Making the move from Victoria to WA?

[Ballaratburd]

Hi everyone,

Husband and I (Both Scottish) have been living in Victoria for 6 years now (5 years in Melbourne and now 1 year in Ballarat) but we have never been able to shake the feeling that perhaps we chose the wrong state when we first moved here. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of things I love about living here, and now being in a large country town with Melbourne on our doorstep as opposed to living in the centre where it is extremely busy, massive housing costs, traffic blah blah blah it’s much better, but we both still talk often about how we wish we had moved to a warmer climate. Now that we have a toddler and another baby on the way, nightlife/restaurants/cafe culture isint anywhere near as important as it used to me and I still dream of the warmer weather, large house with a pool, taking my kids to the beach on the weekend, bbq for dinner most nights etc etc

Anyways, looking to hear from those who are living in Western Australia (even better if you have lived in Victoria as well) What do you love about it? Why should we move (or not move) As although I love the look of Queensland, WA is much more feasible for us job wise as my husband could transfer easily with no training or setbacks. we could both earn more money in WA and from what I can see now the mining boom is over housing is much more affordable. 

Thanks everyone 

[AliQ]

1 hour ago, Ballaratburd said:

Hi everyone,

Husband and I (Both Scottish) have been living in Victoria for 6 years now (5 years in Melbourne and now 1 year in Ballarat) but we have never been able to shake the feeling that perhaps we chose the wrong state when we first moved here. Don’t get me wrong there are a lot of things I love about living here, and now being in a large country town with Melbourne on our doorstep as opposed to living in the centre where it is extremely busy, massive housing costs, traffic blah blah blah it’s much better, but we both still talk often about how we wish we had moved to a warmer climate. Now that we have a toddler and another baby on the way, nightlife/restaurants/cafe culture isint anywhere near as important as it used to me and I still dream of the warmer weather, large house with a pool, taking my kids to the beach on the weekend, bbq for dinner most nights etc etc

Anyways, looking to hear from those who are living in Western Australia (even better if you have lived in Victoria as well) What do you love about it? Why should we move (or not move) As although I love the look of Queensland, WA is much more feasible for us job wise as my husband could transfer easily with no training or setbacks. we could both earn more money in WA and from what I can see now the mining boom is over housing is much more affordable. 

Thanks everyone 

Hi Ballaratburd,  we lived in Perth for 28 years and loved it. We chose WA because of the weather and the beaches and it suited us to a T.

If you are looking for a less busy lifestyle then Perth will suit you. 
I’m sure you will get loads of replies on your question, everyone will have their own opinion of Perth, but all I can say is we loved living there, loved the quieter lifestyle,  and the “isolation” comments you may receive are in my opinion over exagerated.

[AJ]

Hi, we started off in Melbourne 10 years ago, and moved to Perth.  Took me a while to get used to either place (I am from Scotland as well) and we went back and forwards a couple of times, been in Perth now for a few years.

My partner does FIFO work so much easier to be in Perth for him.  One time I was adamant that I didnt like Perth and wanted to move back to Melbourne, so back we went, lasted 6 months, came back here bought a house and settled now.

People say Perth is boring but in my opinion after  living in both, its so much better here for little kids, we are in the Northern Suburbs so have several beaches very close, including Mullaloo, Whitfords, Sorrento, Hillarys.  You can easy nip down the beach after school where in Melbourne we are at least 45 minute drive from a decent beach.  

Melbourne City was soo busy, Perth is quiet but I am much more comfortable wandering around there myself than in Melbourne,  also I will drive anywhere here, where I would only drive locally in Melbourne.  

We are in an older suburb and its so much nicer and friendlier that the new build estates that we lived in when over East.  I do like Melbourne but Perth fits us better.  We dont go out much either, prefer to socialise at home.  

 

 

[ali]

I would agree with AliQ re the over exaggeration about the isolation - we've been here almost 13 years in WA and have never felt isolated or cut off from anywhere/anything.  We're south of the river and in an older suburb (Leeming) which for us has been a great location.  The city is quieter than Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane (which we love visiting), but it suits us.  We moved here when the children were 7 and 11 - my daughter (now 24) is a bit of a foodie and is never short of restaurants to visit and my son is 20 .. and is out every weekend with festivals and events.  We've been told that there's nothing to do for the kids as they get older, but my 2 haven't had a problem.  We thing it's a great place to live.

