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Hi all, I was thinking back to when we were planning on making the move, and keeping an eye on the forum for the stories from people who had made the move recently to get an idea of what it would feel like and how it had gone. I used to love reading about everyones experiences, so I thought I'd do one. I still can't believe weve done it! So much planning for a whole year and then suddenly youre here starting a new life. Sometimes I still get a bit overwhelmed by the fact that we're here, but only because of how amazing it is. Things are just about beginning to feel normal, we're pretty much settled and going about our daily routines, just in nicer surroundings! We (me, hubby, 2 daughters 14 and 10) left a cold Manchester on 10th Jan and landed in a very warm Perth on 11th, tired but glad to have landed safely. Myself and my eldest daughter cried upon touchdown at the enormity of what we'd just done. In the taxi to the apartment in Como we had for 2.5 weeks we were quite qiuet, just looking out of the window at the palm trees and blue sky. The first couple of weeks in the apartment are a blur now, we went to the zoo, beach, Kings Park, Fremantle, and went into Perth twice. Even though we had days out and afternoons by the pool it didnt feel like we were on holiday, it just felt like we were easing our way to our new surroundings and starting a new life. I can remember a very odd feeling of feeling as though I was walking on water for about the first week, physically I felt really unsteady on my feet. Think it was jet lag and possibly a bit of vertigo from the flight, but it went soon enough, as did the waking up bright as a button at 2.30 in the morning! We bought a car after the fist 2 weeks, but the most important thing was to find a house to rent. We wanted to be south of the river within a certain radius of the city as hubby managed to get himself a job before we came, and he wanted to cycle to work. Research and asking questions about schools in the forum led me towards Willetton, Rossmoyne, Leeming and Shelley. We looked on the propery websites and visited 2 agents to make appointments to view. We saw 4 or 5 in the end and only liked one - the only one without a pool! This really bothered me at first but I'm ok with it now. It is a 4x2 in Willetton on the top of a hill with a view of the trees and rooftops from the garden. It was newly renovated and we are the first tenants so we've been really lucky. We got accepted as tenants and picked up the keys 4 days before we left the apartment which gave us time to buy furniture and appliances etc. We had shipped our stuff from the UK but we have a couple of extra rooms here so we had to by more stuff to put in them! Also, the obligatory bbq and outdoor dining suite was a must! That all got delivered by the time we moved in so we had beds to sleep on, sofa to sit on, bbq to cook on fridge and washing machine, and a tv to watch! In the end, our container only took 7 weeks door to door so we had all our own possessions a few weeks after moving in which was great, really made it feel like home. Once we could prove that we lived in the catchment area for the schools we had to enrol for the start of the school year on 1st Feb, we found this to be very straightforward and easy process for both primary and high school. Apart from having to equip eldest daughter with an Apple macbook because all the children have to take their own laptop in and the school's system is an apple one, not pc! Eldest daughter met some girls on day 1 and got invited to sit with them for lunch, she is now part of their friendship group and has made a best friend whom she has a closer bond with than she had with any of her old friends in the UK, it is wonderful to see her so happy. BTW - If you have teenagers who stay in their room on I pads all evening / weekends - dont think that because you move over here they will suddenly become sport loving outdoors people with a basketball under one arm and a surfboard under the other! Most nights we only see her at feeding time, but she has been playing her ukelele more, drawing and chatting to her new bestie online. We try to get out at the weekends at least one day and as long as her homework is done, I dont have a problem with it, she is who she is. She is doing ok at school, we've just had parents evening and last term, predictably her grades weren't where they were when we left the UK, but I'm confident they will pick up as she gets more used to their way of working and gains more confidence. Youngest took a little while longer to settle in, the classful of new faces were a bit much for her to deal with but gradually week by week she got there. We have had 3 friends round for tea, and she has been round to 2 friends houses, she feels like she belongs now and is fitting in well. She just had yr6 camp and had a fantastic time raft building and crate tower climbing and orienteering etc. We didn't realise, but in yr6 over here they have leavers uniforms that are different to the standard school uniform so she turned up in the uniform we had bought from the uniform shop (including wide brimmed hat - so cute!) and everyone else is wearing the leavers uniforms. We felt gutted for her, but she didnt seem to mind that much. Luckily there was a re order of the leavers uniforms and she now has a shirt and jacket, it even has her name on the back as they did a re print of everyone's names, she was made up when she got it at the start of this term after Easter. She started Taekwondo in February and has her first grading for her yellow belt in June eek! After the girls started school, we concentrated on registering at centrelink for medicare and family assistance (means tested child benefit equivalent) and our drivers licences. We have since had the girls first dental appointments and doctors visit, its all really straightforward once you understand the system. I asked friends for recommendations and advice, which was really helpful. We're also sorting out our private health insurance this weekend which I think is the last piece of the puzzle in setting up over here. Hubby is settling well in to work, he didn't start until 3rd April and is just starting to find his feet, he's enjoying the cycling, ezpecially in this weather! He's going on a cycling hoiday to Margaret River with his cycling club in November! And so to me - I'm not working which is giving me plenty of time to do lots of other things! I have joined the primary school committee, I volunteer in the school canteen once a week, I help out with garden and kitchen class a couple of times a term. I have made a few friends from this forum, been out for coffess, lunch, and had bbqs and cinema, I've made friends with eldest daughters bestie's mum and went kayaking on anzac day! I'm developing friendships with a couple of the mums at school, going out for coffee, bbqs, karaoke, quiz night etc. I go for walks along the river and take a picnic for 1 and a book, so peaceful. I've restarted my hobbies of line dancing, and baking, and am enjoying having more time, having gone from working full time and not feeling that I had any. I can cook nicer meals and enjoy the weekends relaxing rather than catching up with the housework. There's lots more choice of chocolate over here, Cadburys tastes the same to me, and they have my brand of cosmetics which was a concern. Overall, life IS much better than what we had in the UK, we are not any worse off even on one wage, we have laughed and smiled more together here, the weather is incredible, blue skies nearly every day. Its nearly winter and I walked youngest to school in a t shirt and sunglasses (and trousers lo!). I acknowledge that we have been extremely fortunate with hubby getting a job and that our rental is really nice compared to the others we saw. But everything else has been of our making, the social life, the places we've visited and the friends we've made have all been by us getting ourselves out there and taking every opportunity, its there for the taking, we definitely feel more carefree and relaxed. We came out here for a fesh start and, yes, for a better life and so far it has more than delivered for all of us. We sometimes feel like weve been here longer than we have because of how quickly we feel that we've got a fuller, more satisfying life, but we can still count it in weeks! We don't know whats going to happen over the next 12 months, whether we'll be able to buy a house, or if I will have to get a job, how youngest will cope with going to high school, but thats all part of our continuing adventure. We're looking forward to exploring our new home and to whatever the rest of our lives have in store for us. Oh, and we haven't seen any spiders bigger than the average uk ones, and theres only been about 4 of them, they're not lurking under every toilet seat and in every corner!...Although we have had a lizard in the living room, and a couple of cocroaches lol! Sorry it's been a long one, if you've stuck with me till the end - thank you! If anyone has any questions about how we dealt with certain things or about anything to do with the move or setting up over here, pease ask away. Also, has anyone else got any updates after making your move,? I would love to hear your stories too. Jen xx

