MacGyver

@paulhand Hi paul, sorry for the direct question but we (citizen and permanent resident) have parents that wanted to visit WA. They have had their visas granted and exemptions processing. Obviously the flight caps and quarantine are a consideration now the border reopening has been delayed, but I am unclear if parents are still permitted to enter WA under the new arrangements post Feb 5? The plan seems contradictory and unclear and I was just hoping you might have some clarity on this - can parents still visit/get an exemption to visit WA?

Does anyone have any advice, hints or tips on preventing mosquito bites? I bug bomb the house, use barrier spray, make sure there’s no standing water, have fly screens, use picaridin based repellent if out at dawn, dusk or dark etc etc. This normally works well for me, but for some reason I’m getting absolutely devoured this year and not sure what I can do differently. I’m not even sure ‘when’ I’m getting bitten given the above. Really keen to hear anyones wisdom on this as unsure what else I can do, or why my routine of several years isn’t working this year and I don’t want to end up with Ross river virus!

I suppose it depends on your employer but could you be truthful about the reason for the reference, while being less forthcoming about your timeframe? Talk to them about how you intend to move to Australia at a non specific time in the distant future, lament the fact that Covid has made it very difficult and the process can take years (technically not a lie), you have no intention of going any time soon (also true) but you’re going to get the ball rolling now so it can process in the background over the next few years. Then tell a white lie about how you love your current job so much you might end up staying anyway but it’s good to have options etc and it might never happen anyway. They might not believe you and pass you over for career progression, but you’re leaving anyway so who cares. At least you get an accurate reference in your pocket and they might even surprise you and be supportive.

Re insurance - we used Letton Percival who had a good reputation at the time and were competitively priced. There will be other insurers but might be a good starting point. Always get a few quotes for insurance and shipping (separately), play them off against each other to get the price down and read the fine print!

We currently have face masks at indoor public places and evidence of vaccination required for pubs, clubs, sporting events etc. due to the recent cases. These measures were all listed as part of the reopening plan but are part of the current “normality” so if they decide to just keep the mask mandate running, not much will change when the borders open (other than a jump in case numbers as planned). Whether those measures will be sufficient for the slow burn of Covid they’re hoping for, and whether they’ll hold their nerve and stay open is another discussion entirely.

There are a few other Scottish groups (St Andrew’s Society, Caledonian Society etc) but they tend to focus on biscuit tin ideas of Scottishness and they’re nowhere near as successful as the Irish groups. I think it’s partly to do with the strength and lived experience of Irish culture and language and understanding of their history and identity, which I envy and admire. Scotland (like wales and England in many ways) has lost connection with culture, language, history and identity. Some would argue due to cultural subjugation (eg banning of language, tradition and dress hundreds of years ago), others would argue due to a consensual merging of cultures as part of the formation and development of the UK. Whatever the reason, tradition and culture are largely lost/misunderstood and people don’t feel a strong connection to it, meaning the groups/clubs are small and poorly attended and unable to form strong communities (as the Irish ones do). Instead, many identify Scottishness with other “cultural” factors like football teams, irn bru, square sausage, pipe bands etc, so they flock to the highland gatherings as that’s what they offer “eat square sausage, drink a pint of tenents lager, buy some tablet, feel Scottish”.

This is the reason, no matter any other supposed benefits, that Monarchy as head of state is unpalatable to me. Even with laws to limit their influence, influence still happens in various ways. anyone in a position of such power should only be there by the grace and gift of voters, not by birthright that supports an outdated class system. I wonder, if the primary benefit of a monarch as head of state is the stricter laws to control them, perhaps it’s not an argument for monarchy at all but rather for stricter laws to control presidential/elected heads of state? edited to add - I’m not sure why that quoted @Blue Flu as I was trying to quote @Marisawright

This is not a true statement. By all means choose not to have a particular vaccine and advocate for that, but please don’t share misinformation while doing so. mRNA vaccines are not gene therapy - gene therapy Involves making changes to a persons DNA. mRNA vaccines do not/can not enter a cell nucleus (which houses DNA) and therefore cannot alter DNA in any way (nor are they designed to do so).

To be fair the UK has changed a lot in the last 10 years too. Comparisons are always challenging as recent experience living in one place inevitably means a lack of recent experience living in another, and change happens so fast. I know you are looking forward to going home, I do hope it’s everything you remember it to be and you find happiness there.

