Perth - 6 months on.......

[Goochie]

Having used this forum regularly during the visa application process, I've not been here for a very long time. However, we've now been in Perth for 6 months so I thought it would be worth posting our thoughts for anyone else who may be thinking of making the move.

 

This follows on from my one-month report which can be found here: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/reccie-arrival-reports/164339-perth-one-month.html

 

Housing

It is well documented on here that the rental process is different to the UK. However you should try not to worry too much about it because if you get a good place, its quite simple to stay put. I have colleagues who have been in their rental for 3-6 years and in that time their rent has hardly gone up.

 

The new housing estates have no character and are just like glorified apartment blocks. They're piled on top of each other so you can hear everything your neighbours are doing, smell their smoke and get no privacy at all. If you can afford it, move to a more established surburb where you'll get a lot more space. Having said that, some of the new $1m+ estates are just as bad with big houses built right up to the boundary, all over-looking each other.

 

The windows here are all single glazed. The aussies dont seem to realise how much they keep the noise out or how much they'd save in air-con bills during the summer by keeping the cold air in the house (They think its just to keep the house warm in winter).

 

Generally, if you want a house, you'll have to choose between a new house on a generic new estate, designed with the copy and paste button, or an older place with a bathroom and kitchen from the early 90s.

 

Household Bills

 

We find we spend a lot on general household goods and food etc. We dont have any children and still manage to spend about $250 a week in the supermarkets here. Back in the UK we were only spending about 70-100 pounds. We dont have expensive ready meals or take outs, and we buy as much as we can from places like Spud Shed. Aldi is coming to WA very soon and it'll be interesting to see what effect they have.

 

Clothing here is very expensive, as are things like bedding and towels. Yes, you can go into BigW and buy a set of cheap bath towels but they're really poor quality. We found it was actually cheaper to buy a set from John Lewis and have them shipped over than it was to by the same quality over here.

 

The locals complain about energy bills and we were expecting the worse. However ours are less than we were paying per month in the UK 5 years ago at about $100 per month for gas and the same for electricity. This includes our heavy air-con usage during the summer.

 

General Cost of Living.

I'm very lucky. As an engineering manager, I was previously working in a profession that is thought by many to be under-paid in the UK. Here in Australia, thanks to the mining boom, I'm on good money and that has helped mask the differences in living costs. I imagine that if you were a nurse or teacher etc. it would seem expensive here. As I say, I've benefited from a massive uplift in salary simply because of my particular qualifications and experience.

 

 

Driving

 

People told us that Perth drivers were really bad and the traffic is a nightmare. In reality the standard of driving is about the same as most large towns around England. I grew up on the outskirts of London and I'd much rather drive around Perth than go and visit my parents house back home! I'm lucky enough to commute to work from the coast inland, cutting across most of the commuter traffic. In doing so I go over the freeway where I see it almost stationary on the way towards the city before 6AM.... this is about half way down the northern freeway (Mitchell Freeway)

 

Petrol here is rising in cost all the time. I have a large estate car and it costs me about $70 per tank which I get through in about 2 weeks. I'm glad I resisted the temptation to buy an Aussie car with a 6ltr V8 engine!

 

Car insurance is reasonable and slightly less than I paid in England. Be wary when buying a car that you have to pay stamp duty on it - I get a $600 bill a few months after buying mine.

 

I got a car from John Hughes in Perth. They have a good reputation but very cheesy TV ads! I got my car partly on finance in order to preserve some of our savings. During the process they said that if I wanted they could do 0% deposit finance easily for permanent visa holders.

 

If personal number plates take your fancy, you'll love it here in WA. You can write pretty much anything on your plate and it doesnt have to be in a certain order of numbers and letters like the UK. They're not my thing but I used to see loads in the UK so thought it was worth mentioning!

 

Second hand cars here are very, very expensive. Anything thats going to last a few months will cost $2000+ Anything that is modern and sensible for a family will be $10,000. If you have a car in the UK, seriously consider bringing it with you. Back in the UK I have a Lexus that I bought for 1000. It had 196000 miles on the clock and was an L reg. I could have sold it here for $10,000. If you have an Audi, BMW or Volkswagen, you'll find they're worth a fortune over here as long as that model was originally sold here too (So dont bring an odler VW Polo, Audi A1 or A2)

 

Dont buy a 2 seater Ute - They're rubbish.

 

Roads here are very very slippery when it rains.

