Well folks it's decision time..Do it?

[CeltInCaulfield]

Australia's a big place, and there are opportunities all over it.  

Personally, I do love Melbourne, but I'll be off and out of the city in a couple of years to build up a chilli farm on the coast.

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Indeed.  I can't afford to live in the expensive parts of London, so no reason to expect I could in Sydney or Melbourne either, or Perth for that matter.

You're equating Perth with London?  Surely not.  London is the capital of an entire country, not the capital of a state or county.  Not to mention that it's the capital of a country with over three times the population, so it's a far more important city all round.

It would be fairer to compare Melbourne or Perth to Manchester or Birmingham, surely. Sydney is not a capital but it is probably the closest Australia has to London, so perhaps that comparison could be made at a stretch.

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

If you didn't like the beach much in Aus why go to Greece? It's hot and the beaches are the best place to be.

Umm - you've never heard of the Parthenon, Delphi, Meteora.....there are just a few historical sights to see in Greece.   Just a few.

[Jon the Hat]

8 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

You're equating Perth with London?  Surely not.  London is the capital of an entire country, not the capital of a state or county.  Not to mention that it's the capital of a country with over three times the population, so it's a far more important city all round.

It would be fairer to compare Melbourne or Perth to Manchester or Birmingham, surely. Sydney is not a capital but it is probably the closest Australia has to London, so perhaps that comparison could be made at a stretch.

My point was more that if you choose to look at the expensive parts, anywhere is unaffordable to the vast majority of us.  Sure housing is cheaper in Perth, but salary are considerably lower too.  Your equity goes further though, so if you have a lot that helps more in Perth than Sydney.

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, Leighbee98 said:

Im noticing that from the real estate listings. Ill need to  narrow down a bit based on work opportunity and lifestyle and then research homes. A friend lives in Warriewood NSW that looks lovely (google maps and street view).

The Northern Beaches are a nice area, especially if you like surfing.   The downside is that it can be a b**** to get to work.  There are no trains, just some express buses in peak hour (which of course, are at the mercy of the traffic).   If you're living there, you'll probably drive to work, (which takes about 45 minutes, assuming there are no accidents!) - but make sure you've got parking in your salary package, because car parks in the city are horrendously expensive.    When I left Sydney (3 years ago), it was $23 for early-bird parking, but if you couldn't get there early enough or they were full, it was $5 per half hour.  Goodness knows what it is now.

[Marisawright]

5 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

My point was more that if you choose to look at the expensive parts, anywhere is unaffordable to the vast majority of us.  Sure housing is cheaper in Perth, but salary are considerably lower too.  Your equity goes further though, so if you have a lot that helps more in Perth than Sydney.

And my point was that I see many potential migrants gaily assume that everywhere in Australia is automatically cheaper than the UK.  Not all places are. 

If you've spent any time at all on these forums, you've seen plenty of potential migrants posting to ask which suburbs are best for buying a nice house near the beach. They are blithely assuming they can afford that, whereas in reality, most of them can't afford a beachside home in any of the areas that have decent work opportunities. 

Sure, new migrants will be able to buy a cheap house out in the remote suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne but I doubt very much that's the kind of life most of them had in mind when they migrated.

I'm not at all convinced that salaries are considerably cheaper in Perth. In which industries does that apply?  I certainly never saw much difference in my own field.  

Edited April 24, 2018 by Marisawright

[Jon the Hat]

41 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

And my point was that I see many potential migrants gaily assume that everywhere in Australia is automatically cheaper than the UK.  Not all places are. 

If you've spent any time at all on these forums, you've seen plenty of potential migrants posting to ask which suburbs are best for buying a nice house near the beach. They are blithely assuming they can afford that, whereas in reality, most of them can't afford a beachside home in any of the areas that have decent work opportunities. 

Sure, new migrants will be able to buy a cheap house out in the remote suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne but I doubt very much that's the kind of life most of them had in mind when they migrated.

I'm not at all convinced that salaries are considerably cheaper in Perth. In which industries does that apply?  I certainly never saw much difference in my own field.  

I find it bizarre that people don't go on to one of the realestate sites and look before they do anything else.  I'm not moving for probably 2 years and I already have a suburbs in scope based on desirable high schools, and which are likely to be affordable on an expected salary.  

[Leighbee98]

5 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

I find it bizarre that people don't go on to one of the realestate sites and look before they do anything else.  I'm not moving for probably 2 years and I already have a suburbs in scope based on desirable high schools, and which are likely to be affordable on an expected salary.  

