fifi69

We live in Baldivis and love it. cant personally comment on schools cos mine are out of the range, but have plenty of friends here with school age kids, going to both public and private who love it too. Plenty of choice re schools. When we first came to perth we lived nearer the city centre. It was great but we Didnt feel part of the community and Didnt make any friends. we checked out every suburb SOR in our price range, and what we wanted from a suburb. A beach nearby, easy access to the freeway, train station for trips to the city. A commutable distance to work. Hammond park was my fav, just a little bit out of price range though. but Baldivis has won my heart. We bought established in the original estate, Settlers hills. Decent enough block sizes. We've added a pool. Lots of lovely parks. But the best thing is the sense of belonging, such a friendly place. Lots going on. Now I have 4 bar/restaurants within walking distance, plus coffee shops galore. What I really love, is, if you have to work in or near the city during weekdays and at weekends its just lets go blah!! Down south us doable in a day. Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsbourgh, Margaret river. Not forgetting all the lovely sights around Harvey. Stay closer and check out Mandurah, ravens wood, Dawesville . so many beautiful places

We lived in the area when we first arrived for two years. Its a great place. Best of both worlds, the river and head to Freo for the sea. Everything you need at hand, but if you want more the city is easy accessible by bus, for the train you would need to first get to either bull creek or Fremantle, but that's easily done. Lots of little cafes and restaurants around, Melville Plazza for shopping, garden city nearby for a more varied shop. You wouldn't go wrong with this area

Not suitable for everybody but if you wish to collect your furbaby from quarantine yourself and bring them back on the same flight with you its really simple to do. We did it with our two labs and it worked out much cheaper. both virgin and Quantas do this service, you book your flight, then phone customer service to book your dog, no paperwork to do. Turn up at the airport with your dog and crate (these can be hired if you don't have your own). The staff weigh them, they are classed as overweight luggage, you pay any extra over your normal travelling allowance, ie 20kg. they then take the dog to put in the hold and you go and check in as per a normal flight. You can reduce costs by travelling over east on a low cost carrier ie, Jetstar etc. Best to get a quote first from Jetpets, Dogtainers etc., then price up doing it yourself to see if its cheaper. Also note that the pet transportation companies use cargo flights to transport, as you can only use domestic airlines if actually on same flight as your dog/s

Agree. The great british chippy is v good, always stop off there if out on a jaunt NOR. but we live SOR, so locally the London Chippy in Port Kennedy is good but more expensive and if ordering a meal with chips, you don't get many chips. Order your fish or whatever your having, then order chips seperate and you get a good portion!! Also seen good things said about the pommy owned place in Wellard, but personally never tried it. Our choice now for the past couple of years is a fish n chip shop in Rockingham. Not a pommy joint, but good value for money, big portions, lots of choice, real chips, plenty of different fish choice. Has won a few awards. just yards from the beach. Great place to go too, get your food, walk to the beach and sit and watch the sunset.

To Duffield. Read your blog, good onya:cool: daughter works for plunkett, and they are all enjoying your tales:jiggy:. I don't know what they are like to build with, but they are a really caring company to work for, a v long established Perth company. Paying for daughter to go thru uni, so would like to assume, they care for their clients too.

We got a mortgage, mid 40s, no savings, bought established house, no probs.

Like the UK, might be best to check comparison sites?? I used a push bike for the first six months here lol. then bought a v cheap runaround which I used for just over a year and just used the ctp insurance you got with the rego. I believe things may have changed though on that. last year I bought a brand new SUV, for the first year my comp ins was $300, that was with Allianz, this year upon checking, the best deal was with Sgio, cost me $150 for the year fully comp. had to laugh when they asked if I wanted to pay in instalments, that's the equiv of paying £70 back in the UK. Pushed the boat out and paid it all upfront:cool:. I Didnt have to provide any proof of no claims. You may find better deals, but at the time I worked in a accident repair shop, so knew what insurance companies to avoid, those that take ages on claims, some only have phone lines open eastern state times (which at the mo is 3 hours ahead, so after 2pm WA time, you can't get hold of them). I always know which companies have the nice insurance assessors:rolleyes:

Aw...hope you don't have to wait to long for your visa. Aus is a wide and vast country for sure, and after doing some travelling to different places here.... It def beats a lot, and is more in common with what us poms are looking for. Ive still got a lot of exploring to do though, some other places tick boxes on paper, but in my eyes, Perth is not a bad place

Nobody really can give you a ball park figure....we don't know what you like to eat!! You may be vegetarian, allergic to certain things? Why not go onto Coles and woolworths websites and do a dummy shop? remembering though, that fruit n veg is more expensive in season, deals change on a Wednesday, and you can pick up good bargains at the end of the day (or as I find with woollies about 10am too lol.) Depending on where you will be living, you may also have a spud shed nearby, plus farmers markets. It all makes a difference if you can shop around for deals, or if your just looking to buy all in one shop

I don't live in Mandurah, but am there quite often, as I live between Rockingham and Mandurah. Love Mandurah, it has a lot going for it. Lots of poms love there, it even has its own pommy sweetie shop lol. Plus check out cafe 58, for a nice brekkie or lunch. Its owned by a couple of lovely poms. There is a big pom meet up scene there, check out Mandurah poms on FB, something going on every week. Downside to Mandurah would be if you need to travel the Kwinnna freeway for work, it does get v busy. If you can take the train, then its much better. All the best in your move x

The times we have gone, we have used the voucher out of the entertainment book, which you can buy online or at certain places selling it. If you favour a charity, ie animal, children you can buy from there outlets, which then gives them a percentage of the selling fee. If you have family here, then a lot of schools sell them as fundraisers. The book cost $65 I don't know how long you are here for, but if you are wishing to do a lot of the attractions then the book is a good way of saving lots. it also has heaps of discounts off eating places, more so if you are staying central though. You easy make your fee for buying the book back if doing even one of the major attractions. The first year I bought the book from Perth Zoo, went in and bought it before entering, then used the voucher to pay to go to the zoo, plus adventure world, Rottnest island, penguin island, swimming with dolphins etc etc. Saved heaps. depending how long you are here for, once you have entered adventure world, you can then buy a season pass to return for pittance, we used to live near there, so bought it, just to go back in the evening go-karting. I believe they do a special Halloween night too, if your still around then. Otherwise, check out groupon, scoopon etc for deals. Weekender notes, while not a discount site is good for letting you know what's on, if you've got younger kids then buggy buddies may be worth a look. have a happy holiday x

Only two secondary schools at the mo. one public, Baldivis secondary school in the Rivergums estate and a private one, Tranby in the settlers estate. another one coming, but still in the planning stages. Personally seeing as it doesn't cost much in the big scheme of things here, I would choose private every time. As a resident, I find the Tranby students delightful ....not so much the BSC ones, but other factors come into play I know.

We used Golden Arrow to bring our two furbabies over and then collected them from Sydney and flew them back with us as it was a cheaper option. But Jet Pets in Oz would be worth a look for internal transportation. Looking at where you live though, you maybe better looking at a more local pet shippers, otherwise it will mean more cost for one of the southern based shippers to pick up, or a long drive there and back for your mum to drop your dog off. Best to note that not all UK vets are up to date with what's needed for shipping pets to Aus. You may need to go elsewhere than your local vet to make you have one that knows what the up to date procedure is and all paperwork is in order and the right vaccines are being given at the right time. Or if because you won't be in the UK the whole time, might be worth going for the top tier of cover from your chosen shippers, then you know all will be good.

What about Hammond Park?? Its a lot nearer the city than the suburbs you mention, but v handy for the freeway, but if you need to get to the more industrial areas of SOR, you have the option of Stock Road too. The Cockburn area has a lot going on, upgraded shopping centre, two large hospitals, train station, plus another station going in soon, in Aubin Grove. Pubs and restaurants nearby. Although inland, its only about a 15min drive to the lovely beaches of Coogee and Woodmans point. As others have said, I wouldn't want to do a daily commute NOR to SOR .

You live in the Melville/ Myaree/ palmyra area then??