Space or Locations? HELP!

Would you compromise space for location and also would you rent in an area that you most likely couldn’t afford to buy a property in?

In the uk we live in a largish four double bedroom detached property, we brought it brand new in 99’ and love it. Despite there being just the two of us and a kitty cat we use the space well. One bedroom is used as an office; one as a guest room and the other spare room is my dressing room. So we don’t rattle around our home.

Whilst were in Australia last year we rented a three bed apartment to begin with and then moved to a two bed apartment and again we managed and were comfortable.

Now that our move is getting closer we have started to look at rental properties and the areas that we would like to live.

We have short-listed the following areas (in order of preference) -

Subiaco

Freemantle / Cottesloe

Mullaloo

Mindarie

As you can see all these areas are very different and we like them all for very different reason but the property options in each area are also extremely different taking into account our budget (max $650 per week).

Subi – Love the small boutique style shops, the more village feel, the Larma bar on a Friday evenings for cocktails and all the other lovely bars, cafes and restaurants. We are a very young at heart mid thirties kind of couple, who really enjoy going out for drinks and meals. On a more sensible note, its very close to CBD and has free transport links. I doubt we would ever be able to afford to buy a property in Subi but we are not thinking of doing that for at least two years. The properties are old and small. I doubt we could afford a three-bed house but we may be able to get a three-bed apartment in a new complex with a pool. (Lulu is a house cat so no outdoor space isn’t an issue for her, although Im not sure anyone would rent to us with a kitty)

Freemantle – We both just loved the relaxed feel of this area, again lots of places to enjoy an active social life. Having searched the rental sites most properties in central freo are older and therefore smaller, if we moved slightly south maybe to Hamilton Hill we would maybe get a four bed modern-ish property with a pool.

Cottesloe – An amazing beach, golf course, tennis courts, a few nice restaurants and god bars but maybe we are a bit old for some of the bars. Also good transport links to CBD. Properties are old and very few have pools, also we could never afford to buy there. Affordable rentals are few and far between.

Mullaloo – A wonderful beach, some fairly modern properties with the possibility of a pool. We found a couple of places to eat and drink too. A think the local community is more mixed, Brits and Aussie which we would like, the thought of moving to ‘Little Britain’ isn’t one that appeals. There are also some lovely parklands with bbq’s to chill out in on a Sunday afternoon.

Mindarie – Very new modern properties that are very affordable. In fact we could really ‘live the dream’ house wise in this area. We could def afford a 4 bed property with pool, all mod cons, lots of space but there isn’t (as far as we could see) a lot to do of an evening, I know there is a marina area with the boat pub but that was all we could see there was? Also when we visited the boat we didn’t hear one Aussie accent.

So my question is, would you downsize to live in an area you couldn’t afford to buy in but you really like the area. Or would you live the dream and live like youre on cribs?

What would you do?

Thanks

Emma

X

p.s. sorry for such a long winded post!

we didn't move here to be surrounded by brits - we are moving to our dream house and location next week having spent 6 months renting in a rather disappointing suburb (near kwinana - south of river) - and we can't wait - it is longer for me to get to work but the it is really important for us that we are happy where we live - so go with your gut feeling for where you will be happiest - good luck

Would depend where you work I guess? If I was intending to buy I might try an area I could afford and rent there. I know that Perth is pretty expensive for property and rent. We had to give it a miss from our list of potential places. Tough decision. good luck

Anne

Anymore views or ideas? Our budget is $650 - $700 per week, are there any other suburbs that i havent mentioned that you would recommend?

Thanks

Emma

x

I think everyone is different, for us we only rented for 12 weeks (set up before we came), loved the area bought here too. For us, location was more important than the size of the house.

Hi Emma

If perth is anything like Brisbane suburbs will vary greatly, both in what they can offer you and in price. The best thing to do is have a good drive around when you arrive, when you find an area that suits your family's requirements(we all want different things) then contact all the agents who cover that area to see what 6mth rental properties are available, renting for 6 months is great as you do so much in the first few months your circumstances can change greatly.

If at the end of 6 months you have found somewhere more appropiate to your needs you can move there or look to buy there, if you still havnt found anywhere better ask to renew your lease on a month by month basis until you decide what to do.

It is amazing what places you discover in your first few months and isnt it a womens perogative to be able to change their minds,lol

Good Luck with everything

Cal x

Cal, Emma stayed in Oz last year ... I think that's how she got her short list. All lovely places by the way Em... have to say I have a particular fondness for Freo (particularly East Fremantle).

Anymore views or ideas? Our budget is $650 - $700 per week, are there any other suburbs that i havent mentioned that you would recommend?

 

Thanks

 

Emma

x

Hiya

As many have said it really depends on where you'll be working? We're in a 4-bed villa in Applecross at $625 per week and we LOVE it here. Not sure if we can afford buying a house here, but for now we're quite happy to rent in a suburb we love. There's a nice shopping area with cafees and restaurants and it's magical walking along the river at any time of day/evening :-)

I think when we eventually decide to buy we'll probably prioritise location as opposed to a bigger house (i.e. we don't really need 4 bedrooms, visitors can sleep on airbeds or go to a hotel lol)

Good luck with everything! :wink:

Anymore views or ideas? Our budget is $650 - $700 per week, are there any other suburbs that i havent mentioned that you would recommend?

 

Thanks

 

Emma

x

Forgot to say it also depends on which things you want to be close to and what type of house, i.e. do you want to be close to CBD and river or the beach? I would love to buy one of the old "federation" houses, best suburbs for them imo are; East Freo, Mt Lawley, Mt Hawthorn, Leederville, West Leederville, Subiaco

Loads of great suburbs by the river and these tend to have a good mix of old and new, e.g. Applecross, Mt Pleasant, Shelley, Rossmoyne, Alfred Cove, Attadale etc etc...

There are so many great places, they're all nice for different reasons so I would rent in a place you like when you first get here and not worry to much about the size of the house/flat. Then go to the various suburbs on weekends, park up somewhere and walk around to get a feel for the place. We do this on some weekends and have been amased how many suburbs we thought we liked which have been taken off the list and other ones been added instead.

Too many choices if you ask me :goofy:

So once again good luck lol x

Depends on your circumstances but I would go Subi or Cottesloe, no doubt!! Close to sea town and lovely places within themselves. Personally I think the northern suburbs are awful....

Thanks everyone i really appreciate your input.

Hubs and have decided that we are going to rent long term, at least two years and then decide if we should sell our uk home or not. After that we will decide if we want to continue to rent and buy a big boat or buy a house. Obviously things could well change inbetween lol.

Yesterday i was swaying towards a more northern town as i could easliy rent a newish large property simular to what we have already in the uk but with a pool and maybe even more space but there are only two of us and the areas we have seen dont offer us the cafe, bar lifestyle that we want. So i think we are back with Subi, Freo and Cottesloe.....but again a lot can happen in between now and when we arrive lol.

Ive never heard of applecross so im going to check that one out now.....may have to add anyone to my list lol

Thanks again

Emma

x

let us know what you decide in the end :-)