Collie

There is no panic. Perth is still struggling and there are plenty of rentals available. I see notices about break leases every week on facebook. Have a look at domain.com.au to get a feel for the market. i echo the points above, book an airbnb or stays for 3 weeks to give yourselves time to properly look around.

Thanks Rossmoyne, We met the Year 3 teacher as the kindy teacher was off sick. There are a number of schools in both catchment areas. Waiting on the court judgement before we can really make a decision (due soon). School seemed fine and they were having a sports day last week. Anybody know about class sizes, she told us that there were 27 to a class, seemed like a lot to me for Kindy.

Hi folks, Just looking for experiences / thoughts about Primary schools in either of the Thornlie or Mount Hawthorn catchment areas please? My daughter is due to start Kindy next year, I live in one area, the ex in another so eligible for both. Visited Yale primary school this morning so any thoughts on this one? Thanks in advance.

Are you trying to save money? Unless the car is of some special signiificance (as said above - vintage, high performance or something), I don't think it is worth the hassle and the expense. I did send a car from Australia to Ireland in 2007 and yes you needed to own the car for >12 months and couldn't sell it for 2-3 years or something. I think the 12 month rule is quite common to protect the car industry.

Congrats on the planned move. Re areas - where will you be working? (to work out your commute) Ocean reef is a fair bit up IMO. Hillarys/Sorrento is nice and not too far out. I'm starting to spend a bit more time south these days but don't know it very well. A few posters on here do rate the schools around Willeton and Rossmoyne highly. Both the city and Freo are accesable from here.

Hey Scott, Have a look at meetup.com to meet people with similar interests

Hey Jase, That is a matter of opinion, rock bottom compared to what, 2012? Personally, I think there is another 12 months of falling prices in Perth, people are still leaving for the Eastern states for work, Employment market is still challenging, there is excess supply of rentals, rents and prices are still dropping. Spoke to a RE agent in Mount Lawley recently and he is not seeing any levelling off yet. Additionally, there are new tax rules for property owners on temporary visas. If they are coming for 2 or 4 years, best bet is to rent (at very competitive rents) until they know whether they can get PR and want to stay. If there is a change in the OP's job circumstances and they need to leave within 60 days, a property isn't exactly an easy asset to liquidate. Glad, it is working out for you.

In short - No (unless Alan knows of some obscure tax law which I don't). You are just bringing over assets to start your new life. You will pay tax on any interest received on those funds over her though but that is just normal stuff.

Hi Jo, Can't really speak to those areas to live in. My cousin lives in Greenwood (about 10 minutes before Joondalup) and they really like it, a bit too suburbia for my taste. It depends on what you want in area, how far out you want to be and what your budget is. I wouldn't lock into an area until you are on the ground. The rule of thumb I was told was North of the river and West of the freeway are the nicer areas although there are exceptions (eg I love Freo, and I like were I live which is just east of the freeway in Mount Hawthorn). Most places on the coast or the river are generally pretty nice IMO. As VeryStormy has said, Perth is really struggling at the moment on the work front. It is a very competitive market across all sectors, I know of several professionals who have been out of work for quite a while 6 - 12 months (Finance managers, IT project managers etc), many people moving over east. Where there is work, rates have dropped significantly (by up to 50%). eg Recruiters are telling me that seasoned CFOs who used to earn $300k+ are now in the market at $150k and there is a knock on effect. there are some green shoots in the economy but it is very slow. Perth is very much a who you know town. It can be quite cliquey on the work front. IMO, you would want to be able to support yourselves (with savings) for a year if you are going to make the move. Also, your husband should start reaching out now to recruiters in his field and also try contacting similarly qualified people on Linked In to get an accurate picture from the ground. I found expats more willing to network and give you the benefit of their experience. Most roles will be advertised on seek.com.au or Linked In. Applydirect.com.au can be goof for government roles There is not a big IT industry here. The main industries are in Resouces, Healthcare, goverment and Education. Don't mean to rain on your parade but that's just the reality at the moment. More forewarned is forearmed. The silver lining is that property has dropped in price both to rent and buy. It is very much a renter's market so you should have your pick. Good luck

Never heard of it, mate. Best thing to do is to check seek.com.au for job ads and see what they are paying or talk to recruiters for your industry. Perth is doing it tough at the moment, it is a very competitive market and rates have dropped significantly.