Well its been some time since I've visited the site, lovely to see some familiar names still cropping up who really helped me during the moving process. So how is life down under treating us, here goes So myself, my husband and 2 children arrived in October 2016, we initially stayed with our in-laws which was a massive help for us until we settled into work and found a place of our own. I pretty much started work 2 weeks after arriving, my husband got a FIFO job in Jan for 4 months which was tough but really helped us initially. During this time we looked the kids settled really well into school, we started socialising with the kids out of school activities, especially our sons soccer team which has been great for us. I have since changed jobs to one I can see myself in long term and fits nicely around the kids and school and is very local. We have bought our first home which is more than we could ever have imagined, we have also got a new edition to the family our lovely cat! My husband has also found a job locally which he is happy in and we have just enrolled our eldest daughter in high school. We are so busy all the time, outdoors, going places, exploring, meeting people. I can't say that I have missed home much rather the people, especially significant times eg xmas, birthdays, family gatherings but family are coming to spend xmas with us and I cant wait. We do so much more together as a family than we did in the UK and having our fist Ozzie holiday down to Margaret River next month. I feel so lucky every morning to live in such a beautiful country and have met some wonderful people along the way. We definitely don't have any regrets

After a long 2 years of planning, the dream came true and we landed at Perth airport on 7th September, tired and excited. We were fortunate enough to stay with friends for the first 4 days before moving into a holiday let for 10 days. The last 10 days have been manic (and expensive) but I finally feel we are getting there and settling in already. So here's what we have done in the last 10 days: Bought a car, enrolled children into school, medicare and Centrelink visit complete, GP sorted, kids started althletics and enrolled at hockey club, found a rental for the next 12 months (slightly above budget but its lovely and has a pool so kids happy!), bought furniture for new rental, sorted broadband and insurance, DH had successful job interview....and on top of this have managed trips to the beach, an afternoon in Kings Park, and a visit to Perth city. So far, so good..... I still have an issue with my nursing registration but that seems an ongoing saga! Overall, we are all feeling settled. I cannot stress how helpful and friendly people are here. Nothing seems a problem and everyone we have met has offered advice or contact numbers. Onwards and upwards.....