That’s exactly what we are doing right now the information is there may as well use it

[Parley]

I wouldn't worry too much about the negative nellies.

Australia is the best country in the world by far and Melbourne most liveable city in the world 7 years in a row.

There is a reason so many come here every year. Because it is better than where they live now.

Living out in the suburbs isn't bad anyway. I don't know why some turn their nose up at the thought. I rather live in the suburbs than the city centre.

Having said that I do wish immigration would slow down a bit as it is getting out of hand.

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

I find it bizarre that people don't go on to one of the realestate sites and look before they do anything else.  I'm not moving for probably 2 years and I already have a suburbs in scope based on desirable high schools, and which are likely to be affordable on an expected salary.  

You are right in theory, but I understand why people struggle.   Most listings on the internet will give you an optimistic view of what you can afford.

For one thing,  in many cities, Australian agents prefer to sell by auction not private sale. Every now and then, the government makes a feeble attempt to force agents to give an honest price guide, but they still routinely under-quote.   If you see a townhouse for auction in Sydney, for instance, and the guide price is $800,000+, the actual sale price will be $900,000- $950,000.   

Then they take misleading photos.   I really liked my old townhouse, but the negative about it was that the lounge room was dark and too small.  When it came to taking photos, the agent sent a professional photographer with a huge lighting rig and a fish-eye lens.   The photos were touched up, too - it was a rainy day and they even replaced the sky (seen through the windows) with blue sky!

[Parley]

4 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

You are right in theory, but I understand why people struggle.   Most listings on the internet will give you an optimistic view of what you can afford.

For one thing,  in many cities, Australian agents prefer to sell by auction not private sale. Every now and then, the government makes a feeble attempt to force agents to give an honest price guide, but they still routinely under-quote.   If you see a townhouse for auction in Sydney, for instance, and the guide price is $800,000+, the actual sale price will be $900,000- $950,000.   

Then they take misleading photos.   I really liked my old townhouse, but the negative about it was that the lounge room was dark and too small.  When it came to taking photos, the agent sent a professional photographer with a huge lighting rig and a fish-eye lens.   The photos were touched up, too - it was a rainy day and they even replaced the sky (seen through the windows) with blue sky!

A bit like women who wear makeup when they go out.

[ali]

The landscape does change - I know when we were looking at migrating,  we would have been able to buy a property outright in Perth - 18months later when we made the actual move there'd been a boom and we ended up with a mortgage .. you just cut your cloth accordingly (if you're sensible lol).  For us it was about getting the best house we could in a suburb we wanted to live rather than getting the biggest McMansion in an area we didn't really find desirable.  We ended up (by chance) in a great suburb which has really suited our needs as a family as our children have grown.

[LKC]

21 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

If you didn't like the beach much in Aus why go to Greece? It's hot and the beaches are the best place to be.

There's a bit more to Greece than the beach.  It is the land of Homer and his Odyssey, the great thinkers Aristotle and Plato, and it is the cradle of democracy.  There are thousands of years of history to explore.  Look it up, you might learn something.

[Toots]

50 minutes ago, LKC said:

There's a bit more to Greece than the beach.  It is the land of Homer and his Odyssey, the great thinkers Aristotle and Plato, and it is the cradle of democracy.  There are thousands of years of history to explore.  Look it up, you might learn something.

A few years ago my sister and I went on a walking holiday in Santorini and Naxos.  Kept well away from the tourist hot spots and had a lovely, memorable holiday.

[LKC]

10 minutes ago, Toots said:

A few years ago my sister and I went on a walking holiday in Santorini and Naxos.  Kept well away from the tourist hot spots and had a lovely, memorable holiday.

Sounds lovely!  We've rented a small house in a village in the mountains, and will use that as a base to explore.  We'll do some walking and geocaching, we might hire a boat on a couple of days and take it off to find little sheltered coves for snorkelling, and of course there are lots of historical things to visit.  We did similar the last time we went to Greece, before we moved to Aus.  We had a lovely quiet holiday, off the beaten track.  There's plenty to do away from the beaches.

[Jon the Hat]

11 hours ago, ali said:

The landscape does change - I know when we were looking at migrating,  we would have been able to buy a property outright in Perth - 18months later when we made the actual move there'd been a boom and we ended up with a mortgage .. you just cut your cloth accordingly (if you're sensible lol).  For us it was about getting the best house we could in a suburb we wanted to live rather than getting the biggest McMansion in an area we didn't really find desirable.  We ended up (by chance) in a great suburb which has really suited our needs as a family as our children have grown.