 

There are traffic lights everywhere and they're stupid, stupid, stupid things! Reach the junction just after they've gone red and you can be there for 3-4 minutes. Whilst that doesnt sound like much, these junctions can be every few miles. My journey to work is just over 12km and has 8 sets of traffic lights. If a few of them are red it can double my journey time. Pretty much all of these could be replaced with a European style roundabout.

 

Where there is a decent roundabout (outside Hillarys harbour) the locals complain about it and say its so confusing because they dont know which lane to go in!

 

Speed cameras here are small, portable and hidden in the bushes. The operator will park up in the adjoining road and run the cables through the bushes to the cameras so you cant see them if you're going to fast or if it's dark. Fines start for 3km/h over the limit.

 

Business

 

I've worked for small and medium sized companies in the UK for over 10 years and in that time I've found most UK business people to be keen and professional. Sadly the same cant always be said for Aussies in the workplace. Many of them seem to be lazy and have no real drive to get things done. They take ages to make decisions and sit about in meetings that take 3 times too long. They're unaware of simple things that we were doing in Europe 5 years ago. However, there is good money to be made and if you come here with a European work ethic you will do well.

 

Things To Do

 

There is very little to do here in terms of tourist attractions. Whilst you could easily spend a couple of weeks in Devon or Cornwall doing something different everyday, you'd struggle to do the same here, partly because things are so far apart. However, if you like going to good restaurants, sitting by the sea relaxing etc. you have plenty of opportunities.

 

Politics

 

Australian Politics is full of back stabbing false people who do nothing more than slag off the opposition. Yes, I know thats pretty much the same in the UK but over here, their election adverts are on every 2 minutes and they make no real effort to tell you what they're going to do for people - They'd rather have a go at the other guy, telling you how bad he is.

 

TV

 

We dont have Foxtel. However we had it in our rental when we first arrived and concluded that it is a waste of money.

 

Terrestrial digital TV has about 10 channels and they tend to put the big shows on during the week. For example, something like X Factor is on a Tuesday night at 7:30. Friday and Saturday night TV is poor. The selection of channels and programs reminds us of the UK pre-digital when there were only 5 channels. Here the only ones worth watching are SBS one, 7, nines and Ten. Most of the shows are either British or American.

 

Internet

 

The internet here is very very slow. A friend of mine back in England just sent me an email saying he now has 70mb broadband on Virgin media. When we left we had 10mb on our standard BT phone line. Here you're doing well to get much more than 3mb. Sadly this removes the internet as an option for alternative TV, its just too slow to watch things online, particularly after you've gone through a proxy to access the iPlayer etc.

 

My X-Box live account still works here fine but when playing mutli-player it does have issues. Despite changing every available location option to Australia, it still tries to match me up with UK players. This means that games like COD can suffer with lag and occasionally it cant find any games for me to join. Once my current Live membership has expired I'll probably sign up for a new account here in Oz.

 

Weather

 

The summer was hot but no where near as bad as we were expecting. Apparently it was a lot hotter this summer than it is usually so things can only get better from here I guess! Currently it's pouring with rain and 12 degrees My colleagues are complaining that they're cold. We actually quite enjoyed walking the dog in light rain yesterday, it makes a pleasant change from constant sunshine and blue skies.

 

When it rains here it is very heavy. We dont get any of those days when it rains lightly all day long - Its been and gone in a few hours.

 

The English

The English people we meet tend to fall into two categories. Firstly, there are those who have moved here to escape the changing face of the UK. Despite not realising the irony of complaining about "bloody immigrants" they're generally a positive bunch who have been here a while and have adjusted to the Aussie ways, you wont hear from many of these people on internet forums because they're too busy enjoying life.

 

Then there are those who seem to have moved here for some other reason. Maybe they've got issues in their relationship or they have another problem back in the UK. They come here expecting it to all go away overnight - When the problems resurface a few months later they become the classic whinging Pomme. These are the people who also keep converting everything to pounds in their head and complaining about how expensive everything is.

 

Australians

 

There are just as many rude, ignorant people here as there are in the UK. There are a lot of different nationalities around the place - Something that slightly confused me to start with is that they use the word "asians" to describe people from China, Japan, Malaysia. Back home that term normally applies to people from India and Pakistan etc. I remember wondering what I was supposed to say when a colleague asked "Do you fancy going out for an Asian tonight?"

 

Many Aussies like to keep fit. They'll be out and about jogging and power walking from 6AM.

 

Most of them are obsessed with cutting their lawn. They have about 4 different petrol powered machines for cutting, clipping and trimming the lawn and it's edges - Normally at 7:05 on a Saturday morning.

 

Most Aussie's go to bed early and get up early. You will find it hard to start with but before long you'll also be getting up at 5:30 and going to bed at 10.

