M1cha3la

6 hours ago, ScottieGirl said:

I don't think you are mad, on the contrary you have bought at the right time in the Perth real estate cycle?

Haha, thank you  I do understand the sentiment of it being a little mad, but there are always pros and cons of buying any house. I definitely agree with you, we wanted to buy and as we can't turn the clock back 15 years to pre boom prices, the current market felt like the best time for us. I am just glad it is not at the height of a boom, then I really would of cried with shock 

Really, I shouldn't of put the value in my post. It was just an honest review of our experience that I hoped would help others. But it is not the case for the whole of Perth. VXRH is right, there are cheaper houses out there if you go further out or to different suburbs. Prehaps what I should of included was that we did not live near a city in the UK and we got tired of the hour long commute each way to work, so this time we decided we wanted to live as closer to work. But I could go on forever with details and my first post felt long enough as it was  

15 hours ago, VXRHSV said:

You husband out of work for a year and you spend 680k on a house in Perth when you didn't even live near a city in the UK, are you mad? You could of got a 3x2 for half the money for the sake of a thirty minute trip on a train into the CBD. Hope your jobs are secure..

Um, wow ok. Well I guess firstly as you don't know our full financial circumstances or our motivation to buy where we brought, that your post could be taken as a little, erm, rude? Am I mad, maybe. But then maybe I am a millionaire. Is any job ever 100% secure? No. No one would ever buy a house if they thought as such. But we do know our financial situation and are perfectly comfortable with it. And for all accounts it takes us 20 minutes to get into the CBD from our local train station. I didn't fancy Butler, even if we could afford a 10 bed up there, but thank you for the reply though 

On 02/07/2017 at 11:20, Collie said:

Hey Michaela,

Great post, well written.  I don't think you sound like you're whinging at all, very honest and your can do/get on with it attitude really comes through.

What part of Perth are you in?  You timing wasn't great and Perth is a boom and bust town, definitely in the bust territory at the moment.  Hopefully the swing back up is on the way, the silver lining is that house prices have dropped (your $630k house was probably $800k 3 years ago)

The standard of house building in Aus (not just Perth) is pretty bad definetely need insulation as a minimum.  It gets colder in Perth than Sydney but generally nicer during the day.  I find once that sun goes down, it gets nippy.  I feel the cold here more than I did in Ireland, related to the poor standard of housing but probaby also to the large swings in temperature, lovely, sunny and 22 during the day and drops to 5 degress overnight.  I suppose we do live in a desert.

I moved over from Sydney a few months ago, similar profession to your hubby (I'm CIMA and CPA Australia), finding the job market tough also.

if you guys want to be socialable sometime, happy to meet up and compare notes.  I can certainly give you the lowdown on Sydney should you wish to visit.

The first 12-18 months are the toughest.

Hi Collie,

Thank you for the lovely reply.

I totally agree with what you said about the boom and bust. It is all relative really. We knew it would be tough and had many conversations over timings, but in the end we figured if we can make it work here at its worst then we can survive anything. It is slowly all coming together. We brought NOR near Duncraig.

What brought you over from Sydney? Good luck with the job search too. My hubby is ACCA (the enemy haha) and CPA, I am sure he would be more than happy to offer any advice, tips and contacts that could help 

2 minutes ago, sk1221 said:

It was 6 degrees when we got up this morning  brrr but at least it's dry!!! Not like summer when it's always (or seems to be always) raining!!! 

I'll stop being a winging Pom now  

We are English, so we shall moan about the weather 

Most people can not understand why I feel so cold. But like you say, 6c in a morning when you get up is cold. And if your house is anything like ours, it is probably 4c inside. And while yes it does get colder than that in the UK, you rarely feel it, because of central heating and double glazing. Radiators are the last thing I thought i'd miss 

Good luck with the potential move, it is very exciting. Have you visited Perth before?

