Lurkio

A friend of mine applied for citizenship in April 2018 and only did their test this week. So that was over a year from initial application to test.

Just repeating what others have said. Don't rush into anything. Take your time and be certain that you even want to stay. The standard of building here is unlikely to be what you are used to. The construction appears to me to be shoddy - think Barrett Homes! Having said that, it is fun to plan your dream house. Just be prepared for the budget to skyrocket. And really ... One plug socket per room is standard.

Supply and demand. People are leaving WA in droves. The Kiwis, Irish, Poms ... First time I was looking for a house there would be 12 or more people at every viewing. Now there are one or two and often none at all and the viewing is cancelled. High quality properties in the Secret Harbour/Rockingham/Baldivis areas have seen significant rent reductions by as much as 100 bucks a week in some cases. Properties are taking longer to rent at significantly lower rents. From my own experience the only landlords that are likely to accept chunks of rent in advance are those doing it privately. I'm told that if it is being done all above board through an agency it seems to be more trouble than it is worth. There are apartments and units at around 200 bucks. There are 3x1 units as low as 260. But be warned that they are often utter dumps in lousy areas that you may not want to live in.

Obviously not medical advice, but we've been here 3 years and the beloved hubster has had the flu twice! There are people here from all over and they are concentrated in small areas. Maybe there are different strains that we Poms haven't been in contact with previously? But amyway - flu jab!!!!!

Baldivis is a new development really and growing weekly. My opinion only is that it is a series of huge housing estates that melt into each other. The plot sizes are generally quite small. There is one retail centre with quite a good number of shops. A couple of bars and restaurants. No trains but a bus service to Warnbro train station. You defo need a car. I doubt whether there are many jobs in the area. Don't know about the schools. As it is a bit more inland it is several degrees warmer in the summer. Mandurah is nice to visit for the day, but I seriously wouldn't want to live in a lot of the grottier suburbs which suffer badly from crime, drugs and unemployment. Like everywhere else there are nice areas though. Generally the older suburbs have larger plots but the some of the houses are pretty run down. Particularly the older rentals. The canals are lovely but pricey. Nice estuary for boating. I couldn't comment on the schools. There is a direct train line to Perth for City workers.

And once you get PR then you're back on the Immi treadmill to get Citizenship. We moved over with PR and only recently understood that our PR visa only lasts for 5 years then you have to renew with another 5 year visa. After that you can only get one year at a time...

Not exactly relevant to the original question, but get your kids through their driving test in the UK before you leave. It takes 12 months of supervised driving, one practical test and two computer tests before before you can drive unsupervised here in WA - if you are starting from scratch!

Hi Jake, are you enjoying it here so far?

Well I guess this is more of a whinge than anything else, but after all the wailing and gnashing of teeth exhibited by my Mother, she rarely makes contact. We've been here a little over a year now, and she has initiated contact three times... I don't want to hear the usual stuff trotted out by people who piously state that as we are the ones who left we should be the ones to make the effort to keep long distance relationships going! It should be a two way process dammit. Look, I know that the gap we leave in other people's lives doesnt stay empty.... Other people and activities move in to fill the spaces, and I wouldn't expect her to sit on the phone waiting for my calls, but a little effort wouldn't kill people would it?:mask:

Bring everything! And I mean everything. Until you are earning dollars you will find the cost of living high. Once you are earning dollars and spending dollars you won't notice much difference from the uk (in my opinion). And especially bring extension bars. Aus houses have very few plug sockets

Pic and a price would be useful. :wink:

Life in WA without a car would be rather difficult I think - unless you live and work very close together! Also, second hand cars are pretty expensive to buy in comparison to the UK so do make room in your budget. There are good train links to Perth. Can't tell you too much about the bus, because I don't use them.

We used Excess International Movers to fly over a load of mechanic's tools. We were told that it would take a week and ended up taking nearly two. However, it was easy and relatively inexpensive. The company came to collect them from our home and delivered them door to door. As for cleaning, my H gave all his tools a rub down with a cloth, removed any obvious grot, sprayed around some Jeyes Fluid and generally hoped for the best. Our stuff all passed inspection and we didn't need to get anything cleaned or fumigated.

We've settled in Warnbro (for now) and in comparison to the tiny village we used to live in there are a huge number of people, but much much less in the way of social life! Lord it's hard to get to know people here! I guess that we were looking for something different in our lives and for now we are enjoying walking the dogs on the beach and chilling out :cool: It must be very hard for you to be so far away from your child :hug:

If you are spending your exchanged pounds in Aus then everything is really expensive. Once you are earning dollars then in my opinion prices are not much different to the Uk. Obviously some things that cost more, some are less - it tends to balance out. Buy fresh and in season and you will eat well. There are cheap clothes that are questionable quality. There are quality clothes that cost more. You take your choice. We've only been here for a few weeks but I can say that we are no worse off here than in the UK. Bananas are really not that expensive! Go to Spud Shed and the veg is dirt cheap! Shop around! Rentals however are scary expensive in comparison to buying!