Derbygirl42 Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 It is day 13 for us today and wanted to share or experiences so far although honestly feels like we have been here for much longer We flew on 9th Sept with Singapore airlines, flights as good as can be expected in cattle class We have been staying with my sister in Kinross but wil be moving to Halls Head shortly as have secured a rental there as we have to live regional for two years (489 SS visa). Have to say been impressed with what I have seen so far of Mandurah we looked at meadow springs, halls head and Falcon and have settled in Halls Head Seascapes which seems a lovely area. Day one we went and collected bank cards and set up Medicare, Day two we sorted out phone contracts and viewed cars , day four we bought a car and registered for a tax number one line, day five hubby started work he's a plasterer and there's no shortage of work out here so far. We signed for our rental property yesterday and move on the 2nd October and the children start school on the 13th October. So within 12 days we had car, job, house and school sorted. There seems to be plenty of rentals around at the moment and there are deals to be had so well worth negotiating, we did and ended up with a good deal. We are all enjoying the fab weather and now that the stress of houses and schools is sorted we are going to have a few days out with the kids to make up for dragging them around endless car showrooms and rental inspections! All in all its gone smoother than I expected. The rental inspections are a pain and the estate agents aren't great even my 10 year old commented about how unhelpful they seemed Anyway it's is all good and I don't want to start sounding like a whinging Pom after only 13 days! I've been pleasantly surprised with the cost of everything and although yes it is more expensive it's not ridiculously so. Of course the great exchange rate has helped and I am mentally calculating everything in £'s still but guess ill stop doing that soon! Good luck to everyone on the visa journey it is worth it! Thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takeme2Oz Posted September 23, 2015 Report Share Posted September 23, 2015 Thank you for the update, love positive stories! Can't wait to write our own x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatpack Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Glad everything is going well. As for converting things to pounds, well we've been here 14 months and I still do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 I love the up dates .. bit of a whirlwind time when you first arrive, but glad to hear that things are settled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bouncy Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Hi there, great update! We've been here 4 weeks now and just moved into seascapes 2 weeks ago! It's a lovely area! You have chosen well!! Xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raychelsb Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 We too still convert to pounds, before buying anything, I say, would I pay that in England?! Like, would I pay £4.00 for a tiny block of English cheddar?! No I wouldn't....but I do here lol! Some things are worth paying here. Others not so ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozzachino Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 Welcome to Perth! We still convert in our heads but only to realise the prices here are pretty reasonable when you compare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo36 Posted October 6, 2015 Report Share Posted October 6, 2015 I love reading all the positives . Can't wait till I come in March to have a good look around ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Hi would you mind if I asked which schools you have decided to put your children into. We are trying to decide on seascapes or Madora bay. We are looking at senior and junior schools. Any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbygirl42 Posted October 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Hiya no of course not. We decided on South Halls Head I dropped the kids off for their first say an hour ago and can't wait for them to come home as they were both so nervous and all three of us were on the verge of tears. The teachers were lovely though, very welcoming and each were given a buddy to look after them. My daughter is 10 years and the teacher was arranging who she would sit with and every girl in the class was begging to sit next to her so that made me and her feel better. I still had a little cry as I walked home though:( Madora bay is lovely but for me I personally preferred Seascapes as its more established and also the main driver in the decision was the schools. I think the catchment for Madora is North Mandurah and another which I can't remember the bame but know they were both schools that I was warned off but check as there may be more options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliomarie Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 Congratulations it sounds like everything fitting into place! Thank you for the update.... Not long for us now, I'll be doing it 7 months pregnant so hearing it can all be achieved so quickly gives me hope! X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelz Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 It is day 13 for us today and wanted to share or experiences so far although honestly feels like we have been here for much longer We flew on 9th Sept with Singapore airlines, flights as good as can be expected in cattle class We have been staying with my sister in Kinross but wil be moving to Halls Head shortly as have secured a rental there as we have to live regional for two years (489 SS visa). Have to say been impressed with what I have seen so far of Mandurah we looked at meadow springs, halls head and Falcon and have settled in Halls Head Seascapes which seems a lovely area. Day one we went and collected bank cards and set up Medicare, Day two we sorted out phone contracts and viewed cars , day four we bought a car and registered for a tax number one line, day five hubby started work he's a plasterer and there's no shortage of work out here so far. We signed for our rental property yesterday and move on the 2nd October and the children start school on the 13th October. So within 12 days we had car, job, house and school sorted. There seems to be plenty of rentals around at the moment and there are deals to be had so well worth negotiating, we did and ended up with a good deal. We are all enjoying the fab weather and now that the stress of houses and schools is sorted we are going to have a few days out with the kids to make up for dragging them around endless car showrooms and rental inspections! All in all its gone smoother than I expected. The rental inspections are a pain and the estate agents aren't great even my 10 year old commented about how unhelpful they seemed Anyway it's is all good and I don't want to start sounding like a whinging Pom after only 13 days! I've been pleasantly surprised with the cost of everything and although yes it is more expensive it's not ridiculously so. Of course the great exchange rate has helped and I am mentally calculating everything in £'s still but guess ill stop doing that soon! Good luck to everyone on the visa journey it is worth it! Thx Thats a great update and helpful :-) Can I be a pain and ask a few questions.... What did you take with you to buy a car - i was worrying that I might need a WA driving license before hand as will still have UK ones. Did you get extra luggage on SA - we have 30kg but was told if we presented our visas at check in they would up it to 40kg each? Do you get free alcohol on board? :-) (Im not a drinker but i think by 8 hours in I might like a little baileys or something haha!) Phone contacts - did they accept a holiday rental address - I presume you showed them a job contract too? My phone is on its knee's and keeps shutting itself down and camera broken so definitely could do with a new one :-) Thank you for any responses in advance x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatpack Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Thats