popstar999

We have been here in WA for just on 3 months now, and we are NOR, in Merriwa. (Merriwa/Butler/Quinns Rocks area) My daughter (6yrs) is currently at Quinns Beach Primary School, and loves it. I had a look around Merriwa Primary, and to be honest, it wasn't that marvellous, then had a look around Quinns Beach, and was over the moon when the headmistress said she had space for my older one, and our 3yr old who will start Kindy next year!! They are quite strict with catchement areas over here, so be sure that you have the right address for the school you want! We were just lucky that there was space for our 2 little monkeys, otherwise I would've been a bit disappointed, having to send them to Merriwa. (in saying that, I don't know anyone who HAS kids at Merriwa, so perhaps I got the total wrong impression - don't want to offend anyone!!) As to WHERE TO LIVE: I would definitely urge anyone not to rush into buying a place. There are so many neighbourhoods and all have different things to offer. In our area, Butler, Jindalee, Quinns Rocks, Ridgewood are all lovely and only 5 min drive to the beach. We are about 15-20 mins from Joondalup, but less than 10 mins from Ocean Keys shopping centre in Clarkson, which has pretty much everying (Coles, Woolworths, K-Mart, pharmacy, post office, Crazy Clarks etc) I would suggest renting a place for a few months to get a real feel for the area and see if it's for you, before diving head first into buying a place. Regarding RENTALS: Sorry to sound snooty, but I just don't know what some people expect? They are rentals after all. Landlords are not likely to furnish the property in 5* luxury, knowing that there's going to be a family with young kids in it! I know there ARE some super-fantastic rental properties out there that ARE furnished top notch, but then you have to pay for it. All the fellow immigrants that I have met in the Quinns/Jindalee/Ridgewood area, pay in the region of $400-$450 a week for a 4x2 house with a garden (no pool) And all the properties are lovely. They may not be to all our tastes and some might need a bit of TLC (gardens weeded/mowed etc) but it's not going to be your "forever house". I'm sure 99% of immigrants have the hope of eventually purchasing a property here in Australia, so who cares if you have to have a smaller bathroom, or a green bedroom for a few months? :biggrin: Anyway, I think I'm starting to ramble on a bit here......but what I'm trying to say is, don't expect too much, else you'll be disapointed. Australia is not England, and I personally think the houses here are far BETTER than the UK, as they are far newer, in most cases. And there is more time for family here too. Best of luck to all of you with your moves, but NOR is a really good place to be, if you ask me. It's family orientated, the areas that I've mentioned above are all close to the beach, and my OH works south of Perth and it takes him 45 mins each way to and from work (driving). He leaves at 5:15am to start work at 6am, and leaves work at 3pm to be home at 3:45. Heavenly :wub: Our nearest train station would be Clarkson, but in the 3 months we've been here, we've not needed to use it as yet... Cx

hi Derren, If this change is now in place, it must be VERY recent?? My husband just arrived in WA on 27th Aug and did the 2 week course around 6th September? Apologies if I've given the wrong info :unsure: Seems like we might have just timed it right. thanks. Cx

Hi Robwa, My husband is also an electrician, from the UK, and we've just arrived in Perth a few weeks ago. I can't remember exactly the sequence of events that he had to follow, but it went something like this. Firstly: EnergySafety/EnergyLicencsing seem to be the big guns in WA. You need to register with them first. I think this cost $38 and my hubby did this from the UK and paid on his credit card. (you will need to scan various copies of ID/OTSR cert etc) Once registered with this crowd, you will receive a letter from them stating that you have done so. Secondly: You will have to do a college course on arrival in WA in order to get your A licence. CET (College of Electrical Training) is who my husband used as they had a couple campuses to choose from and also a few different course date options. It was a full-time, 2 week course and we arranged that he'd start the course a few days after arrival in WA and get it done and dusted. Jason (the husband) got his registration letter from Energy Licencing, then forwarded the letter along a few other things (OTSR cert/ID etc etc) and payment to the college and booked his spot...all from the UK. An important note: We are also on a 176 permanent residency visa. On the college course application form, it shows 2 prices: $860 inelligible for public funding OR $160 elligible for public funding. YOU ARE ELLIGIBLE FOR PUBLIC FUNDING AND WILL WILL PAY THE SUBSIDISED FEE!!! You will, however, still need to pay for the course books which is a few more hundred $$ and you will also need to have safety boots with you for the course. The course you are looking for, as a general electrician, is ETL -> Electrical Trade Licence I've copied and pasted a reply from someone at energy Safety who replied to Jason, so you will have a contact address/phone number. Hi Jason, You can still apply for an Electricians Licence while still residing in the UK. We will accept your proof of identification as long as it makes up the 100 points provided on the Fact Sheet including with the application. Once we have received your application, we will send you the approval letter to undertake the ETL course and we can send the approval letter to your UK address, you just have to be in Australia to undertake the course and to be issued the Electricians Licence. Kind regards, Cynthia Claude A/Customer Service Officer Department of Commerce, Energy Safety WA 303 Sevenoaks Street, Cannington, WA 6107 PO Box 135, Cannington, WA 6987 Ph: (08) 9422 5282, Fx: (08) 9422 5222 email: cynthia.claude@commerce.wa.gov.au General enquiries: energylicensing@commerce.wa.gov.au Also note: We kept seeing things about TRA. You do not need TRA if you have OTSR! I think I have some of the application forms saved (somewhere) if you'd like me to email them to you. Please send me an email address if so. I hope this has helped a bit - if you can make sense of it! The best place to start is with Energy Safety, as you have to be registered with them before you can attend any ETL course in WA. Another fee my hubby had to pay was approx $350 after completing the course, for the 5 year registration fee to Energy Safety. It's a costly business, let me warn you! :wacko: Good luck! From Catherine

