Moving from Central Qld to Perth - need advice!

Yep, I've got to say I agree with Jacko84 on this one - I grew up in Cottesloe, now live in Subiaco which I love to pieces, love Hillarys and Sorrento too (husband's family are there). There are so many great inner city areas - I can't imagine living anywhere else but I work in the CBD and hate too much space/quiet/lawn etc etc so I guess each to their own!

Well I'm the odd one out I hate the hills. Lol I live in balcatta, 10mins to the city 10mins to the beach not to faint too shopping innallo or joondalup. We pay 350 pw for a 3 x 1. I have lived most of my life around Scarborough, North Beach, Sorrento and Hillarys and love these areas

HI All,

I live in the beachside suburb of Rockingham which is about an hour south of Perth. Baldivis is our closest rural area being about a 15 min drive away and links to the freeway.
Rockingham (more it's surrounding suburbs) got a bit of a bad name for a while there but having lived here for over 30 years I wouldn't live anywhere else. As to the bad name I can tell you that I cannot name one person who I know who has been broken into or robbed in that time and I know alot of people here. There are the usual drunken fights outside our two main nightclubs but that happens at alot of places.
I work here too but used to work in the city and caught a train everyday for 8 years. It takes about 40 mins if you work in the centre of town.
Trainline 5 mins away, 3 of our beaches regularly win best beach in WA.
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/was-number-one-beach-crowned-20100414-scks.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockingham,_Western_Australia

Lots of new apartments on the beachfront and loads of infrastructure planned such as a large marina housing 500 boats, restaurants and markets etc (similar to Hillarys) which has just been approved. I live just 3 streets from here so really looking forward to that.

Great large shopping centre, cafe strip on the beachfront and alot of poms live here (yup that's me).
We have a great english pub, the Swinging Pig (a play on Rocking Ham) and several other's which are great.

It may not be to your taste if you prefer country to beach lliving though so just my 2cents worth.

Do you know the suburb you and hubby will be working in?
Rents in Rocky go from $300-500 depending on how close to the beach you want to be and obviously how flash the house you want is.
I can tell you the desirable suburbs if this is an area you are looking at.

seeya x

Thanks Guys!

We're not too overawed by the cost of rentals - I agree that they are expensive, but we live close to a lot of mining towns and the rents paid in those communities are appalling. Giving consideration to the fact that we're moving to Perth and not a mining town like Dysart or Moranbah where there are very limited amenities, I'm pretty happy with the fact that we'll probably pay less rent in Perth!
I really appreciate all your advice and am definitely taking it all on board.
Kalamunda certainly sounds lovely and I will be looking into rentals very soon.

Cheers, Sarah

Hey there

I agree too with 5rugrats - I live in the next suburb over from the list she gave, still in the hills but north a bit. I have only just moved to this area after living 3 hours south of perth in a small country town and we really didnt want to move and live in suburbia. This was the closest thing we could get and we just love it up here. We are close to everything that is needed, good schools, shopping, amenities etc but places like freo etc. are still a good 50 mins away because of traffic.

You definitely need to do some research before making a decision. Throw some suburbs at us and im sure we would be able to give you some advice. Ask any questions you like - we would all be happy to help. good luck with the move :)

i agree with below post - kalamunda is beautiful - i lived up there and grew up there.. but if your hubby working in bentley - would be a 25 min drive everyday there abouts (more Lesmurdie side). And maybe 40 mins for you to Fremantle (known as freo)

but am sure you will work it out :)

Hi Sarah,

Just a quickie to let you know that Kalamunda is beautiful, in the hills of Perth and around 30 mins from the city (non peak hour) and 40 mins (peak hour). Low crime rate and bigger block size, great amenities and shopping. The shire slogan is "A home in the hills" and it is a nice compromise between city and country. Lots of trees yet close to hubs of Midland, Belmont and Cannington. Depends where hubby will be working really. The suburbs up here (yes, we live here :) ) are Kalamunda, Lesmurdie, Walliston and Gooseberry Hill. If you can tell me where hubby will be working I could maybe suggest other places, as well as ones to avoid.

Rental prices up here range fom $350 up, with a decent 4x2 setting you back around $450 a week. Expensive yes, but it gets worse closer in to the city, unless you want to live in a dodgy area.

Good luck!!

Thanks Yodacat for your PM. Like I said, we're not sure what we're in for, so your advice is gold!

Hi Sarah, I will PM you with some questions etc and some info.
cheers

Thanks Kateh! I am envious of your semi-rural status!
I hope I didn't come across as a snob asking about nicer suburbs - I just want to do what I can to avoid being broken into or robbed! I guess I just want us to be comfortable and safe!
We're both from the bush and live in a regional country town at the moment. I don't like getting stuck in traffic etc, but know that it's something I will have to adjust to.

Hi Sarah can't really help with the "better" suburbs as I live semi rural (50 min from the aport) & never lived in Perth but I do know that rent is fairly extreme in price & there are waiting lists for the good properties!! Actually everything over here is more expensive than the rest of the country. But you are right it is a beautiful part of the world & we have a fabulous Gss group so welcome & I hope your move is painless.

Hi to all those living in Perth and surrounds,

My husband looks to have landed a new job in Perth. We're really excited about it, but have only been to WA once before and spent 3 days in Perth, but I had a sinus infection and a partial root canal done there, so aside from the seeing the inside of a GP's rooms and a dental surgery, I spent most of my time in a motel sleeping! However, what I saw of your beautiful city, I loved.

We need some friendly local advice on rental properties! We don't have any kids and my mum is going to take my 16 year old dog for me - I know he's too old and won't survive the move (breaks my heart). So, we are a double income, no kids couple looking for a nice home to live that's in an area that's not too busy or noisy (ie freeways, major arterials too close), we don't need to be near schools, but will need parking for 2 cars. I need to know which areas to avoid (ie high crime / drug areas / dangerous roads etc) and which areas are affordable and nice!

We're country mice and we're moving to the big city, so we will have a big adjustment to make. I am hoping that the Perth contingent of the GSS community will be able to give me some help!

Any suggestions / advice would be very welcome!

Sarah