So, we are nearly 15 months in and these are my observations on a practical day to day level not the whole heart felt leaving family etc I'll put our feeling down in another post, I will start by telling you I'm a 46 year old bloke here with wife and two kids aged 3 (nearly) and 7. I'm in the motortrade currently working as a Tech at a great garage in Rockingham. These are my thoughts, you may not agree and have different views and experience. Some of mine are negative and some are positive. WA. - We live in Baldivis south of the river and spend a lot of time in Mandurah due to being into boating. The beaches are beautiful the coast is fabulous. If you are into the outdoors then this is the place to be. I am astounded by the free boat ramps, trailer parking, outdoor BBqs, fabulous parks, free parking, camping sites, places to visit that do not cost anything, the list goes on of stuff to do, plus the free events that are put on. Everything is really child friendly and I dont think Ive been to an event where there are drunk teenagers playing up like there used to be at home. (We did live in a deprived part of the country). The sun shines most days and even in winter on a sunny day the temperature can get to mid twenties. However because its a dry climate once you get acclimatized it feels much colder, so when its 15 degrees here it feels more like 4 or 5 did back in the UK, so out come the jumpers!! Last year at this time I would go out for my early morning run and think how warm it was, this year I think its bloody freezing! Ha CARS and Driving. The cars are sh*t, if you think you are going to come here and buy yourself a nice little ten year old Peugeot 206 for £1500 like you had in UK , forget it!! The WA car fleet is old and I would estimate that 50% are either partly maintained to poorly maintained. There is no MOT and no requirement to maintain your car unless you are unlucky enough (unlikely) to get stopped by the police and "stickered" to get whatever they find rectified, as long as you pay your "rego" on time just keep driving. European cars like Peugeot, Renault are not popular, VW group have more a foot hold and slightly more popular however parts for European cars are expensive and a rip off. There are a lot of Japanese and Korean cars. The older jap stuff is fab and as they dont rot like they did in the UK youll see a lot of stuff from the early to mid 90's still on the road as peoples daily drivers, they will still want upwards of a grand when they sell them. Back in the UK some of these cars are turning up at classic car shows. I wouldnt buy a korean car over ten years old, except maybe the Hyundai Getz for a run around. I have seen cars with the canvas and metal hanging out of the tyres, rear diff oil leaking over the brakes so that only the fronts work only for customers to say that they dont have the money to fix them and drive away promising they wont drive them (yeah right). My advice buy the newest car you can afford preferably something Australian, Commodore or Falcon seem to be pretty cheap to maintain and on the whole reliable. Petrol is cheaper here than the UK, when we arrived it was half price that of the UK but has crept up a bit. Diesel isnt as popular here although readily available, V6 and V8 petrol cars are still very popular here and there are some beauties. How the Hoons afford to leave all that Rubber on the road is beyond me, Tyres are just as expensive here as UK The Aussies are terrible drivers, it astounds me that in state where the speed limit on the freeway is 62 MPH and the freeways for the most parts are two lanes how many crashes they have!! They drive too close and when you are doing the 100KPH limit someone up your arse so you move out of the way only for them to sit alongside you doing the same speed!! Theres been a number of times when Ive been ready for a row with someone who appears to be driving like an idiot only for them to be totally oblivious to how annoyed ive got at their driving!! There seems to be a lot of deaths on the road and a lot of is put down to drink driving, they appear to be 20 years behind with their drink driving thinking. The people - The people on the whole are friendlier on a daily basis than the UK. When your out and about people say "HI" more than UK. However, once you start working for Aussies, or want them to do work for you, or buy something second hand like a car they have no morals and will screw you over without a second thought! The first guy I worked for paid me short, regularly and when I spoke to him about it he tried to tell me it would even itself out, err no if you only pay me 37/1/2 hours and I work 40 how will that ever even out?? Also only paid from 8 to 12 Saturdays but didnt expect you to leave until after 1!! Had the attitude that if you wont do it then someone else will, I lasted 3 weeks before telling him his fortune! Aussie tradies want to do as little work for maximum dollar and even in the current climate I still find thats their attitude, however when you do work for them they want to pay minimum dollar for maximum work. If you look on Gumtree and Facebook for second hand stuff they want far too much for stuff, some people want near on retail new price for SH stuff. Ive also bought stuff where Ive turned up and tried to haggle and been told thats the price mate Im not knocking anything off but the advert said ONO!!!! I'm into my cars and I like doing up broken ones and keeping them for a bit, ive seen a couple that I wanted to buy to do up and have negotiated a price and asked the questions has it been involved ina crash, do you owe any money on it etc to be told no they were ligit, only to check them and discover they had finance on them, when I challenged the owners they both said that they were going to pay off the finance when I paid for the cars, yeah right course you were!! They also dont really have the same sense of humour as us, I mean, theyve never heard of Only Fools and horses, Black adder or the Inbetweeners!! The government - Australia, in general, and WA is a nanny state, I hear adverts all the time, on how to stop your child being injured at home, "Make sure you check the bath water before you put a small child in", Dont drink and drive, dont drive over train crossing when the lights are flashing and the latest one I heard was that you should go to bed early to avoid being tired when driving, it actually says try going to bed before 9PM, WTF, are Aussies really that stupid they need the government to tell