Any advice on suburbs good or bad for teenagers

KIRK AND CO · 03-07-2009, 06:24 PM

We have a 17 year old son who is not keen on emigrating to Perth now, as he has loads of friends and is out all the time. Can anyone suggest good suburbs with things to do for teenagers and where there may be more chance of him getting part-time job. Or perhaps suburbs or areas to avoid. He should hopefully be able to drive by the time we get there. My brother lives in The Vines too pricey for us but Avely or Ellenbrook looked nice or Butler, Quinns Rocks, Clarkson, Kinross. I know its a big ask but any suggestions will be greatly apprieciated.
Thanks Tina

jogrant3232 · 04-07-2009, 03:28 AM

16 to 20 seems to be the age group that has the most trouble settling, he needs to get a job at a HJs or some other fast food type outlet that seem to be staffed by that age group and that may help him build group of friends that will make settling a lot easier, it is tough for that age group but i am sure with support from you and his familly he will thrive and prosper. I think most areas are very much alike,

landv · 04-07-2009, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIRK AND CO

We have a 17 year old son who is not keen on emigrating to Perth now, as he has loads of friends and is out all the time. Can anyone suggest good suburbs with things to do for teenagers and where there may be more chance of him getting part-time job. Or perhaps suburbs or areas to avoid. He should hopefully be able to drive by the time we get there. My brother lives in The Vines too pricey for us but Avely or Ellenbrook looked nice or Butler, Quinns Rocks, Clarkson, Kinross. I know its a big ask but any suggestions will be greatly apprieciated.
Thanks Tina

Hi Tina,

We live in Quinns Rocks and will be moving just down the road to Clarkson for a longer rental.
We like both areas as they are very close to the beaches and further away from built up areas. ( However Clarkson will grow over coming years ) It would be ideal if your son could drive as when we first moved here we felt we were a little too far north for finding work etc.
We have decided to stay north as we like the area and property rentals are nicer.( Hopefully will buy up here )
All the areas you have chosen seem to be fine and I am sure you will like them too.

On the subject of your 17 year old son. ( difficult age lol ) It will depend on what sort of person he is i guess.
Is he sporty ( great place for that ) and he could easily get involved.
If he cant drive I would consider an area near Clarkson bus/train station as he will depend on it and can easily get into Perth and other areas for both work and nights out etc. and will not feel so cut off.
Its going to be difficult for him as he will not understand your reasons to move here and he will be leaving his friends who at that age are his life. ( Sorry to be blunt and to the point ) Im sure in time when he has settled and made new friends he will be glad about the move.
We are in our early thirties and moved for all the reasons most younger people do and so far its going ok.
Always ask a question if you feel taht we can help. Im afraid that we have no children yet ( didnt want to bring up a child in U.K. ) but I can still remember being 17, Just !!

Regards,
landv

gpo1971 · 04-07-2009, 06:21 AM

Does he still go to school? If not, I would think the best options are either a job or a sports team as someone else has mentioned.
To be honest, one thing that I find completely different here from the UK is visibility of older teens. You never seem to see any. I think they all leave school, buy cars and get jobs so they bypass that 'hanging around' phase that British kids seem to do. Once it goes dark here, you can hear a pin drop most nights, no-one is ever out. I'm sure they go the pictures or food halls or whatever.
As for suburbs, like the earlier poster, I live in Clarkson and quite like it. It's cheaper than it's surrounding suburbs and is in fact closer to shops and stations and stuff. Butler and Quinns are great too, Quinns is beach side but Butler and Clarkson are still only 5 mins in the car (don't get hung up on the beach being in walking distance, no-one walks to the beach anyway; there's far too much stuff to carry). Living on a non-beach estate is much cheaper and no less convenient, unless you're an investor or whatever.
He'll probably find things to do over here that you wouldn't have expected, it's as good as they say for the outdoor life. If he's that type of person, he should be fine. If he's a Playstation freak and sits in his room, then who knows?

tracywilson · 12-08-2009, 02:47 AM

Hi My son is 16 and after joping a sporting team and starting work part time in Woolies ( currambine) he has been fine.

I had to really push with him though or else he would have stayed glued to his ps3 lol

We are in Kinross

And its lovely

D4nnyB0y · 12-08-2009, 04:31 AM

If he is a social person, you'll be better locating near one of the larger suburbs with a larger shopping centre as these tend to have areas where teenagers will congregate - fast food, cinema's etc

If you are keen on being North, I'd recommend Connolly, Currambine or Carramar as they are all relatively close to Joondalup, or if he doesn't mind catching the bus or train, a little further out to Quinns, Clarkson, Ridgewood or Butler. Ignore anyone who says Clarkson is a 'bad' suburb as it's not the same suburb as it was 4 or 5 years ago (unlike Merriwa - I'd avoid that one for sure).

If thats too far North, you could try and find somewhere in the Hillarys area, but be warned the prices there are pretty steep

megmor · 12-08-2009, 02:33 PM

hi my son is coming 19yrs,we have been here for nearly 6months it has been very hard for him (had lots of friends in uk) sent out 100s of resumes nothing as yet on the job side .he has not made any friends here and he has tried !!!
he did not pass his driving test in the uk failed it before we came out here,so he has lessons here and failed again !!when he passes he will have to wait 6months before drive on his own !!! ,(so make sure your son passes his test in the uk).
we have many times he is going back to the uk,i wish someone will give him a job so he can show them how hard he can work .
good luck to you all,but it will not be all plain sailing!!!!!

MichaelaK · 13-08-2009, 07:41 AM

Hey I’m 18yrs (living in Yanchep) and I’ve been here since mid January this yr.
I‘ve made a great bunch of friends (both girls and boys…and we’re always looking to make more J)…couple in Quinns, few in Kinross, one in Ellenbrook. We like going to Joondalup and Hillarys. We normally go Pot Black (where you can go play some pool), offroading, cinema, have movies nights around each others houses and when it’s Summer again we’ve made a huge list of things to do…beach, bbqs, paintballing, jetskis, water fights, Adventure World, Rottnest, camping..just to name a few. So it should be good.
I’m looking for a job at the moment but haven’t had much luck and i know some of my mates are trying to get work aswell.
Yh hopefully he passes his test in the UK as it will definitely help him to settle in more and be able to get around more easily and quicker, then he’ll have one less thing to worry about. (I wish I done my driving beforehand)
Good Luck and if you have any questions just ask.

Michaela

cartertucker · 13-08-2009, 04:28 PM

This is a good thread....

My eldest son will be 17 when we move over, so finding all the information really usefull

Thanks....

KIRK AND CO · 15-08-2009, 10:38 AM

Thanks Alison this was really helpful and if you or anyone knows of good schools in Quinns or Clarkson (we are considering private as costs not as in UK) then any info. would be great. Jo will be ending year 6 here when we leave UK. My son will be looking into apprenticeships.
Thanks again Tina.