lozzachino

I love the fact that so many people are saying ALDI is rubbish because it means its less crowded! I'm saving $40-70 a week since we started shopping there and I don't think it's any different quality wise to what's on offer in Coles and Woolies. I buy as much as I can in ALDI then pop to Coles/Woolies for a few other items I'd rather stick with and it saves me a ton!

They only charge if you use a credit card, not a debit card

What Stormy said. If you're walking distance to the train station even better! Trains run well here and are well worth getting if you can. The freeway is a nightmare between 6:30-9:30am.

Thanks, I just stopped doing UK returns as we sold our house there now so no need to do them anymore...not sure i can be bothered now! And if i get paid into my Australian account it appears I may be liable for a fee as its an international transaction!

our solicitor verified our passports over Skype! We just had to hold them up to her and she took screenshots and then they certified them themselves. Sometimes I think they like to create hoops for people to jump through for the hell of it!

Hi All I am employed and pay tax as normal in Australia. I've just been offered an extra writing job in the UK whereby they will pay me a small amount each month (max 80GBP per month). This will go straight into my UK account and just stay there, I won't be bringing it over to Australia. Do I need to complete a UK tax return if I am earning in the UK or only if my earnings are over the current tax free allowance? Also, do I then need to declare this income on my Australian tax return? if so, how do I calculate the rate in dollars? At the exchange rate each time I am paid or as the exchange rate for all payments at the time I do the tax return? If anyone can shed some light on this that would be great! Google is not really helping me and the HMRC website isn't either. Technically I'm not self employed and my income will never exceed my tax free allowance in the UK, but perhaps I don't get a tax free allowance there as I live in Australia now? Thank you!

This is clearly too late for you but for anyone else reading this later I can highly recommend Josh Kennedy Removals. By far the cheapest quote, the guys worked incredibly hard and got the job done in no time at all! You won't be disappointed.

Also be careful with 30 mins from the city - we live 30 mins from the city if there is no traffic but if you are commuting by car it takes well over an hour during peak times (6am-9:30am!!)

There are loads of programs here for kids in the holidays. Its commonly called vacation care here. Some are attached to schools, others daycare centres and some are run by local leisure centres. Try find one linked to your childs school as chances are they will see some familiar faces there.

Welcome to Perth! We still convert in our heads but only to realise the prices here are pretty reasonable when you compare

Could you change your flights to arrive later and keep working in the uk a bit longer? also when it comes to consent to lease, Halifax made us remortgage and the interest rate went up considerably, so be prepared for an increase in mortgage payments.

We used Sort Out My Visa in Oxfordshire and they were fantastic, highly recommended

Google hola unblocker. although streaming isnt always great. Watched the first downton abbey from season 6 this week and it was fine until the last ten minutes when it just keep freezing. Is this because of the von, itv player or crappy internet? did this for a while and then got foxtel, bbc first channel is worth the money alone. Aussie tv is truly shocking and unwatchable.

Meeeee!! I have heard bad things about rons riding ranch. I did a trail ride at 1300 trail rides and it was ok but not great. The winery one sounds right up my street - keen!

Umm no. Not sure where you got your figures from. yes you do get sibling discount at most daycares but i am not sure what it would be. The child care rebate is $7500 per year per child and everyone is entitled to that no matter what your income is. if you earn under the maximum income you also get childcare benefit but the percentage depends on what your family income is. The more you earn the less you get. I cant remember what the income limit is so check on the centrelink website for the current limit. we ended up paying around $30 a day for daycare so thats around $150 a week per child if they go daily.

Even the locals know to avoid clarkson and butler. They do not enjoy good reputations in Perth and only once you live there will you see why. But then if you dont live anywhere else you wont know any different. Low rents unfortunately attract lower quality tenants, believe me i experienced it first hand in butler and i could not wait to get out. I work in clarkson but live in carramar now. Rents have come down considerably here and what was going for $500 a week in carramar now goes for $400/420. My personal opinion is to not look beyond burns beach road but that is only because of my experience and what i see while living here. Its very hard to judge online and we were the same about butler before we moved here thinking it looked great. Lots will disagree with me but thats my opinion

Try bread improver, it definitely helps make it lighter

I would look at living closer to the job of whichever of you will be doing the most childcare drop off and pick up as you want to be nearby in case you need to collect them. if you choose somewhere close to a train station you can take the train to the city, the drive from anywhere to the city is horrendous. i would say live within ten mins of joondalup and catch the train to the city. Plenty of people here have au pairs, its a much more affordable means of childcare especially if you have two kids. take a look at http://www.smartaupairs.com.au for everything you need to know about au pairs in australia.

Plus Mindarie can be just as expensive as areas further south so if thats in your budget i would look closer to the city, or at least south of burns beach road.

Personally i would say no, i found us driving to joondalup/hillarys when we wanted to do stuff.

Bring your tights! By winter number two you will be glad!

Check out http://www.smartaupairs.com.au for more info about au pairs. They are a well known and reputable agency - there are some out there that are very dodgy!

Both are popular and hard to get into from what i have been told.

Thanks arwen

Most childminders here charge for a half day or full day, just like day care. Its called family day care here so search for that and yoh will be able to find rates for them. Most are the same price as day care, around $80/100 a day! If you have PR you will get a 50% rebate and if you earn under the income limit you may get some child care benefit too. After the rebate and benefit we pay around $30 a day so its really cheap compared to the UK where we were paying £42 a day!