New to the forum

Hi all, i'm new here so be gentle :err:

My fiance and I are hoping to be moving to Oz something in the beginning of 2017 all being well

I'll be coming over on a 457 visa and currently have 2 possibilities, a car dealership in Sydney or a service centre in Geraldton WA.

Geraldton is where i would prefer to be, having never lived in a big city before i think a city like Geraldton is more my style.

It looks a beautiful place, we have friends living just north of Perth so fairly handy for us to go visiting them aswell.

Anyway that's all for now, anyone that wants to give me any info on either option above feel free, We are hungry for information on all things to do with living in Oz

Rik

The two options are so different, they are two different worlds! If you don't like big cities then Sydney would not suit you - plus housing is extremely expensive so it's not the best place for a new arrival to settle. However, Geraldton is pretty isolated - it's not like small cities in England where you're only an hour or two away from other places. It's a long way from anywhere else and it gets bloody hot!

I would be contacting those friends in Perth and asking them what they think of the place.

Hi Marisawright,

Yeah a 4 hour drive isn't so bad, i drive 6 hours on a regular basis now for work.

When you say it gets hot, i have had a look at the yearly weather stats for average temperatures and it seems bearable, or have i missed something,

Seems the cost of living there is pretty comparable to perth apart from the cost of housing, which is quite a bit cheaper

Hi Marisawright,

Yeah a 4 hour drive isn't so bad, i drive 6 hours on a regular basis now for work.

When you say it gets hot, i have had a look at the yearly weather stats for average temperatures and it seems bearable, or have i missed something,

 

Seems the cost of living there is pretty comparable to perth apart from the cost of housing, which is quite a bit cheaper

There is a very big difference to what you have in-between on those two journeys, a 6hr journey in the UK would take you past several major cities and towns and services and never be more than a stones throw from civilization, where as 4 hours in oz well a cannon might get that stone a little closer! Little country towns in each country are chalk and cheese.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

If you aren't city people I would head for Perth. Plus having friends close by will help with settling in.

Hi Marisawright,

Yeah a 4 hour drive isn't so bad, i drive 6 hours on a regular basis now for work.

When you say it gets hot, i have had a look at the yearly weather stats for average temperatures and it seems bearable, or have i missed something,

 

Seems the cost of living there is pretty comparable to perth apart from the cost of housing, which is quite a bit cheaper

More than a four hour drive to Perth, if that is what you are referring to. Six would be closer to the mark. Geraldton know reasonably well. There are some very pleasant beaches there. The main issue being the wind. It does blow there a lot of the time. The city is reasonably compact but the burbs are a bit spread out. There are social issues there and as many places certain areas best avoided.

Geraldton certainly wouldn't be my first choice out of WA regional centres but certainly you could do far worse.

More than a four hour drive to Perth, if that is what you are referring to. Six would be closer to the mark. Geraldton know reasonably well. There are some very pleasant beaches there. The main issue being the wind. It does blow there a lot of the time. The city is reasonably compact but the burbs are a bit spread out. There are social issues there and as many places certain areas best avoided.

 

Geraldton certainly wouldn't be my first choice out of WA regional centres but certainly you could do far worse.

At the moment its a case of where they can find me work, i asked the recruiter for perth but he has told me there are very limited options there at the moment for new visa applications.

Knowing places to avoid would be good, its always hard to know how good/ bad places are until you've lived there.

Thanks for the input, any and all advice is welcome, it all helps make up my mind as all i have right now is the internet to help make a decision. my friends in perth have visited a few times so their feedback has been quite positive but they dont live there so its a different perspective.

Perth to geraldton Aprox 4hr27 mins by car according to google maps. and only an hours flight.

At the moment its a case of where they can find me work, i asked the recruiter for perth but he has told me there are very limited options there at the moment for new visa applications.

Knowing places to avoid would be good, its always hard to know how good/ bad places are until you've lived there.

 

Thanks for the input, any and all advice is welcome, it all helps make up my mind as all i have right now is the internet to help make a decision. my friends in perth have visited a few times so their feedback has been quite positive but they dont live there so its a different perspective.

 

Perth to geraldton Aprox 4hr27 mins by car according to google maps. and only an hours flight.