a great update and helpful :-) Can I be a pain and ask a few questions.... What did you take with you to buy a car - i was worrying that I might need a WA driving license before hand as will still have UK ones. Did you get extra luggage on SA - we have 30kg but was told if we presented our visas at check in they would up it to 40kg each? Do you get free alcohol on board? :-) (Im not a drinker but i think by 8 hours in I might like a little baileys or something haha!) Phone contacts - did they accept a holiday rental address - I presume you showed them a job contract too? My phone is on its knee's and keeps shutting itself down and camera broken so definitely could do with a new one :-) Thank you for any responses in advance x You don't need a WA license to buy a car, why would you? We travelled with SA and got the extra luggage but got in touch with them beforehand and got it in writing. You need to be on an invalidated PR visa to get it. Unfortunately I don't think you'll get a contract phone, they'll give you a sim only deal but as you have no credit rating I think you'll struggle. Why not buy a cheap pay as you go phone to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideshowdeb Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 You don't need a WA license to buy a car, why would you? We travelled with SA and got the extra luggage but got in touch with them beforehand and got it in writing. You need to be on an invalidated PR visa to get it. Unfortunately I don't think you'll get a contract phone, they'll give you a sim only deal but as you have no credit rating I think you'll struggle. Why not buy a cheap pay as you go phone to start with? I can't agree enough about the extra baggage allowance. I had emailed them but forgot to print it off. We had a tense few minutes while we both struggled to find the email on our phones. They were very nice but there was no way we were getting the extra 10kg each without showing her that email. We did however manage to get contract phones pretty much straight away although I had started work so that may have made a difference. Good luck with everything x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelz Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 Thanks for you responses - was hoping for a decent phone so I can facetime, mobile emails, etc which you cant do on a cheap phone - but will check out options when we arrive- my Samsung is playing up and ready for an upgrade but don't want to do this in UK. Thanks for the heads up with SA - I have only had the information about the extra luggage verbally so yes I might ring them and ask for a email. We fly out 5 weeks on Monday so getting close now - although not really sinking in yet :-/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 What airline gives extra luggage? We are going to pay for an extra suitcase each as we are not shipping anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatpack Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Singapore Airlines give each passenger 10kgs extra each. But you must be on an unvalidated PR visa and no stop over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelz Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Singapore Airlines give each passenger 10kgs extra each. But you must be on an unvalidated PR visa and no stop over! We have extra luggage with SA and we have a 3 day stop over in Singapore?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideshowdeb Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 We have extra luggage with SA and we have a 3 day stop over in Singapore?? Do you have an email stating that you have the extra allowance for both legs of the journey? It was quite a while ago but I'm sure I read on here that someone was charged for their extra baggage when they checked in for the second leg. Don't want you to get caught out and end up with a huge bill ☺ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatpack Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Do you have an email stating that you have the extra allowance for both legs of the journey? It was quite a while ago but I'm sure I read on here that someone was charged for their extra baggage when they checked in for the second leg. Don't want you to get caught out and end up with a huge bill ☺ Please take note of this post^^^^ I got an email stating that we had extra allowance for both legs. When we were checking in at Manchester they were adamant we weren't having it until I pulled out the email. Even then it took a lot of going backwards and forwards to their office! They wanted to charge us £1600 for our extra luggage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 You've got that spot on, I think we pretty much did things in the same order once we arrived. For those not already in Australia, you can apply for bank accounts from the uk and then provide the necessary docs once you arrive, and they'll have your card ready and waiting at your local branch. We used sites like gumtree.com.au and carsales.com.au to find a car before we arrived. I think we bought our car by the end of the second day, we just had to test drive and pick which one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbygirl42 Posted November 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 just to update my update OH now on his third job this was purely by choice as the first two he wasn't over impressed with (slave drivers) but he's well settled in ths one and is happy. I have also managed to find work which was always my biggest worry, it's a massive step back from what I was doing in the UK however it's a permanent PT position which are rare! so my advice is stay positive, even with the constraints of a 489 regional visa both my hubby and I have work. Before I came over I read quite a few posts about downturn in the economy and jobs being in short supply. The mines have slowed down no doubt about that and it has impacted the economy and there's lots of talk of redundancies but from what I have seen (and this is my own personal opinion and experiences ) there is still work out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMackemSlayer Posted November 24, 2015 Report Share Posted November 24, 2015 That's a great update to the update ? I know that it's unlikely I'll find a job in Oz doing what I do here but honestly don't mind taking anything at first - I'll work in Red Rooster, McDonalds etc if I have to. Nothing is stopping us from making the move a success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 just to update my update OH now on his third job this was purely by choice as the first two he wasn't over impressed with (slave drivers) but he's well settled in ths one and is happy. I have also managed to find work which was always my biggest worry, it's a massive step back from what I was doing in the UK however it's a permanent PT position which are rare! so my advice is stay positive, even with the constraints of a 489 regional visa both my hubby and I have work. Before I came over I read quite a few posts about downturn in the economy and jobs being in short supply. The mines have slowed down no doubt about that and it has impacted the economy and there's lots of talk of redundancies but from what I have seen (and this is my own personal opinion and experiences ) there is still work out there. So good that you both have jobs and I think that what is really important to note here is that you were prepared to do anything and that you have both taken a step back in your careers, so you can move forward in another country. Well done... best attitude!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbygirl42 Posted November 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 aww thanks! yep I'm definitely a glass half full kind if girl and you do need a positive attitude! onwards and upwards as they say! So good that you both have jobs and I think that what is really important to note here is that you were prepared to do anything and that you have both taken a step back in your careers, so you can move forward in another country. Well done... best attitude!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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