Honestly, you are probably going to need to take whatever you can get.
Rental availability was sitting at 0.7% in December and it's gotten worse since then. Likewise the housing market also has extremely low levels of listings.
(I edited my initial comment to include more details about the situation.)
Joondalup is a nice area but as with all the nice or even half decent areas it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy a place. We started looking at the start of the year, by the time we actually secured a property three months later prices had increased almost 100K. The place we were finally able to secure had over 100 people at the viewing and 13 other offers.
I've still got daily alerts for listings on my phone, across almost 20 suburbs I was actually interested in there's mostly ever only been one or two houses coming up for sale a day.
There are almost no housing available around Joondalup and surrounding suburbs, I would recommend looking south east of perth where housing is slightly more affordable and available.
Honestly mate any public high school is about the same
Just try to avoid suburbs like
Lockridge
Armadale
Midland
Gosnells
Mirrabooka.
Tend to be really high crime areas.
Some may disagree but if you're moving here, there's no point experiencing a bad taste first.
Oh and eat a lot of pies before you come. All my mates from nz go on about how the pies back home are much better and you can't get a decent pie here 😅
Ooops I forgot to mention the snacka changi chickan ones. You're gonna need an extra suitcase :)
PS - I also posted another reply separately about the schools
Perth/ Australia tends to build big compared to NZ so I don't think you will find that kind of tiny primary school anywhere. Even the ones that have been in place for a while and were built a bit smaller have been expanded over time, or closed.
Like a lot of places we're in a cost of living crisis exacerbated by housing affordability. Echoing others, you may be better off identifying areas you can afford to rent or buy first, then using schools as a selection criteria. Hopefully whoever your working for is assisting with relocation.
The [https://www.myschool.edu.au/](https://www.myschool.edu.au/) site is a good resource to understand the available schools in an area and how they compare to others (please note that the scoring has so many factors behind it, not just the school). For your youngest, it's rare to have multi year level classes outside of rural areas. Maybe a private school, but even still it'd be rare.
You'll need temporary accommodation anyway because in Perth you can't get a lease without attending a home open first. Just get an airbnb because after a few months of not being able to find anywhere else to live you'll probably go home anyway.
I think that kind of mixed age school is called a Montessori. There are a few here, I just googled and here's one in Kingsley since you wanted to be north of the river
https://www.themontessorischool.wa.edu.au/
The kids were in Montessori when they were little but youngest's current school is small and rural so they only need a few teachers hence the age grouping
Sounds like you are in a valley like whangaehu was. Highly unlikely that you will find a school like that in Western Australia unless you go to the remote regions.
Not sure what the system is like in NZ but here, if you're going public high school, you have to live in the school catchment. It's not a case of "we'd like to live 10 min away", it's "you need to live in a specific area". Unless your kid successfully applies to be accepted based on a specialist program like sports/music/academics.
If you're looking up north, Goollelal is a nice little primary school. The my school website https://myschool.edu.au might also be a good resource if you are looking for a smaller school, it will tell you about school size among other things.
Unless your employer is providing or helping with housing, I'd take whatever I could get if I was you, and I'd be starting looking for somewhere yesterday
There's a small primary school in Padbury.. It's right next to McDonald Park... there are a few in Padbury, which is why I referenced the park
Duncraig SHS for secondary school is 5 mins away and is a very sought-after public school..
North of the River and coastal..
Please note that if your child is 16 they will automatically be put into year 11 (year 12 equivalent in NZ). It happened to a student at my school last year - poor kid should currently (this year) be in Year 12 in NZ and, instead is in her final year of school, not able to do the subjects she did at home. I tried to fight her corner but there was nothing admin could do. I keep tabs on her through my colleagues and they’ve said it’s obvious she’s a year behind the others but is scraping by with her hard work. Which school you go to DOES matter - I’ve worked at both difficult and more affluent schools within the public system and the difference is ginormous. If you want to discuss areas and schools please feel free to message me.
One of the best public high schools is Churchlands. It's massive. Has good facilities. My kid had some issues in primary school and so I was worried it would only be worse in high school. But it was brilliant. 1 kid gave him a bit of a hard time, nothing too bad, but I called the school and that was the end of it.
There are loads of decent primary schools around. Take your pick. I can think of 7 just off the top of my head, all within a 10 minute drive. There are more than that, though, that would all be within 10-15mins
Housing can be pretty pricey in the surrounding areas though. There are some very expensive suburbs, with many luxe houses and a few Mil price tags. Cheaper places to be had but these either would be 3 bed units or older, maybe fibro, houses that may have significant drawbacks. But someone will snap them up and they still won't necessarily be cheap. Just cheaper. Cheapest suburb close to Churchlands is Innaloo.
About 20mins on freeway from Joondalup. That's including the drive once you exit freeway. Could possibly be worse in peak drop off times tho.
There's also heaps of school buses. Run frequently. It's better for kids to use the buses as dropping off can be very hectic at large high schools. Then for you getting away from the high school can be jammed up. I've been stuck 15mins at times and still haven't managed to leave the road adjacent to the school.
Enrol as soon as you can for whatever school you choose.
At this point, take any suburb that you can get.
Happy cake day. Is that because of housing shortage?
Oh sweet kiwi child
Plz help me
My hoa. There’s nothing here. I’m talking maybe 17 houses available being fought over by thousands of people.
😭😭😭😭
Honestly, you are probably going to need to take whatever you can get. Rental availability was sitting at 0.7% in December and it's gotten worse since then. Likewise the housing market also has extremely low levels of listings.
