M1cha3la Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) 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 ) Edited June 30, 2017 by M1cha3la 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 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 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmo Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 You will be fine. I can tell. Nothing wrong with a whinge and you have a great attitude. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 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 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 We were here for over 4 years before my OH got a permanent job. He did have work before that though on fixed term contracts, although at one point he was only getting one month contracts at a time. I started out fixed term as well and know of people here that have spent most of their working lives moving from contract to contract. While I would never leave a permenant job for a casual or fixed term contract I would always advise others moving here to take whatever they can get even if it's only casual for a few hours a week as these roles can often lead to something more long term. Anyway, it's good to here you are both loving Australia even if the jobs aren't that great. Hopefully something else better will come along for both of you and you can feel truely happy here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Lovely to hear from you stranger. I know the job front is a bit rubbish for you but it sounds like you have a great fighting spirit and will make it work. I hope better jobs come along soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Thank you for the update M1cha3la. The job front hopefully will improve for you both. Lovely to hear from you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 (edited) 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. Edited July 1, 2017 by M1cha3la 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk1221 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 11 hours ago, M1cha3la said: 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 ) 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 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 (edited) 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 Edited July 1, 2017 by M1cha3la 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk1221 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 14 minutes ago, M1cha3la said: 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 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 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? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk1221 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 8 minutes ago, M1cha3la said: 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? Our place is freeezing lol!! No not yet, we are heading over for a long weekend the last weekend in July 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Rental houses are the pits during cold weather or even very hot weather because they are badly insulated. Many years ago we rented what looked like a half decent flat in Sydney - all newly painted so looked fresh and clean. As time went on it had a real problem with mould - absolutely disgusting. At least when you have your own house you can make it as comfy as you want. Our log stove has a fan and heats a large area of the house. Don't need air con in the summer here in Tassie. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk1221 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 23 minutes ago, Toots said: Rental houses are the pits during cold weather or even very hot weather because they are badly insulated. Many years ago we rented what looked like a half decent flat in Sydney - all newly painted so looked fresh and clean. As time went on it had a real problem with mould - absolutely disgusting. At least when you have your own house you can make it as comfy as you want. Our log stove has a fan and heats a large area of the house. Don't need air con in the summer here in Tassie. That's what ours is like! We are trying everything to keep the mould at bay, but still spending every weekend cleaning the ceilings and window surrounds!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 All houses in Sydney are poorly insulated, not just rentals . We looked into double glazing but it was phenomenally expensive. Open plan designs just exacerbate the problem. I know people who spend almost a $1000 a month on energy bills but most people just live with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Double glazing isn't that much more than standard. We had it in our house when built along with extra insulation 9 years ago. Builder sucked his teeth at the DG request and said it would be prohibitively expensive, but after searching around it wasn't much more on the overall cost. Will have paid for itself easily by now. It is becoming more common now so I would search a bit harder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 If you are building a new house then it makes sense to pay the extra the problem is fixing an existing older property . Not sure the council would have allowed DG, it would have to have been secondary glazing but in Sydney you wouldn't add value. Better to spend the money on a new kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 I've never liked open plan. I like a room to sit in closed off from the rest of the house. Here we have a largish kitchen/family room. Separate dining room and separate sitting room. Our last quarterly bill was just under $200. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Spent the last 6 months in rental with a traditional layout. The heater warmed the lounge in 15 minutes whereas it could be on all day in the previous open plan house and never get to temperature. Needless to say much more expensive as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 On 6/30/2017 at 21:31, M1cha3la said: 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 ) 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VXRHSV Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 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.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 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 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 47 minutes ago, M1cha3la said: 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 I don't think you are mad, on the contrary you have bought at the right time in the Perth real estate cycle? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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