them when to go to bed!! The government bodies that you will come into contact with have got that attitude that they used to have in the UK 30 years ago before they became more customer focused after realising that it was the public who funded the department but also paid extra for their particular services. The Department of transport for example is a bizzare step back in time as you go to change ownership of your car and take a ticket and sit and wait for your number to be called only for there to be a sour faced old cow behind the counter who treats you like you're wasting her time and shes doing you a favour!! If like me you dont want to give your child the MMR vaccine, then the government wont give you the family allowance payment, they also wont allow you to send your child to any preschool/Kindy either until they are vaccinated. Apparently it puts other children at risk however if other children have had the vaccines and mine havent the only risk is to other children who havent had the vaccines!! I wont go into my reasons for not wanting the MMR but as a parent this is my choice and I should not be dictated to by the government. If you ever have the misfortune of taking your personal import car to Welshpool DOT for its inspection then here you will reach a new level of A*sehole who take great delight in failing your car/trailer etc for no reason other than they can and it makes their day. In fact the guy I used to import my car was from over East, Sydney, and when I told him i was bringing them into Perth he said , and I quote, "they are all a*seholes over there, the docks,the customs and the DOT its the worst place to get anything through" and he wasnt wrong. The only government officials I've come across who have been courteous are the police and most of them have been from the UK. HOUSING The houses are nice, you get more for your money here, although the blocks are getting smaller for new builds. Not really sure why when they have some much space other than to maximise profit. However we have just bought a 4 by 2 house on an 800sqm block with pool and workshop for less than we sold our 3 bed semi for in the UK. the buying process is nicer, once signed you cant get gazumped as long as you meet the contract dates. If the owner hasnt told you something doesnt work and they are selling it as not working then it has to work. for example I did the final inspection last week for the house we are buying and one of split cycle A/C motors didnt work and the pool gate didnt shut properly, now in the UK i would of just accepted this as thats how it is but not here! The estate agent said they got to be fixed before we take ownership!! Refreshing. Schools- Our littlen goes to Baldivis primary school which is a state school, its is lovely and I think her class has 22 children in it. If you come from a large city in the UK then you will not be disappointed with the class sizes here. Our little girl had also been at school for a year before coming here and having to start year one again but there is still stuff on the curriculum to challenge her and I dont find the education system behind. I have found that here they seem more focused on the journey to adult hood than focused on training them to pass exams parrot fashion. She seems happy and is always coming home with some reward for being the top reader or top in maths so that year head start has put her top of the class which is nice boost for her confidence. I dont know a lot about the secondary schools but it seems to be if you can afford it send them to a private school. WORK/JOBS - I'd say WA is on its knees for work, especially trades. In my industry the only jobs available seem to be the lower end of the spectrum, the fast fit lower skilled end where there tends to be a high turn over of staff anyway. Having said that i've managed to get a good job at a nice place, but there is a lot of competition out there and Ive realised it isnt what you know but who you know . If you want to get a job in government beware that the higher paid jobs require you to be a citizen however the lower paid jobs and those they have trouble recruiting for, Ie Police officer, even if you have the skills and qualifications, that being "a citizen" or being in the throws of" becoming a citizen" clause is chucked in. If you want to change careers or do something different, good luck, as you'll need courses and qualifications before you even get a chance at having a go, I dont believe there is such a thing here as on the job training. They'll be a college course that you have to pay for before you even try and get a job! Shops/Shopping - Not so many big supermarkets as in the UK selling everything like Tesco and Asda.You still get the little shops and off licences albeit some of them are part of the big companies. I applaud the Aussies for their Buy Aussie spirit however they are being let down by their government who has allowed some big business to move over sees. Now they have no option but to allow foreign companies in to sell theyre stuff. Ultimately this will be good for consumers but not so good for workers and small business. The shops close at 5.30 in the week accept for some of the bigger companies who are open to 9, our local spud shed has just gone 24 hours, the only shop I know of thats 24 hours. Thursday is late night shopping just like it was 30 years ago in the UK. The thing I love about the shops is that they arent open 24 hours for that one insomniac to go shopping at three AM but at the same time it annoys me that when I've forgotten our wedding anniversary if its not a Thursday I'm in proper trouble. Crime- The Aussies seem to be paranoid about crime, shutters on windows, house alarms etc but, I was a police officer in the UK for 16years before coming here and let me tell you they do not know what crime is here! The things that get reported on the nightly news here would be lucky to get a spot in the local rag at home. Yes there are burglaries, car thefts, assaults and robberies but they are nothing compared to the UK considering the size of the Perth metro area So if you are still with me thus far, well done, and I'd now like to point out that I'm not a whinging Pom, some of these things annoy me but its a damn sight better than where we lived in the UK. Our lifestyle and quality of life has drastically improved and I really like it here and, at this point, do not intend to go back. Yes, we miss family and friends and if they could be here that would make it perfect. Jase

