Emmylou Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 OK so thinking of heading back to live in Aus next year... Lived on the Gold Coast last time, but not keen to head back there. Thinking WA might be good, but not sure about Perth as quite expensive from what I've researched. It's a big state so would love some suggestions for places to consider. We are considering coastal and outback type places. Would be good to know about housing costs, weather, jobs (I'm a nurse and OH is a carpenter). We prefer the quite life, although we don't have kids (but no objections to family friendly). All opinions appreciated. Mxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimithechew Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 How about Albany, lovely area, good sized population, we have a lot of relatives down there and considered it, but Perth pipped it... for now! Or Margaret River, top beaches for the surfers! and it is a pretty decent wine region! again solid population so work could be better than other places. Thats it from me. I wouldn't consider anywhere else, i.e Denmark, again lovely (down the road from Albany) but just a little to quiet for my liking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scrumpy Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Bunbury, about 175km from Perth. were reasearching it at the moment, let me know what you think, cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 How about Albany, lovely area, good sized population, we have a lot of relatives down there and considered it, but Perth pipped it... for now! Or Margaret River, top beaches for the surfers! and it is a pretty decent wine region! again solid population so work could be better than other places. Thats it from me. I wouldn't consider anywhere else, i.e Denmark, again lovely (down the road from Albany) but just a little to quiet for my liking! Sound advice. For anyone wanting non metropolitan living in WA,(read that as suburban) the South of the state far out ranks it. Albany is a great little city with a bit of charecter to live. Denmark,though far smaller is very nice as well. I don't rate Perth very highly in all honestly,but a person could do far worse than living down south.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Bunbury, about 175km from Perth. were reasearching it at the moment, let me know what you think, cheers I know Bunbury rather well. Its big advantage is its proximity to Perth. There are a few trains a day and only a few hours drive. Rather nice. Doesn't have the charecter of Albany....which also has a more natural beauty...but never the less Bunbury is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I am in Dawesville. A small community 15 mins south of Mandurah. Great place. Next to stunning beaches, the state forest is a short drive away, Margaret river is just over an hour and Perth when i want the city life is only 50 mins by train from Mandurah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmylou Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Thanks guys will start researching all of those places. Any other ideas appreciated. Mxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritChickx Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Esperance is very nice! Albany is too but I preferred Esperance. If you are around Albany though check out Denmark....it's a small town but has lots of lovely attractions surrounding it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meljayg Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 I've only been to WA on hols, perth was great......Bunbury was a lovely little fishing type town and Busselton was, quite possibly one of the prettiest places I've visited!! :-) My sister lives in Bunbury and has done for 12 years......that says something I reckon...... Good luck x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Come onnnnnmmm ........ There must be one crap hole in Perth, are yer saying everywhere is fandabbidozeeeeee, even me with my upbeat, pro-Australian stance, is finding it hard to believe, lol I think it must be great, if there's nowhere, it's a great boost for us. Migrants looking at getting away from it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Hoff. In little old Mandurah there are two. Coodanup and Greenfields, the later i personally don't think is too bad, but I lived in some of the worst estates in the UK. St Hildas and Whinney Banks in Middlesbrough. In Perth there are loads. The one that springs to my mind is Armadale. I used to have to visit there regularly as we had a work facility there. The train line became so notorious for crime on the train that the company eventually banned us from using it and stated we had to use taxis instead. That from a company who had no problems sending me to the Congo (DRC) to work. The bigger problem is that there are many areas that on there own are very nice, but there are pockets within them that are pretty bad. The reason being is that public housing is often built in pockets within other areas. If you want to get an idea of them just read the WA news on a Monday when the out of control parties are reported. These usually involve several hundred young people effectively rioting - throwing missiles at police and tearing apart anything they can get there hands on. The UK suffered a summer of rioting. In Perth it is pretty normal now every weekend in some areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugby Lad Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 Hoff. In little old Mandurah there are two. Coodanup and Greenfields, the later i personally don't think is too bad, but I lived in some of the worst estates in the UK. St Hildas and Whinney Banks in Middlesbrough. The bigger problem is that there are many areas that on there own are very nice, but there are pockets within them that are pretty bad. The reason being is that public housing is often built in pockets within other areas. If you want to get an idea of them just read the WA news on a Monday when the out of control parties are reported. These usually involve several hundred young people effectively rioting - throwing missiles at police and tearing apart anything they can get there hands on. The UK suffered a summer of rioting. In Perth it is pretty normal now every weekend in some areas. Hoff, this is what you need to understand. iIn general there are no big bad housing estates in Australia. In fact they are so rare that I can probably name most of them - Mt Druitt (western Sydney), Apollo Estate (Dubbo, less than a mile from my house) and parts of Elizabeth (northern Adelaide). The two most notorious of old - The Block (Redfern, southern edge of Sydney city centre) and The Gordon Estate (West Dubbo) have both been cleared and redeveloped. Instead the Housing Commission and the Aboriginal Land and Housing Council buy houses throughout town in almost every street in a deliberate dispersal policy. This is why you have to be so careful when buying or renting to check your neighbours out. It is a completely different thing to the UK; just because 'estates' don't exist doesn't mean that there is no deprivation, violence, crime, drug abuse, DV etc. Believe me, I'm a paramedic, I see it every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugby Lad Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 And just to add. Australia seems to have a lot of rural poverty (and conversely many millionaire farmers who you'd never guess how stonkingly rich they are). People seem to say "there are no urban council estates, therefore there is no deprivation" but it doesn't work like that. As I've said on many posts you can't compare as there's no direct fit. Try going to Wilcannia or Wellington or Walgett or parts of Dubbo or isolated farms between any of these and there is shocking poverty and need. I've not even left Central West NSW yet. Go to East Kalgoorlie (next to one of the richest FIFO booms in Australia), multiple places in the NT and western Qld, the APY Lands in northern SA. I know most migrants will never live in these places but you could well end up with a neighbour from hell due to the policy I described in the post above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I don't think I would like to hang around maybe Balga or Girrawheen at night. No reason to and never done it but they have a pretty bad reputation. Not like the housing estates in the UK though, if you drove through them in the daytime the houses and areas generally look fine. When my wife came here she had been working as a Health Visitor in Moss Side for about 3 years. She got a job in Perth as a Child Health Nurse for a while. They had to go out to people homes and help with new arrivals and give new Mum's and Dad's some idea of what to expect. The ladies she worked with warned her when she went to certain areas, told her to be careful and how horrible it was going to be. She was expecting something like Moss Side and after a couple of weeks said she had been to the supposedly worst areas with supposedly bad clients and not met or seen anything that had become the norm around Moss Side. Fair enough, there were a few who were in poverty, a bit rough and didn't have much for their kids but she said they usually made her pretty welcome, cup of tea or coffee, that sort of thing. A few of the aborigine clients were a bit quite and untrusting for a while but after a few visits she became very friendly with a few of them. They used to give advice on play and learning and hand out toys if people couldn't afford them themselves, that sort of thing. Amazing how many people have kids and don't realise how much looking after they take, especially younger ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I have deleted 12 posts due to one member spoiling it for everyone else, now please we aren't discussing UK council estates we are discussing "Good Places to Live in WA" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 I work in Armadale and whilst it has some less desirable parts it's surrounded by lovely suburbs - Harrisdale (new suburb) is part of the Armadale Shire, Mt. Nasurra is lovely and also Rolystone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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