Georgiajoe Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hi all, i haven't been on this Site for ages, so I thought that I'd give a quick update to our new life in Perth. firstly the get out clause , this is our experience , others may of had/done it differently. Arrival: we left Devon on jan 24th full of snow and minus 3 degrees , we struggled to get the hire car for our journey to Heathrow. Flew out with Singapore airlines on the 25 th and arrived on 26 th ( Australian day) at 2:40pm.( Singapore airlines were fantastic) Wow that heat when you walk out of the airport , it hits you like a hot air blower but is nice. our friends picked us( 5 of us) up and we stayed at there house in Baldivis the 1st night. we stayed up until around midnight (even though we were knackered) to get in the time zone, and luckily no one had jet lag. we had a 4 week rental booked in South Yunderup, as we've never even set foot in Australia before our research which was via goggle earth , forums etc let us down. It's bloody miles from anywhere . The areas that we had researched Warnbro , port Kennedy etc is about a 40-45 min drive away. Rentals: as we are still renting our house out in the uk we have no choice but to rent over here . we started looking after the first week, mainly around the above suburbs. We kept being told that it was going to be difficult with no job and no WA rental history. We put together a good rental pack with everything in it including inside leg measurements!!! we must of viewed between 35/40 houses , the ones around the $400 /week mark were disgusting , you can tell straight away what sort of landlord there going to be , wall paper coming off , really dated . in the end we secured a brand new unit, its only a 3 bed and a bit Small for the 5 of us, but its a start. Car: easy to get but don't forget to pay the tax or the sale ( not sure of the name) but the sods fined me $ 100 for late payment. Work: im a Plumber with a176 PR visa. after we secured the rental and kids at school I started to look for work. i had a sort of job lined up while I was still in the uk, I met them ( really nice people and company) but with all the WA courses required , I didn't have time or money on my side to continue . i had arranged my plumbers license in the uk , so it was pay and wait around 2 weeks or it to start with I e mailed around 45 firms with my cv, no replies , not even a thanks but no thanks. next some calls, I kept being rejected by the same answer, Have you got your gas license So off to TAFE were I managed to RPL most of my UK qualifications across, I did 4 days at a cost of $777, it would of been $1700 if I didn't have a PR visa. Got my gas license ,next , I made around 40 calls one day all to be told sorry you've to no WA experience ( I've been bloody plumbing for 24 years). By know I was on a downer, I started applying for anything , still no response. i then applied for a plumbing job self employed , they advertised needing min 5 years WA experience. i called them and luckily the manager was English who had been through this C**P, I said to him that could I work free of charge to get the elusive WA experience. He said Yes,what YES did you say YES, anyway cut the story short. I was meant to go with one of his guys but he chucked me in the deep end alone and I've been working for them since. the weird thing is , is that I applied and called this company and was tuned down for not having WA exp. I guess that day I was lucky that he answered the call. i must admit though that from running my own plumbing uk business , the work is different but I'm enjoying it. start early , finish earlier schools: our kids are 5,10 & 14 and they go to Warnbro school ( high and primary) they have settled really well. our son went back to yearc5 from UK 6 as his bday is in August, and he finds it easy. our 5 year old is ahead in reading but I suppose they all end up the same. settling : myself and the children are loving it . my wife on the other hand is having difficulties . from being bitten by a spider , swimming with a dugite snake , to the local bogans, she misses the uk shops/ supermarkets . the area we live in is bogan city ( rockingham suburbs) we come from a quiet Devon town around 8000 people where everyone knows each other and the gossip is a fight in the local pub. here they is swearing everywhere, from a parent swearing in front of a teacher , to people on there phones in the shopping centres , to the tv and even the radio. A 16 year old was stabbed 2 streets away for gate crashing a party, what have we done !!! i deffinately feel that on one hand and we have chosen the wrong area to settle, but on the other the beaches, cycle paths , parks are fantastic. With the children settled at school , moving isn't an option . not everyone is a bogan by the way , we have also met some lovely people, its just for every good person you meet there seems to be a dodgy one. lifestyle: we have done probably more in the 1st 10 weeks than in a year in the uk, as I said above the beaches are out of this world, great cycling, parks, out door activities, free BBQ's by the beaches / parks. its true about the outdoor living and with the beautiful weather its been Great Costs: as you all know its bloody expensive food is dearer and isn't of the same quality . clothes are not so affordable , basically every thing but petrol is more expensive , but we all know this. hopefully when few pay packets come my way its the earn $$$$ spend $$$$$ All the best to anyone starting the process or moving across . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Fantastic informative post, thanks for sharing. Good on you for hanging in there on the job front, id imagine anyone would feel very deflated after all them knock backs.. Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Great post, welcome to Perth..all I will say is, moving IS an option. Your experience will be based mostly on where you settle. Cut your losses before the kids are really, really settled, theyve moved halfway across the world, get the location right and you'll be laughing. Think about as rural as you can get and still go to work, or the best suburb you can afford and really research your schools. That way contact with the antisocial minority will be minimised,ever so important for your kids, and you will thrive. Good luck with it all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agibb83 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 hi georgiajoe, thats great info and well done for hanging in there in the job situation, i am a carpenter to trade so id imagine i may well be in the same boat, me and my wife & 3 year old are coming over on a 489 hopefully around aug/sep time and hoping to work/live in mandurah, if you dont mind me asking how much roughly do you think you need to set up ( i understand you can never have enough and as much as possible would be ideal but roughly what is the safety net would you say) i know its a grey area and not easy to answer but an idea would be great if possible . again we have nothing in place , rentals etc but at present thats something were in the process of doing thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kapri Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Thanks for the update. It's good to hear about a plumber getting work! It sounds like you need to break your rental lease and move to a different area. I'm sure people in Perth can advise on better areas for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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