OK Neewbie, you are clearly having a dilemma about should I stay or should I go (as THE CLASH would say!) As a Migration Agent on here i must say that if your occupation is on the new STSOL you will only have 2 x 2 years on that visa. Having said that for many people who really want to stay they often find a way, either by retraining ie getting a student visa or moving to remote areas. My husband is a specialist BDM/WA Territory Manager and was made redundant in February! Your husband is very lucky to be sponsored in that kind of role as there are lots of excellent sales managers out there who are looking for work in WA. Many people move here who have never even set foot on Australian soil and realise that the dream isnt quite what they thought it was. Others step foot off the plane, thrive here and never leave. You are both still under 40 and I really believe in following dreams and giving things a go. However you and your husband sound like a couple who seem fairly contented with a comfortable life style, enjoy each others company and seem to have a close group of friends nearby. I am a little surprised that you even started this "quest!" You ask for positives, well I a sure that I speak for many on here and say that we live in a beautiful, clean, safe city with a fantastic climate and amazing ocean. Every day when I walk my dog at the foreshore I think how lucky I am. My teenage daughters are at the local State High School and are hopefully going to one of our excellent universities. I thought a photo of a beautiful Perth sunset (not enhanced at all!) may let you see what we have here. However, it is not for everyone and as an agent I often see troubled marriages, discontentment, and homesickness......

