dunnyboy

it wont meet Australian standards either if electric or gas heated, so nobody will be able to fit it, a tub around the size is roughly $16 to $18000.

Well i landed a job with a plumbing co... only as a ta..basically a goffer! 1 month in and ive done nothing in the way of plumbing despit promise of getting hands on... its a wage but its frustrating.

so, I'm working on site and some of the tradies have site radio's... but they do listen to some rubbish.....the last couple of day's its been triple j perth! what a load of s**T....all I cant say is that some of the " music " sounded like 2 dog's fighting over a machine gun! I like 94.5, but even that get a bit samey

We brought everything with us....even crap we didn't want... we have more TV's than radio rentals... I have not been able to get them to pick up OZ tv, so I went and got some of those cheap digi boxes from Harvey norms for $38 each. We got the usual big tv for the lounge new here and Foxtel for that room... the UK TV's are in bedrooms and out on the patio. I'm now a dab hand at fitting new plugs... everything works fine and has probably saved a heap of time and cash over replacing electrical items. for some reason the DAB radios don't seen to want to find any signal here... so its FM for now. As for banking, we just waltzed into the NAB while on holiday 5 years ago...flashed out passport as id and bobs ya uncle we had accounts.... simples.

Was watching the news the other evening...Cambridge is now Cam-bridge.... we came from Buckingham in Buckinghamshire in the UK, it gets pronounce with a large emphasis on the HAM here.

project pronounced pro- ject suprising how many calls we make, and the eastern states cannot pronounce Baldivis..... they say it so it sounds like Bol- divvies or BALD- IVYS That Nicky Chapman was great at mispronouncing name places on want down under.

Think I met the same sour face woman at Welshpool the other week. Crime sounds high here as they have nothing else to talk about on the news. Driving gets my goat too, they sit at the lights waiting for a colour they like before they pull away like an arthritic snail then block the passing lane on the freeway or Mandurah road going south because they want to turn right in 20k's. I like Stocklands.... so much nicer than Rockingham to shop in. I will say people don't seem to be able to say sorry or excuse me and will deliberately stand in from of you when you are looking at something on the shelves. cant get my head around the takeaway shops being shut by 9pm.... I fancied a kebab the other evening... it was shut at 7.30! in the UK you could slaver at the elephants leg until 1am. Every form of work requires a ticket... even to stand in the road with the stop go board... the TAFE's are making a killing out of courses. I cant get a gas licence as I don't have a job with a gas plumber , and I cant get a job with a gas company as I don't have a gas licence... how does that work? We cant even get broadband here, we are having to use a mobile dongle with limited data (darta) . Still, the sun still shines most days and we still love being here despite the 80's approach

Haha... don't go routing around...

We had one live cat... one dead cat ashes... all sorts of wicker stuff..... food, including a sugar bowl complete with spoon, this last point courtesy of a very dodgy removal company... who we wont name.

And the term 'Manchester' came about because that was what was written on the side of the crate when it arrived from the UK.

Yes, traffic lights go from red to green.... but Perth drivers still sit waiting for a colour they like before moving.... capsicum....... still a pepper in my books. light bulbs.....globes

Well...... We have been here 6 months now. My history is that I was a plumbing heating and gas engineer with domestic and commercial qualifications and 30 plus years in the industry. I had run my own business and worked for a company with high profile contracts and customers. Having arrived in WA, I applied for a provisional plumbing licence - this enabled me to enroll on the migrant gap course. Despite repeated enquiries at Rockingham TAFE, they were unable to offer any assurance as to when they would run a course. Consequently, I enrolled to the MPA college course in Maylands whose costs were considerably more than the TAFE. The college only run the course twice a year, so my wait time was pushing 6 months and it seems even MPA college had been holding off on running a course until they had sufficient numbers - my application apparently tipped the balance! I have just completed the course, but in order to be fully signed off, I need to complete a work place assessment within the next 6 months. I have been applying for jobs, but thus far with no success, so this 6 month timeframe is a bit daunting and the college will offer no assurances that they will extend the period if I still haven't secured a job by that point. I enquired regarding obtaining a provisional gas licence, but this actually requires for my employer to endorse my application - so currently I am prevented from securing this training and qualification. I have submitted my resume to a whole range of employers and have applied the personal touch with hand delivery - often to be told to submit it by e mail! The fact is that employers appear to want a fully qualified engineer from the outset and have no desire to take on a 'trainee' - despite the years of prior experience, this is what you are deemed to be. The cost of the courses is not insignificant either - around $5000 for the plumbing course, (this is broken down into $4200 for the course, and then you are required to purchase a book at the princely sum of $800 and $300 for a permit to work on the gas appliances whilst you are on your plumbing course.) The gas course is set to be a further $3500 plus a further book purchase - this can be done on a full time basis over 4 weeks or part time over 5 - the course times for this are 4.30pm to 8.30pm. I can see that this would be unattractive to a potential employer if they foresee an engineer's absence either for 4 or 5 weeks - the part time course would need for me to leave any job I may have at 2pm. I have given this detail to forewarn anybody considering migration for this line of work as to the hurdles you will need to clear to get to the end game - a job!! Oh, and don't get any ideas about going solo..... that's another course and another HUGE fee!!

Thanks again everybody - I didn't see the later responses from Ali and Welljock, until today - we must have been posting simultaneously!

Thanks to Welljock and Collie - we will check withe the DIAC nearer the time Best wishes to both of you.?

Hello SJT - we are very interested to read your post and the information you have gathered. We were granted a PR visa in Jan 2012. We made a validation visit in Nov 2012, then returned to the UK. We didn't return to Oz until Nov 2016, but have now been living here 6mths (or thereabouts.) Our reckoning is that we need to start counting the 4 years of residency from Nov 2016, therefore can apply for citizenship in 2020 - would that be your understanding? If so, and we take holidays outside of Oz in the interim (assuming we are granted a resident return visa beforehand!) will these periods of absence put the Nov 2020 qualifying date back at all? Your advice will be very much appreciated

Check the sol list.... some trades have been pulled off. If he does get a visa and intends to work... he will have to get a licence from the building commision and do a course at tafe... all money... its also a bit quiet on the work front for tradies in WA.

Just what the cbd needs... another faceless tower block..... one day perth may realise pulling down old style historic building was a mistake when it all looks like a concrete bunghole.

This was our 1st, so thanks to ktee and john for organising this And it was great to put faces to names If anybody wants a catch up ... pm us.... were game... Cheers, Michele and Steve.

At the station... gasping for a cuppa...

We used Petair for our cat last November - they were very efficient and our boy arrived safely, if a little subdued for a few days! As others have said, it is quite costly and beware of the implications of the exchange rate, as some of the fees are required to be paid in dollars and not pounds - So when the pound takes a downward turn as it has been inclined to of late, the bill in effect rises! We nicknamed our pet "Two grand" - and in fact that proved to be a conservative figure by the end of the whole process!

try UBER too......the bus back to ours is useless in the evening.

hi Deb.... we are going to catch the 12.10pm train from Warnbro... gets to the CBD for 12.50pm. then onto the meet up. feel free to join us if you wish. Michele & Steve.

Please count us in. We will be travelling by train from Warnbro if anybody fancies the company travelling up to the city/ Steve & Michele

Thanks again all - some useful comments for me to bear in mind.

Thank you for your advice and comments - and for your good wishes too!