StraighttothePoint

It's that time of year again when an extremely patriotic Perth and the Australians therein buidl up to their big Day. Australia Day is a real event here and car owners the city over proudly fly the national flag. So why, oh why do us incomers have to spoil it all and start flying the St Georges Cross from our cars? What gives? I cannot see the rationale, maybe I just do not get it, maybe it is only me and I am wrong here but..... This is probably the most important event of the year for the Australians and as incomers should we not respect this, their view and support what the day means to them? By flying the cross of England it looks, to me anyway, that we are saying to them, "we are better than you". It could be argued that the reason is to show people how patriotic we are but why now, we should keep that to St Georges Day surely? If this was blighty, and it was happening over there whereby incomers were taking the same stance, can you imagine the out cry. So a plea please think like an Aussie, fly the Aussie car flags and put away the cross until a relevant time. And if a mate of yours is fyling the cross back this motto, "Get them down"........

RM thanks for the great reply and the detail you have included. It contains a lot of what I need so thanks for that. I appreciate that asking what is good or bad is not an easy question especially if I do not give the respondee any clues as to what I am thinking. However I suppose one hypotherical question now, based on the suburbs you have listed, I could ask is, "If your bestest, best friend was thinking about moving to Mandurah which suburbs out of the list you have provided would you tell them to definately not buy a home in?" Your hypothetical best friend is after a suburb that is in a quiet location, although not too quiet, a 3x1 or 3x2 that needs a little work done to it, a small to medium size block say 525m2, on a bus route to the station and has a bit of character, i.e. not brand spanking new. So out of the ones left after you say a definate no what ones now?

Thanks for your replies Robyn and some good information in there and links to other stuff helpful as well. However my question is really "So which suburbs are good and which ones not so good"?

I know it is usually very difficult to comment on this type of question however here goes. I hear a lot about how great Mandurah is from a lot of posters on here, and others, and I am wondering how good / bad some of the suburbs down there are. As I say know that one man's rubbish is another man's what's it and all that but there has to be some suburbs that you would think of moving to and some that you would maybe avoid. It is the same everywhere the world over in relation to towns and their suburbs. So which one's are good and which ones not so good. If ranking them out of 10 helps that would work for me. Thanks in advance.

Both of you I mean.......

Are you for real......

I came across this website www.thedigitalundertakers.com and thought that the template idea could be very pertinent to many of the members of this site. The excel templates they offer allow you to record all your relevant Internet account details, any digital assets you own and all your personal income and expenditure information. Advice on storing these is simple and then it gives you piece of mind as you move around the globe knowing that if anything unfortuate happened then at least you had documented all the important stuff for your family. It also appeared to me to be very sensible given the finnacial planning that is required when migrating, and after you arrive here, keeping better records of your financial worth. I completed a set and even added an additional sheet that highlighted the costs related to my move versus what I have earned, and roughly spent, since I arrived. It was fascinating to see how my financial position has changed. For the better, just. Worth a look if nothing else as you can never be too careful now a days so better safe than sorry. If not you then somebody might find them useful.

Hi That is a very hard question to answer because nobody knows anything about you in terms of your professional and/or your personal circumstmaces. Nor do we understand your likes/dislikes/wants and/or needs. It is a bit too open a question to be honest for these type of threads so you just need to give people more information up front. For example are you coming to a definate job? Do you have a visa in place? What will you be earning at the end of your first month or so here after you arrive? Where do you want to life? What type of accommodation do you need on arrival? Do you have children? What will you do about transport? And so on and so on. It would be best if you could give out an outline profile first and then maybe people could be more specific with their advice based on a match of circumstances. If you can do that then sure you will get some replies.

Yep all good points Jon and I accept that it is a bit of a debate. I should clarify then what my experience has been. I have used trades for quotes that have either been recommeded to me or I got by replying to an ad in the local community newspaper. The three high quotes I noted were all tradies that had ad's in the paper and were working for themselves. They were also, because they told me, all relatively new to Perth. Think the longest had been four years and the other two only two or three years. The three Aussie's I used were again all sole traders but they had been here all their life's. You are right there is "what is a Pommie and when does a Pom become an Aussie" debate but I really just want to highlight the difference in costs of what tradesmen are charging and that you need to be extremely careful. Something that you rightly say as well. My point is that some people are trying to create a new market and pricing structure because of their own needs rather than fit into an existing market place. I can understand that because of ever changing economic times but if this highlights that there are still fair prices to be had out there then great. Shop around and don't be caught out.

