As you can see from the map below, Mount Helena is a semi-rural area nestled in the beautiful Perth Hills.

The Hills area is not representative of the greater Perth area, or WA in general. It's quite lush, rocky, rolling and cool (as opposed to hot, sandy, flat and boring). If I were to equate Mount Helena with somewhere back east, I'd probably pick Whittlesea. Our nearest shopping centre (other than the local IGA) is at at Mundaring, which would be similar in size to Yea.