Sarahb1986

Yeah we have been watching the news with all the reports on how bad the weather is this year! People who have lived here for a while that we know keep blaming the bad weather on us haha. Ive heard summer is going to be a scorcher this year so shouldn't be too annoyed about the rain for now!

Hi! i was just looking back over my last post and thought I would get in touch. How are your moving plans going? Well we have done a lot since we got here in November, found a rental, furnished it, bought 2 cars, had the dog brought over from the Uk, both started new jobs, made new friends, bought our first house which we have now been in for 2 months and most recently got pregnant with our first bub!! Very full on!! Its Spring here at the moment and there is a mixture of good and bad weather days. Winter was pretty horrible, they had there coldest winter in about 20years I believe. Don't believe the hype that you will have constant sunshine and warm temperatures!! Bring your winter Woolies you will need them oh and a rain coat!! We are now looking forward to summer as the house we bought has a pool so the 40 degree days will be that much better!! Let me know how you are getting on! Sarah

Hi! we bought and moved into our house after 8 months of being is Aus. We started the whole mortgage process after about 5/6 months. Didn't come across any issues, had a 10% deposit all went through fine! We we bought an established house so we didn't get any first home owners grant as we didn't want to build so I can't offer any advice on that. Good luck! Sarah

Hi! We are living in Spearwood, right on the edge near Coogee. It's a great location, 5 mins to beach, 10 mins to Freo and 15 mins to a big shopping centre. It's great for the time being but we wouldn't buy here as we are looking to be a bit closer to the river or a little bit more south. Yes it it is crazy how quickly time has gone, it will be 3 months on the 8th Feb that we emigrated. Feel like we have done so much!! How are you finding Rockingham? X

Aw thank you. Hope everything goes well for your move. We are using Golden Arrow, their facilities were great when we went to visit. Can't wait to have our hairy baby here with us! X

It always helps if you can prove your funds so just have a print out with your name and address on as proof. It should be fine, as there is so much choice. Good luck with the big move! X

Thanks Ceri! Arranging viewings was super easy to be honest. I just looked on real estate website and saved properties I liked then rang the estate agent to find out if I could either have a private viewing or if there were any open house viewings coming up. We were quite lucky that a lot did private viewings for us. It's a renters market in Perth so you have so much choice and you can also ask for money off. The property we are renting was meant to be $430 a week and I said I had seen a similar property for $425 and they agreed, not much but it's $20 a week in my pocket! To to apply for a property you just have to fill in an application pack, which they will give you at the viewing. It's all the basics, info about the people renting the property, they will want to see your employment contract and will ask for a personal reference so you can just put your friend down. We were really lucky with the property we got as it was through a friend who knew the owner and they just asked when we could move in! You wont have any problems though, rent is coming down and there is so much choice!! X

Thank you! Oh yes, a fan has been purchased!!

Hi All, I haven't posted in a while as it has been a very busy 8 weeks! Myself and my husband emigrated on the 8th November 2015 on a PR visa and have now been in Aus for 8 weeks. We spent the first 3 weeks on holiday in Melbourne and then flew to Perth were we have settled into life here. We have spent our first Christmas away from the UK and I am now about to start my job! Our first christmas away was a strange experience as we had decided not to really do Christmas this year. So me and my husband didn't exchange gifts or have a tree up. We had spent so much money emigrating that it just felt silly to then buy gifts on top of that! Our gift to each other was Perth! Luckily we have some friends and family out here. The family are my husbands 2nd cousins, born and bred Aussies, who we know quite well as they have been to the UK a few times. Our friends emigrated about 8 years ago. So it was really nice having friendly faces around us. Our first hot Christmas was spent at the beach in the morning having a dip in the clear blue Indian Ocean, then food and festivities with our friends and an evening with the family playing games and drinking. Don't get me wrong it was lovely but it was also really hard to not be in the UK and Skype on Christmas Day to family was difficult, seeing my mum upset was particularly hard but she has already said she will be out to visit this October. Once we got to Perth we had 11 house viewings arranged for over 2 days, desperate to find our feet and get our own space so we could unpack! We found a really nice new build, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom in Spearwood, for $425/week. We chose Spearwood as it seems to be quite central to most things we wanted, and also friends of ours live 5 minutes away. It is 10 minutes to Freo, 5 minutes to Coogee beach and 15 minutes from a massive shopping centre. We don't think we would buy here, but for now it is right for us. Within in the first couple of weeks we had found a house, furnished a house, set up bank accounts, sorted Medicare, bought a car and remembered to enjoy Perth!! We we are now at the point of the next big thing, which is our gorgeous dog coming over from the UK. He has been staying with family until he flys out on the 27th Jan then he will be in quarantine for 10 days in Melbourne after which he will fly to us in Perth. We will officially pick him up on the 8th Feb. I keep thinking about the journey he has ahead of him and how I wish I could explain what will happen to him but I know in the long run he will be better off here with us. Tomorrow I start my first Aussie job, nervous is an understatement! I left my UK job on the 16th October to then have 12 weeks off, 8 of which have been spent in the sunshine here in Aus. It's been amazing having that time off, I don't know when I will ever get to do that again, but I now have to start back up into a routine of work. The amazing thing is, I will have a 7 minute commute, I used to commute for an hour, will finish work around 4pm, I have decreased my responsibilities from my UK position and all for more money! Happy days. To anyone who is thinking of emigrating or who is in the process of, I would say to you...it's worth it, it's an amazing achievement, it's stressful, it can be upsetting, it's difficult, it's exciting, it's expensive but after all the emotions you go through once you are here it is totally worth it. The sunshine instantly makes you feel good. Good of luck to everyone and if you have any questions let me know! Sarah P.s you never get used to sweating whilst you are getting dressed for the day ?