I dont want to sound like a pessimist, but I am a realist, given Perths current "Recession" & all the visa changes, I wouldn't be moving over on a 457 any time soon, the freight / trucking industry is one of the hardest hit with the mining slow down, nothing needs moving north, there are a lot of unemplyed people in Perth and the new McClown Govt is all for getting them jobs jobs before you, I work at Perth Airport, the FIFO fleet are only doing half the flying they were doing 3 years ago, some of the smaller companies have gone belly up or pulled the plug, even Qantas moved their turboprop fleet back east, I am even starting to worry about my job, sorry for being a realist, but I have seen a lot of 457 sponsored families leaving Perth with their tail between their legs, given the current climate 457 should really not be an option, I came over on a 457 6 years ago, during the boom, it was tough then, my wife couldnt get a job, my son struggled to get an apprenticeship, my daughter even decided to retrain, she has just completed a self study Cert IV, took her 3 years, and that was after doing a 5 Year Uni Degree in the UK, so now she has a massive student loan debt in the UK and a degree which is useless in Perth, maybe if she even moves to Melbourne or Sydney it will come in usefull, what ever you decide, good luck..............

And the term 'Manchester' came about because that was what was written on the side of the crate when it arrived from the UK.

Hi Sarah I have been looking at various options regarding my UK pension ahead of migrating to Perth in the coming weeks. In March 2017, the UK government tightened the rules further which have further reduced some of the options (well, they actually reduced the attractiveness of some of the options). Firstly, you don't mention the approx size of the pension pot, perhaps for good reason, but note, it it is above GBP 1 million or AUD $1.6 million, then you are above the Lifetime allowance cap and hence additional taxes will apply. Option 1 - Move it to Australia As Alan mentions above, you can't do this until you are 55 as Australian QROPS (qualifying overseas pension schemes) will not accept anyone below this age. This is actually driven by HMRC, and long story short, unless something changes, you have 10 years to wait. There are limits on how much you can transfer across tax efficiently (reduces to $300k in July 2017 - could have changed again in the next 10 years). You can add more after this, but much smaller numbers. If your pension pot is below $300k, then you could transfer it tax efficiently to Australia as part of your Australian Super (with no tax to pay in the UK). If the amount you have to move is above the annual transfer limits, you begin getting taxed in Australia at your marginal tax rate - hence you would be tempted to wait until you have actually retired to take advantage of the tax free and lower tax bands from your personal allowances. Note, observe inheritance tax rules between UK and Australia. I would advise making sure all of your funds are transferred before you turn 74 (sounds easy, but not if you don't start transferring until your 65)... Also, you pay 15% tax to Australia (ATO) on ANY growth in the fund from the time you became resident in Australia. other taxes may apply as I indicate above, depending upon the size of your fund. Option 2 - Move it to New Zealand The HMRC change in March has really made this less attractive (buggers).. In short, Brits emigrating to Australia (NOT NEW ZEALAND) can do the following:- 1. Move your UK pension to an New Zealand QROPS (essentially, New Zealand government allow non resident pension funds to offer zero rate tax schemes as a way of boosting the cash brought into their economy). The impact of this is:- 2. Pay ZERO % tax on any growth in the fund. You can choose either GBP or AUD investments, which means you can keep it in sterling for now and then flip them to AUD when the exchange rate improves in the years ahead. 3. You can move it NOW - you don't have to wait until your 55. Naturally, you can't move it to Australia until you are 55. 4. At age 55 (or older) you simply draw it down and it is paid into your Australian bank account. Again, tax free. Technically it is deemed a return of capital (and growth) and it is tax free because of the trans tasman double taxation agreement between Australia and New Zealand. Sounds to good to be true. Well, thats why HMRC stepped in as lots of people were doing it and have levied a 25% exit tax on UK pensions if you move it to a place you are NOT resident in. It is still a tax efficient way for large pension transfers, but it clearly lowers the benefits. The other risk is whether the Australian government change the rules in the next 10 years and you get hit with tax coming into Australia - thats what I am frightened of. If we had done it pre-march.... it would have been a great option.... Option 3 - Leave it in the UK for now This is what I am doing. I am moving a fairly significant Defined benefit into a UK SIPP (personal pension plan) with BDH Sterling. I am initially holding it in sterling, but again I have the ability to convert the fund to AUD when the exchange rate is more attractive - hence whilst I can't move it to Australia until I'm 55, I can still jump on any exchange rate benefits in the next 10 years or so.... At age 55 I will move as much as possible into Australia tax efficiently. If New Zealand is still an option at this time, I may look to do this for some or all of my pension. I am not recommending BDH Sterling (or earning commission or anything) but what I like about them is they have UK and Australian offices as well as offering the NZ option. They can also help with the tax advice side of things as well as with the physical transfer to an Australian QROPS. Sorry for the long message.... feel free to PM me if I can help further...

