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I guess part of the irony of us wanting to build a new home is that we want to stay where we are...we love the location, we have decent neighbours, the area is nice and family friendly.
But being in an area without a lot of development (only random blocks since I built in 2010 in what was then a new (and the most recent) estate in the area) we started to venture to the surrounding suburbs to find somewhere we like.
We didn’t find anything that really appealed to us and we were worried we’d have to resort to building somewhere we’re not 100% happy with (geez we sound hard to please). But we didn’t give up and what turns out to be a great coincidence...there’s a brand new estate being established just near our house. And when I say “just near our house” I mean we went to the sales office that was only just getting set up, spoke to the salesman, and by the next day we’d paid a deposit for a block of land in the estate. That block of land...200m from our current block - that’s what I mean by “just near our house” 
Rosehill Waters is where we'll soon be calling home.
Remember
Besides choosing somewhere you want to live, it’s important to consider the appeal to others from a resale perspective. How close are you to the city, public transport, shops, schools, etc.? For us, we’re 15 mins from the city and we’re 7 mins from the beautiful Swan Valley. There are 3 schools within 3 kms, there are bus and train services within walking distance, and we have a large shopping centre within 4 kms along with a local IGA, medical centre, pharmacy, restaurant, etc. And most importantly - how close is your nearest Bunnings? For me, it's 5.3km away and that's about the limit I'll accept Sadly, it's not as close as this display home I looked at on the weekend...
So we've shortlisted our must-haves and now we've got a location we’re happy with. It's looking good
What made you choose the area you live?
Love the photo @ProjectPete!
We last moved about 12 years ago. We lived in the inner city and needed more space for our two boys. We loved the area but found we couldn't afford what we wanted, so kept going out further east until we found a suburb that we could buy what we wanted, even if it was a house that needed a lot of work....
Looking back, we should have been a lot more careful about what primary school and high school we were zoned for (we got lucky but didn't look into it until after we had signed the contract!)
Other things we now really value about our location:
- Walking access to shops and public transport
- Very quick and easy access to freeway into city and out to the beach
- Nearby parkland and bike trails along the river
- Multiple supermarkets in close proximity and large shopping centre 5km away.
Things we would love but don't have:
- Train station within walking distance (we've got bus and tram instead)
- Protection for all the lovely 50s-era houses around us (many are being knocked down).
Looking forward to reading thoughts from other community members.
Jason