Thank you for this. I am am going to be working in Bibra Lake and yes being close to Freo would be great and also the beach! Nope, no kids (yet)! Sarah x

Hi everyone! Looking for opinions on the following suburbs: Hamilton Hill Melville Spearwood Brentwood Coogee We are currently setting up rental viewings in these areas so any info or advice would be great! Thank you!

Typing error, should have put 30 minutes!!!

Hi Everyone! So, it's official, myself and my husband are moving to Perth on the 30th November after I got a job offer this morning! I will be working in Bibra Lakes and will be looking for a rental with a commute of, ideally, no more than 39 minutes! After some advice on suburbs with this kind of commute time or less? I have been looking into Hammond Park, Hamilton Hill, Coogee and Rockingham but would love to get people's opinions on these areas. We are a young(ish) couple, 29 and 32 with no children, we want parks near by and either a short drive to the beach or a walk (if possible). We will have a dog, so will be looking for pet friendly lets with outdoor space, 2-3 bedrooms. Love wine bars and eating out, so if these are in walking distance that would be ideal! Thanks!!

Thank you! We fly into Melbourne, but a potential we may end up in Perth in a few weeks as I am at the final stages of a job interview! We shall see! Nothing set in stone, just going to see what happens!

Hi everyone, So I just wanted to share a post on thoughts and feelings with just a few days until we depart!! This dream of emigrating has been in talks for about 5 years with myself and my husband. My husband, a qualified nurse, and me, a food product developer. We started the visa process in December 2014, using an emigration agent. Looking back, we now wish we had just done the visa ourselves, as they weren't particularly helpful. Things, in the beginning, happened pretty quickly, we got our EOI picked up within a week, submitted our visa on the 24th June, CO assigned 28th August, then the agonising wait until our visa was granted 2nd November ? Its funny, how long you wait for that moment, when you get that visa granted you have waited so long for, the immense pleasure and excitement that comes over you is overwhelming. Then the nerves and anxiety set in, 'this is all really happening' running through your head. Boxes have been packed up, ready to collect this Friday, suitcases have been packed, goodbyes have been said (and are still ongoing), there have been tears and laughter. There will be a sad goodbye to our gorgeous border collie, Kai, who will be joining us in a couple of months and flys from the UK on the 27th Jaunary, a very expensive process, but totally worth it when we get him to his new life. Then there are the goodbyes to our family, it's difficult to express that feeling, as sometimes it can be difficult to process. As it is us saying goodbye and jetting off to the excitement and newness, we are leaving them behind in a place were we will no longer be. I can't wait for the day they all come to visit, and I know we won't be able to get rid of them over there!! I can honestly say this has been the most emotional, stressful, exciting time of our lives and I'm so glad it is finally happening. When we step on that plane this Sunday to fly off to our new adventure it will all be worth it and very real. Good luck to you all still going through the process, already living the dream or just considering it. Sarah