Madasacutsnake

Yes please, somehow managed to log in again under the original name.

Thanks for the replies folks. I did mean soccer erm I mean football but not footy........confused lol I have checked out the football West page, I reckon Port Kennedy or Rockingham would be the handiest. Mandurah might be a bit of chew for getting them to training etc. not impossible but somewhere closer would be better.

I'd not rule Karratha out, we actually quite enjoyed it, although I do prefer Perth. I take it you are employed in Oil & Gas supply stuff on the NW shelf?

OK so the dilemma has charged on and caused several sleepless night into the bargain. Being based in the Aberdeen area there has been much made of the downturn in the Oil industry of late and many friends and colleagues have lost their jobs or contracts of late, some have picked up new positions at lower rates etc. I seem to be in a fairly safe position for now however predicting the where the oil price will settle is folly at this stage and I'm not complacent in any shape or form. From discussions with my contacts in WA that are mostly employed in the LNG side of the industry the cutbacks are also biting there but the operation of these huge new assets will go ahead. I'm fairly confident I'd get something in Perth or the Pilbara but would welcome any insight into what is going on the ground regarding the oil & gas industry at the moment. It looks as though we will head back around October with mixed feelings but sure the future for us as a family is likely to be better on most fronts in WA. This Ping Pong game is hard work.

As an update, We started out on the Surf Coast in Victoria, a fairly expensive place by Victorian standards. Rent was about $400 - $430 a week.

We arrived down under in March 2009 with a job that started a week later and accommodation provided for the initial 8 weeks. We had an upfront buffer of around $21000 which paid for the rental bond & a car at $11000. We also had to buy bedroom furniture for three bedrooms + some other furniture. By the time we got my first wage in a few weeks later we still had 3-4k as a starter for our Oz savings. I agree that you can over think the financial side of things however I'm not sure I would have attempted what we did without a reasonably well paid job to go to or a much larger slush fund. We took a huge cut in income going down under but ultimately made it work because we wanted to.

We have been back in a stunning part of North East Scotland for 7 months now and can safely say there is an element of culture shock taking place. I feel the gap between rich and poor has become unbearable. I'm lucky to be on the fortunate side of the divide however many find themselves in a terrible state of affairs due to government cuts and an attack on the low paid. On top of this we have a national debt somewhere in the region of £1.5 trillion but worry not the economy is in recovery mode, quickly rush down to your nearest Sports Direct and grab a zero hours contract job whilst stocks last. The rush to blame the poor the foreign and the rest of Europe for ill's created by the rich greedy politicians is mind boggling. I'm sure there was an undercurrent of this 6 or 7 years ago but it seems to have been amplified by the right leaning media in our absence. In short, I'm not impressed with the place or it's so called culture!

Hello clairecobb. I have lived in Perth we are currently back in the UK contemplating a return to WA. OK, the budget for renting might be a little low if you want a 4x2 but not impossible. I'd consider Secret Harbour or Baldivis to the South they are both close to the coast more so Secret harbour with good links via train to the city. They would meet the price criteria that you have set out. To give you an example we have a house in a nice part of Baldivis that's walking distance from the Baldivis North Primary school that cost $407K to buy and it's rented out for $420 per week. The $407 might be slightly misleading as we spent circa $15k upgrading & decorating to get it to a decent standard, it still needs another $15k spent on it to make it perfect but it's perfectly acceptable as a rental. I reckon $450K would buy a move in condition 4x2 in either suburb, with $420 - $460 per week covering rent. The schooling is probably middle of the road but more than adequate for most, there also fee paying options in the area. I have a few friends that live in the Northern equivalent suburb of Clarkson, I think it may be a bit more expensive but I'm sure a posh Norf of the river resident will come along and clarify:biggrin:

OK so Still wrestling with this dilemma. Seems like the shine may have worn off for my two elder boys now that they are not outside playing football every day after school, due to incessant rain fall. Discussion within the family unit is increasingly turning to Australia and our old life there, a slow realisation that perhaps we are in the wrong country. Trying not to snatch at the long term decision as it's too important for that however gut feel is to head back to WA. Guilt about taking the kids away from grandparents being the only real UK pull factor it would seem. Do any other Ping Pongers have any words of wisdom or feel like sharing there tales?

