Paul1Perth

Totally agree. What's the point in living somewhere really nice and not having enough money to enjoy it. I've met loads of people that have assumed we have paid our mortgage off as we've had the house 20 years. We don't owe loads and could probably have paid it off a lot quicker but we wanted to be able to go away if we wanted and have a bit of spare cash if we want to go out for a meal or a drink.

The cheaper players, probably made in china, seem to be all multi region. We have a PS3 which seems to play anything, including blue ray.

Sounds like you are in a nice place, must be nice to be able to walk into Subi. If you don't have kids and prefer a flat and being close to the City not much point in renting a big house. Only problem with the nice areas, close to the City is you have to pay extra for the rent.. ah well.

You should be fine I think mate. If you're not fixed to being in one place I reckon you should find work in your trade. Good luck.

Just tell the in-laws you are busy. It's tough isn't it. We actually like not having anyone here where we "have to be". Some of the friends we meet on Christmas Day have to go and see family. They just about all moan about having to do it. don't know how Christmas developed into this. When we were over in the UK we had to make sure we tried to get over to see my folks and catch up with the wife's in equal measure, so we didn't upset anyone. Mind you there isn't much else to do in the UK. Always brings back memories of being packed into a smallish room (in comparison to here), fire roaring, heating on full blast, crap on TV, eating too much, drinking too much...... Good fun being in the pubs though.

Sorry, don't know how much they pay but the lady doesn't work and the guy is self employed in installing aircon. A business he started since he's been here. He's done well really, I don't think he knew anything about aircon before he came, they used to run a pub in the UK. He's knocking work back now as he has so much on. We don't know how they manage really as they always seem to be going away somewhere, much better house than we are paying the mortgage on and they have the kids to pay for. 3 of them have left school though now. There are a few places like that for rent as we are about 30Km North of Perth, in a lovely suburb. Only 10 mins away from Joondalup. If you want to be nearer Perth though, say City beach or Cottesloe you would pay loads more for an equivalent house. If you moved another 10Km up the road, say Mindarie, I would guess the rents for a pretty swish house would be pretty reasonable.

A friend of mine paid a lot of money to go over to Sydney to a posh club on New Years Eve. Thought it would be great and it turned into the loneliest New Years he ever had. Your kids are at a tricky age. Ask them what they want to do, don't assume it's to be with you guys on a cruise or holiday or something, they might just want to be with their mates. We have a bunch of friends we meet at the beach every year. Don't know where you guys are but the beaches around Perth are packed at Christmas. Don't feel like you have to see your mates either if you don't want, they might be feeling the same way. Too many people try and please everyone else at Christmas, not think about themselves enough. There are more family arguments and fallings out at Christmas than any other part of the year. Mixture of having to see people you maybe don't really like all that much, booze and all being crammed together. We love it here as we have no family so can please ourselves what we do and when we do it. Have the Christmas Dinner with the kids on Christmas Eve and then there is no pressure to leave the beach if we don't want. Suits us down to the ground and we love it. Our eldest is 22 and youngest 17 they both enjoy the Christmas Dinner, the eldest one comes to the beach for a while on Christmas Day then goes off to meet his mates later, The youngest one still stays with us as there are a few kids the same age and he usually sees a few from his school too. Just saw you are in Adelaide. That would be nice at Christmas wouldn't it. Don't discount just staying put.

I was in Townsville with work and had to leave the hotel at 6:00am for a flight back to Perth. It was about 20 degrees when I got up and had shorts and a T-shirt on to go to the airport. Got in the taxi and the lady driver had the heater on and a big coat saying how cold it was. In Darwin in the dry season last year I think it got down to 16 degrees. The local paper had a picture of a guy in a 6mm wet suit and snorkelling gear on, saying it was the only way he would get into his pool as it was freezing. I was swimming in the hotel pool every night and thought it was perfect. Apparently it was the coldest weather Darwin had for 20 years or so. The Northern Territory local paper has to be seen to be believed. I brought a couple of issues home to show my wife. Talk about politically incorrect, it's a breath of fresh air, they say things like they are in that neck of the woods.

We have friends who have 5 kids and they have rented a nice house by the beach since they have been here, about 6 years I think. They dream of one day being able to buy the house they are renting but it's been great for them. The kids can walk across the road to get to the beach and the 4 boys are all good surfers, so keep themselves entertained for free. I don't think they are saving a lot and don't seem any closer to buying a house but they go away a lot, camping and 4 wheel driving. They certainly seem to have a lot more spare cash than we do with a mortgage, or maybe they are just a lot more in debt, who knows these days. I guess it's personal choice, you can certainly rent somewhere nice near the beach, that you probably wouldn't be able to get a mortgage for. Just another option and a personal choice. Just saw another post about having dogs. They have a dog too so not every rental doesn't allow it. They have had to move once and got a house round the corner whilst the one they are in was renovated by the owner. As soon as it was finished they moved back in as they like the position so much. The current one is 5 bedrooms with a pool, one street back from the beach. The one they moved to temporarily was right on the West Coast Highway, similar size, similar price but they said it was a bit noisy due to the traffic. We went round for barbies a couple of times and didn't notice much noise to be honest but the street they are in now is much quieter. I guess that's another plus for renting. If you realise you've made a mistake on the area after 6 months or so, or you have bad neighbours move in, you can move.