Hi All, Can anyone tell me if there are any regular flea markets, or markets of any kind (NOR) where folks can set up a stall and sell stuff? I'm not talking about a boot sale...I mean a place where if I sold cakes or clothes, for example, I'd be able to to set up shop? :wubclub: We are in the Jindalee/Butler/Quinns area, but don't mind travelling a bit. Thanks a bunch!! Cx

Hi Chocolateb Orange, Well, I went and had a look around Merriwa Primary on Tuesday morning. It's the school that we would fall under in the catchment area, but it was also the first school I looked at. Not having had anything to comapre it to, I thought the school was "ok". The principal was absolutely lovely and showed us around etc. And they had places for both my kids in the Year 1 and Kindy for 2012 start. Then yesterday, I went and had a look at Quinns Beach Primary School (literally 5 mins away from Merriwa) and what a world of difference! Only problem is - we're not in the catchment area. Priority is ALWAYS given to pupils in the catchment area, and outsiders are only considered at the principal's discretion and if there is space. I was absolutely over the moon when she told me that they could take on both the kids - and even take our 6yr old on for the 4th term of this year, before she starts Year 1 in Feb!! The pricipal was also very friendly and helpful (as most people here seem to be) and I walked out of there feeling very pleased. My 6yr old was so excited, she made me go back and get her new uniform in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day parading around in it, bless her. :laugh: She can't wait for Monday. As for Merriwa: Perhaps I wrote it off too quickly, but the feeling that I got between the 2 schools is just what sealed the deal for me. Good luck with your big move though. Just be sure that if you're after a particular school that you get an address in the catchment area. Otherwise it's just the luck of the draw if the other schools have got space for you.... Catherine

Thanks for the reply, northernbird. Good to hear something positive ) From Catherine

Hi all, We just arrived in WA last week and have signed a 12 month rental for a property in Merriwa. The house is on the Merriwa/Butler border, but I think Merriwa Primary will be the closest school for my kids. I have a 6yr old and 3 yr old, and I'm just looking for thoughts/opinions on this school, please? Does anyone have kids who go there, or have you heard anything (good or bad) about this school? I believe East Butler Primary and Butler Primary are both very good, but I don't think we'd be in the catchment area for them. (And apparently they are both full!) Any comments welcome. :yes: Thanks, From Catherine

Hi folks, Just checking if anyone has used TOR FX to transfer money? I've been speaking to one of their guys and he's been really helpful etc, but I've never heard of them.... but then again, I've never had to do money transfers before :biggrin: Anyway...if you can recommend them, or have any comments, please do let us know. Any thoughts would be most appreciated. I would have a coronary if our hard-earned pennies went AWOL! Thanks, Cx

Hi All, We leave for WA in a few weeks time (!) so busy sorting out all those mad last minute things. One thing I'm trying to find out about still, is UK mobile phones working in Australia. My husband and I have both have phone contracts here in the UK which we are cancelling/paying out this week. I have a Samsung and he has a Sony (I think) We've been told by Orange that it will be about £50 to unlock both phones for them to work abroad. But will they?? That's what I really want to know? Will we be able to buy a new sim card and put them straight into the phones? Or are we wasting our time and money? Has anyone actually had a phone unlocked and taken it over with them? Any advice welcomed....thanks!! :biggrin: C&J

Wow! Thanks for all the replies and feedback. I'm going to have to adopt one of these "haggling faces" and see how we get on!! Lots of shopping to be done in a couple months time! :cool: Cx

I've seen a few posts on here about "haggling" over prices for goods in shops. Here in UK, I'm sure we'd be laughed out of Curry's or Comet if we tried to negotiate a better price for a fridge or washing machine etc. So, how does one go about haggling the price of white goods and the like? I thought the whole purpose of a shop, was so that when you went in and saw the price of something, that was the price you paid?? :wink: Maybe this haggling is a skill I need to learn asap!! I'm delighted at this news, though, as we are going to have to buy a new frigdge, freezer, washing machine and some furniture when we arrive in WA in a couple months time. Any tips on how much should/could be knocked off a price?? 10%? 20% more? If we buy a fridge and freezer from the same place, is there a chance they might throw in a free washing maching too?? LOL!! :biglaugh: Any pointers welcomed - thanks! Cx

Thanks for all the replies. We are hoping to be in WA in the next couple months, but just wanted to know how soon proprties are usually available. We aren't going to be arranging anything without seeing it first, but I was just curious to know how soon from viewing a place it would be available. ie 7-14 days as mentioned by furkew. Thanks again. Cx

Right. We'll be looking in WA (should've said that) but that's great, thanks!! I was hoping that would be the case ;o) Cx

Hi all, On the realestate..com website, if a property is shown that's empty, does that mean that it's available immediately? On some of the property descriptions, it states what date it's available from, but on others, it doesn't. Just wanting to know how it all works? Is a rental property usually available pretty sharpish, or is it usually an end-of-month moving in date? :biggrin: Thanks! Cx

Hi folks, We are expecting to arrive in WA around the end of September, and will need to a MASSIVE shop. Is there an Aussie equivalent of ASDA or TESCO's?? I certainly don't do my shopping at Waitrose, so just looking to see where other mums/wives go to do their "big shops"?? I will need things from cleaning materials, loo paper, washing powder, fresh and frozen food, to meat. You name it - we'll need it! :yes: Thanks! Catherine