37 minutes ago, sk1221 said:

Great update. This sounds so much like us.....only difference we are in Sydney!!

We were considering moving to Perth in the next 6 months or so as we were sure the weather would be slightly better  

And we could ever afford to buy a property here.....I am so over renting overpriced properties 

Sydney house prices are terrifying. Perth is not cheap but compared to Sydney it is.

I think the weather will be better. When we visited Sydney in December I nearly died, but it was because it was humid. Perth is dry heat, so I never really feel too hot. This last 12 months have not been my definition of hot at all though. Winter carried on forever last year. My friends (work colleague) said they are normally in their pool by early October, but had to wait till mid November last year. Then there wasn't really the month of 40c + that is also known as January. I was really looking forward to it, so naturally I am feeling short changed  it is endless sunshine here though. Well not today, its raining. But usually it is sunshine 

Thank you everyone  I have really missed this forum and all of the support it offers. Xx

We are not overly worried about the jobs. We knew it was going to be tough with the current climate in Perth and was very thankful to get work. It is not the dream job, but it is not forever. It is hard to not let it taint the other areas of your life though and after reading my post back from last night, it makes me a bit sad that I come across so down as we do really love it here. For us, Perth is a great place to live.

8 hours ago, simmo said:

You will be fine.  I can tell.  Nothing wrong with a whinge and you have a great attitude.

I turned into a whinging pom  thanks for the kind words 

And because my first post sounded so miserable, lets have some lovely pictures, which show without words, why we moved here and why we love it here 

Hiiii my lovelies 

I have been here a year  I have no idea where it has gone if I am honest, and I have also not spent nearly enough time on here repying all the help I received. I would like to say it is because I have been too busy enjoying life here.. Maybe. Maybe not, honestly I am not sure.

Buckle up. Here we go.. 

Work

We came with no pre set up work. Hubby was the main visa holder as an Finance Controller (accountant). I was lucky, I got a job 4 weeks after moving here, as a general admin, it was a step back from my previous roles, but strangly an increase in pay. I hate it, but it pays the bills and a year on I am still in it.. Hubby (bless him) truely has struggled. It has taken 10 months and 400 + applications and a major pay cut to get a permanent job here. I won't lie, it is tough for accountants in my hubbies field. General feel: I read it before I came and I could go on about incompetence and nepotism in the Australian workforce, yes,  it is very much there. Without going into hours of detail, career wise, we are both miserable. 

Money

Damn the brexit. We completed on our house sale the day after the vote. Good bye 2.05 hello 1.60. Yeay. We sat and waited and waited, the £ is screwed. Lets move on.

Houses

Compared to our part of the UK, it is bloody expensive here. But then to be fair, we did not live near a major city in the UK. We rented for the first 12 months. An rubbish old 80's style house that is cold, damp and dusty. Yes, pictures online lie, but we visited in person so we have no one to blame but ourselves  what a location though, sea views and a pool. I forgive my realestate agent for being shocking, they all are. 12 months in, we brought another 80's style cold, damp house for far more $ than I am comfortable with. But I am still in Leicester price mode,  not Perth prices. $630k for 3 bed still feels ridiculous though..

Weather

Move to Aus, it is warm they said.... LIES. I have never felt so cold in my life 

I am told we moved during the coldest winter/summer on record (my luck!). Sure, those 28c days are peachy, but 4c at night in that 80's single glazed house, with no central heating, it has not been fun. Perth, you need to sort this s**t please 

Social Life

We have no social life. But that is ok, we didn't in the UK either to be fair. We are not sociable per se, we do not have a big circle of friends so have not missed out on that. But, in the 12 months living in our rental, despite seeing our neighbors on the drive way everyday, I have no idea who they are. 

On the flip side, 2 hours in our new house 3 lovely neighbours (nosey sods) came around to say hi. Maybe its suburb related, maybe its owner/rental related. Who knows. I am sure if you make an effort to make friends (unlike us) then you will be fine.