Which suburb if you don't mid saying?  I am trying to set realistic expectations for my Wife who grew up in Applecross!

[ali]

Just now, Jon the Hat said:

Which suburb if you don't mid saying?  I am trying to set realistic expectations for my Wife who grew up in Applecross!

We're in Leeming - not too far from Applecross

[Jon the Hat]

Just now, ali said:

We're in Leeming - not too far from Applecross

Ah ok.  My wife used to work a SJoG Murdoch so we know that area, but can't say we every turned left off the freeway!  I keep reading about great schools in Willetton and Rossmoyne as well so we will certainly be looking in that area.

[ali]

Just now, Jon the Hat said:

Ah ok.  My wife used to work a SJoG Murdoch so we know that area, but can't say we every turned left off the freeway!  I keep reading about great schools in Willetton and Rossmoyne as well so we will certainly be looking in that area.

Both have good reputations - you have to live in their catchment area.  Fiona Stanley Hospital is now next to SJOG Murdoch - FSH is huge and SJOG has grown quite substantially too.

[Jon the Hat]

1 minute ago, ali said:

Both have good reputations - you have to live in their catchment area.  Fiona Stanley Hospital is now next to SJOG Murdoch - FSH is huge and SJOG has grown quite substantially too.

Yes indeed, we were in Perth 18 months ago for a week, so had a good look around the old haunts.  Lots of change from the previous time which for me was 2010.

[Leighbee98]

UPDATE 30th April 2018

We have found a Migration agent that suits us perfectly.... They were instructed today to begin the process.

Here we go folks.

[Paul1Perth]

On Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 14:03, LKC said:

There's a bit more to Greece than the beach.  It is the land of Homer and his Odyssey, the great thinkers Aristotle and Plato, and it is the cradle of democracy.  There are thousands of years of history to explore.  Look it up, you might learn something.

I've been loads of times. Had our honeymoon in Corfu. Sure there's history to see but personally couldn't be bothered. Too hot amongst those ruins. Couldn't wait to get back to the beach when my wife dragged me to a bit of culture. Seen one ruin seen em all I reckon?

Edited May 1, 2018 by Paul1Perth

[Paul1Perth]

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 22:03, Jon the Hat said:

I find it bizarre that people don't go on to one of the realestate sites and look before they do anything else.  I'm not moving for probably 2 years and I already have a suburbs in scope based on desirable high schools, and which are likely to be affordable on an expected salary.  

We'd never thought about where we would live when we emigrated. Rented in Como for a year but we came to be close as we could afford to the beach. About 10 months and a good look round at different suburbs North and South we found that we liked a suburb that we had visited 2 weeks after we got here. 5 mins from a great beach, surf club, nice restaurants, shops handy, sqaush club. 

Best choice we could have made for us. Love it still.

[Paul1Perth]

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at 17:12, Wa7 said:

I'm quite sure wherever they stay will have a pool.

On all my holidays, going right back to my teens, on a 7 - 10 day holiday in whatever country it happened to be, I may of gone to the beach once during the holiday (most times none at all)

Bit more to going away than sitting on a beach.

I could never understand those people who went on holiday and sat round the hotel pool every day. We had a timeshare on the Algarve and I swear some of the people staying wouldn't have gone out of the complex. You used to see them, up early 6:00 ish putting their towels on the best beds near the pool then going back to bed for a couple of hours.

Noticed the same thing in Bali last year. Same couples same places by the pool. 

We used to hire a motorbike and head off to a different place most days. The complex was next to a fantastic beach too. I reckon some are scared to go in the ocean.

[Parley]

27 minutes ago, Paul1Perth said:

I could never understand those people who went on holiday and sat round the hotel pool every day. We had a timeshare on the Algarve and I swear some of the people staying wouldn't have gone out of the complex. You used to see them, up early 6:00 ish putting their towels on the best beds near the pool then going back to bed for a couple of hours.

Noticed the same thing in Bali last year. Same couples same places by the pool. 

We used to hire a motorbike and head off to a different place most days. The complex was next to a fantastic beach too. I reckon some are scared to go in the ocean.

I mostly agree with you but I can understand if people have stressful jobs then they want a holiday where they just lie on the beach.

A holiday where you are travelling around every day is nice but not necessarily relaxing.