Rossmoyne

Warnbro says it all in his reply above.   There are some good schools in those areas too, both state schools and private schools.

Let us know if we can help further.

As stated above, the main issue will be if your teaching qualifications are acceptable to Australian registration boards.   To teach in Australia you must have 4 years of university education.   A 4 year BEd or a 3 year degree topped by a PGCE.   3 year BEd is not accepted.  

The Teacher Registration Board of WA have a very informative website, so it might be worth having a look first of all.  http://www.trb.wa.gov.au

At the moment there is an oversupply of primary teachers in WA and permanent positions are hard to obtain.

I have friends who moved from Perth to Eaton, which is a few km north of Bunbury, but really part of the surrounding suburbs of the city, and they love it there.    I don't know Bunbury too well so can't offer any more suggestions.....

Perfectly normal to feel terrified.   You would be abnormal if you weren't as it is a very large step to take in life.   Practice the deep breathing and take one step at a time and you will be fine.

As far as school is concerned, you have to have proof that you live within the school catchment area before your children can be enrolled.  This can be a letter from an Estate Agent stating that you will be renting a property from them and providing the address; it can be a utility bill in your name showing the address of the property; and if you are purchasing a property, it can be a copy of the accepted Offer to Purchase, or a copy of the Settlement Statement.   In all instances you would have to show the original documents and the school will take copies for their records.

The last day of term for 2018 in WA for state schools is 13 December 2018, so once you have arranged a rental or purchase, I would advise contacting the school straight away.

Do you have any idea of where you will be living?

19 hours ago, JaseandAnne said:

Pegg, don't bother, the whole process, once you get to Perth, is bullshit designed to cost you money. Plus, once you've got it through the bullshit its classed as an import, which it is, so you pay more insurance and its worth less if you wanted to sell it.

Totally agree with this advice.

So much to take away from this thread.  

I personally do not post doom and gloom, but try to be as realistic as I can be in what I post, especially as we have had some posters here who seem to think the roads are still paved in gold in WA!   I have lived here for 27 years and have seen the financial depressions and up times too.  Yes the recent mining boom has been and gone, and along with it lots of jobs with big salaries in many areas.   I agree that a lot of people during this time perhaps didn't use their money as wisely as they could, and spent it on experiences - but how you spend your money is up to you and no one else, and experiences are life expanding.

At grass roots levels in WA, there are jobs.   Many jobs are part-time and many are casual, but the jobs are there.   Most of these jobs are not advertised online or with agencies, but are word of mouth or just posters in windows of cafes etc.   Basically you just need to be prepared to do anything and work for any hours, to just earn money to keep you solvent.  Offering to do unpaid "work experience" in a place you would like to work is a good move too.

Please do not interpret my post as negative.. I am just trying to help as this is how I made my way.   I share my advice and views with everyone and hope it will help.   Been there as a single parent, and done that!!

Warnbro gives good advice, so please listen to him.  

However it is still only early days in the economic recovery of WA.   There are so many well qualified people out of work, although the situation is very slowly improving, and as Warnbro says, once experienced workers slowly move back to FIFO, that will leave job vacancies in Perth.

For some reason though, Australian employers often seem to shun new migrants when looking for new employees, and say they need Australian experience, and I just don't get that view.  I am retired now, but some of the best people I ever employed, were migrants with little or no Australian experience.   So the bottom line is, that you need to be prepared to accept any job, however menial, and even put yourself out there to do "work experience".    In Australia, "work experience", is basically working for free, it is not a title on your resume.   But performing work experience for an employer can in many cases gain you employment.   It certainly worked for me 27 years ago when we arrived here, and it is advice I constantly give -as @Jen78 will confirm.

I agree with the above comments.   Perhaps consider the universities you are considering and ask about their enrolment requirements.   I understood their was a residential requirement in the years immediately prior to enrolment.   However things change all the time, and it would be interesting to know the outcome of your research.

Great advice Camilla.... thanks as always.... Rossy

All are highly sought after High Schools and you have to live in the catchment area for your child to attend.  

https://www.det.wa.edu.au/schoolsonline/home.do

This is the link for the Department of Education's school  information page.   I suggest you have a look at this to help you.

So far from me and always been too yuppy an area for me to even want to visit, but I have heard that it is good.   Dont plan on checking it out though.

On 08/05/2018 at 22:00, David Kemp said:

Apologies. I'm not normally so abrupt. However, my point is no less valid. Some folk on this forum could do with a little putting in line. I fully understand the practicality of giving people good honest advice, however negative that may be. After all, people like myself are planning to uproot our families and relocate the to other side of the world, so we definitely need to know the hard truth beforehand. Now that said, it is also equally unhelpful if folk chime in on threads with single sentence negativity that is often not relevant to the thread.

Apology accepted on behalf of our form members, but what you feel is negativity, could in fact be realism from people actually living here or who have recently lived here in WA.  

To be brutally honest, the economy in Perth has been on a downslide for many years, and it is only now just starting to bottom out.   Work is hard to get and we have the greatest number of unemployed for 0over 16 years, and it doesn't matter what industry you talk about, it is happening all over the state from retail, construction, hospitality to mining and engineering and everywhere else.   Prices have soared and salaries have not.   Life is tough in WA at the moment, and if you are not prepared to accept the comments and views of us who actually live here and know what we are talking about, then perhaps Perth is not the place for you if you think that all roads are paved in gold.... because let me tell you, they are not!