Alan has put himself forward already Giles but I can also recommend him to you, Alan is highly regarded and will be able to look after you in this area. Regards Andy

Will just add Paul, it isn't your visa that expires, that never does, but only the travel part. You would probably get a 5 year RRV if you applied for one when the travel part expires, giving you another 5 years.

I have flown a lot in and out of Perth. Best have generally been Singapore and Emirates. Though last flight was Qatar and they were by far the cheapest and perfectly reasonable.

Hi, we just had visas and passports, birth certificates and bank account for ID as we didn't do medicare or driving licence until after we had the address. We had to give one months rent as a bond. We got the estate agent for our sale in UK to write a reference re how well we kept our house, we also kept our sale brochure so they could see the photos. My friend also gave us a reference via email. We could prove funds via bank statement and we had Hubby's contract of employment stating he would start in the April but I can't remember if we had to show them or not. You could find an agent online local to where you are thinking of renting and email them with your situation and ask them what they would need to see. For the schools, as both were local intake schools, proof of residency is very important. We needed 12 month tenancy agreement and a further 2 proof of res. One had to be utilities, e.g electricity, gas. The other had to be driving licence, landline account, bank statement at address or contents insurance. As we sorted gas, elec, insurance and internet online, we had emails to prove connection at the address and the contents insurance certificate straight away which the school accepted. Also, passports for both the children and parents stamped with the date of entry into Australia and visas and immunisation records, which I got from the GP before we left. You could email the school and ask what you need. As I said before, we did all this in 2 weeks, really easy and straightforward. Jen x

On a 489 there is a legal requirement to live in a regional area for 2 years and work in a regional area for 1 year. The closest regional area to Perth is Mandurah. You family would also need to be living in a regional area The family stream 489 also has one of the longest processing times

Hi, I can't see the bedding being a problem. I've just realised we brought feather filled cushions and didn't give it a second thought! BBQ and tools should be OK if sqeaky clean and stinking of cleaning fluid! No charcoal or fuel though. We brought all our kitchen equipment, just declared the rolling pin on the wooden items declaration list from the shipping company, no restrictions. All treated wood is fine, we brought cane furniture, wicker table and picnic basket, just gave them a thick coat of varnish so it was obvious it was treated. All other wooden furniture, ornaments and photo frames were fine. The only thing we couldn't bring was my framed pressed wedding bouquet as the dried flowers inside wouldn't have been treated. The shipping company we used seemed fairly knowledgeable re what we could \ couldn't bring. Our tumbler hose was a strange thing we had to leave behind because of the fluff inside which we hadn't realised so didn't clean it. We then had to get a replacement shipped from the UK! Also, if your hoover comes apart, give it a rinse as that will have dust and dirt in it. We put ours through the dishwasher! Our container came through customs no problem, just make sure everything is clean and treated. HTH Jen x

'Petty Crimes' stealing ornaments from peoples gardens & helping themselves to the contents of your car because you were stupid enough to leave it unlocked and probably had the windows down with valuables on display.

https://www.police.wa.gov.au/Crime/Crime-Statistics-Portal/Statistics?locality=Kinross&startYear=2017&startMonth=1&endYear=2017&endMonth=12 I live over the road from Kinross in Burns Beach, hear very little about crime in Kinross, in fact Burns Beach has been in the news twice recently over Bikie kingpins being busted in our suburb with drugs cash and weapons being found, the worst that has happened in Kinross is a drug bust recently, Burns Beach also has a higher burglary statistic than Kinross, but not as high as Clarkson, we are talking petty oportunistic crime here, nothing serious, the local Community News free newspaper has a "Crime Statisics" page, Joondaplup as a whole ranks very good comapred to our neighbors Waneroo, Perth is a very safe place, we have been here 6 years now and the worst that has happened is some scrote jumped over our wall, disturbed the dogs and went back the way he came pretty sharpish. PS, We dont have security bars or an alarm, we do have CCTV, the scrote that jumped the wall looked right into the camera on his way over, then we got his car rego as he drove away, turned it over to the bill

Perth currently has the population equivalent to that of Greater Manchester and Leeds combined. People need to realise that we are a very large city and crime is obviously going to reflect that. Come on people, some perspective is required.

