who live there and they like it. 12 years ago the two government schools (Willagee PS and Carrawatha PS) amalgamated to make a new community school - Carralee Community School. This school is taking students from right across the catchment area from both private housing and social housing, and it is doing well and bringing the different communities together. There is a big reference to the Indigenous population as the Willagee area has always been one of their "places". So if you buy into this area and want your children to have an education that includes this, go for it. Otherwise look at private and alternative schools if you wish to live in this catchment area.

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Bottom line though @KLO is that what you look at on the internet can be the total opposite of how it is and how it feels to you as a person and as a family when you get here and start to look around and visit places. Not just a drive through, but get out the car and walk around a suburb, go into the shops etc - you might find a totally different view. Our family made the move 25 years ago before the advent of the internet and although we had family here and had visited a lot, we thought we knew where we wanted to live. Turned out that what we thought looked good on paper was not where we wanted, and we ended up in an older suburb, in a house we have totally knocked around and renovated, and totally love it... been here 24 years and my kids will carry me out in a box....

 

I always recommend that new migrants rent for a while in an area they think they like and just keep looking at other areas.... you cannot judge a house, a street, a suburb, an area, from the internet. You need to live it to know if it is for you. And sometimes you know, you walk into a place that is totally not what you thought you wanted, and you just "know" it is for you.... So be open minded. It is brilliant that you are planning and making sure everything goes OK.... but just be open minded too..... this is a big adventure and journey for you and you wouldn't be making it if there wasn't something in your life that needed changing.... so let the change happen....

 

Just read that back and now stepping off soap box... sorry....hope it didnt come across like a lecture.... Rossy

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i see. :(

suburb hunting is extremely hard.

can someone please tell me , what exactly is the problem with hamilton hill?

i google maps search on some properties looks quite nice - as in some streets look rather nice and some streets look a total mess ....

whats the issue with this suburb?

the properties i like in Hilton/ Samson are too small (in terms of land and what i can afford) and the larger properties show signs of aging.

i really wanted a property that has a decent sized backyard for the kids to spend sometime outdoors.

 

for all the "nicer" suburbs- i will get a place but smaller land size :(

 

canning vale for now seems perfect but the commute for canning vale to Samson is quite a bit (where my kids will be schooling)

 

 

Hi, I don't know about the suburbs sorry, but I have been in touch with the school I want my kids to go to when we move in May, one thing they have said is that until I have a rental agreement to evidence we live in the catchment area the kids can't enrol. So if you want them to school in Sampson, I would have thought that's where you'd need to live?

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Hi, I don't know about the suburbs sorry, but I have been in touch with the school I want my kids to go to when we move in May, one thing they have said is that until I have a rental agreement to evidence we live in the catchment area the kids can't enrol. So if you want them to school in Sampson, I would have thought that's where you'd need to live?

 

Not if you choose private, catchments don't apply.

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thanks Rossmoyne - all points noted :)

 

Willagee is a suburb undergoing massive changes. It used to be almost totally social housing, with a very large indigenous population. In the last 10 years a lot of the social housing properties have been sold to private investors/builders/families, and there are some very lovely areas and properties now within the suburb. There are still the social issues that SOME social housing brings, but it is a suburb evolving. I actually like it, and I have friends who live there and they like it. 12 years ago the two government schools (Willagee PS and Carrawatha PS) amalgamated to make a new community school - Carralee Community School. This school is taking students from right across the catchment area from both private housing and social housing, and it is doing well and bringing the different communities together. There is a big reference to the Indigenous population as the Willagee area has always been one of their "places". So if you buy into this area and want your children to have an education that includes this, go for it. Otherwise look at private and alternative schools if you wish to live in this catchment area.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Bottom line though @KLO is that what you look at on the internet can be the total opposite of how it is and how it feels to you as a person and as a family when you get here and start to look around and visit places. Not just a drive through, but get out the car and walk around a suburb, go into the shops etc - you might find a totally different view. Our family made the move 25 years ago before the advent of the internet and although we had family here and had visited a lot, we thought we knew where we wanted to live. Turned out that what we thought looked good on paper was not where we wanted, and we ended up in an older suburb, in a house we have totally knocked around and renovated, and totally love it... been here 24 years and my kids will carry me out in a box....

 

I always recommend that new migrants rent for a while in an area they think they like and just keep looking at other areas.... you cannot judge a house, a street, a suburb, an area, from the internet. You need to live it to know if it is for you. And sometimes you know, you walk into a place that is totally not what you thought you wanted, and you just "know" it is for you.... So be open minded. It is brilliant that you are planning and making sure everything goes OK.... but just be open minded too..... this is a big adventure and journey for you and you wouldn't be making it if there wasn't something in your life that needed changing.... so let the change happen....

 

Just read that back and now stepping off soap box... sorry....hope it didnt come across like a lecture.... Rossy

 

Yep I agree. I live here! And I live in (and love) the older suburbs too BTW, more leafy, less concrete, more character! I think maybe you meant this message for the OP?

Edited by KLO
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