I know safety is not guaranteed in any suburb. We can only judge safety levels by comparing suburbs we have actually lived in. Is it any coincidence that where we live now has seemed to be the safest? I have lived in dodgy suburbs, had a hell of a lotta fun but would never raise a child in them. I know what I am saying might sound elitist. But I guess what I am asking is what people value more: inner or outer environments? Who would really put up with a substandard house if a brand new pristine house was on offer in a less desirable suburb? It seems to me that people around me IRL are choosing the new house as opposed to the dumps in better areas. We all wanna live in the type of house we see in Home Beautiful don't we?
I'd probably say the dodgy suburb. Purely because if I can afford 1 mil on a house, I can send my children to private schools out of the area. I'd also probably socialise with parents outside that area, whereas I'd hate to be the lower class in a high end area and have my children struggle in the schools because they couldn't afford to go skiing in the swiss alps over the holidays (and yes this does happen here in aus). Yes I might not be able to walk down the street but I could always drive a few blocks to a nice area and walk there LOL! For me its all about whats best for my family. And if I had a 1 mil house I could probably eventually sell it to live in a more ideal suburb anyway.
Ah! You've hit the nail on the head Cai! Because i don't drive I walk almost everywhere. Whereas most people could drive around a dodgy suburb safely cocooned in their car I cannot. I need to know that the actual footpaths on which i walk are going to be safe.
My DD can also safely walk to her independant girls' school. Oh and yes, 1 girl went skiing on the Swiss Alps for her holidays last year but she isn't popular :P hehe. About half the girls at my DD's school are not doing things we can't afford to do... we live a similar lifestyle... so that's not an incentive to live in a worse suburb thankfully. Funny, before I sent my DD to a private school I thought they were full of rich kids.... hasn't been our experience My DD, even though we can't afford to indulge her, isn't suffering from a popularity problem. Anyhow, OT. But thanks for your responses everyone. Yep, if I was a driver and not exposing myself as much to the dodginess i guess i might consider the nice house.
Sorry I thought this was hypothetical *eep* I guess it depends on the school hey? There are a few schools in melb that my gf's kids go to and they are like that. And its not regarding popularity, just not being able to share in friends fun they aren't treated like the end of the food chain, but they do miss out on a lot of things they might not had they had the money. I get what you mean though, I'd still rather prefer the 1 mil value of the house LOL! I don't think I'd be happy living in a dump iykwim?
Nah, not hypothetical with our situation. But I'm just being silly, our house isn't a dump, it's got a lot of charm... I'm just over the old surfaces like the bathroom tiles. I'm being a bit of a Princess and the Pea LOL
We actually had this choice and picked the lesser house in the better suburb. We figured you can do up the house but bad suburbs take a long process to change. We are so happy! All our house needs is rendering, some fancy awnings and landscaping and it'll look as nice as the rest.
Also our suburbs is pretty new so its very child friendly, school in walking distance, parks pretty much on every block and WITHOUT syringes!
I would rather the nice house in a dodgy suburb....chance are it will be an awful lot cheaper than the dodgy house in a nice suburb and within 5 years *hey presto* turns into the next up and coming trendy suburb. LOL
We lived in the "up and coming" suburb 2 moves ago and the amount of crime was atrocious, constant burglaries, i was scared to leave the house. Because these suburbs (usually inner city) take a long time to turn over as they move state housing out etc.
The suburb we're in now is an estate but there are still bargain houses within, they tend to be the simpler plainer ones without the fountain or pool etc so thats what we got.
I've noticed lately that some members are raising points from previous threads in new ones. Please don't do this unless it is relevant to the subject being discussed.
I've deleted one post that was totally irrelevant to the topic being discussed - please stick to the topic at hand and related issues. Stirring other members will not be tolerated.
I have to say, this isn't the type of thread I thought would turn controversial. Perhaps because DH and I are so poor this topic will be hypothetical for us for a long time yet! LOL
I dunno... in the late 90's... okay mid 90's I lived in Glebe in a not so nice section of town in Sydney. I'd live in the same situation again in a second. I loved the area, quirks and all, drunks and all, crime & all... loved every inch of the place.
Here, we live in a very odd suburb. It used to be an "older" working class suburb but in the past 5 years its changing, so you have a dodge house with "ferals" in it) and new houses where they've torn down the post war houses worth over 600,000... There are a few like us around, people who bought post war houses & stayed in them trying to do them up over time as well, so younger families without heaps of $$ but mid socio-economic back ground.
So its very odd here... I love it. I love the old men characters which toddle around smells and all. I love the young kids walking to school and I love the old ladies talking over fences. I only dislike the domestic disputes at the train station... but other than that I love it.
Sorry i havent read all responses- and i think my example is a little different to what you are talking about- but the favourite "house" i lived in was a shack/shed with no running HOT water (we had running COLD water)- no loo inside- no real ceiling- no real anything- but it was at the top of a mountain and i could see for miles in either direction- i had ocean views, Morning Sunrises that were amazingly beautiful and the peace and tranquility of the bush...
So i guess thats the crap house in the "nice" suburb- but i wouldnt live in a suburb at all really- give me wide open spaces any day!!! What ever i have to live in to get it!!!
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My DD, even though we can't afford to indulge her, isn't suffering from a popularity problem. Anyhow, OT. But thanks for your responses everyone. Yep, if I was a driver and not exposing myself as much to the dodginess i guess i might consider the nice house.
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