elizabethkolo

Hi Arash, what do you mean by 'same job opportunities'? Mandurah, Bunbury, or Albany are great places. All have the major amenities, like schools, hospitals, entertainment. Esperance is great, but it's WAY out there. Have you seen it on a map? Northam is a country town with not a lot going on unless you have a reason to be there. Denmark and Margs are just gorgeous places, but quite specialist in terms of employment opportunities.

I remember that! :-)

I lived in both Huntingdale and Harrisdale, which are neighbouring suburbs to Canning Vale. When I move back, I will do everything I can to see that I live in this area again. It's relatively young. Around 25 minutes from the beach. Driving into the city is quite easy, especially at the weekend. There is a major shopping centre (Carousel) within 15 minute drive. There isn't much in the way of public transport, but if you're living where your husband works is that really going to be an issue? If you do want to take the train into the city on the weekend, it's only a five minute drive to get to a station.

I'm sorry but my knowledge about ag positions is really limited. I would say Mandurah is a good place to be if you plan to do a job search after you arrive in WA, using it almost as a base from which to search throughout regional WA. Regional university options are quite limited. I know Curtin has a Kalgoorlie campus, but I believe that's mostly engineering and mining. ECU has a campus near Bunbury (south of Mandurah) but I don't believe there are many ag opportunities there. Have you searched on seek.com.au yet?

Albany is a fantastic little city. It's big as far as regional areas are concerned, but it's definitely not an ag centre. It's not a 'boring' place by any means though. Someone else may be able to clarify what the go is in terms of whether Mandurah is considered regional or not for this visa. If Mandurah is considered to be regional, then this would be an ideal place to start, as its close to Perth and the Wheatbelt region.

Argh clearly the flu I've got is causing my head to spin! Cheers ozee. I'll try to refrain from more mindless posts on my sick day at home! Hopefully my regional suggestions made more sense :-)

But if you're looking for a base, just go to Perth. All of the places I mentioned are day-trip distance from Perth.

Try anywhere in the Wheatbelt, mate. That's all I've got. Narrogin, Wagin, Northam, Gingin, Merredin, Toodyay, Chittering. I know there's an ag school in Cunderdin (I had a friend who taught there). Good luck.

There are many high school teachers that are currently unemployed, yes. However a difficulty with both Australia as a whole, and obviously here with WA, is that they don't differentiate between teaching specialisms when it comes to visas or, obviously, recruitment.

Yikes! Cheers for the heads up Keefo.

Keefo, all I can say is that if you choose to medicate, make sure you try the medication before you fly to make sure it has a sedative effect (some can actually cause the opposite- yikes!). When I say medication I mean basic things like promethazine, not a horse tranquilliser! Long flights are the only time I ever personally take sedatives, and for the length of the flight it is worth it :-) Also, for taking off and landing, lollipops and sippy cups are essential as they stimulate swallowing, which can equalise pressure in the ear. I've never flown with a small child, but worked in pharmacy long enough to hear horror/success stories.

I suppose times like these school holidays are enough to make you second guess your decision process. I'm not swaying you one way or the other... Merely playing devil's advocate here. What about the six months of the year that are cold, dark and rainy? If family is enough to get you through that, then maybe that's going to lead you to your answer. Are you happy with where the UK is headed as a country? Having grandparents around is nice for children, but it is only one aspect of their upbringing. What else do you want for their future? What is best for them? What about you and your hubby? Where would you rather retire? Eventually, our parents will pass away and children will grow up and move out. When it's just you and your husband in the house alone again, where would you want that house to be? What would you fill your days with?

It is such a hard decision isn't it. Obviously at the end of the day only you and your husband can make this decision. I am in also in the situation where I left Perth around 8 months ago, and ever since I've been wondering why the heck I left. Is applying for PR a possibility for you? If so, this is a good option because you don't have to rely on job offers etc. You are essentially free to come and go as you please.

I'm on an iPhone Keffo, and mine makes a sound. You can probably set that up in your notifications section in your settings?

Miamai, maybe I'm a late jumper on the bandwagon :-)