[Vicky87]

We've recently moved to Perth from the UK in June. We have a 2 year old and love it here. There's so many family friendly events organised on the weekends, the weather is great and we're outdoors all the time. People have been so welcoming and we've fitted straight in. The commute to the CBD isn't too painful (I'm in Aubin Grove and it takes 45mins including the nursery drop off/pick up) and things are starting to pick up work wise 

A colleague of mine lived in Melbourne, had a little boy and moved to Perth and he said he much prefers it as it's geared towards families whereas Melbourne seemed to suit young professionals - I haven't lived there so I can't comment! 

If you have any questions feel free to msg me, moving and trying to make the 'right' decision is so daunting

[Paul1Perth]

Don't worry if you still fancy the nightlife cafe, culture scene still. It's alive and well in Perth and getting better all the time.

Some excellent restaurants, cafes down by the beaches and they are well used. Lots of Mums with toddlers too.

Early mornings are the best times. Perth City has vastly improved over the last few years, weather is great, beaches are brilliant and there could be another mini boom on the way. Lets hope prices don't go too crazy this time.

Perths great.

[Collie]

Hi Ballartbud,

I haven't lived in Melbourne but visited lots and lived in Sydney for a decade.  Moved to Perth 3 years ago from Sydney, it's "growing" on me.  I also have a 51/2 year old child.  I'll try to give you my honest pros & cons on Perth v a Sydney or Melbourne.  Some of the other posters may not agree but this is my view.

Pros:

Weather is nicer than the eastern States, can get hot but humidity is less.  Gets cold overnight in winter but days generally ok (can be 5 degrees at 7am and 22 by 10am and back down to 10 by 6pm)

Easy to get around with good roads and less traffic (traffic pretty much a peak hour thing only) but you definitely need a car.  20min drive gets you most places.

Great beaches and loads of them, rarely crowded

Accomodation is cheaper to rent and buy at the moment (mining bust, renters/buyers market)

Nice city to raise a family

About 3 hours travel time closer to Europe but not as much competition on flights (depending on where you are going) eg Etihad don't fly from Perth anymore.

Better time difference to Europe (7 hours winter,  8 in summer, no daylight savings here)

No pokies in the pubs

Super public playgrounds and pools for the kids. 

 

Cons:

Work availability is the big one, a lot of people still out of work.  Depends on what you do but very reliant on the resouces/resources services industries.  You have mining, oil & gas, mining services, health & education that have some scale and that's about it.  Financial services, Insurance and pretty much every international head office are Sydney or Melbourne so career opportunities may be limited if you are not in the resources industry (may not be an issue for you).  Lots of talent available so it can be hard to break into.

Expensive for everything except accomodation - eating out, drinks (no pokies in pubs), entertainment (gigs, shows etc), groceries, fuel (& you need a car).  I estimate that it is Sydney +20% so probably Melbourne +25-30% but then your accomodation costs will be 30% less., eg a coffee is $4.50-$5+

Lower salaries (depends on what you do though)

It is quiet although improving.  It is very much an early to bed, early to rise town (may suit you).  e.g. you would struggle to get a meal after about 8.30pm.  There are not the same choices in terms of entertainment and stuff going on e.g. many international acts skip Perth completely when touring Australia.  While the food scene is improving, it is miles away from the quality, choice and value for money in Melbourne (although Melbourne is a bit of a foodie heaven)

CBD is small and can be a bit dodgey at nighttime, also a bit soulless but it is improving  (I've never felt uneasy wandering around Sydney / Melbourne CBD late at night but would be wary in Perth),  Yagan square is good and the small bars off Murray street.  Northbridge can be ok but gets a bit feral from about midnight.

Lots of bogans and they are far more visible than in the bigger cities.

Lots of suburbia - pretty much from about 10km out is suburbia and you don't really have the city of villages like Melbourne.  There is the CBD and Freo.  Leederville is not bad but small, Mount Lawley is nice but quiet these days, as is Subiaco.  You don't really get suburbs like Fitzroy, St Kilda, Richmond, South Yarra.

Can be quite cliquey and everybody knows everybody.  People tend to socialise at home/friends places (probably due to the cost of going out) so can be hard to make a social circle initially.

It is isolated and with a few exceptions, you are either doing a long drive or a flight to go away.  Having said that there are great beaches close by so the "need" to go away is less, i.e. staycations are easy

 

 

So a mixed bag.  My advice, don't move unless you have secure work lined up.  Rent for a year to see if you like it and suss out the area you'd like to settle in before buying (prices have been flat/falling for about 6 years now and no sign of them rising significantly anytime soon IMO).

 

Hope this helps and happy for you to pm me if you want more info.  

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

[Bulya]

AFL city to an AFL city. Fewer teams to choose from