 

For the guys (females skip to the next section)

 

In the summer, lots of good looking, physically fit women will be wandering the streets wearing very little. They go to the shops in tiny denim shorts and skimpy tops. If you happen to drive up the west coast highway from the city north, you will see many many good looking women in bikinis all over the place. I think I may have found the reason that there seem to be a lot of road accidents here - Its guys getting distracted by hot girls on the pavement. Luckily sunglasses are almost mandatory during hot weather so you can look all over the place without upsetting your other half

 

Crime etc.

 

When we last went to Hillarys dog beach there was a woman in tears because her car had just been broken in to.

 

As with anywhere, criminals are not THAT stupid and they know rich pickings can be had from good areas.

 

Violent crime here makes the headlines. However, when you look at the statistics, it is a lot less than most big towns in the UK. If someone gets beaten up on a Friday night its on the news, back in the UK, people got murdered on a Friday night and it barely made the middle of the newspapers.

 

Public Transport

 

We always use the train to get into the city at the weekend, despite living just 15-20 minutes drive away. Parking is free, trains run every 15 minutes and they're clean and modern. Apparently its very busy during the week-day rush hour though.

 

Staying in touch.

 

Family - Skype makes it easy to see our families but thanks to the poor quality internet speeds it's not always great. I think they miss us more than we miss them but for now we're all happy.

 

Friends - Dont believe all your UK friends when they say they'll keep in touch. We're not of the Facebook generation so we only keep in touch by phone and email. Of the many friends we had back home, my wife is in touch with two and I'm in touch with one.

 

Meeting New People.

 

Many migrants seem to struggle to meet new people. I work with a Frenchman and a Columbian who speak fluent English and are married in the early 30s. However, they really struggle to meet new people. Yesterday I saw an advert for a lady seeking friends who had been here with her family for 4 years.

 

We're lucky to have neighbours that by coincidence used to live just a few miles from where I grew up in England, the couple over the road are very friendly and we've even invited the postman and his english wife round for a BBQ. You have to make the effort to find people, accept that you wont get on with everyone and eventually you'll make new friends. If you sit around complaining that you dont know anyone, you wont help yourself. Be bold and reach out to people - Invite anyone and everyone round for a BBQ!

 

I genuinely believe its no more difficult to make friends here than it is in the UK. If you moved from Bournemouth to Dundee you's have exactly the same "problem", its not unique to Australia.

 

What do we miss?

 

The English countryside. I sit and watch Top Gear, my wife watches Downton Abbey and we look and think how lovely it all looks. Here its pretty much sandy soil, scrubland, dried up bushes and gum trees wherever you look. We'd love to go for a nice walk on the Malvern hills, through the Chilterns or through the Yorkshire Moors.

 

The History. Obviously there is very little really old history here. Before we came we visited York and are very glad we did. Here there is nothing like the rambling old streets filled with old shops and that christmas shopping atmosphere.

 

Are we glad we made the move?

 

Yes. It is the best thing we've ever done and we really wish we'd done it 6 years ago when we first thought about it (I cry when I look at historical exchange rates!). For us, Australia really has been the land of opportunity, we've had more good luck, more good times and more money than ever before.

 

 

 

I dont tend to use this forum much these days but as it was such a good source of information when we made the move, I thought I'd share our views on the place. Maybe I'll be back in another 6 months!

[VERYSTORMY]

Crime stats are actually comparable to the UK, though with different focuses. Burglary is less, drug crime higher

[northshorepom]

I can relate to most of that. Good observations and balanced, cheers

[flag of convenience]

Well written and balanced post. Would I be right in thinking that you folk may return at some further stage? The financial incentive help's one to overcome the shortcomings rather elegantly articulated in your post. Interesting to read your comments on your personal ease at meeting folk here in Perth. I'm in the difficult camp with regards to that,even though a long termer and an original native.

[flag of convenience]

Crime stats are actually comparable to the UK, though with different focuses. Burglary is less, drug crime higher

 

Assaults and GBH rather high in Australia as well.

[VERYSTORMY]

Also dispute the good restaurants one. Good post though overall.

[flag of convenience]

Also dispute the good restaurants one. Good post though overall.

 

Definately. Rather the reverse but know how to charge like a wounded bull.

[Guest]

I can also relate to the post, especially the cost. When you arrive it is a shock. We just pay it and put up now where I think I was posting on here about the cost. Once your settlesd more you just get used to it. I have agreed not to think about buying a place as I doubt we will stay. As renting is cheaper and we arent saving we have more cash to throw about so we can enjoy it more.

