Mount Hawthorn, Perth (north)

Rent: Rents range from affordable to expensive

Vibe: Life is good

Location: Parks, 5-10km from city centre

Perth gives Mount Hawthorn the thumbs up. Why? This suburb is just 6km north of the city centre and is one self contained living hotspot. It has great schools, leafy streets, plenty of parks, friendly neighbours, and a good cafe culture. Mount Hawthorn has a few pubs, the popular and upmarket Mezz shopping centre, and there's a small live music scene here - including the cool Jazz Cellar which you enter through an old red phone booth. On weekends, expect to see families doing their thing, and joggers hitting the pavement. As with most Perth suburbs having a car comes in handy, but you don't really need one in Mount Hawthorn because public transport is good. It's only a 10 minute train ride away from the city centre.

> MT HAWTHORN ON THE PERTH MAP