Cost of living

We have not really noticed a diference. Yes, cheese is more expensive. But god fuel is cheap. It is swings and round abouts. We paid £6 for a glass of wine in the UK, its $9 here. Neither here nor there really for us. Overall, taking every houshold cost into account, I would say no more expensive or cheaper than the UK.

Overall

My god, I sound miserable. Honestly, we love it here. Yes, it has been the hardest year of our lives. We "knew" it would be tough. We "knew" it would take time. We had no idea. It has been the biggest learning curve for me and I discovered I am far more British that I realised.. I was the driver of this move and have felt in many ways accountable for it all. The days hubby was so depressed when he couldn't find a job. The days we froze watching movies. The day my mom got rushed into hospital and I was the other side of the world. Emigrating sucks.

But it is also the best thing we have ever done. Every day on the way to (my hell) of a job, I am in awe of the stunning beauty that WA has to offer. The ocean, the gorgeous parakeets, the sunshine. We are miserable here but we also love it here, in a weird twisted way. We know that the current jobs, houses ect are not forever and we have a hope for the future that we never had in the UK. 

So. Would I do the last 12 months again?

Yes 

Thanks for reading (to the end... if you got this far )

My hubby has a big collection that we brought with us, around 12 bottles. We had them airfreighted with our shipping company as our "free incentive" to ship with them. The tax was around $600-$700. I can't remember the exact amount without digging out the receipt but it was expensive. For us it wasn't about the value or saving money it was more the fact that we have some rare ones and some sentimental ones from special occasions (wedding ect) that could not easliy be replaced in Aus.

I would say if its a cost saving thing then don't bother as the tax pushes the price of the whisky up and over what you would pay here in the shops. If you have unusal ones then bring them, the choice here is quite limited and you can only really get the big named main brands.

Also as a PP mentioned, utilise the duty free allowance. We had an extra five bottles (the most expensive ones as the tax is calculated on the value of the whisky) packed in our case to help soften the blow :laugh:

hi guys

 

DIBP has granted me PR last night ..............Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy......

 

Had party hard last night ....following is my timeline

 

Process started in Last year Jan 2015 , RCB Approved in April 2015 , Nomination approved in 29th July , Visa Applied 30th July

 

Additional Documents requested on 16 Feb 2016 and Visa Granted on 17-03-2016

 

Pheeewwwwwww...

 

Something I would like to share to everyone who is waiting ....Don't loose your hope ....Chin up ...and hold your faith in god in this and all the times.

 

Good luck to everyone and all the best for the future....

Congratulations. Exciting times ahead for you :jiggy:xx

Beautiful pics Bobj :wubclub:

Hello again everyone - sorry to drag this topic back up from the obis!

 

Well today I got my IELTS results........ Lets just say I'm thrilled!!!!!

 

Listening 8.5

Reading 8.0

Writing 8.0

Speaking 9.0

 

Pretty happy with those results!!!!

 

Ok so the next step.... Sorting out a technical interview through VETASSESS - that seems to be a challenge at the moment so I know what I'm doing with that.

 

My points break down as I see it!

 

Age 18-24: 25 points

Scored 8 or higher in the IELTS: 20 points

Worked in my trade for 7 years: 15 points

Assessment for my trade: 10 points

 

Total: 70??

 

Am I missing something or is that correct?? As I've mentioned at the beginning my girlfriend is Australian, if that's any help!

*Edit - Knew I'd forget something....If I have cocked it up and need any other extra points, state sponsorship is an idea, unfortunately Queensland don't want Joiners (bastards).... The others do, I'll look as to which others but they do. Do I actually have to live in that state?? Is that law binding??

 

I'm sure I'll edit this to add bits and pieces as time goes on purely because I'm on a bit of a high with those results - English was never my strong point!!!!!

 

Cheers again for reading

No advice, but well done on your IELTs :wubclub: