HoneyJackMonster

From viewing to picking up the keys it took 3 days, but will depend so much on the agent/landlord

Hi Katherine please accept my apologies I hadn't realised I had your message, I would have loved to be a part of your story but fear it may be too late now! Hope all is well

Hi Rachelli I will pass this onto my wife for you! I'm sure she would love for me to look after the kids for a change and meet up for some adult conversation.

Hi everyone, just wanted to share our family's experience of life in Perth over the last few months for anyone who might be interested. I know how daunting it is looking over from the UK and wondering what might be and I know that the way things turn out is different for every family making the move, depending on your own circumstances and personalities! But anyway here goes.... I picked up my wife and two daughters from the airport after 25 lonely (and quiet) days in Perth. In that time I had been fortunate enough to sort the bank accounts, secure a job, organise a rental property, get it furnished and sort out a car. I had done the most important things! And it was an amazing feeling picking them up and driving them to see our new Aussie home knowing it was set up with the basics and the ability to pour my wife a nice cup of tea after 24 hours of travelling with a 3 year old and a 1 year old!!!. We decided on Hammond Park for no particular reason other than I stayed there in an air bnb when I arrived and the area looked nice and had a good vibe... Well that and the fact you can do as much research from the UK as you like but it's not the same as being here! And I had very little time to mess about! Got a 4x2 for $460 a week with a playpark right outside our front door and not far from the primary school, the asking price was $500! So there is room for a little negotiation at the moment. Sounds like alot of money but it equates to just under £1000 a month and there us no way we would have a house like this in Hampshire for the same money. Felt gangster as hell rolling up to the crib in my fly Hyundai with a remote double garage and chilling out in the theatre room!! Anyway it's worth mentioning that here we don't pay council tax on a rental and we don't pay for water rates either so that helps a bit. The house has all the modern conveniences and icy cold air con!! And it's just very easy to live in can't describe it any other way. So very happy with where we set up shop. We are fortunate enough to be in a NBN ready suburb so the internet is very good and so far no problem with bad Skype connection. Working life wise I really landed on my feet, I love my new job, and as an aircraft engineer it feels great to be working at an actual airport instead of depth maintenance. My job is full time 38 hours a week although only a casual position for now, but I'm bringing money in and hopefully if I keep my head down and work hard there may be an opportunity to go permanent in the future. I do worry the same as alot of other people in WA as my job ties in very closely to the mining industry but I try not to think about it and just keep swimming. Everyone there has been really helpful and welcoming and they even let me change my hours to start and finish an hour earlier to beat the traffic on the Kwinana Freeway! Finish at 3 and can be down the beach by 4! And half day Friday! Oh and the first Friday of every month the boss puts on a BBQ and you down tools for a little while and get your sausage sizzle on!! With an ice cold drink thrown in! It's little things like that which make such a difference, also forgot to mention I get free flights all over Western Australia!! My wife on the other hand has not had such luck on the employment front. She was a Paramedic in the UK and so far St John's ambulance just haven't been recruiting. However we were both working full time in the UK, my wife doing shifts and we had our girls in childcare, so now she is at home with them full time which is amazing! And so far we seem to be getting by on just my salary and if you register with centrelink and you have children, the payments you receive are a massive help. My wife and kids have settled in incredibly well and embracing everything we had hoped Australia would offer. My wife's certainly making the most of not working shift and taking the kids to clubs and meets. There are moments though when you realise you left a life behind, my daughter bless her was trying so desperately to make friends because she was so afraid no one would come to her 4th birthday! But it's early days and she hasn't started kindy yet so it was nothing a trip to the aquarium, presents and cake couldn't fix. The lifestyle here is very much what you make of it, I don't think if you move to Australia you suddenly become more outdoorsy but the weather is incredible and it certainly affords you the chance to do more, I love simple things like heading down the beach after work and watching my kids play in the water then sit down as a family at one of the free BBQ stations and eat together watching the sun go down. Just today we sat at Mandurah Waterfront and had a picnic while watching dolphins. We went up to John Forrest national park and sat in a tavern drinking an ice cold beer while my kids fed wild kangaroos. Can't wait till they are a little older so I can head out of the city and take them camping the night sky is incredible! Cost of living seems to be a very dividing issue but personally I haven't found it too bad. I think because we were fortunate to have such a great exchange rate I find myself working everything out in terms of poundage and finding that alot of things are about the same....except for fuel that is definitely alot cheaper here. Driving in Perth has been an experience! I know it's something that get talked about a lot but it's not as bad as some make it seem. You just have to have your wits about you. I have seen some incredibly stupid things but you get that anywhere. I would definitely recommend fully comp insurance. Gonna get a little bit deep now and if you are still reading I commend you haha....My personal opinion is that Perth is a beautiful place to raise a family. The climate is fantastic and there's so much to see and do and anyone who says Perth is boring doesn't have a hobby! That said you're leaving behind friends and family... we came here (many would say foolishly) having never seen Perth or knowing anyone here, leaving the loving support of grandparents and close circle of friends to see if there is a better life! it's a hell of a leap of faith. In so many ways Australia is everything I ever dreamed about but there is an emotional price to pay and I guess everyone deals with it differently! for now it seems the grass is still alot greener here (if somewhat scorched) and we still have a long way to go but so far so good. If you can jump through all the hoops to get here...make the most of it.

Hi, I'm a paramedic from SCAS who moved to Perth on a 189 permanent visa 6 weeks ago under my husband's qualifications as an engineer. About 4 years ago SJA were short on qualified paramedics, so they recruited internationally and offered 457s, however since then they have been training their own staff in conjunction with the university and to my knowledge have not recruited again. I have tried contacting them since arriving in Perth and having full rights to live and work but they are still not interested. They are advertising for FIFO/DIDO industrial paramedics on their website but if you're looking for a better work life balance that may not be a great idea. It's also worth bearing in mind that if you come here on a 457 you'll have to pay to send your children to school (I think it's about $4k a year per child), plus I don't think you get centrelink or Medicare, although I could be wrong. What does your OH do? Do you have any other skilled background? It's a strange feeling having the door shut in your face when every trust in the UK is crying out for qualified staff, but the good news is that if you do jump through all the hoops and make it here then it'll be worth it. This place is awesome, there's so much for the kids to do and everyone is so friendly. Best of luck!

I have been in Australia 3 weeks and all I shipped from the UK was my tools and the kids books and toys...so in short I brought nothing! I have spent $30,000 in that time, I can't quite believe it myself but it just kind of kept adding up you don't realise how many things you need when you are starting from scratch. Car, Reggo, licence fee, two weeks rent + bond, a whole house to furnish,mattresses, all the white goods, kitchenware, etc I will admit I did buy some bits that many wouldn't consider "essential" like some outdoor seating and outdoor dining table, but it does catch up with you, though I remain convinced that if I had £15000 to do the same in the UK i wouldn't have done as well. That isn't including flights or any visa costs either so I am well and truly spent! Furniture bazaar and pine discount store will be sending me Christmas cards this year. If you have stuff worth taking then take it! My stuff back in the UK just wasn't worth it for the shipping costs.

I am living at the bottom of Hammond park so I use the Rowley Road exit to join the Kwinana freeway. I start work at Perth airport at 7.30 am and finish at 4, I leave in the morning at 6 and I usually get there before 7. If I leave any later I join the freeway to standstill traffic, and I will be lucky to make it in on time, if it's raining you can guarantee there's been an accident and it takes about an hour and a half! On a good run it takes about 40-45 minutes but the stretch of freeway between Rowley Road and Berrigan Drive has been an eye opener! And I've only been at my job a week. Good luck!

Hi I booked through airport rentals.com and got a brand new golf for a week for under $200 through Europcar. I booked about 4 months before I was due to fly out though, so don't know what prices would be like direct from them at the airport. I was happy with the service and the car was amazing!!! I really didn't want to give it back at the end of the week.

Bit of a roundup for anyone who might be interested, about my first week in Perth. Said goodbye to my daughters the night before I left as they were staying round nannies house which was great because I got to read them stories and say goodbye. My wife drove me to the airport the next morning to see me off. I Arrived Saturday 1st August, flew with Singapore Air, couldn't fault them, great selection of films and for airline food I'd say it was pretty tasty! Staff were always on hand to top my cup up with another Johnnie walker! (free whisky!!! For 20 hours). Arrived in Perth Airport and got through customs with no aggro and picked up my hire car. Drove to my rental room (booked from air bnb) in Hammond Park. Checked in and applied for my tax file number! Then had a good sleep. The next few days were a blur of rental viewings after rental viewings but thoroughly enjoyed driving round Perth and exploring. Went to Nab in the CBD on Monday and got bank accounts sorted... Drove right into the city centre and found a parking spot!?! Got there really early so had a good look around. I had an aircraft maintenance engineer job interview on Tuesday at Perth Airport for a regional airline and got a job! Everyone seemed nice and it looks like a great company to work for with lots of career prospects so was over the moon! They want me to start on the 17th which is ideal as I still have a lot to do! Wednesday I applied for a rental in Hammond park, seems like a nice area with a play park right outside for the girls and a school right round the corner, the application got accepted! Managed to knock $20 a week off the rent and I didn't have to pay three months up front. It's a bit of a commute to Perth airport (40minutes) but no worse than the one I had in the UK. Picked the keys up the next day from the estate agent and did a huge ikea shop for the usual bits n bobs. Friday drove down to secret harbour to buy a car. Seems really nice round there, met a lovely Aussie family who dubbed it "little Britain" and said the poms have taken it over. Also said the pub was a no go unless you like fighting over footy! Haha. So one week in and I've got a job, house and a car, TFN in the post and bank account sorted! Next week I have to fill the house with furniture, sign up all the utilities try and get some broadband hooked up (the internet here is terrible!) and unload the move cube, transfer my driving licence and register for Medicare and centrelink. So hopefully be sorted before I start my new job and my family arrives on the 25th. So far I'm loving Perth I am walking around in shorts and t-shirt and its winter. But it won't seem real until all the organising is done and my family are here. Few things I've noticed is that in Australia it's perfectly acceptable to go to the shops barefoot. Aussie radio is hilarious and not very politically correct. There is no slow lane on the freeway you are just as likely to be undertaken as overtaken. You can get shark (if that's your thing) from the fish and chip shop. There are plenty of others but if you made it this far you are probably bored to tears. Good luck to anyone else taking the plunge.

All the best and huge congrats! Good luck down under

Huge congrats! There really is nothing that describes it! All the best for your new life

Great news and congratulations. Enjoy every moment!

Exciting stuff! All the best to you all. Can't believe that will be me in a months time! Keep us updated

You will be fine I had surgery for a herniated disc in October and my visa was granted in February it had no negative effect on my application. Feel for him though! Hope it doesn't require surgery I can't sugar coat it..... Wasn't fun.

I arrive in just over 2 months and I anticipate I should have about $20000 in my Aussie account. I have not got a concrete job offer just a nod from my mates old boss who said to look him up when I get there. So not a sure thing.That is to secure a rental and buy a car and furniture etc etc. My wife and children will be arriving three weeks later along with the proceeds from the house sale. If I'm fortunate to have some money coming in then we are hoping to put that money to one side to go toward a future house build/mortgage otherwise it shall be whittled away until we are living in a tent out in the bush.