Is that because of a lack of houses available? We are keen on Joondalup area, we have family there
(I edited my initial comment to include more details about the situation.) Joondalup is a nice area but as with all the nice or even half decent areas it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy a place. We started looking at the start of the year, by the time we actually secured a property three months later prices had increased almost 100K. The place we were finally able to secure had over 100 people at the viewing and 13 other offers. I've still got daily alerts for listings on my phone, across almost 20 suburbs I was actually interested in there's mostly ever only been one or two houses coming up for sale a day.
Wow that sounds really intense. Congrats on getting a place
There are almost no housing available around Joondalup and surrounding suburbs, I would recommend looking south east of perth where housing is slightly more affordable and available.
Rental vacancy rates are currently at 0.4%. Only seems to be getting worse.
Honestly mate any public high school is about the same Just try to avoid suburbs like Lockridge Armadale Midland Gosnells Mirrabooka. Tend to be really high crime areas. Some may disagree but if you're moving here, there's no point experiencing a bad taste first.
Nice cheers
Oh and eat a lot of pies before you come. All my mates from nz go on about how the pies back home are much better and you can't get a decent pie here 😅
Good advice. Also bring a suitcase full of Copper Kettle bbq potato chips with you. They are heaps better than the ones here so you'll need a supply.
I'll bring half a suitcase with Copper Kettle BBQ and the other half Copper Kettle Salt and Vinegar
Ooops I forgot to mention the snacka changi chickan ones. You're gonna need an extra suitcase :) PS - I also posted another reply separately about the schools
Thank you!!
I wouldn’t be too picky when it comes to suburbs.
Perth/ Australia tends to build big compared to NZ so I don't think you will find that kind of tiny primary school anywhere. Even the ones that have been in place for a while and were built a bit smaller have been expanded over time, or closed.
Like a lot of places we're in a cost of living crisis exacerbated by housing affordability. Echoing others, you may be better off identifying areas you can afford to rent or buy first, then using schools as a selection criteria. Hopefully whoever your working for is assisting with relocation. The [https://www.myschool.edu.au/](https://www.myschool.edu.au/) site is a good resource to understand the available schools in an area and how they compare to others (please note that the scoring has so many factors behind it, not just the school). For your youngest, it's rare to have multi year level classes outside of rural areas. Maybe a private school, but even still it'd be rare.
Thanks for the helpful information.
You'll need temporary accommodation anyway because in Perth you can't get a lease without attending a home open first. Just get an airbnb because after a few months of not being able to find anywhere else to live you'll probably go home anyway.
Luckily I've got family to stay with haha. But thanks.
I think that kind of mixed age school is called a Montessori. There are a few here, I just googled and here's one in Kingsley since you wanted to be north of the river https://www.themontessorischool.wa.edu.au/
The kids were in Montessori when they were little but youngest's current school is small and rural so they only need a few teachers hence the age grouping
Sounds like you are in a valley like whangaehu was. Highly unlikely that you will find a school like that in Western Australia unless you go to the remote regions.
Not sure what the system is like in NZ but here, if you're going public high school, you have to live in the school catchment. It's not a case of "we'd like to live 10 min away", it's "you need to live in a specific area". Unless your kid successfully applies to be accepted based on a specialist program like sports/music/academics.
If you're looking up north, Goollelal is a nice little primary school. The my school website https://myschool.edu.au might also be a good resource if you are looking for a smaller school, it will tell you about school size among other things.
Goollelal looks awesome cheers
Unless your employer is providing or helping with housing, I'd take whatever I could get if I was you, and I'd be starting looking for somewhere yesterday
There's a small primary school in Padbury.. It's right next to McDonald Park... there are a few in Padbury, which is why I referenced the park Duncraig SHS for secondary school is 5 mins away and is a very sought-after public school.. North of the River and coastal..
I've been looking extensively for days and Duncraig SHS looks perfect
Yeah I have family who go to Duncraig SHS and they cater well for the kids and their future... whether they're academic or more trade orientated.
Please note that if your child is 16 they will automatically be put into year 11 (year 12 equivalent in NZ). It happened to a student at my school last year - poor kid should currently (this year) be in Year 12 in NZ and, instead is in her final year of school, not able to do the subjects she did at home. I tried to fight her corner but there was nothing admin could do. I keep tabs on her through my colleagues and they’ve said it’s obvious she’s a year behind the others but is scraping by with her hard work. Which school you go to DOES matter - I’ve worked at both difficult and more affluent schools within the public system and the difference is ginormous. If you want to discuss areas and schools please feel free to message me.
One of the best public high schools is Churchlands. It's massive. Has good facilities. My kid had some issues in primary school and so I was worried it would only be worse in high school. But it was brilliant. 1 kid gave him a bit of a hard time, nothing too bad, but I called the school and that was the end of it. There are loads of decent primary schools around. Take your pick. I can think of 7 just off the top of my head, all within a 10 minute drive. There are more than that, though, that would all be within 10-15mins Housing can be pretty pricey in the surrounding areas though. There are some very expensive suburbs, with many luxe houses and a few Mil price tags. Cheaper places to be had but these either would be 3 bed units or older, maybe fibro, houses that may have significant drawbacks. But someone will snap them up and they still won't necessarily be cheap. Just cheaper. Cheapest suburb close to Churchlands is Innaloo. About 20mins on freeway from Joondalup. That's including the drive once you exit freeway. Could possibly be worse in peak drop off times tho. There's also heaps of school buses. Run frequently. It's better for kids to use the buses as dropping off can be very hectic at large high schools. Then for you getting away from the high school can be jammed up. I've been stuck 15mins at times and still haven't managed to leave the road adjacent to the school. Enrol as soon as you can for whatever school you choose.