Liz Steve R

I have to agree, here in Perth we have heard some expat's shocking experiences regarding rentals. The rental inspections here are a joke as my friend found out, they were told off for leaving bread crumbs on the kitchen work top mid inspection!!! It is one of the negative aspects of life here in Australia I,m afraid along with boguns, hoons, excessive roadside litter(WA), expensive houses and crappy politicians!!

We used Moneycorp and they were very good! Do not bring all of it though, we brought 6000 pounds out just before xmas and got $9300 (1.55 x rate). If we did it now we would have had $600 less (1.45), thats after 2 months. Thats more than any savings account could give you so choose your time carefully to transfer, after the Olympics may be a good bet!

It is not as bad as Britain for litter, its just that (mainly) bottles just seem to be lying alongside the road on grass verges. It almost seems as if it's an accepted practice over here in WA. I could almost accept it if it was just in built up areas but it's just as bad on the Great Northern Highway, the road to Denham (Shark Bay) from the Overlander Roadhouse and even the road to Monkey Mia! So I don't suppose anywhere else North of there is any better? I drove all the way around Australia 13 years ago and it was spotless, now after being here for the last 6 months I have been dismayed by the change! I can only hope it is just a roadside thing. Yes, most places you go are generally clean and tidy, so I suppose it just sticks out more! Don't let it put you off as it is still a lovely place, its just a problem that needs addressing and as you can see from this thread there are people here that are addressing it!

I don't think its the British either, its the arrogant lot that expect other people to do things for them! Maybe the Uk is getting better or you just don't notice it as much. You have less vegetation on the sides of the roads here in WA to hide the rubbish. Has anyone been somewhere in OZ where the litter problem is non existent?

I think you can keep it in an offshore part of an Oz bank but they give a real poor interest rate sterling, so not worth it.

I feel your pain, it saddens me to think that people have no idea what all this plastic is doing to the environment. In the Pacific there is an area the size of the USA made up of plastic floating just underneath the surface which will take a 100 years to decompose. I think the companies that make this packaging should be held partly responsible along with the idiots that chuck it on the floor without a thought!

Keep Australia Beautiful. You can become a litter lout reporter, thats if you can catch anyone lol. Not sure how effective it is though am dying to catch someone in the act, although I think I would lose it and over react! I know how bad it is in the UK for litter, I thought that was a thing of the past now I was living here in WA but unfortunately not.

I joined the KABC, not sure how effective it will be, have not caught anyone in the act yet! Also I think fines do not do anything, it is so hard and time consuming to catch any one in the act. I just wish people had the sense not to do it in the first place. Is nice to know there are other people who feel the same!!

I am not sure who is to blame but I know WA has the worst littering record in Australia, I lived here 13 years ago and the place was spotless. I work on Garden Island which is off limits to the general public and I have picked up empty bottles there as well! Glad to here Melbourne and Cairns are litter free!

Has anyone else noticed the huge amount of empty beer bottles and plastic drinks containers abandoned along the side of the roads? I live in Rockingham and every major road seems to be blighted. We went to Shark Bay and I was appalled that even at a World Heritage Site people still seem to throw their rubbish out of their windows, which may keep your car clean and tidy but spoils the otherwise beautiful landscape! What are peoples thoughts?

Ha ha I know exactly what you mean! We gave up halfway through our last two week August Cornish camping holiday when we couldn't see across the field through the rain & fog and had to put a coat & wellies on to walk over to the shower block!? Hopefully Aussie camping will be an enjoyable experience instead of some sort of family endurance test! lol Can you imagine the luxury of being so warm you won't have to wear full PJ's, a fleece jacket & socks and fight your husband for the sleeping bag in the middle of the night? :laugh: We bought a new tent and shipped it over before we left the UK, they looked very expensive here in 'Boating & Camping World' when we looked. They didn't seem to have the pod type tents here like the UK, more of the square design with hanging bedrooms. Anyway, all the best! Liz xxx

Best of Luck with your move Kelly & Jamie :smile: We came out here in August and my 13yrold daughter and I cried like babies leaving departures and getting on the plane - like you, it wasn't that we doubted we were doing the right thing and that it would all be fine, just hit us what we were doing and how many very special friends and family members we were leaving behind! We have been here for 14 weeks and we are all loving it. The kids settled almost from day one of starting school and have masses of lovely new friends. We are taking a little longer to find our social feet but are really enjoying the climate, the beaches, our fab outdoor life. We've bought a puppy and she has been a joy to take to the dog beaches and out and about. We are not regretting our massive life changing move and can only hope when our family come to stay in January that they will be able to see why we are here and feel pleased that we're happy and settled. Hope everything goes smoothly for you and you love your new adventure! Liz xxx

Sorry can't help you! We tried to buy detailed maps before we came to Perth and failed miserably! When we got here we went and bought a Garmin Sat Nav with Australia/New Zealand/Tasmania on it, it's been brilliant, so useful :smile: Not what you're asking for but if you're after a good book to peruse over and plan some Aussie camping trips, we've just bought a fab camping book of Australia, called 'Camping Around Australia' Published by 'Explore Australia Publishing Pty Ltd' by http://www.exploreaustralia.net.au (Actually the website is very interesting for info and maps too) It has good maps, camp site details, interesting features, etc of the whole of Australia & Tasmania. It cost us $39.99 from a book shop, which was a bargain because it's basically a map book for the whole of Oz. There are lots of maps and books available to buy on their website - you might be able to get them ordered in the UK? Hope you find a decent map, I was always on Google Maps and street-view pre-move. Good Luck Liz

I think you will be fine, schools is one of the biggest outlays for us and you haven't any children. Rent is the next big outlay and the further away from Perth you get the cheaper it is, generally. As mentioned before the longer your time spent in the mine and the shorter your time at home, the better the pay! Its all about what you want out of life!! Good luck