I see there have been quite a few views of this thread but only one response and that was not that funny!! Anyway this is for the new arrivals and the ones heading over so that they can get an understanding of what is happening over here. This is only my view and am happy to take some criticism if I am away off the mark with this. Here are some real, genuine examples. To replace an existing ceiling fan. $80 Aussie. $200 Pommy. To take out existing WC, a bath and a vanity unit and replace with new ones and include pipework. $600 Aussie. $1500 Pommy. To clear a garden area of grass, remove sand/grass and smooth out. Took half a day and two and half trucks of dirt away. $700 Aussie. $1200 Pommy. Now my take on all of this is that if you are mainly getting Pommy trades quoting then they will more than likely all be high. If you live in suburbs where there are a mix of Pommy and Aussie tradesmen, or one where it is mainly Aussies, then you get lower quotes if you bring Aussie's into the quoting phase. So why is this? My guess would be that the Aussie's have less debt, Poms are carrying more debt initially, have to get cash in asap, and therefore are adopting a certain pricing policy. Now there is nothing wrong with that but it creates a false market. Also for you and I we need to be careful and get value for money especially now given the very high cost of living in Perth. I accept that in some cases you do not always go for the cheapest quote but the three examples above do show you that you need to be careful. And again before this is rubbished based on the "we are better tradies than them" brigade that is simply not true. It is a common theme through many of these types of websites and that stance really does not show up the incomers in a good light. It makes them come across as too arrogant. Yes we all know that there are bad tradies all over the place and so when choosing we need to be happy that you are getting a good overall deal and the right guys. And just to show that I am not being one sided here in the many years that I have been here I have used Pommy tradesmen and been very happy with the price and the workmanship. It is just now, in the last couple of years, that the change has become so evident. And so I ask this genuine question why? Also hopefully this is as an alert to new comers and those heading out be careful, do your homework and good luck in choosing your tradie. Ok I have my tin hat on go for it.......

Ok now that's out of the way back to the serious question. Let's not be too defensive here guys it's an honest question based on several examples.

Is it just me or do others notice this as well? When you get a price for a job how come a Pommy tradesman quotes you up to three times more for the same job than an Aussie tradesman?

Are they going back to Scotland by chance?

I have sent you a PM (Private Message). In Edinburgh / Fife for the summer before heading back to Perth. Happy to try and help.

Pros The weather (at certain times of the year) The coffee The cake The beaches The cheap train fares (get a Health Care Card) The Cons The weather (there are no real seasons) Too many British pubs The standard of driving The arrogance of so many incomers who seem to constantly say "It was not like this in England/Scotland/Wales/ Ireland or we would do it that way in England/Scotland/Wales/ Ireland" The hourly rate charged by Pommy tradesmen (who seem to do it because they have over stretched on their loans and have bought too big a telly!!)

Perth is non secular, unlike GB, so consider sending them to any school.

SBS all games. ABE

"Our daughter had done well in her GCSEs and is looking to go to uni. We put her in a stste school and she was horrified by the attitude of the kids and the slow and over relaxed attitude of teaching. We moved her to a private school this january and she is much happieI. in essence , she does her year 12 over the next year and then should go to uni at 17. they do uni from 17 to 20 and dont do honours unless they stay on for another year. I feel it is like doing an ordinary degree, year 12 is like A/S levels, year one at uni is like A level standard and year three is like to uk diploma. as my daughter doesnt want to go to a uni in WA ( she feels it is too dull for a teenager!) she will go to sydney/ melborne when 18, so will have to wait a year. As you are not a citizen in wa for 4 years after permanent residency, you are required to pay upfront for uni fees and cannot get a low interest loan. Smashing !!" I am missing something here? Are we not all migrants coming into a completely different society, different cultural issues, different education systems and so on? Of course the education systemwill be different. We just adapt to it don't we? And as for not getting loans and / or having to pay up front for uni absolutely correct. Or are you suggesting that people just get on a plane, fly in, fill in a few forms and get all the benefits of a country without previously having contributed to it via the tax and other cash raising avenues? We have a son at uni here and as far I can see he is getting the right level of education in relation to the degree he is undertaking. I think it is all, and said it before on these boards, different strokes for different folks.

