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Where Do We Start???


Guest CCMC

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Hi this might seem a bit random but we are in the process of applying for our visa . we have a case officer and things seem to be going well. We have narrowed our pin in the map to perth but are stuck on how to decide which town we choose. Does anyone know any good sites for information on towns and what they can offer or even better recommend one!! big ask i know but any help appreciated :D

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Guest Amanda Cook

Hello & good luck with the visa! Check out www.reiwa.com.au and www.realestate.com.au - both will give you run-downs of all the suburbs. It's easier to say which places NOT to head for, and even then it's a huge generalisation. But some of the not-so-nice areas are Armadale, Gosnells, Mirrabooka, Balga, Girrawheen, Cannington, Clarkson, Kwinana, Maddington, Warnbro, Thornlie. If you don't mind leaving 30-60kms out from the CBD, a lot of poms head north to Brighton, Butler (new estates near the beach - big houses, reasonably priced) & South to Mandurah (older area with a lot of new development & getting very expensive; has a holiday town feel to it).

Hope that's of some help.

Cheers,

Amanda

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Guest Bobcat
Hello & good luck with the visa! Check out www.reiwa.com.au and www.realestate.com.au - both will give you run-downs of all the suburbs. It's easier to say which places NOT to head for, and even then it's a huge generalisation. But some of the not-so-nice areas are Armadale, Gosnells, Mirrabooka, Balga, Girrawheen, Cannington, Clarkson, Kwinana, Maddington, Warnbro, Thornlie. If you don't mind leaving 30-60kms out from the CBD, a lot of poms head north to Brighton, Butler (new estates near the beach - big houses, reasonably priced) & South to Mandurah (older area with a lot of new development & getting very expensive; has a holiday town feel to it).

Hope that's of some help.

Cheers,

Amanda

 

There are good and bad pockets in all suburbs. Mirrabooka has had a bad rap for years yet there are multi-level million dollar mansions in one pocket of that suburb. Mindarie is considered to be quite affluent and a bit oitey-toitey........... one poor British girl was murdered in the grounds of the local school at Mindarie a few years back.

 

Quite a few Perth Poms members live in Clarkson so i don't think they will take too kindly to their suburb being considered a not so nice area. On the whole Clarkson isn't all that bad an area; my son and his girlfriend have just built a house there............. I have sold over 30 houses in Clarkson over the years and to date all my clients are still there............. and all are very happy with life in Clarkson.

 

Poor old Rockingham comes in for more than its fair share of criticism........ here's the latest mickey take on Rockingham dwellers which is currently doing the rounds................ yet i'm sure the people that do live in Rockingham love it down there and in relaity it is absolutely nothing like what this mickey taking email depicts :

 

A major tornado has hit Australia in the early hours of this morning, with the epicentre believed to be the town of Rockingham, south of Perth WA.

 

Victims were seen wandering around aimlessly muttering, "F'kin 'ell"

and "Whadda carnt". The tornado has completely decimated the area,

leaving a damage bill expected to exceed more than $3000.

 

Several priceless collections, including mementos from the Torana

Appreciation Society and the Rockingham Progress Hall, were destroyed

in the storm. Three areas of historic burnt out cars were disturbed.

Many locals were woken well before their welfare cheques arrived.

 

Perth radio reported that hundreds of residents were confused and

bewildered, still trying to come to terms with the fact that something

interesting had happened in the area.

 

One resident - Tracy Sharon Smith, a 15-year-old mother of 5 said,

"It was such a shock, my little Chardonnay Mercedes came running into my bedroom crying. My youngest two, Tyler-Morgan and Megan-Storm slept through it all. I was still shaking when I was watching Jerry

Springer later in the morning".

 

The people of Rockingham are a resilient community and evidence of a

full recovery can already been seen, with looting, muggings and car

crime carrying on as normal.

 

The aid response from local charities has been swift. The Red Cross

has so far managed to ship 4,000 crates of Vegemite to the area to help

the stricken locals. Rescue workers are still searching through the rubble

and have found large quantities of personal belongings, which include

Centrelink booklets, Perth Glory shirts, Priceline jewellery and

fine bone china from Dewsons.

 

The Red Cross seeks to raise money for food and clothing, to be

air-dropped as parcels for those unfortunate to be caught up in this

disaster. Donations of clothing are in demand. Items most needed

include baseball caps; tracksuit tops (his and hers); flannelette

shirts (female); white sport socks; sturdy boots; and any other items

usually sold in "Op" Shops.

 

Food parcels may be harder to come by, but are needed all the same.

Required foodstuffs include, Dagwood Dogs, doner kebabs, McDonalds,

KFC, ice cream and cans of UDL Bourbon and Coke; Passion Pop and Victoria Bitter.