You might want to check the WA police site direct.

Was that in-land or a beach suburb though? Doesn't sound like it matters but the temperature in Wanneroo, 20 mins from where we live, can be 10 degrees hotter. I once took my son to a pool party at friends in Waneroo. It was 35 degrees at home, he got out the car and it felt loads hotter instantly. He rang me about 9:00pm to fetch him. He said it wasn't even comfortable being in the pool as just about everyone had jumped in and the pool was warm. God knows how much hotter it would have been in the hills or further inland.

Cheer up Harpo, you could be back in the UK, middle of summer, and bailing out floods.:cool:

That's in Brisbane Queensland though. We don't get the humidity in Perth so it can be hot but perfect for the beach, I guess that's why so many go, if you've not got a car park by 09:00am you're going to struggle. I can't remember it raining once on Christmas Day in the 20 years we've been here. Had one about 3 years back where it was a cold wind from early on in the morning but that was unusual. It would be sad to sit inside with the aircon on, never done that yet.

Hi Mylowe, my wife went back to Gee Cross about 18 months ago as her Mum was ill. We went back about 6 years ago for a holiday. You are right Hyde has changed and not for the better. It was never the most picturesque of towns but at least the market used to have a few decent stalls that had been there years, deli, fish stall, flower stall. When we went to have a look around they had all disappeared and the stalls were full of crap run by the usual suspects. I'm not from the area myself, I'm from Chesterfield but moved over as:- 1. My wife is from there 2. I got a job with Ferranti when I finished my degree. My wife was born in Ashton (I think) but did most of her schooling in Canada. Her parents and one Sister live in Gee Cross, her other Sister lives in Tolpuddle. Our old next door neighbour was a teacher and he managed to get the position of headmaster at the new(ish) school heading out towards Glossop. How do you like Melbourne? We love Perth, been here 20 years and love it just as much as the day we got here.

Never missed the English Christmas one bit tbh. Liked it when I was there, nothing about the cold I like though. Used to spend most of it in the pub when I was younger and that's the time I think I enjoyed most. Going to the pub and clubs with mates on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, everyone in a good mood, girls not averse to a quick "Christmas kiss", only time of year you could get away with it. After New Year everyone was back to normal, spent up, weather crap, pubs quite, waiting for summer holidays. Here we are usually on the beach by about 9:00am with a bunch of friends, don't have any relations here so don't have to shoot off visiting anyone.. We can please ourselves how long we stay, have a few beers, champagne, croisants, beach cricket, swim, few more beers then usually go back to a mates house with a pool and a barbie for the rest of the day. Love it.

Has it really been 4 years? I didn't think you had been on here long, time flies when your having fun. All the best.

Moved from Gee Cross near Hyde/Stockport to Perth 20 years ago. Best thing we ever did. The eldest was 2 when we came and we have another boy born here now 17. Both doing well. Eldest an electrician, youngest still at school but working 2 days a week at UWA on a traineeship. Wife's a nurse I'm in IT, ex Ferranti employee. Good luck mate.

If the kids are good swimmers and enjoy being in the water, surfing or bodyboarding, you probably won't see them. Doesn't cost a thing either. The theme parks are good fun, you can get a cheaper rate if you book a package for all of them. Some of the rides are great and you can spend a day in each one if that's what you fancy.

Or were they applying for jobs they aren't qualified for or not in their field because they are desperate to find anything. I've been in the situation where I would have taken anything when we came here and had loads of replies saying they would love to give me an interview but I was over qualified or wasn't in the right field.

Sounds great mate. Any ideas, or a few thousand to lend somebody with one. If only it were that simple.

Well people would need to know what it is you are looking for and how much you are paying before making a decision on whether it's a horrible career or not. If you aren't paying enough to attract people to come off the dole then I'm guessing the wages aren't that high. There are some jobs around that some people just can't afford to take, it wouldn't pay their bills.

Ever thought about emigrating PB...you might like Perth:wink:

That's only if they are employed by a company though and not working in the black economy, which booms in tough times. I'll bet there are loads of them working for cash in hand, paying no tax with no records of how much they are getting. Their circumstances aren't the same either, they will be lots of them sharing a house, paying minimum rent for a room and sending the money back to wherever their homeland is. Not doing the British economy one bit of good.

Try one of the local IGA supermarkets. They sometimes get things in for customers and see how they go. If they become popular all the better for them. Our local one started getting McVities dark chocolate biscuits, they are really popular.

That's what I meant. Do you think he would be getting worried about the death penalty just for rape and assault charges? I don't think so, yet you mentioned the death penalty in your first post.