@paulhand @Raul Senise @wrussell is this correct regarding 309 holders and parents visiting? Conscious 309 holders occasionally get some leeway in other areas

Please don’t apologise for talking about your situation - in fact I think you should talk about it more often as bottling up emotions until they erupt in frustration is unhealthy and dangerous for you. You mentioned your daughter seeing a psychologist, have you considered also speaking to someone professionally? Don’t feel you need to answer that as it’s a personal matter but just commenting that it might be helpful if you haven’t already done so. A wise person once told me that moving country isn’t enough, you have to also deal with underlying issues or you might eventually feel the same way after you’ve moved. While physically changing location can help in certain circumstances, it sounds like you’ll have a lot to work through whatever you decide to do and support to address those underlying issues may benefit you and your family. Please talk, and talk often. I’ve known too many people that died not to take mental ill health as seriously as physical ill health.

This is a good point, but 3 year undergraduate degrees aren't UK wide and are typically in England (and possibly wales) but not in Scotland.

Re reputable agents - make contact with one of the agents that posts on here regularly as they have good reputations and lots of positive feedback over the years from members of the forum. For a small fee they will be able to assess your chances and give specific advice for your situation: @Raul Senise @paulhand @wrussell @Alan Collett

The UV is brutal here - if I’m out for 10-15 mins without sunscreen I get sunburn. I now wear sunscreen every day, year round, when I leave the house. If out at the beach or park I’ll slabber more on every 30-40 minutes as sweat and water affect it. Also heard an interesting thing on the radio last week from Dr Karl - he said there are two types of sunscreen - zinc and chemical. Recent studies have apparently shown that if you mix them when reapplying sunscreen, it reduces efficacy by something like 85%, so you’re not protected. If you put zinc on in the morning only reapply with zinc sunscreen, if the bottle doesn’t mention zinc it’s chemical based and stick with chemicals only when reapplying.

I think you’re absolutely right - when my friends in Scotland go on holiday they look to escape to the sun for a few weeks. This is normally Somehwere in Europe or America that allows them to sit by the pool or on the beach and relax (and drink). Friends over here get sick of the sun so when they go on holiday they look for an experience/adventure instead. This tends to lead to ski trips, yacht trips, cultural/historical city breaks in Europe, driving tours around Europe, USA, Canada etc. I know this is a huge generalisation but there tends to be a different mindset with travel - another possible factor being the distances involved. If you’re travelling to Europe from Australia you might as well go for a longer trip and see and do as much as you can, no time to sit still. Whereas flying from Scotland to Europe is so brief you can afford to sit and do nothing as you could easily fly back a few weeks later if you missed something (not that they do). The outcome is my Scottish friends have travelled to far less places than my Australian friends, and the places they have visited tend to be beach/swimming pool/sun focussed (often returning to the same place year after year). The Aussie’s seem to tick a continent off the list And move onto the next one, looking for new experiences to sustain them until the next long service leave or similar comes along.

I hope not - the shark attack was in Fremantle whereas Paul lives about 30 minutes further north and seems to frequent beaches in that location. Fingers crossed that means he’s ok.

I would be interested to read the information source that provides the evidence base for this assertion. This sounds like a serious concern that is not mentioned on any news sites, social media or anywhere else I have observed. I have several friends that are doctors and they are also unaware of this, so it would be beneficial for us all to have access to your information sources.

Departure and arrival times seem to have the biggest impact for me. If the flight leaves at 6am, you're at the airport for 3 or 4am and already exhausted before you leave. If you arrive in the morning you have to fight to stay awake all day or sleep during the day, prolonging the jet lag. I prefer to leave in the evening, feel naturally tired and more likely to sleep on the plane, and try to arrive late afternoon/early evening so you have time to get a shower, get something to eat, possibly go for a walk and then pass out from exhaustion, forcing you into the new time zone. Bit groggy for a couple of days but otherwise fine.

Off topic, but any sentence starting "Back in my NASA days..." really grabs your attention!