Hi there, Congratulations on your Visa Are you planning on working for yourself? Perth is a boom & bust town and is very much in the bust part of the cycle right now. Work is hard to come by currently, a lot of people unemployed, underemployed or leaving Perth currently. Silver lining is that it is a buyer's and renter's market for property. Re timing - Things really slow down in Australia (not just Perth) from mid November until end of Jan. A lot of people take time off over Xmas and the first few weeks of Jan, some companies even have mandatory shutdowns. It is summer school holidays. It is a bit like August in France. Just something to be aware of, it is the worst time to be looking for work or trying to meet business contacts. After Australia day (Jan 26) things get back to normal. It may be better arriving early Jan. School year starts in Feb too. If you are ok with 2-3 months time to settle in, then Nov would be good. Banks - the big 4 are CBA, Westpac, ANZ & NAB. All have full service offerings. Bankwest are a WA subsidiary of CBA but run as a separate entity. I tend to lean towards CBA (Commonwealth) too. Their online and app banking is excellent, (world leading - I've worked in banking for 20 years). You can open an account from overseas and deposit money to it, you just complete the KYC/AML requirements when you arrive. Use somebody like Currency fair, Moneycorp or Halo for transferring your money. The suburbs arround Hillarys are nice, I find it a bit suburbia but it's not that far up (20mins). I have some family in Greenwood and they like it. The closer to the coast the more expensive generally. Airbnb and stayz are you best bet for short term stays until you get the lay of the land. Hope this helps

May want to be careful about pointing this out to the employer though. They may just decide to make the role redundant and then she would need to move home. If the company is struggling, this may happen anyway. If I was her, I'd be looking for a new employer who was willing to take over the visa (easier said than done in Perth at the moment).

Airbnb is your best best. You should be able to negotiate a good rate at this time of year and for a long stay.

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.

Not sure of what is on what lists but Analytics is really starting to become a big thing in larger companies. There seems to be a shortage of good data analytics people with Qlikview, tableau etc. It will more a Sydney/Melbourne thing though

Thanks, there was an Ikea one on gumtree but missed out. The lady bought in Germany originally, Ikea don't do them here.

Anybody know where I can get a toddler bed with a slide please? either a loft bed or a bunk bed. Happy to look 2nd hand or new. Thanks

Excellant posts guys. Quick ? Do the same rules apply for a private Irish pension? I imagine the Aussie rules are the same but different in the source country.

Thanks Rossmoyne, Yep - this isn't my only form of research but thought I'd ask for opinions. So far, I'm enjoying Mount Hawthorn and haven't seen anything too dodgy around. I want my daughter to be exposed to "normal" people. Even if I had the money, I wouldn't want her to grow up in a really posh silver spoon suburb either. I may not be here forever but schools wll be a a big consideration if/when I move. Plus you have to consider that your ex has chosen to live there for a reason and I am sure that as a caring parent, she has done everything to make sure your daughter is in a safe environment. You both sound very caring and sensible people, so I hope that you can both find some common ground on this. I appreciate the sentiment and thanks for the laugh, but you don't know my ex. She only thinks of herself and is far from a caring and sensible person. She has already dictated what school our daughter will be going to (a great example of shared parenting). There is no common ground with her, in the past, even when I have agreed with her proposal she changes her mind. She has had every counsellor/mediator we saw tearing their hair out at her (and the family court judge in Sydney), she disagrees even when it is in her own interest, never mind our daughters. Thanks for the word of encouragement, it's not been easy but definitely think it's the right call and I'm loving seeing my daughter more often. Our bond has definitively strengthened in the last few months.

Thanks guys, My ex lives there and my daughter (part-time). I'm NOR in Mount Hawthorn. I don't know Thornlie well but it doesn't look great and I know what she paid for her house so it's on the lower side of the socio-economic scale which normally attracts some dodgy people. I'm just trying to get a feel for the area my daughter will spend 1/2 her time in and the primary schools. My impression is that the schools in my area will be better but haven't done the research yet. That s**t fight is down the line.

Ah right so. Always worth reading the small print eh?

This is my understanding (Nov 2020) + any time outside the country is tacked on to Nov 2020. Haven't hear about the grace year mentioned above.

Thanks folks. Have to say that Perth was a bit of a damp squib for Anzac day. It is a huge day over East with all the pubs doing 2 up and some people dress up in old clobber etc. Still got out for a few drinks. I have since learned that it is something to do with licensing laws in WA with the Casino having a monopoly

My old hood in Sydney has a great atmosphere on Anzac day with good crowds and 2 up in all the pubs. Any suggestions on good venues in Perth for Anzac day to have a beer and a bet? TIA

Hi folks, I'd be interested in people's honest thoughts and opinions on the suburb of Thornlie and in particular the primary schools in that area. Thanks, Colin