 

 

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Guest Amanda Cook

As I said, it's a huge generalisation to tar an entire suburb with one brush and I am not intending to insult anyone's home, just answer a member's question. In fact my previous home was in the Armadale hills & I absolutely loved it there, but in general, Armadale ain't too pretty...hence have included as "not-so-nice". Personally I dont' like the Butler type zones because they are so new and fabricated, but I know a lot of people love it there for all sorts of reasons. It's all very much a personal choice.....

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Guest Bobcat
As I said, it's a huge generalisation to tar an entire suburb with one brush and I am not intending to insult anyone's home, just answer a member's question. In fact my previous home was in the Armadale hills & I absolutely loved it there, but in general, Armadale ain't too pretty...hence have included as "not-so-nice". Personally I dont' like the Butler type zones because they are so new and fabricated, but I know a lot of people love it there for all sorts of reasons. It's all very much a personal choice.....

 

We live in Carramar which is also supposedly a not so bad area......... but; just lately we have had a spate of graffiti and loads of hoon behaviour. Even had a house half demolished by hoons racing up and down the street which recently made the news on TV......... great publicity for a suburb where my office is $#%&^*.

 

Getting back to the original poster............... it's best to rent for a while when you arrive and spend time both north and south of the river.......... then decide where you want to live? There are good and bad suburbs everywhere so you need to choose a good spot. also, you'll need to take into account nearby schools, associated infrastructure, and commuting time to and from work.

 

Wherever you do end up; chances are it will be much better for you and your family than being back un the UK?

 

Johnno

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We live in Carramar which is also supposedly a not so bad area......... but; just lately we have had a spate of graffiti and loads of hoon behaviour. Even had a house half demolished by hoons racing up and down the street which recently made the news on TV......... great publicity for a suburb where my office is $#%&^*.

 

Getting back to the original poster............... it's best to rent for a while when you arrive and spend time both north and south of the river.......... then decide where you want to live? There are good and bad suburbs everywhere so you need to choose a good spot. also, you'll need to take into account nearby schools, associated infrastructure, and commuting time to and from work.

 

Wherever you do end up; chances are it will be much better for you and your family than being back un the UK?

 

Johnno

 

And I thought that the original poster was generalising. Who says it will be much better than back in the UK? Chances are? The reality is that it will suit some people and not others and given the current economic situation in Perth / Australia that could be a 50 / 50 split at the moment. Bear in mind if you do not work in one of the boom sectors it is same old, same old for a vast majority of people especially struggling families.

 

Much better will depend on where you are coming from, how much money you have, what kind of job you can get, where you live, if you settle, if you make friends, if you gel, if you can stand the heat and so on and so on.

 

Perth is fantastic but so are a vast number of locations in the UK.

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Guest Bobcat
And I thought that the original poster was generalising. Who says it will be much better than back in the UK? Chances are? The reality is that it will suit some people and not others and given the current economic situation in Perth / Australia that could be a 50 / 50 split at the moment. Bear in mind if you do not work in one of the boom sectors it is same old, same old for a vast majority of people especially struggling families.

 

Much better will depend on where you are coming from, how much money you have, what kind of job you can get, where you live, if you settle, if you make friends, if you gel, if you can stand the heat and so on and so on.

 

Perth is fantastic but so are a vast number of locations in the UK.

 

I guess it depends on where you are from in the UK? We went back 'home' last year for the first time in 19 years............ I think it will be another 19 years before we go back there again.

 

The local shops were all boarded up; the local pub had been burned to the ground as apparently it was a drug haven, I had to have the neighbours's kids escort us to the 'chippy' because it wasn't safe to walk the streets at night. All this in an area I was brought up in......... it was nothing like I remember it and it bore more resemblance to downtown Beirut...... I reckon we did the right thing by coming over here, we would much rather our kids be brought up over here than back in the UK.

 

But; I agree with you Perth isn't everyone's cup of tea.......... and it does take a bit of time to adjust and fall into the swing of things. I'm just glad we didn't throw in the towel and return to the UK when the going got tough. It all worked out fine for us in the end.

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Guest Amanda Cook

Yep I must admit I get a bit defensive about the UK bashing sometimes; like you say, it really depends on your income, where you live, etc. My parents for example do okay for themselves, live in a beautiful house in Devon & I have tried to persuade them for years to come over here, but I do honestly understand that they have a great life in the UK that would be hard to give up.

My sister & her young family recently came over to Aus (Melbourne) 2 years ago from London/Essex & they have definitely taken a cut in their living standards. They used to go on a couple of overseas holidays each year (so much cheaper/easier from the UK), had a nice house & very good income. They moved to give the kids a better future, but they are now broke, haven't been on a holiday since they arrived....but have decided to stay because it is now becoming home for them & the kids love it.

