SouthernCross

A very handy location being so close to the city. Good choice of cafes etc, but East Perth has quite a high percentage of rentals.

What also appears to happen is foreigners buy the apartments and leave them empty for months or Yeats at a time.

Without the army of government workers in the area, the entire suburb would be a commercial disaster. Once the workers go home, most businesses shut shop and the area is quiet dead.

Having said that, I prefer a quiet suburb so this is not a problem for me but it's no west Perth or subiaco and I doing it ever will be because of these dynamics.

Love the river location and the magnificent parks etc. If I could live there in a full house (not apartment) I would.

I've been around Woodvale for a good 8 years and Ive never seen a suburb with so many noons, gangs and teenage dropouts.

Woodvale itself is actually very nice (still a little too far from the city) and very leafy, but for some reason the teenage trash element just keeps hanging around.

I certainly wouldn't feel safe going for walks at night (I have frequently seen teen gangs of 10+ people) and friends who have had their property trashed.

Maybe in another 15 years?

I've lived in South Guildford from 1985 to 1997 and from 2005 until now. While Ill be the first to admit that the suburb is not at the frontier of change, it is an extremely safe, quiet riverside suburb with older style properties along the river (some are renovated). There are also a few estates on the non-riverside.

Waterhall is a high quality classy estate and while Rosehill started out very trashy years ago, this has improved significantly over the years and you will find young families now who really look after their houses.

The long term (sometimes 50 years!) residents many of whom are elderly, typically reside along the river. There is hardly any crime and my family and I have never had any problems.

Being able to walk into Guildford and the good selection of pubs, restaurants and cafes or go for walks along the Swan River or Helena River is a real treat. Easy access to bus and trains.

Most of the homes are owner occupied and there is always a high demand for rental properties (of which there are not that many).

The only small downside is the occasional aircraft noise, but it quickly just becomes background noise and it's not an issue (and since a second runway was built, traffic has reduced considerably).

Only 12km from Perth and minutes from the swan valey and shopping centers in Bassendean and. midland - convenient, safe and value for money family suburb.

I bought in Rivervale back in 2001 and 9 years on, the area has just blossomed! Old houses are being knocked over daily and replaced by quality new homes. Although some sub-division is occurring, a lot of the time the original size blocks (600 to 700m2) are being left alone and redeveloped with new homes (this avoids the area becoming a high density inner city slum which can happen to high density developments and creates a "modern Nedlands" feel).

I have nothing but praise for Rivervale - the people are friendly, the location is extremely convenient (City, River, Casino, Shops and Public Transport are just minutes away) & unbelievable the local council is actually very proactive and supportive of it's residents (unless a lot of councils). I have never had any issues security wise (crime has really fallen over the last 10 years) and I just wish I had the vision to buy several properties in 2001 when they were $170K for a full size block and house!