Visit to Perth to activate visas - suggestions wanted......

[JEM44]

Hi there, we were recently awarded our 190 visas and have to activate by November so are coming to Perth for a week in July, then hope to move January 2016 once we have sold our house. (Fingers crossed).

 

we only have a week in Perth and have no friends or family there so are going in blind, so am looking for suggestions of where to go and what to see when there to get the best feel for the place. I am concerned because we are ultimately planning on going to live there in a few years, we need to make the most of our time there so would welcome all useful suggestions.

 

Please don't recommend a guide book, I have one of those and so am looking for helpful hints from people who have done this process previously.

 

Thank you

laura

[Guest]

Do you have any idea if you want to live NOR or SOR?

 

Ideally I'd book a holiday rental - try http://www.stayz.com.au - in the kind of neighbourhood you plan on living to get a more realistic view of life in suburban Perth. Obviously if you plan on living in a penthouse apartment in the city rent one of those but most people can't afford that so there is little point staying in one on a reccie.

 

Drive/travel on public transport in the rush hours to get a realistic sense of how easy it is to get around - we thought we could live much further out than was realistically viable.

 

Public transport is a good way to get a sense of schools as well if that's important, uniforms are typically traditional so you can usually tell which school kids are from.

 

Shop in the supermarkets - I had to laugh I had an Australian friend visit for two weeks recently and she commented that food was more expensive than she expected....she had done all her shopping at M&S!

 

Go to home opens - it's a great Aussie pastime so there will be plenty of other lookie lou's - the real estate websites are very deceptive so it gives you a great sense of what you can afford (renting or buying)

 

Visit a master-planned estate or two and look at show houses. Make sure you understand that in Australia you buy the land and house separately a lot of the time!

 

If you're not planning on going to live there for a couple of years then talking to prospective employers is probably not worthwhile - we both had interviews lined up for our reccie and both got job offers.

 

Drive around as many areas as you can to rule suburbs in/out even if you haven't got time to do full research on them all, you can always fall back on the internet to back up your first impressions.

 

And have some fun - visit Whiteman Park, Perth Hills National Park at dusk (wild kangaroos), Fremantle, have a Swan River Cruise, and all the other things your guidebook says

[JEM44]

Lady Rainicorn, thank you so much, some great tips there. We aren't sure about south or North, I'm heading towards it will depend where we get work, but equally panic about we may have to live and get the kids in school before getting a job!

 

will definitely do the public transport and open houses. My kids have both just started high school so will be good for them to see what it feels like too.

 

We we will try and rent holiday houses both south and North or the river if possible but I had considered Rockingham although now think that may be too far south?

 

Thank you for your comments.

[Guest]

Definitely visit Rockingham - probably too far South for a reccie, we visited and didn't like it - in fact the drive back from Rockingham to Perth almost changed our minds about migrating. It's good to see these places for yourself - everyone is looking for something different.

[JEM44]

Thanks for that. Will definitely stay north of Fremantle and say south of the airport?