Jack Orley

Loving it, great area, clean and quiet, nice neighbours, good eating out, shopping and transport and close to everywhere!

Bought a completely renovated house in Coolaroo on a decent sized parcel of land in April for 530k and loving it so far. I reach the CBD in half an hour on a train or 20 minutes by car which is very close. The kids love playing in the backyard or a nearby park. The area is very safe and clean and neighbours are nice. The mortgage is quite affordable to pay off as I put 130k as a deposit and loaned 400k. I already decreased it to 385k and am planning to pay off the mortgage in 7 years or less. I think buying in a more affordable area is quite good as less stress both financially and mentally and a more flexible life as can pay off the mortgage faster. And I don't see any downsides to living here, really enjoying it so far.

Berala is actually quite close to major centres in Sydney being only 16 km to CBD, 6 km to Parramatta, 5 km to Bankstown, 1.5 km to Lidcombe and 4 km to Sydney Olympic Park. It's a strategic location, but very quiet and peaceful suburb for families.

Kelmscott is quite a diverse suburb including the affluent and more remote hills as well as the more convenient and more affordable areas close to shopping, transport, schools and hospital. Overall, the area has improved a lot and is gentrifying by the day. Quite possibly the best value for the money suburb in Perth with close proximity to most important amenities such as jobs, shopping, schools, hospital, public transport...

Elizabeth South has changed a lot for the better. There is less unemployment and crime and the suburb is rapidly gentrifying. Does not seem to be part of Elizabeth anymore, it is more like Salisbury in that respect, but the price has not been reflective of that. This is where I see this suburb as a huge up and comer and heavily undervalued. Gains are there for the taking, just got to get in fast as the prices have been advancing.