All I can say is it takes us more like six hours by road to Geraldton. (foot down half an hour less perhaps, but have been stopped by the police on that stretch of road) Five hours more the case down south to Albany which is closer than GN.

The city has certainly improved over the past decade plus with capital works being undertaken in the centre and improving the look and connection to the beach.

Look it is pleasant. My partner has a former colleague who moved up there from Perth, partly due to cheaper housing and has done well there (if misses the bright lights at times) There is most things available to join, expected in a city of such a size, that would assist in easing into the Gero lifestyle. There were a number of UK/Irish folk moving up there during the boom. I seem to recall train drivers as being one of the positions bringing people in. No idea how many are remaining. Hopefully one will respond to the situation on the ground at present.

The first question I have to ask is are you planning on this being a permanent move? If so, then any reason why you are looking at sponsored visas? There are a lot of down sides to this visa. First, no good if you are thinking of it as a permanent move. It is a temporary visa with nonautomatic path to anything else. As you can see, it is tied to the employer, so not only does that dictate where you live, but also to the employer. If you lose your job for any reason, then you only have 90 days to find another or leave the country. Another issue is that the partners of 457 holders can have issues finding work as employers are not keen given the temporary nature of the visa.

I missed the bit about it being a 457. As it's just the two of you, I don't think that matters too much - it can be a real problem for a family because it's so insecure - you could imagine the trauma for a couple with kids having only a couple of months before being thrown out of the country. For you, if the job doesn't work out, you can just hop on a plane and have a holiday in New Zealand or Asia on the way home, and write it off as an adventure.

If it's a 457 then I'd definitely say avoid Sydney because your fiance might struggle to get a job, being reliant on your temporary visa, and the cost of living there would be too great to manage on one wage.

How far North of Perth are your friends? Might be a bit closer as they're on the right side of Perth coming from Geraldton. We've only called in Geraldton on a trip to Kalbarri. Stopped at the harbour for some lunch in a really nice restaurant with good views. If Sydney or Gero are your only options and you don't like big cities Gero would be your best bet. Sydney is a beautiful City but is expensive to get a place in a nice area where you wouldn't have to travel a long way for work.

Do a bit of research about suburbs to avoid and go for it mate. Gero could be fine. If you like sport, water sports in particular it's a good place. Windsurfing or kite surfing top notch. Good place to take it up for both of you. May as well learn a few more skills and always a good way to meet new friends.

Good luck.

How far North of Perth are your friends? Might be a bit closer as they're on the right side of Perth coming from Geraldton. We've only called in Geraldton on a trip to Kalbarri. Stopped at the harbour for some lunch in a really nice restaurant with good views. If Sydney or Gero are your only options and you don't like big cities Gero would be your best bet. Sydney is a beautiful City but is expensive to get a place in a nice area where you wouldn't have to travel a long way for work.

Do a bit of research about suburbs to avoid and go for it mate. Gero could be fine. If you like sport, water sports in particular it's a good place. Windsurfing or kite surfing top notch. Good place to take it up for both of you. May as well learn a few more skills and always a good way to meet new friends.

Good luck.

My friends live in Kinross so yeah in the northern suburbs of Perth.

Still trying to do research but not really getting much feedback about areas, where to avoid or where is good, I was looking earlier at areas north of the city at rentals and the majority look really good but you can't always tell what am area is like by the quality of house.

My friends live in Kinross so yeah in the northern suburbs of Perth.

 

Still trying to do research but not really getting much feedback about areas, where to avoid or where is good, I was looking earlier at areas north of the city at rentals and the majority look really good but you can't always tell what am area is like by the quality of house.

There's really not much point in fretting about areas. You won't be able to secure a rental from overseas. Just book an Airbnb in a central location for a month, then spend that time checking out suburbs and deciding where you want to be. As you're coming out on a temp visa, your employer may even give you some assistance finding a place.

Well after a bit more research, Geraldton seems about the same size as where i live now but it also seems to be constantly expanding. also the temperatures for the area on google dont seem to relate to anything ive got back from people living there, about 10 degrees hotter than the internet says is average. not a biggie but means i'll look for a house with A/C.

found a few areas to avoid living in and a few that do appear decent places, the research will continue in case this job develops