Back from Perth

mandy1 · 02-11-2007, 11:56 AM

Hi all
Just to say we are back from Perth. Got back Tues evening and we've just about recovered now from the trip. Perth was lovely and this trip to validate the visas has confirmed our decision to emigrate there. We loved it and just didn't want to come back to the UK. We are consoling ourselves with the thought that at least we'll be going back after Christmas (all being well with the house sale etc).

Anyway this trip was less like a holiday than when we went before as we were looking at things with a different perspective. We drove around a lot of areas trying to get a 'feel' for them. We also went down south to Rockingham and Safety Bay as these were areas we hadn't seen before. We did manage to do quite a few 'holiday' things though such as visiting Perth zoo for my sons 13th birthday and we also went to the WA museum in Perth which was great. We saw Dolphins in Freomantle harbour which was a real treat and we were just sorry to have to come home. Arriving at Birmingham airport was so depressing!

I'll now try and catch up on all the new posts that I've missed!

Mandy x

REYNOLDS FAMILY · 02-11-2007, 12:19 PM

Mandy,

It all sounds wonderful and hopefully we'll be moving to perth in july08, just one question, what did you think of Rockingham and Safety Bay ?

I've been looking at house prices and both areas seem good value for money.

Thanks

Fleur

mandy1 · 02-11-2007, 12:26 PM

Hi
I thought that they were both quite nice actually.I think the train line is being developed and almost ready to go and it does looks as though the house prices are a bit cheaper too. The beaches were lovely but I have to say that we did only have a brief drive through the areas but at first glance they seem great and we will be consideriing them along with other areas when we finally get there permenantly! In fact we didn't see any areas that we would completely discount
Mandy X

Diane Paul and the kids · 02-11-2007, 05:24 PM

Hi,welcome back to PIO,we were there about 5 weeks ago,saw the dolphins,the museum and the zoo.Did you visit the old jail in fremantle,now that was very creepy,especially the gallows,we felt the same,just didn't want to come back to the uk.As you say,you look at things differently when you plan to live there,we could have stayed there,but had to come back to try and sell the house,but when we do get a buyer,that's it we'll be booking one way flights.

sexkit001 · 02-11-2007, 05:46 PM

we are looking at Perth and was wondering if anyone has settle on a particular area.... saw some lovely houses on the old tinternet and Joondalup looked nice but so did everywhere else

Kxxx

mandy1 · 02-11-2007, 05:54 PM

Hi Diane
Yes we did see Fremantle prison but that was when we went in Dec 05. It was a brilliant tour and very creepy as you say.We have all been a bit down in the dumps since we got back, even the kids didn't want to come back to the UK but we are just hoping that it will only be 3 months until we can return. Funny thing was when we were in Perth the other day we met a bloke who had lived in our villager! What a small world eh? And the customs officer who checked our passports when we were leaving was from Markfield in Leics which is near to us too!
Mandy x

ali · 02-11-2007, 10:46 PM

You came and went before I got chance to say hello - although it sounds as if you were really busy - when you arrive for real we'll have to meet up

Ali

mandy1 · 03-11-2007, 04:35 PM

Hi Ali
Yes it'd be great to meet up when we get there permenently. It was very busy as 2 weeks just isn't long enough! At least the visas are validated now and we can relax a bit on that score. Only the house, leaving family etc... to worry about now (lol).
Mandy x

JackDanielsRN · 03-11-2007, 05:58 PM

Hi all

I have recently visited Fremantle and Perth (Sep 10-23) I arrived by Royal Navy submarine so we were berthed at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island off Rockingham and we stayed in Hotels in Fremantle. This to me was a fantastic oppertunity to see the country i want to emmergrate to along with my wife and 3 daughters. Initially i was disapointed with my first impressions, not sure if i was disapointed because i had created a vision of what i wanted it to be, or just because it didnt bowl me over. However i told myself, they are just coming out of their winter, weather isnt everthing(i should know i live in Scotland) I thought it reminded me a lot of the USA, lots of colonial buildings, which i personally like.
The suburbs seemed tightly packed with houses and not one was alike, not sure if i liked that to be honest, but i think its something you just get used to overtime.
I also did the tourist stuff, Caversham wildlife zoo was brilliant, the prison at Freo was very good also, the wife i know would still be at the Fremantle indoor market if she came with me. There was loads of things to do, and if you enjoy eating out this is the place to be. Drinking was different as they are quiet Sun-Wed with the pubs shutting shop about 10-10.30 ish, not a problem i hear you say, however to 120 British Sailors it presents a slight problem. The weekends though are fantastic and the streets are crowed with many enjoying the night away. I stayed at some friends houses at Baldivis, with was a very nice suburb, and is somewhere i will now consider, the surrounding suburbs are very nice too. I still saw loads of graffiti on houses and some places i'd rather not stop the car, but you have to be a realist and if you have nice areas there has to be bad ones too.
By the end of my stay, i was convinced this was the place i would definatley bring my family to live, the biggest impression WA left on me was just how friendly the people were. The women were very confident, they all seemed to like sport and enjoy talking about it too! Cars were very cheap, petrol is half price than here. Although booze was expensive.
Shame we left before England pumped them at Rugby as i had to endure loads of adverts slating the English team and sport in general.

Hope this helps

Regards
Jack

mandy1 · 03-11-2007, 07:01 PM

Hi
I know what you mean about the graffiti! We saw a huge increase in it from when we were there last time. Its probably a fad though just as it was in the 90's in the UK. They are getting tough on it as I did see a lot of signs offering big rewards for people ringing a graffiti hotline! Other than that the crime rate is low and anti-social behaviour doesn't seem too much of a problem. We loved it and as you say the people are great with their 'no worries' attitude
Mandy x