Crime and Bug phobias

[sarah&darran]

Hello!we are hoping to move to Perth with our 1 year old son in august this year and just want to check that we are doing the right thing really.Our main reason for leaving england is how bad the crime is here (particularly from the youths) and we read that perth is supposed to be one of the safest citys in the world.Is that really the case or can we expect not much of a difference?
Another thing I have to ask is how bad the bug and spider situation really is. I asked the man whos dealing with our visa application and he said that if u so much as leave a dirty plate in the sink for a second a swarm of cockroaches will turn up and carry it out your back door..which as you can imagine..wasnt exactly the comforting answer i was hoping for

Thankyou for any help you can offer us
From Sarah and Darran

[ali]

Any place will have crime and Perth and WA is no different, but it doesn't seem (to me at least) to be as bad as the uk. People are still shocked when major crimes are committed rather than the immunity to them that seems to have developed in the uK.

We've had one or two cockroaches, and they've been big ones but they've never carried my dirty plates off and to be honest they're not that much of a problem.

Ali

[mandy1]

Hi Sarah & Darran
Well we are hoping to be going to Perth in February and we have visited twice before. The last holiday there was to validate the visas in October and I have to say that in Perth city I felt very safe. Very unlike say Nottingham for example (all you guys from Notts don't get to worked up it is only an example)! Every place has crime but I did get the feeling that it was less severe in Oz than in the UK. As for bugs, well we didn't see any cockroaches or spiders but I guess your bound to when you're liivng there a while but I certainly wouldn't let that put me off!
Mandy x

Hi Sarah & Darran:)..welcome to PIO!..i'm sure everyone has the same concerns as you when emigrating..especially with a little one..Perth is a lovely city, and as Ali has already said there is crime, but how bad you think it is, is really relative to where you come from..i've lived in Perth before for many years with my parents and with my own family..we heard of crime, but it never directly affected us in any way..we have always done everything to protect ourselves here and in Perth and that is all you can do..as for the cockroaches carrying your plates out the back door!!..come here and ask peeps on PIO as you have done, and i'm sure you'll get the right info..there are different creepy crawlies and you get use to them..some people have strange ideas about Aus..all the best for your plans..
Pingpongor Tess