I have visited Adelaide and lived in Perth. I really liked the the beaches in Adelaide I thought they were stunning, I also felt the city had a nice laid back vibe with some nice places to dine and get a few ales. On the downside it certainly felt as though it was city in places that perhaps has a few economic woes. If you can be fairly confident of securing a decent job and enjoy smaller cities then Adelaide fits the bill in many ways. Perth is sprawling and never really feels like a city to me, more of a series of coastal towns joined together. It's expensive but noticeably more affluent than Adelaide or indeed the other Aussie cities I have visited. The city is pretty much a none event but again very pleasant and unless you are after London levels of entertainment then it's fine. In terms of work opportunities for Oil & Gas and or mining etc it's a great spot outwith that I'm not sure. Added to that it's warm laid back and pretty much how many POMS imagine Australia to be. I've lived on East Coast and when we return to Oz it will be to Perth for many reasons but overall family lifestyle plays a huge part. In saying that lifestyle in most Aussie cities is what you make of it, providing you have a reasonable income and positive outlook you can't go wrong in the grand scheme of things.

I've just been contacted by an agent looking for an RBI specialist Perth based, she has explained the market is slower than last year in O&G but in a much better shape than mining. All the guys that I'm in touch with from my time at Woodside are still gainfully employed via the same service provider however much like where I am in Aberdeen at present the message is very much cut costs. I don't think the usual 3-5% pay rise will be heading their way and perhaps the project people may find themselves surplus to requirements but it would seem the core maintenance teams are to be left intact at current levels, for now. Keeping an eye on my specific discipline Inspection & Integrity Management via jobs boards shows only a handful of roles, there were a few new roles that appeared last week. It's hardly boom time but it's also a far cry from what's happening in mining.

I had a read of that, hopefully it's more accurate than their salary survey. My job isn't in the category of super skills, perhaps it's a little too niche or not in demand.

Interesting read hopefully the market picks up for all sectors. I often wonder if Oil & Gas jobs are lumped in the mining sector?

I'd say you are a realist rather than a doom monger. I suspect mining is being hit a fair bit harder than Oil & Gas, I can see another upsurge in the recruitment of O&G professionals when the big LNG projects get close to production. There is perhaps a readjustment of the WA economy that was inevitable as during my five years in Australia the resource sector seemed to be out of control. I'll keep a close eye on the market and put the feelers out. Thanks for your input, it's an interesting subject for many thinking of making the move to WA.

Thanks for the insight albeit the outlook is far from ideal at this stage. It's interesting that people are coming from upstream O&G to the Kwinana strip for work, I seem to remember this time last year the traffic was generally traveling in the opposite direction. I'll be talking with my old boss over the next week or so to get a an idea of opportunities, I suspect wages will have calmed down a bit. There was no way they could keep going up at the rate they were forever.

Yeah when we left in April they were well on with development, our neighbours in Baldivis were saying the other day that library is now finished and the shopping upgrade is coming on.

Thanks for the insight. I'm keen on town office or Kwinana strip based stuff however the FIFO based activity is a good indicator of whats what in and around town. FIFO is still a last resort for us having done it for several long spells over the years, these days I'd only consider it as a 6-12 month stop gap.

We lived in Torquay for 2.5 years and I worked in Geelong. I think Geelong looks a bit rough around the edges in some places and has an economy centered around well paid heavy and light engineering jobs, although it's fair to say much of this has been on the slide for sometime. I like the place, Pako street and Eastern Beach are great places to wonder around of a weekend and you have several beachside towns within easy reach, either ocean or bayside. The weather erm......it's not really Australian and people that claim otherwise are in perpetual denial, if the wind is coming from south it can be fairly cold by aussie standards even in December & January. That being said it also reached 47°C one January day when we lived in Torquay, changeable to say the least. Melbourne is not far away at the weekend on the train and by any measure Melbs is a great place to spend time eating and drinking etc. I'd recommend the area on the basis of of having enjoyed my time there, my wife on the other hand thought it too much like a UK lifestyle due to climate much of the year. Hope this helps.