Great point here to note and it why considering the location of your house is as every bit as important as choosing an area for a school IMO. Leave Mindarie at 6.00am to get to work!! F Flips S. Presumably there is another horrendous drive back in the evening? How long is the working day stretched to because of that, 12 hours? 5 days a week? Jeepers. Living in an older suburb, nearer the city, so you can walk to the train station. If I need to work in the city I wander down to the train station and am in the office within 40 minutes tops. It has to be an option. Don't get drawn in like a rabbit trapped in the head lights when you see all the new shiny bathrooms and kitchens. Consider renovation as an option and go for a bigger block further south. At least consider it, please. The big point in all of this in my view, and I am not saying that your husband does not like getting up a 5.00am every morning and having all that hassle, maybe he does but why would anybody travel all the way around the world and end up doing that? Nobody can convince me that this is good. How long can somebody sustain that type of lifestyle? Healthy, cannot be. Good for the mind, cannot be. Good for the bank account, probably. Oh well everyone to their own I suppose. Beats me though it really does.

Biggest shopping centre in the city nearly and has everything you need but very American in style. Big, bold, new, shiny and as I said perviously completely without any soul. Mind you I say that but they are all the same throughout the city and maybe people like that sort of thing so maybe I am wrong and all the planners are correct eh! Schools are a hard one. It is all about different strokes for different folks with this topic. Joondalup suburb has a great primary school. It is slightly smaller than Connelly but from all accounts excellent as are all the primary schools. As for secondary. There is a private one in Joondalup which is superb but has a long waiting list. A new one is earmarked for the suburb but who knows when that will be built and then you have all those that you list in your report plus Beldon. The issue is travel. Not everything in Perth suburbs is local and unless you are very lucky travel of some description is involved for secondary schooling. No idea of your budget and that is a huge deciding factor in what local facilities you will end up with to be honest. I will e-mail you.

I am currently sitting in my home office in Joondalup but by next Wednesday afternoon I will be sitting in the Guildford in Edinburgh having a pint of Deuchars. I am back for 4 months and so if you want any advice or to catch up when I am over let me know via a PM.

Nothing wrong with Joondalup suburb at all. In fact in terms of location, value for money, size of the blocks and houses, distance to the city, access to shops and sporting facilities and so on it is excellent. Indeed in many cases you would not even need to be so depenadant on a car. However what you said, and what I was specifically comemnting on, was the you loved the town centre which, IMO, is the worst bit of it. New, souless and all concrete and glass. Yes there are some nice houses around Neil Hamwkins Park but they will depend on your budget as they are fairly expensive. I think you should look at Joondaup suburb which sits between the town centre and Connelly and Kinross. You will be surprised what is on offer.

Great posts by the way and well worth the read. Well done.

"Kinross, Woodvale, Quinns Rocks, Joondalup, Heathridge, Kingsley – we didn’t spent too much time in these suburbs as they weren’t in our top 5 but we loved the look of Joondalup town centre with its modern hotels, apartments and shopping facilities." Hi Kendalg Had to laugh. I am a Scot and live part of the year in Joondalup (suburb) and part of the year back in Scotland. You thought that Joondalup city centre was lovely? It is a disaster mate. The worst place I have ever seen in my life with not one bit of soul or feeling in it. Then again coming from East Kilbride I suppose..... Boom boom.

Hi Rocheal It would be good if you moved and that would get some Australians into the suburbs you mention!! The northern suburbs are all bright, shiny and new and full of Poms and if that is what you like, shiny and new not just Poms, then it is ideal. However if you like older style housing then you may need to consider other suburbs either more central to the city or out towards the hills. Schooling in the northern suburbs is also affected by the volume of incomers and my friends up there have a 5 year old son, Aussie, in a class of 20 where he is only one of three non Poms. Again a personal choice thing but there are upsides and downsides to that style of schooling. It really is a personal choice but one thing is for sure if you want to be near football (the real name for soccer) buffs then the northern suburbs are for you.