I am amazed how many people have no clue about Kwinana...but anyway..

Really it comes down to how much you have to spend.

250K to 350K or 450K to 550K.

If you want to live in a "house" then you need to be looking in the upper bracket for Joondalup and its surrounds. Its nice, close to the coast, freeway, shops etc but everyone knows that so you have to be prepared to pay.

Someone, I think Jaron suggested some of the cheaper suburbs around Warick/Greenwood etc. I would consider these, significently closer to town than Joondalup, not as modern but more potential to increase in value.

If you really don't want to spend alot of money then you might need to look at a unit or apartment, or a house in a cheaper area. If I was you I wouldnt focus as much on what a suburb looks like but more consider its growth potential, access to employment and weather its residents are predominently renters or owners. Kwinana as a whole, in paticular Medina and Calista is a very old, working class area, filled with poms and Euros back in the 50's and 60's. In my opinion these are the better suburbs in Kwinana now as the blocks are big and there is actually trees and established parks! Not like alot of newer northern sandpits being developed on a cheapo standard suburban layout.. In the late 80's and early 90's it was expanded and filled with a reasonable proportion or State Housing in the newer areas, Leda, Parmelia etc. Some natives that have now all been shifted further south to Mandurah hehe...But its mostly working class... Newer areas have now been built with the extension of the freeway and railway now, being Wellard and Bertram, similar to Joondalup etc in terms of suburb layout and style/price of housing, not super value for money IMO..

Baldivis is inland (5kms?) from Rockingham, the home of the English in WA : ) Baldivis is nice, but you would need 450K to get a good place and its a fair way to the CBD if you worked there. But, alot of people dont need to commute to Perth anymore. There is that much going on between Cockburn and Mandurah you simply do not need to consider the CBD as the place to be anymore. Good for shopping but thats about it...

So, it really comes down to how much you want to spend, weather you need a house or could do with a unit or apartment and how important to you it is to be close to the CBD, employment or the coast because you can get decent transport and essential services anywhere..

not too sure on how much we are gonna spend tbh, probably depending on work and our incomes i would guestimate around $400k???

will live inniatally as near as possible to work ie rent first then buy a house :)

Definitely stay away from Medina...

There has been an overwealming response to Joondalup in this thread. I like that! :D

One thing to note, Joondalup has 3 "style's" of living.

Style 1: Average Perth House, 4bed, 2 bath, 650m² of land-ish, double garage, room for a dog :)

Style 2: English style "town houses" Smaller narrow lots with lanes at the back, usually a 2 car garage at the back. Houses are long and skinny-ish, not much "back yard" but most houses are nice, newish, 2 storey but pricey. You can find cheaper one's, but they may need some work. (ie: garden's fixed up, painting etc..) My girlfriends parents live in this area, they are from Liverpool. They like it because it feel's pretty english..

Style 3: Apartment Living. This is where I live. I have a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, ground floor unit, with a lounge and dining room. I have a fairly big court yard, being on the ground floor, but most other places only have a balcony as the out door area. I have a pool and bbq area that is shared by everyone (some places have gym's etc as well) I have 1 "allocated" parking bay which is secure behind a gate, but I have access to another one, so both cars are off the street. My place is like a little resort, and living there is quite good. Don't have any problem's with having neighbours next to me and above me, and I can't say I have ever heard them, unless they have the odd "gathering" and crank some music, but ususally people are pretty aware of their surroundings and don't party hard till late. I rent this $290 p/w btw.

You can rent 3x2 apartment's which are quite spacious for around $350 p/w. Joondalup is quite an expensive area because its like a "satelite city" Large commercial area, as well as housing, so there is no need to travel far to get things done. Hense why I love it so much :) If/when I ever buy a place, I will be doing my best to get somewhere in or as close to Joondalup as possible.

[QUOTE=teejay]Clarkson is a fucking hole too. Some of the stories I hear from the field crews working out there makes me never want to have to go there let alone live there.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. You'd have to be silly to go clarkson instead of butler. Sometimes its better to spend the extra money ;)

Its Balga by the Sea!

Butler over Joonda's too. Simply because its newer suburb, newer houses, newer and nicer schools, nice parks and roads etc! Sure its an extra 10min BUT if i was raising a young family (thank christ im not :D) i'd go butler.

Hocking is another area im starting to see a lot of! Sure its on the other side of Wanneroo Road but it is nice :)

As Jaron said Padbury / Hillary's / Duncraig / Marmion etc are in killer locations but most of the houses are 20 years old. Still, if you like the beach, cant go wrong!

As Kym will tell you, plenty of work for carers (especially for the crazy's!!). if shes only chasing $10 p/h i'll give her a fulltime job the day she arrives working with pets and gardens :D

Matthews, you are a moron if you think Armadale area is better than NOR ;)

[QUOTE=nauli]Definitely stay away from Medina...[/QUOTE]

why?

Mate im also a wood machinest! :)

I've lived in Clarkson for a few years and now i live a further 5mins north in Quinns Rock...Both nice areas IMO...have never had any troubles or issues.

Only 10mins from the freeway and 5 mins from the beach! :p

some excellent input here guys:) :)

even if its a lot to take in!! with one or two conflicting ideas i still get the impression butler is a safe bet... but i may end up settling for somat else (ballajura) been assured off a few people thru pms etc that this is a really good place.....


who am i too argue or too know i have never ever set foot in oz!!!

You'll work it out pretty quick when you get here. Plenty of us (poms) out here.

*instantly loses any respects he had on the forums haha.

check out 'heathridge' mate, i live there, takes me about 20min to get into perth city if i miss peak hour, about 5min drive to the beach (mulaloo) 5min drive to ocean reef boat marina, 5 min drive to joondalup centre (hospital too) 10min drive to osbourne park which is quite a large industrial area i'd imgine would have wood-working shopd, its got really good access in all directions with marmion avenue and the mitchell freeway access being really close

its a bit of an older suburb with generally 15-20 year old 3X1 & 4X2 houses, lots of houses for sale in the area have had new bathrooms, kitchens renovated etc

$330 average house price for a 3bed 1 bathroom duplex (like your semi-detached houses) $400k average house price for a 3 bed 1 bath, $450-$500 for 4 bedroom 2 bathroom larger home

there is a new part in the south west corner of the suburb called 'oceanside gardens' its only about 5 years old, lots of really nice new houses in there but you'll pay premium prices for them (around 600k) this new area i feel has boosted the prices of the older homes and given owners more incentive to renovate thier older homes, increasing the overall feel of the suburb (more-so than say neighbouring suburb craigie, 2 storey additions are quite common with ocean views also being sometimes attainable as heathridge is built on a large hill (sand-dune hahaha)


i'm from england also (manchester) and i like the seabreeze we get here in heathridge in the afternoon, (all suburbs in the western coastal strip get this, eastern suburbs don't really) its quite a relief after having a 38 degree day and the breeze starts blowing at 3pm & cools everything off hahaha

good luck with your search mate, hope this has helped

edit: oh yeah forgot to mention, the perth city council has moved most of the homeswest (council houses) out to: clarkson, merriwa & butler, my brother & sister in law live in knightsbridge drive opposite a really nice park in brighton (butler) and they are having loads of problems with kids vandalising stuff, graffiti, break-ins etc from the trailer park white-trash homewest have moved in there around them, i'd personally give all these suburbs a miss