Ecogirl said:
>I'm more interested in what locals consider the nice areas (or the areas to avoid).
I'm not a local but have visited most suburbs and report the following:
AREAS TO AVOID
Adeline/Golden Grove
POORER AREAS
Older parts of Boulder
Top end of Hannan St
South Kalgoorlie
'GOOD' AREAS
Fairways
Kalgoorlie CBD
Somerville
Piccadilly
'PRESTIGE' AREAS
O'Connor
Hannans
Lamington
>Does it really matter if you have a brothel in the same street as you?
This issue is vastly overblown.
These establishments operate along a short section of Hay St which is north west of the CBD.
In both 2003 and 2004 only three appeared to be open. Another building looked like one but was surrounded by a fence and appeared unused for its intended purpose. A fifth (located next to the YHA) may have been operating, but I didn't enquire further (my due diligence is not THAT good!)
Nocturnal observations revealed that there is remarkably little traffic in Hay St and all you might get is an occasional hoon shouting from his ute on Saturday night. However the ladies themselves seemed more forward in 2004 than 2003, even sometimes standing outside (rather than sitting inside) their doorways and seeking to engage passing pedestrians in conversation.
>Although of course I would like to avoid those areas....
You will. The area is mostly light industrial with some housing.
Most worrying to me would be vacant blocks littered with milk crates, used wine casks and broken glass. Next to Woolworths is a prime example, but similar sights can be seen in other areas (eg top part of Hannan St).
Indeed if you were to take soil samples from various suburban nature strips and measure the broken glass proportion, this would probably give you a reasonable idea as to the desirability of the area.
Indicators of increasing prosperity include approvals fo retail expansion, higher occupancy of backpacker's, ease that the visitors get jobs, better & cheaper (meal) offerings at pubs and fewer itinerant beggars (though the latter might have been due to the author's greater familiarity with the area in 2004).
You will see many 1br f/f places on the market. I simply cannot get enthusiastic about these, especially if they're in complexes. I currently regard them as risky and overpriced compared to larger, more rentable, better located (but slightly older) 2 or 3 br properties.
Regards, Peter
Although of course I would like to avoid those areas....
