Q: I may be moving to Perth. But as recently as two weeks ago I still heard someone refer to the people there being "parochial," which surprises me, given the growth there. What suburbs on the outskirts of inner-city is ideal for a house with a bit of a backyard for a couple of dogs to run around? A Steve J. on Answers was rather critical of the city and said it was as expensive as Sydney. Though one website indicated there were suburbs with median house price below $300k, "mostly in the municipalities of Armadale, Gosnells, Kwinana and Swan." Are these suburbs any good? Are there any suburbs to avoid? Any info on Perth will be much appreciated. Thanks.
A: There is a parochialness from the old timers, particularly the "old money" people of the Western Suburbs (Peppermint Grove, Cottesloe, Claremont, City Beach, Nedlands, Dalkieth) who fancy the old colonial days when "class" was big time in WA. Fortunately they are a minority and have been overwhelmed by migrants since the gold rush days and last century up till this one. Homewest suburbs used to be the no-go areas but these are all being sold off and are now quite popular. For a big back yard you need to buy an old house as all new lots are very small and usually too far away anyway. With that in mind you can get bargains within 15 kms of the city like around Forrestfield, Hamilton Hill or Warwick. If you have some real money then, Kensington, Como, Applecross, Bicton, Melville, Mosman Park, Swanbourne, Inglewood, Menora, Mount Lawley, are pretty good and a little cheaper than those "western suburbs of the very rich" that I mentioned. As you got further out beyond 20kms the housing gets cheaper and you find some places to avoid, like anywhere near the big sewerage joint up on the Mitchell Freeway. Public transport is pretty bad so if you can get to be within walking distance of a train station you'd be lucky, but then the trains have a lot of criminal and violence problems. The beachside suburbs are always popular but to build a new house near the beach, be prepared to be calling STD (country rates) on phone calls into the city.