 

I cant agree on the wages thing though. An engineering manager would earn more in the UK and especially as an expat elsewhere. All I can say is you must have been getting ripped off in the UK.

I was on more take home as an engineer in the UK and payed much less tax.

 

The history comment does also ring true but if your from here you wont ever know any difference. I think after 18 months you may have exhausted all the things to do for the 1st time around.

 

I feel the 2 categories of people is a bit harsh. To be honest the longer here the more you will blend in and change as a result. There are many reasons why people dont like it here, you have been lucky.

 

Many others arent, especially in other professions earning less. There are also a lot of people loosing their jobs here in Perth due to the mining boom finishing.

Oil and Gas will be next as the plants turn to operations after being built.

 

labour requirements will be a lot less here in a year or two.

No other major projects are on the horizon that would require loads of people either (in WA). The answer is to move north so quite an easy fix

 

I'm glad you are enjoying it, as are we for the moment.

[VERYSTORMY]

Totally agree. I would earn more in the UK.

 

Got a taste of the end of the mining boom yesterday. I put my notice in last monday and I expected to work a months notice. Friday a senior member of the management team said I could fly home Monday and not serve the rest but would be paid as if I had. No explanation. So yesterday was to be my last day. Yesterday morning mass redundancies were announced. That explained why. It was funny that as a company that calls itself the "miner of choice" (Newcrest) had people escorted off the premises on the spot. Not even time to say goodbye to colleagues they have worked with for years.

 

I can also relate to the post, especially the cost. When you arrive it is a shock. We just pay it and put up now where I think I was posting on here about the cost. Once your settlesd more you just get used to it. I have agreed not to think about buying a place as I doubt we will stay. As renting is cheaper and we arent saving we have more cash to throw about so we can enjoy it more.

 

I cant agree on the wages thing though. An engineering manager would earn more in the UK and especially as an expat elsewhere. All I can say is you must have been getting ripped off in the UK.

I was on more take home as an engineer in the UK and payed much less tax.

 

The history comment does also ring true but if your from here you wont ever know any difference. I think after 18 months you may have exhausted all the things to do for the 1st time around.

 

I feel the 2 categories of people is a bit harsh. To be honest the longer here the more you will blend in and change as a result. There are many reasons why people dont like it here, you have been lucky.

 

Many others arent, especially in other professions earning less. There are also a lot of people loosing their jobs here in Perth due to the mining boom finishing.

Oil and Gas will be next as the plants turn to operations after being built.

 

labour requirements will be a lot less here in a year or two.

No other major projects are on the horizon that would require loads of people either (in WA). The answer is to move north so quite an easy fix

 

I'm glad you are enjoying it, as are we for the moment.

[Goochie]

Glad you all enjoyed reading my rather long post - I never intended it to be so long and was amazed when I looked at the clock to find it had taken an hour to write!

 

As I say, I know we've been quite lucky with things, particularly my job. However, I still stand by what I've said in relation to the differences in pay between here and the UK. Of course it will depend on which engineering discipline you guys are talking about as well. For example a civil engineering manager may be able to pick up more/less than a mechanical engineering manager and those differences may flip from one country to another.

 

The important thing to consider when thinking about money and the cost of living is what works for you as an individual. I know of some people who have taken a few steps back in their career simply to get a job here and for them it's not such a simple comparison.

 

I'm also lucky in that the product we manufacture is used for maintenance on existing facilities as well as construction of new ones. Many of the products are safety critical and some others are used to clean up after cyclones and storms - These are things that people dont tend to cut back on. We sell throughout Australia and whilst we have seen sales slow slightly since 2007-2008 things are still going well.

 

My comment on the crime stats was based on some digging we did online a few days ago. The problem with crime statistics is that they are massaged to look better than they really are. After all we all know that 34.76% of statistics are made-up

 

However, this may be interesting;

 

Violent crime

 

For Australia

 

http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/0/B/6/%7B0B619F44-B18B-47B4-9B59-F87BA643CBAA%7Dfacts11.pdf

 

In 2010, in Australia, there were 171,083 recorded assaults, constituting 766 victims per 100,000 population.

 

0.766% of the Australian population were the victim of violent crime

 

For the UK

 

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb1011/hosb1011?view=Binary

 

There were 821,957 offences of violence against the person recorded by the police

 

For that period, UK population was 63,200,000 which makes it 1.3% of the population that were affected.