 

Then again, I came over in my mid-twenties before I had much of career and certainly had no money. I had been living in a one-bedroom flat in Guildford with no heating except a coal fire & a coin-operated electric meter (one of the last of its kind I think!). When I arrived here I thought I had landed in paradise. I couldn't understand why everyone here wasn't smiling all the time!!

 

And I still love it; it is home.

We all whinge & compare the bad things here with the good things there & vice versa.

Perth is a beautiful place with great people & fantastic opportunities.

It has its crap areas that aren't safe by anyone's standards, & so does the UK.

It has its beautiful places that take your breath away, & so does the UK.

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Guest Bobcat
Yep I must admit I get a bit defensive about the UK bashing sometimes; like you say, it really depends on your income, where you live, etc. My parents for example do okay for themselves, live in a beautiful house in Devon & I have tried to persuade them for years to come over here, but I do honestly understand that they have a great life in the UK that would be hard to give up.

My sister & her young family recently came over to Aus (Melbourne) 2 years ago from London/Essex & they have definitely taken a cut in their living standards. They used to go on a couple of overseas holidays each year (so much cheaper/easier from the UK), had a nice house & very good income. They moved to give the kids a better future, but they are now broke, haven't been on a holiday since they arrived....but have decided to stay because it is now becoming home for them & the kids love it.

 

Then again, I came over in my mid-twenties before I had much of career and certainly had no money. I had been living in a one-bedroom flat in Guildford with no heating except a coal fire & a coin-operated electric meter (one of the last of its kind I think!). When I arrived here I thought I had landed in paradise. I couldn't understand why everyone here wasn't smiling all the time!!

 

And I still love it; it is home.

We all whinge & compare the bad things here with the good things there & vice versa.

Perth is a beautiful place with great people & fantastic opportunities.

It has its crap areas that aren't safe by anyone's standards, & so does the UK.

It has its beautiful places that take your breath away, & so does the UK.

 

When i first came over here Amanda in 1976; I was single and was living in Milligan's Hostel in Perth near the Entertainment Centre................. it was $2 a night if you stayed for a month plus 20 cents for the gas meter if we wanted a hot shower. Room got made up every day, clean linen, it was a down and outer's place but real good value at $2 a night

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Guest Amanda Cook

Admittedly I didn't get here until Nov. 95, but the rent was still fantastic value & I got a helluvalot of house for a small amount of dollars. Which was just as well seeing as I arrived with $150 in my pocket!!

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest mackemsok
We live in Carramar which is also supposedly a not so bad area......... but; just lately we have had a spate of graffiti and loads of hoon behaviour. Even had a house half demolished by hoons racing up and down the street which recently made the news on TV......... great publicity for a suburb where my office is $#%&^*.

 

Getting back to the original poster............... it's best to rent for a while when you arrive and spend time both north and south of the river.......... then decide where you want to live? There are good and bad suburbs everywhere so you need to choose a good spot. also, you'll need to take into account nearby schools, associated infrastructure, and commuting time to and from work.

 

Wherever you do end up; chances are it will be much better for you and your family than being back un the UK?

 

Hi Johnno

Sorry to but in..........

You are scaring me a bit - we have never been to Australia but made the decision to emigrate a while ago because the UK lifestyle had gone down the pan (there are loads if reasons on our list) we have friends who live in Rockingham and they report that it is a fab place to live - so this is where we are intending to head to.

Don't get me wrong I am very interested in what you have to say as you are in real estate so should know your stuff - and to date we only have our friends word for it. We have looked at schools and have settled on Kolbe Catholic college after researching loads of schools so this will have an influence on where we eventually live. We have a nice standard of living in the UK both of us have decent jobs and earn above average salaries - so would like to maintain our standard of living (if you know what I mean). Do you think we are making a mistake looking at Rockingham - or could you recommend a nice area near to Kolbe Catholic college?

I do appreciate your help

Regards

Sharon

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Guest Tony & Liz Elliott

gosh, all these replies have filled me with a mixture of fear, dread and excitement!! we are coming to Perth in September - we came for a 3 week holiday last December. Luckily I have a cousin who lives in Heathridge whom I am hoping can point us in the right direction - we are going to stay with them for a short time until such a time as we have chosen an area with decent schools and close to public transport.

I agree that there are good and bad things about anywhere and that its personal preference. All in all its probably not a good time to move to Oz as housing market, jobs etc seem to be taking a nose dive in the UK they are picking up big time in Australia, but we feel if we dont go for it now we probably never will!

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Guest mackemsok

Isn't it sods law - you talk about the move for years and then when you eventually decide the property market takes a nose dive!!! Typical!

But you are right - who knows whats around the corner in terms of the property market - all i do know is that the standard of living is not going to improve here so taking a hit on the sale of my house now is a small price to pay.

Good luck with your move X

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