Editing Perth (section)

== Living Here ==

This section is specifically for people wanting to live here. We get the same questions pretty regularly and in the hopes of providing the most accurate information possible, we’ve created this mini-guide to living in Perth.

=== Great Suburbs to Live in ===
We often get asked which areas of Perth are good to live in. Perth is really spread out, and if you don’t have a car, you will want to live somewhere central, or close to a train station or a good bus route. I’ve kept that in mind when listing suburbs below – these are all pretty accessible suburbs. Then, decide whether you want inner city, the beach, the nightlife and maybe go check out the suburbs listed below and see which you like. To find out where these suburbs are, use http://maps.google.com.au/. 

Inner city (i.e. walk/cycle to city centre): Northbridge, Highgate, Mt Lawley, North Perth, East Perth, West Perth, Subiaco, West Leederville, South Perth.

If you love the beach: Fremantle, North Fremantle, Cottesloe, Mosman Park, Swanbourne – are all lovely, very close to nice beaches, are along the train line to Freo, and tend to have share accommodation. 

City Beach and Scarborough are also great and on the beach, accessible by bus.

University Areas (so probably lots of student share houses): University of WA - Nedlands, Shenton Park; Curtin Uni – Bentley, Como, Victoria Park, East Vic Park; Murdoch Uni – Murdoch (quite a ways from city centre), ECU Mt Lawley – Mt Lawley, Highgate.

Fun areas (i.e. good night life and café strips etc): Fremantle, Northbridge, Highgate, Mt Lawley, North Perth, Maylands, Subiaco, Leederville, Como, Vic Park.


=== Rental Accommodation ===
Usually you can only find rental houses/units with six month or one year leases. Affordable housing can be hard to find in Perth, due to the boom. Looking for a flat on your own can be especially difficult and expensive, so most people share a place with 2 or 3 house mates. Rent is quoted per week and ranges from 100-200 for a non-furnished place in most neighbourhoods to 250-500 for furnished flats. Expect to pay 2 weeks deposit as bond, and if you are signing a lease yourself, an additional 4 weeks rent upfront.

You can look in the community newspapers (there are different ones for each area of Perth, see http://www.communitynews.com.au/OurNewspapers/tabid/55/Default.aspx), The West Australian on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and The Sunday Times newspaper.

Look online for rentals or house share options: 
* http://www.domain.com.au - has a dedicated Share section
* http://www.realestate.com.au - biggest property portal in Australia, has a dedicated Share section
* http://www.thewest.com.au/property.htm
* http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/classifieds/realo.shtml
* [http://au.easyroommate.com/western-australia/perth-share-accommodation Share Accommodation Perth] - EasyRoommate.com, the biggest flatmate site in Australia, might require a paid subscription to see all contact details
* http://www.share-accommodation.net - lots of listings, requires paid subscription
* http://www.gumtree.com.au – check the short term share accommodation on the Perth page.

=== Walk Around ===
Another strategy is to find a neighbourhood you like and look for notice boards at supermarkets, the library, community centres. And chat to people - word of mouth is often the best way to find a place.

=== Noticeboards at Universities ===
Check the notice boards at the unis and Tafes. And put your own notice up saying you are looking for short term share accommodation.

University of WA: 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley. Take the bus from St Georges Terrace or the busport in the city. Buses to UWA are: 23, 78, 97, 98/99, 102, 103 and 107. Or catch a train to Subiaco Train station and then catch the 97 shuttle bus to UWA. You’ll see the uni and know when to get off! More info: http://www.uwa.edu.au/university/crawley/transport
Make your way to the libraries and the cafeteria and you’ll find notice boards. (Go have a look at the lovely Swan River foreshore while you are at the uni! The UWA grounds are also lovely to walk through).

Curtin Uni: Public transport to Curtin - From Wellington St bus station in the city, take buses 34, 940. From Esplanade busport take bus 35. (The 72 & 75 go to Curtin from St Georges Tce or Busport)
http://www.about.curtin.edu.au/where/gettingtocurtin.cfm 

ECU Mt Lawley: To get there by bus, see http://www.ecu.edu.au/fas/EcoECU/publictransport.php. From Perth City, bus numbers 17, 19, 886, 887, 889, and ECU Special 777.