Of course one country isn’t better than the other, I’m not for a second suggesting Australia or the UK is “better” for children. But one country can be better suited to someone than the other. Whichever country that is for someone will hopefully help them to be happy, positive and productive, which by extension is better for their children. Kids don’t care where they grow up or what the climate is like, but if their parents are happy and ‘present’ it’ll be what’s best for the kids. Safety and attachment is all that really matters, and a lot of that is a direct result of the parents happiness and health.

Being a migrant is hard, but your parents made decisions they felt were best for their children. Now it’s your turn to make decisions you think are best for your children. Yes other people will be sad and miss you, but it’s your life and it’s important to be the star in your own movie - not a supporting actor in someone else’s movie. Do what makes you and your immediate family happy, whatever that may be. I’ve never been fond of emotional blackmail from family. I know my opinion differs to others that have posted, but Being a migrant is inherently selfish (quite rightly so), and you don’t have a responsibility to overly consider how it affects anyone other than you and your immediate family. Yes that’s harsh, but sometimes we have to be a little selfish to pursue our own happiness in life.

Some love the beaches but I agree with you, I find them very dull and uninteresting. I couldn’t tell you the last time I actually went to the beach, probably 3 or 4 years ago. Waking alongside the beach, or going to a cafe or bar near the beach is great, but sitting in the sand melting - no thanks!

If its undercover and well concealed, it’s hard to see how it can also be a blight on the city that is visible everywhere. As I’ve said before, your experiences of Perth are the polar opposite of mine. I appreciate you’re unhappy in Perth, but a more balanced view might be more informative for the OP - the bad AND the good so they can make an informed decision. To the OP’s original question - the rental market is tough at the moment but not impossible. Houses with a garden seem to be most in demand and there are more opportunities in apartments and townhouses nearer the city. In normal times I’d say 4 weeks in an Airbnb would be plenty if you’re organised, but in the current climate I would personally book an Airbnb for at least 6-8 weeks so you can explore areas and put in lots of rental applications. I’d be tempted to look for a central apartment or townhouse initially as there will be less competition, then you are well placed to discover the city and surrounds. After 12 months you’ll have a solid rental history and be better placed to look for something bigger/longer term. There are some nice walks in the hills around Perth, but no mountains like you get on the east coast or back in the uk. For a similar experience you’d have to drive to the southwest (4hours drive) but some embrace the change in scenery and enjoy bushwalking instead. Busselton and Denmark etc are very nice small towns and Busselton in particular is an area of current and future growth. Personally I’d start at the city and explore WA as the southwest is a big change in lifestyle. If you prefer “exploring” different cities for weekend breaks it’s doable from Perth, but much easier and more accessible from an east coast city. Perth seems to be a love it or hate it sort of place and only you will know which camp you fall into. My experience of Perth is that it’s laidback, full of opportunity and has what I’d consider a nice climate (hot and dry summers, ‘cold’ and wet winters, warm and generally dry spring and autumn). The lifestyle is more focussed on going a walk or a cycle, going to the park or the beach, having a bbq etc. The city is getting better for cafes and bars but it’ll never be Melbourne or Sydney (or Glasgow or Manchester for that matter). It all depends what you’re looking for but take every post (including my own) with a pinch of salt, Perth has good and bad like everywhere else does - some of us enjoy it, some of us don’t. It’s certainly not perfect and like everywhere else, the thing that’s best about it is the thing that’s worst about it, depending on your perspective. For some its blissfully quiet and laidback with amazing beaches everywhere, for others it’s horrendously quiet and laidback with boring beaches everywhere etc.

Just to add to this - owners are no longer allowed to visit their pets while they are in quarantine, with rare exceptions (eg a pet refusing to eat and becoming unwell). I agree the quarantine period is horrible for the humans waiting outside, our dog seemed completely unfazed though.

Scott Morrison also announced international borders reopening to Citizens and residents from 1st November so it seems coordinated and will put pressure on other states. Interestingly, Scott Morrison said initially it will only be citizens, residents and their families able to arrive quarantine free from 1st November, with “immediate family” likely to include parents of citizens and residents from next week - that will be popular! It will be very interesting to see how this affects state borders and if pressure will build to reopen in other states when NSW residents are able to fly around the world on holiday and have family visit them. I browse a few Facebook groups for migrants and there is strong feeling around allowing parents to visit. Given the migrant population in places like WA, this could shift public opinion somewhat