I swear I sometimes think I live in a different Perth to other people. Yes there is crime but seriously it's not that bad.

Some excellant and accurate posts on here. In short - Perth is doing it tough economically at the moment but your partner has a gig to come to which is great. Silver lining is that it is very much a renters market so lots of places available to rent. I rent a 3 bed house with a super garden (got a 3 year old kid) in Mount Hawthorn (nice area about 4km north of CBD) for $450pw. check out domain.com.au to get an idea of properties. A general rule of thumb is the closer to the coast the nicer the area. Perth is expensive for leisure items (Drinks, meals out etc) and you are pretty much jumping on a plane for 4-5 hours to visit the other main cities in Aus. Great lifestyle, super beaches and climate, It's been 22/23 and sunny most days of June so far but drops down at night, this is winter. I think you need to treat this as a 2 year adventure. Don't burn your bridges completely in the UK. Can you rent out your place in the UK? (although it may be a good time to sell as IMO there is a recession en route). Come with the attitude that you are going to embrace it as an experience but will be going back in 2 years. If you love it and can find a way to stay in 2 years cross that bridge then.

When I first came to Australia - quite a few years ago sticky tape or sellotape was called durex. Was quite an eye opener first time in the office here and someone said pass the durex lol

Think I met the same sour face woman at Welshpool the other week. Crime sounds high here as they have nothing else to talk about on the news. Driving gets my goat too, they sit at the lights waiting for a colour they like before they pull away like an arthritic snail then block the passing lane on the freeway or Mandurah road going south because they want to turn right in 20k's. I like Stocklands.... so much nicer than Rockingham to shop in. I will say people don't seem to be able to say sorry or excuse me and will deliberately stand in from of you when you are looking at something on the shelves. cant get my head around the takeaway shops being shut by 9pm.... I fancied a kebab the other evening... it was shut at 7.30! in the UK you could slaver at the elephants leg until 1am. Every form of work requires a ticket... even to stand in the road with the stop go board... the TAFE's are making a killing out of courses. I cant get a gas licence as I don't have a job with a gas plumber , and I cant get a job with a gas company as I don't have a gas licence... how does that work? We cant even get broadband here, we are having to use a mobile dongle with limited data (darta) . Still, the sun still shines most days and we still love being here despite the 80's approach

Hi Jase, great read and it's nice that I can relate to the updates now! Great news about your house, wish the prices were like that in Willetton! I heard the 9pm bedtime curfew advert on Friday and thought it was a joke... until I realised it wasn't! And I agree with Ali about the driving, you can't always tell the nationality of the bad drivers, but its more the parking I find! Glad you've settled in well and your daughter is happy at school. None of your comments sounded whingey, just an honest evaluation of situations you've found. Life is still life, even if its sunny outside there are going to be the odd everyday stresses. There is more crime here than I thought there'd be, and I'm surprised by the size of the drug problem tbh I'm desperately trying to get my daughters' immunisations up to date to get the family assistance, needs to be done by end of June, think they might need the chicken pox one even though they've both had chicken pox. Crazy! Jen x

Interesting read - although it always makes me smile when people say Aussie drivers as if all the bad drivers are Australian - i'm not sure how people can tell a nationality when they're sat in a car ... always think it reads better as 'drivers in Aus' to encompass the diverse nationalities that make up WA. Regarding secondary schools, I think it depends on the area's you live also - some may not have a reputable state school and I don't think that private is necessarily better, with some excellent state secondary schools. Personally, I think it's about getting the right fit for your child for some that's private and others public. We were lucky to live in an area with a good secondary school which met my children's differing needs - my daughter was academic (and they had an extension programme) whilst my son is sporty and has been able to study sports coaching and outdoor education - getting his skippers ticket this year. Glad you've settled though and the frustrations haven't made you want to go back to the UK.

The oddest one for me is 'manchester' which means bed sheets.

Given how big a hot potato migration is becoming in politics, I think some big changes are certain