perth after a year ,family of five from glasgow

that s us been here a year now and it s actually flew in,here s our story :

i spent 3 years on the east coast from 1998 -2001(mostly in sydney)i met my wife after my second year in oz and i had overstayed so got a 3 year ban like many!We then headed to nyc for a couple of years returning to scotland in 2003 for celtic getting to the uefa cup final.Once e returned to scotland it as never the same and said we would like go back to oz,3 boys later we started the process back in 2012 as we had friends move to perth ,although e had never been it sounded great

After sitting the ielts and skills test and paying the agent we had a close family tragedy meaning every thing got shelved,then in late 2014 the wife have joked if we lost the referendum vote we were off (not trying to bring politics into it lol),e got back in touch with the agent and luckily the ielts as valid for 3 years instead of 2 meaning everything was valid meaning a rush to move things as i was 40 the following june

We decided i would come out and stay with my friends for 3 weeks to get thing sorted then my wife and 3 boys would come out 3 weeks later,had to get a job and house sorted and ended up with a lot less money than had hoped for!

My wife wanted to keep the house for a couple of years as part of the deal we reached,we had paid half of it off so knew it would be hard without sale,i landed with about 2 grand and waiting on another 4 grand for my van which hadn t sold ,i also for the first time had visa cards for emergencies.

We had planned on going to butler but we i visited the area decided against it as i felt it was a wee bit far out,i went to 15 houses in the butler area and they loads others available as well,went to meet an a boy i worked with in the duke pub in carramar ,i really liked the area and spoted a house for rent the first one with a swimming pool and walking distance to the school ,shops and pub lol,i even got 50 dollars a week off and got the house ,also seen an add on one of the perth facebook pages looking for a multi skilled carpenter(the ones here stick to one thing)i met the builder who as from liverpool and agreed he would give me a trial on my 3 rd week here but had to tell him i had very little tools but he said if the trial goes well i could use his till container came,result

Being honest on paper we probalby didn t have enough money to immigrate and have to laugh at some of the figures mentioned on here ,if you want to do it you ll do it,i had to go on gumtree which we had never done before for 4 double beds and basic furniture till our move cube appeared

,i got the keys for my house on the friday and my wife and 3 boys arrived on the tuesday,i told her not totell the boys about the pool ,they were over the moon and was one of the best things we did,so much different to our 3 bed semi in sunny glesga, big alfresco area and loads of room inside

I had my own joinery businessin glasgow and with in 5 weeks of being here i was given a wage increase due to way i was working and running my own jobs,i am working on the new builds which i have enjoyed but work is drying up big time

my wife ran her own child minding business from home and got a job in a local nursery within a month she was a supervisor and is enjoying it

We have found some things to be expensive but not as bad as made out to be,when going out with the family for a bite to eat there is no weatherspoon type places,so can be expensive but usually really good,the place is great for families and this is where we have rally noticed the lifestyle difference our boys are never in and we always do something outside on a sunday

Perth is a beautiful city with loads to do with kids and parks everywhere and very family orientdated but can feel a bit isolated at time,we stay only 4 miles from the beatiful coastline,i don t know if we ll stay for ever but are making the best of it but am really concerned about the work as the house bulding has nearly came to a halt all over meaning lots out of work and people coming will struggle to find work.

i have seen a massive change in australia since i was last here ,the cost of living has shot up with lots of people here really struggling and house prices and land as expensive,it s not a place your going to get ahead quick like it was and looks like perth is already in recession,this is one of the hardest times to come WA

well here s to the next year

Happy to see things are working out for you despite you being a strapped for cash.It goes to show, where theres a will ,theres a way..

Cal x

yes true over the year we have replaced the stuff we got at the start with a few trips to ikea lol,we know after 2 years we can sell our house in glasgow for a good deposit here

that s us been here a year now and it s actually flew in,here s our story :

i spent 3 years on the east coast from 1998 -2001(mostly in sydney)i met my wife after my second year in oz and i had overstayed so got a 3 year ban like many!We then headed to nyc for a couple of years returning to scotland in 2003 for celtic getting to the uefa cup final.Once e returned to scotland it as never the same and said we would like go back to oz,3 boys later we started the process back in 2012 as we had friends move to perth ,although e had never been it sounded great

After sitting the ielts and skills test and paying the agent we had a close family tragedy meaning every thing got shelved,then in late 2014 the wife have joked if we lost the referendum vote we were off (not trying to bring politics into it lol),e got back in touch with the agent and luckily the ielts as valid for 3 years instead of 2 meaning everything was valid meaning a rush to move things as i was 40 the following june

We decided i would come out and stay with my friends for 3 weeks to get thing sorted then my wife and 3 boys would come out 3 weeks later,had to get a job and house sorted and ended up with a lot less money than had hoped for!

My wife wanted to keep the house for a couple of years as part of the deal we reached,we had paid half of it off so knew it would be hard without sale,i landed with about 2 grand and waiting on another 4 grand for my van which hadn t sold ,i also for the first time had visa cards for emergencies.