 

Homicide

 

From the same documents, includes murder and manslaughter:

 

Homicides in Australia for 2010 = 260 (0.0012% of the population)

Homicides in the UK for 2010 = 642 (0.00102% of the population)

 

State variations

 

The ABS figures reveal the state’s (WA) 115 murders in 2010/11 was the second highest number in Australia behind the 322 recorded in New South Wales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[racingrich]

Thanks,moving over in about 5 months with wife and four kids looking forward to it good info. he who dares wins.

[Jacaranda]

Nice post!I expect your partner is checking out the hot guys whilst she is wearing her sunnies!:wink:(yes women do that too you know!lol)

[peter bull]

Good post thanks for the info :biggrin:

 

Pete

[neila72]

Great post. I good informative read. My partner and I are waiting for the house to sell to move over. Cost of living, housing and jobs are my main concerns (yep, I'm a worrier! :cute:) but you covered this and more quite objectively. Cheers.

[Del70]

Thank you for your well written and informative post!! :biggrin:

[Niamh Y]

Great post and very informative for those of us just about to make the move.

[Rossmoyne]

Very good post Goochie - it was very informative and balanced, so thanks for making the time to do it! I hope you and your wife continue to enjoy life in Perth. Been here over 21 years and love it. However totally got your comment about the countryside. I lived in rural West Sussex and the only thing I do miss are the long hikes accompanied by the Ordnance Survey map!

[alison13]

Excellent post and a great read after my drive home from work in the snow!! I lived in Perth for a year back in '08 and now we being hubby & I, are in the early stages of our application!! I can't wait to be back!!

 

Have a great day!!

 

Alison

[Johnny Concrete]

nothing worse than being called a -------- --- by another --- i will not even mention the word trouble is new poms have little idea of what it was really like coming here and going to school and the like getting chased down the street by carloads of aussies...............you seem to categorize everything quite nicely.

After all we all know that 34.76% of statistics are made-up settle petal........my bird works for the ABS and goes out there in under priviledged and many aboriginal areas.....figures are not made up and are supplied through the federal government to the united nations, now go and have a look at http://www.nationmaster.com that is where they are for all to see admittedly they might be a littled dated as that is the nature of such things but the trend has been the same for some years, in that time what country is on top of the league in house burglary and car theft? the one you now live in..........nobody wants to know, go on facebook and see the crime reports, my sister has moved back to the UK and lives on the outskirts of Poole and guess what? they do not know what a home invasion is! a nightly event in this city depending where you live, and she goes out every night with no nobhead bogans in her face...................dont tell us when we grew up here and paved the streets getting all the abuse and chased all over like the foreigners cop it now, you ever heard of pommy bashing by groups of aussies?

[speed1439]

Goochie,

 

Thank You for the above post, i have found it extremely inciteful, informative and interesting.

 

I am a current serving police officer in the UK and have been successful in applying for WAPOL and am due to start on 30th September. Based on todays exchange rates my salary is due to increase significantly. Which by all counts is a massive incentive for the move etc along with all the other standard reasons - family time etc etc etc.

 

On moving i was going to look into finance deals for a car, so thank you for the info about John Hughes cars, something for me to look into, as i have a 186 PR visa now granted.

 

I can only hope that i will be writing something of a similar nature this time next year, after being in WA for 6 months.

 

Once again Thanks for the above.

 

James

[lofty1]

What a good post... Balanced and not critical to offend. Funny how people can take this and believe that you are to offend and simply an observation seen...

[bakersdozen]

Goochie,

 

Thank You for the above post, i have found it extremely inciteful, informative and interesting.

 

I am a current serving police officer in the UK and have been successful in applying for WAPOL and am due to start on 30th September. Based on todays exchange rates my salary is due to increase significantly. Which by all counts is a massive incentive for the move etc along with all the other standard reasons - family time etc etc etc.

 

On moving i was going to look into finance deals for a car, so thank you for the info about John Hughes cars, something for me to look into, as i have a 186 PR visa now granted.

 

I can only hope that i will be writing something of a similar nature this time next year, after being in WA for 6 months.

 

Once again Thanks for the above.

 

James

 

Hello Speed 1439

 

Your Old Bill (sorry for the slang mate I come from east London) what do you think of the crime in Oz compared to the uk ? I mean where I come from muggings ,armed robbery , break ins, drugs , car thefts , murders, is the norm we had 7 break in attempts on our house in London what is the difference down under . I know you ain't there yet but what would expect with your new job ,we will be getting out there around the end of the year, all the best with your move

[Candygirl]

Thanks for the well balanced update. I printed it off for my husband to read and he also says Thanks. It was good for him to see it from a man's point of view.

[MACDONALDO67]

Nice little informative post. Good that.

[wanttobepom]

Good report.