People on this forum do not need "pulling in" as you comment, because they say it as it is, and if  you don't like what you are hearing/reading, well perhaps that is your problem and not theirs.

On this forum we all try hard to help and advise to the best of our ability, and I am sorry that if what you are hearing is not what you want to hear, but you joined this forum for help and advice, and that is what we are giving you from people who are actually here and experiencing it.

I am sorry if I have ruffled even more of  your feathers, but as a Moderator on this forum for many years, and having emigrated from UK 27 years ago, I am most certainly qualified to make the comments I do. 

Glad things worked out for you Deb.   You know that often when a door closes, the one that opens is way better and totally meant to be.   Hope the same happens with husband.  

I have heard of her and thought she managed her business through Facebook.  Might be worth a try.

If your adopted children are on a tourist visa, they have no rights to government provided education.   The private sector is another matter and I have heard of people paying extortionate fees to private schools just so their children can attend.

Another avenue could be a student visa.   I understand there are visa sub-categories for students under tertiary age, but you would have to pay international fees, which can be prohibitive.

I strongly suggest that you consult a Registered Migration Agent.   Camilla from New Life Downunder is an RMA based in Perth and she posts advice often on this forum.   She might be of help to you.

14 minutes ago, Jen78 said:

Wattle Grove primary school is up and running on a new site in a new housing development. It has won awards recently.

You can see the hills in the distance. I had an interview there a few weeks ago and was quite impressed. Young leadership team and the principle was very nice.

So glad to hear that the new school is up and running.   I knew it was on the cards but didn't know it had opened.   Thanks @Jen78 for letting me know and I hope your interview went well.

I am having a lazy day in the middle of house redecorations, furniture renovations, and serious gardening/pruning stuff.   Love doing all this stuff but just wish I had the energy I did 30 years ago!  

Hi Deb... where you been?

48 minutes ago, New Life Down Under said:

If you are very good PC user you may find PTE test easier, a lot of my clients have affirmed that

Thanks Camilla.... I have heard that Pearson is an easier test to undertake too and have recommended it to others.

Hallo Steven and welcome to the forum.

On a student visa you can work for 20 hours during term time, but there is no upper limit during holiday breaks from study.  Hopefully you will be able to find a job that allows you to increase your hours when possible.

As far as accommodation is concerned, as you are going to be attending Curtin University, there is a great deal of student accommodation in all suburbs surrounding the university, and it might be cheaper for you to look into that or to house share.

Caravans can be expensive to buy here and the ground fees at a site per week could be as much as a share rental.  

I suggest that you contact Curtin University as I understand they have a section who can help with student accommodation as a large part of their student enrolment are international students.

Please get back to us and let us know how things are going for you .... just throw any questions at us and we will endeavour to help as much as we can.

Carramar is a long way north of Perth, and a nice family suburb with good schools, great shopping close by and the beach within a 10/15 minute drive, but the commute to Welshpool would be of nightmare proportions.   I have family living there, and whilst I like the area (as do they) we always shudder at the nearly hour long journey between us out of the rush hour (I live south of the River) when I am on Grandma babysitting duties.

Wattle Grove is a suburb undergoing great change and is in the foothills before climbing up the Darling Ranges to Kalamunda and Gooseberry Hill.   It used to be a semi rural suburb with small holdings/farmlets, but it is undergoing change and there are many new housing developments there now.  Wattle Grove Primary School closed a couple of years ago, but there other schools in the vicinity.   Very handy for Welshpool as you can see from a map. 

May I suggest that you rent to start with and take time before you buy a home.   Brilliant that you are doing so much research before you get here as it gives you a good information base to work from, knowing what housing is available and prices etc, but you actually need to be on the ground to get a feel of a place and what fits with your family dynamics.

Just a thought @Lucy, as you need a commute to Welshpool, consider Kalamunda, Gooseberry Hill up in the Darling Ranges, or going towards the city, if you like older suburbs, Victoria Park or Carlisle might fit the bill.

23 hours ago, Wa7 said:

Maybe once they have lived here for a year or three and have a better understanding of the suburbs ( I presume they are new to perth ) but fresh off the plane.................

Canning vale could be a good place to rent first and get a feel for everything.

What do  you mean "fresh off the plane"?   We have lived in WA for 27 years and my daughter was brought up here and is married to a 3rd generation Australian.... they both know the area well  and are happy to be living there.

As I say all the time, what suits one person, will not suit another.... and therefore it is hard to know where you will live until you visit areas and see how you feel about them.

Canning Vale is a very large suburb and there are pockets that are a bit suss too.  

2 hours ago, Wa7 said:

Gosnells,Maddington,Kelmscott. 

 

I think it depends where you live in those suburbs though.   Some parts are good, but there are other parts that have a lot of social government housing and some tenants really bring the areas down because of that.   The areas at the back of Gosnells and Kelmscott as you go up into the Hills are fine and there are some very lovely houses with amazing views up there.

My daughter and her husband both work in Welshpool and they live in Southern River (which is the next suburb south of Gosnells) on one of the new estates recently built there, and the area is fine.  They both have an easy commute to work and like the area they live in.

Both of these schools are very good, but you would need to live in the catchment area to gain a Kindy place I think.