We had planned on going to butler but we i visited the area decided against it as i felt it was a wee bit far out,i went to 15 houses in the butler area and they loads others available as well,went to meet an a boy i worked with in the duke pub in carramar ,i really liked the area and spoted a house for rent the first one with a swimming pool and walking distance to the school ,shops and pub lol,i even got 50 dollars a week off and got the house ,also seen an add on one of the perth facebook pages looking for a multi skilled carpenter(the ones here stick to one thing)i met the builder who as from liverpool and agreed he would give me a trial on my 3 rd week here but had to tell him i had very little tools but he said if the trial goes well i could use his till container came,result

Being honest on paper we probalby didn t have enough money to immigrate and have to laugh at some of the figures mentioned on here ,if you want to do it you ll do it,i had to go on gumtree which we had never done before for 4 double beds and basic furniture till our move cube appeared

,i got the keys for my house on the friday and my wife and 3 boys arrived on the tuesday,i told her not totell the boys about the pool ,they were over the moon and was one of the best things we did,so much different to our 3 bed semi in sunny glesga, big alfresco area and loads of room inside

I had my own joinery businessin glasgow and with in 5 weeks of being here i was given a wage increase due to way i was working and running my own jobs,i am working on the new builds which i have enjoyed but work is drying up big time

my wife ran her own child minding business from home and got a job in a local nursery within a month she was a supervisor and is enjoying it

We have found some things to be expensive but not as bad as made out to be,when going out with the family for a bite to eat there is no weatherspoon type places,so can be expensive but usually really good,the place is great for families and this is where we have rally noticed the lifestyle difference our boys are never in and we always do something outside on a sunday

Perth is a beautiful city with loads to do with kids and parks everywhere and very family orientdated but can feel a bit isolated at time,we stay only 4 miles from the beatiful coastline,i don t know if we ll stay for ever but are making the best of it but am really concerned about the work as the house bulding has nearly came to a halt all over meaning lots out of work and people coming will struggle to find work.

i have seen a massive change in australia since i was last here ,the cost of living has shot up with lots of people here really struggling and house prices and land as expensive,it s not a place your going to get ahead quick like it was and looks like perth is already in recession,this is one of the hardest times to come WA

well here s to the next year

I enjoyed reading that! Hopefully things will pick up in Perth for you. My husband was in the building industry so we know all about slumps and recessions. Moved from coast to coast for work at one point.

Good luck to you and your family. :smile:

At Bunning's here in Perth earlier today. The fellow that assisted me was a plumber, first day on the job. He told me working as a subbie is increasingly a mugs game. It seems he was left out of pocket a considerable amount with a company going under.

missed out some things lol!

perth:beautiful city lots of parks and open spaces for the kids and close to lots of amazing beaches,very clean and everything quite new,totally different to glasgow or any major cities in the uk.We went on friday night to an open cinema at the park at eden beach,great experience could have a few drinks and the kids loved it.

Overall a great place and very family oriented but can see why people think it s a big isolated and not for everyone

work:i ve always worked for myself and have decided to subcontract for a builder till i find my feet,had heard work was slowing down before i came and have seen it come nearly to a standstill,the builder i work for has been here 20 years and never seen it like this,the work itself i find to be a bit backward,very much this is the way we do it herecan be frustrating but not a good time to go working for yourself

missed out some things lol!

perth:beautiful city lots of parks and open spaces for the kids and close to lots of amazing beaches,very clean and everything quite new,totally different to glasgow or any major cities in the uk.We went on friday night to an open cinema at the park at eden beach,great experience could have a few drinks and the kids loved it.

Overall a great place and very family oriented but can see why people think it s a big isolated and not for everyone

work:i ve always worked for myself and have decided to subcontract for a builder till i find my feet,had heard work was slowing down before i came and have seen it come nearly to a standstill,the builder i work for has been here 20 years and never seen it like this,the work itself i find to be a bit backward,very much this is the way we do it herecan be frustrating but not a good time to go working for yourself

A few months ago had a complete new bathroom etc done. The company employed to do the work, in business since 90's said they had never experienced it so quiet. I do believe two further contracts came up in quick succession, just prior to the completion of mine, hence crisis was averted. But it is tough going out there.

You may or may not experience it, but from my experience, some of the things that early days may have appeared 'attractive' can lose their shine after awhile.

cost of living:more expensive than the uk but wages can be more,eating out and nights out can be expensive,some things are a totally rip off but can t get anywhere else due to our location

driving:as bad as people make out,most don t indicate or let you out and speed up behind you when you turn onto a road,they wouldn t last too long back home!but you ll get used to it.One thing that has really surprised us is the drink driving which is rife,lots of people we know wouldn t think anything of having 4 or 5 drinks and driving ,seen lots at bbq s driving with family s after a full day on the bevvy

every friday lots of the local pubs are packed with the tradies and you can t get in the car packs and they then drive home!the traffic police would have a field day lol

Even on site seen lots drinking early on a friday and very dangerous as our jobs don t have much health and safety as i m working for a small builder they can be dangerous enough with scaffold missing and not supported properly