Hello sand gropers, As I have stated on another thread we are considering the possibility of becoming ping pongers! With that in mind we would return to our home and pretty much our old lives in Baldivis. I suspect I would have good chance of securing work via my old boss albeit at a different employer. Although going to work for him again would be fantastic I'd like to get a gauge of the current level of opportunities and market activity from people involved in Oil & Gas and mining at present. I did notice a bit of a slow down when we were leaving early this year in both sectors, what is the reality on the ground at present. All views welcome

I've just thought about the four different commutes that I had in Oz and as you can see below they were fairly standard and in line with the UK. Torquay - Geelong 1/2 hour Karratha Town - Woodside Burrup 20 mins Baldivis - Bibra Lake 30 mins Perth - Karratha 2 hours (FIFO) one return journey a month My current commute in the UK is anywhere from 45-55 mins. Are commutes in Australia confirmed as longer anywhere officially?

Yup well said, I think I'm more at home down under as is my wife however we are worried about our two eldest kids, aged 9 & 11 as they have moved a few times when we were in Oz then back to the UK, this would have to be our final move. The reason for the West is basically the job opportunities are more plentiful in my field and overall my wife prefers WA as do the kids, this is based on living in Victoria previously........me I preferred Victoria however I still like WA and you have to earn a living. Isolation is not something that really bothered us too much, we even lived in Karratha for 2 years!

Hello again Jonny Kash. We are based close to Banchory......pretty much the sweet spot in my view, stunning place no complaints. The weather has been OK not too bad, but those dark mornings and late afternoons take a bit of getting used to again. My wife and I spend a fair bit of time in the central belt of Scotland and have both commented if we were to have settled there on our return then we'd already be back in Oz! the area of country that we live in is stunning no two ways about it, job opportunities are great and the standard of living would arguably be the highest in the UK. That said I prefer living Australia.........so it's a case of, it's not you it's me! Like I've said before we are very lucky to be able to wrestle with this problem.

In terms of the property ladder it depends where in the UK you are as prices vary a great deal. Worklife balance? I think it's been pretty similar in my field, commuting can also vary. Health.......much and such surely down to the individual

I agree the house/money situation is far from the be all and end all. In terms of disposable income there is a fair chance life in the UK will actually be kinder to us on that front. So in short despite some concerns over ensuring the finances are secure for our family, it is only a small part of a big picture. I also agree we are extremely lucky to be on the property ladder, it seems to be an aspiration that is being taken out the hands of many in the UK because of crazy prices and really low wages. Australia also faces it's own challenges in that respect although wages in general seem to be a little better. Where I've arrived at now, is that money aside the Aussie dream seems to be the life I'd rather live in the long term however I'm not sure it's fair on my two oldest children........that's the dilemma. Trying not to make snap decisions

OK so an update on how we are feeling about the whole thing. We have child number 4 on the way now to add some extra drama to proceedings! Myself and my wife have talked about this some more and I think we are realising that we had to come home to understand that Australia is home and where we want to be. If we didn't have the kids to consider then I'd just slowly begin preparing and head over to look for work via some old contacts and get on with it. That said we have 3 lovely kids at present and their happiness is very important to us both, we have broached the subject and with our eldest, he is eleven and he seems fairly meh about the idea but not horrified either. The kids have settled into Scotland as we are in an amazing village with great people around us so no complaints there. If we return the kids would be placed back into their old school at the bottom of the road so that should soften the impact of the upheaval as they still have friends their that currently speak to via PS3 games etc. The work situation in WA is somewhat slower however I'm still in contact with an old boss that seems keen to get me onboard at his new employer should I return to WA. I understand rates etc. have been driven down a little since we returned but are still decent enough but the boom is well truly over! We have a tenant in our house until mid October and then the house would be ours again, from a practical perspective we would have to furnish the house fully top to bottom and purchase new cars.........so not a cheap return by any means. However none of these things seem to faze us in anyway perhaps because the reality is we would need to take most of these steps in the UK in due course as we currently rent a furnished house here. It's a difficult period as the family are happy to see us and we catch up a couple of times a month with my family and perhaps once a month with my wives side. Makes you think that the reality is with the amount of visits we've had from them and vice versa in our time down under compared with our total days together back home in a year things begin to look pretty much and like for like. I'm happy with the amount we see family it's enough without being overbearing. Welcome any insights or advice as this very much raw feelings being shared and the final decision may well be that we settle down in Scotland long term.