jonnyraceway

That’s fine to make that comparison, but only if your mortgage repayments (as a percentage of your income) was the same in Suffolk as it is on the Gold Coast (unless you own it outright of course!).

Norfolk, Cornwall, London Southwold is a great shout too.

This could go for years so, just to finalise this thread, Aus has a waaaaaaaay better quality of life for children. Here endeth the lesson.... [emoji1]

It’s been a wonderful summer so far, hasn’t it? Barely a day above 34C and nothing on the horizon. It has been a bit more humid but nothing major and very liveable [emoji1]

Vic Park (or East Vic Park) are great spots mate. 20-25 mins to Maddington, 15 mins to the airport and 10-15 mins via bus to the CBD. Plenty of cafes and restaurants with a sprinkling of pubs / bars too and more planned. You should be able to pick up a decent unit up for $400-450 a week. The suburbs of Lathlain and Kensington border VP but tend to have more family sized homes and bigger blocks, therefore rents would be a touch more.

Don’t blame you mate. I couldn’t live in Baldivis either, especially with all family back in the UK. What a crappy life. Glad you’re back home now, for your own sanity if nothing else.

Blimey what a post. Home and Happy? Home and Bitter more like...

All that healthy food you’re missing out on [emoji6]

A heck of a lot of unsubstantiated waffle in this rant. He has simply trawled the internet to find the odd article that appears to back up his fantasy. Some of what is said may well come to fruition, but then the economy, housing, retail, etc is all cyclical. Throw enough shit and some will stick.

You arrived on Sunday, as in 2 days ago? Just give it time. Jet lag takes a number of days to fully recover from, particularly when flying West to East. Someone mentioned melatonin and that certainly helps. I’m a shift worker so use it to sleep during the day but the stuff over the counter is not strong enough and I import it from the US.

Just remind us how many months you lived in Perth for, PB?

Hey Johnny, If you've come on here for some good info about life in Oz then unfortunately you're in the wrong place (as the next 20+ pages of bickering will prove). All I will say is that the 2.5 times salary really does come in to play to gain a similar lifestyle as you have in the UK; therefore I really think you need to be looking at salaries of $125k or thereabouts. Of course life is doable on less but struggling to pay the bills would be no fun in any country. Good luck whatever you decide! [emoji1303]

How disappointing for you. You normally champion the definitive seasons in the UK and to be wearing shorts and t-shirts only a few weeks from winter must be extremely frustrating. Bet you can't wait to get the ol' hat, scarves and gloves out.

Noosa is fantastic and by far my favourite holiday spot in Australia. Plenty to do and see in and around the area and Noosa itself is a classy little town.

Hey bud, I'll try and give you a few pointers to save some hard-earned $$$ As you mentioned, look at getting the Entertainment Book (or App). We've saved $500-600 last couple of years without trying too hard or going too far out of our way. The app is handy as you can also share with 3 or 4 other devices and I find we use it a lot more than when we had the book. WA Today - check out their website as they had a great article recently (in leisure section) of drink and dinner deals around Perth. Cheersy.com.au is a website that shows similar deals. Dimmi website/app has a number of deals around the place, ranging from 20-50% off but these change weekly and you need to book in advance via their platform. Some fairly good venues can sometimes be found here. As you mentioned, Groupon and Scoopon are worth keeping tabs on but I have found the quality of venue can vary. And my favourite, Clipp app. Only a handful of venues are registered on Clipp but had some phenomenal savings from them during the week (I'm a shift worker so quite partial to a 'school day' drink). It's works on a tab system where you pay upfront via card and Clipp refunds what you haven't spent. No money transferred between you and the bar and all very legit. Finally (and to state the obvious), once you're earning AUD and eventually stop subconsciously converting into £££, you'll find the prices a little easier to swallow. There are some decent little places here, enjoy [emoji1303]

As for affordability, anyone's rent / mortgage payments should ideally be under 30% of their household income. Any more than that is classed as potential 'mortgage stress'. The figures you gave are pretty much on the limit of this 30% theory so it is a marginal call. The idea of paying off your own mortgage certainly appeals to me more than paying off someone else's.

Kings Park, Fremantle, Swan Valley (winery or brewery for lunch), drive along West Coast Hwy and stop off at a beach or two, Guildford, drive up to the Hills. These should give you a good look at the place. Enjoy!

I'm sure bristolman will have something to say about that...

I let most of the anti-Perth rhetoric fly over my head but I really take issue with the weather comments as they are usually grossly exaggerated. Save for a couple of hot months in summer, the weather is pretty darn good. The 35C+ days are not very pleasant but we are only average 15 of those a year. Even then, one would normally enjoy the cooler mornings and late afternoons and simply avoid the middle of the day. No big deal for most. Those complaining of 'freezing' houses in winter...really? Reverse cycle AC and gas / oil heaters are pretty good to keep off any chill experienced. Hats and gloves indoors are certainly not the norm!!

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Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. FoC has his finger on the Perth pulse y'know ;-)

This^^^^ Perth, as most cities really, can be very hit and miss. Use review websites such as Zomato (formerly Urbanspoon) to sort the wheat from the chaff and one will rarely be disappointed. Forewarned is forearmed.

Mason has nailed it in that article. Bravo!

Amen sister. Bristol, you are back in glorious England, during the 'glorious' summer, long daylight hours and all. The amount of time you spend on here is, quite frankly, astonishing.

Come on Flag. Even a man of your bloody-mindedness must admit the the NZ and Aus accents are far different. A short conversation with an NZ'er (unless they have been in Aus for a great length of time) would give away the country they originate from. Best that you and your 'many Aussie' pals go for a hearing check-up...