are folks still emigrating ?

[pegg]

just wondering if folks are still searching for the Sun and emigrating to WA .............. just cannot believe how quiet forum is compared to 5 years ago!

Maybe the fact that the UK is pretty booming at the minute ..... im not sure ? 

just my thoughts ........ thats all 

[Rossmoyne]

Hi Pegg.   WA is very much in a financial recession at the moment.  The mining downturn  has really hit hard now and many people who were FIFO on the mines and with good incomes, are either unemployed, working for average wage in a job elsewhere in WA, or people who moved to WA from the eastern states have returned to their home states.   Utility prices, rates etc have gone through the roof in WA too, and the knock on effect is that people just don't have the disposable income they used to and so are scared to spend anything apart from living expenses and the occasional night out, and in some cases are only just getting through the month financially and living from pay to pay.    This situation  has of course seen many small shops, cafes, businesses close down, and there are empty commercial premises everywhere.   6 or 7 years ago if you applied for a rental property, there would have been another 20 people applying for the same property.  These days rental properties are sitting empty for weeks before being leased out again.   The job situation is pretty dire in many areas.   Employers are hesitant to take on new staff and often do not replace people who leave, so everyone is just picking up the slack and are grateful to have a job.

This whole situation has really hit my family.   My son, who is an Engineer, was working FIFO for Rio Tinto in the Pilbara, but was made redundant at the very beginning of the downturn about 8 years ago when they closed down a mine with an hour's notice.   He found work FIFO in Kalgoorlie, but after a year, that company folded totally and he was made redundant again.   He worked briefly in Perth in temporary roles, but was eventually headhunted and moved to Queensland for a job.   He now works on a coal mine in Central Queensland, FIFO from the Gold Coast.   He has been there 6 years now,  has put roots down with buying a house and finding a beautiful partner, and I doubt he will ever move back to WA, sadly.  

So to answer your question, people are not emigrating to WA in the numbers they once were, and many are leaving as they are unable to find work.   What annoys me though is that the official unemployment stats are not reflecting what is really happening.  In Oz you can't apply for the dole (Newstart as it is called here) if you have a partner who is working.   You only have to be working 1 hour a week, and that is classed as "employed"!   The WA government would have us believe that unemployment is lowering, but along with so many people, I think it is one of those smokes and mirrors tricks, as I know so many people who have been made redundant through businesses closing and being unable to gain employment anywhere. 

And yes the forum is quiet now.   We do try to keep it ticking along, and hope that things will improve, but I guess that with less people wanting to emigrate and posting on the forum, those who are already here are losing interest in being helpful and posting. 

I just read my comment back before I posted it, and it sounds all doom and gloom!  That certainly wasn't my intention... just trying to tell it as it is.   Yes there are some people doing so well and coining it in, but there are so many more who are struggling. 

[pegg]

Thanks so much for honest reply @Rossmoyne , i know our friends in Bunbury are really really struggling with 4 kids and only casual work for husband. 

I still believe this mini boom in the UK is not going to be long lasting ,  heard today a major developer are stopping starting any building sites until sometime next year. 

........ but at least you have the SUN 

 

[ali]

I think the other issue is that it seems much harder now to get a visa - we read that a visa eligibility is e.g. 65 points when the reality is that as it's a competition, you don't get an invite if you've got lower than 80.

 

[Rossmoyne]

13 hours ago, ali said:

I think the other issue is that it seems much harder now to get a visa - we read that a visa eligibility is e.g. 65 points when the reality is that as it's a competition, you don't get an invite if you've got lower than 80.

 

You are so right @ali

[Guest]

Its a real shame as you have the climate and beaches. I guess you have to get out of holiday mode to realise the reality when considering moving. 

I have a friend who is Australian he returned to Fremantle and is struggling to get employment and when he does find a job it doesn't last long. 

 

I was suprised at how expensive things still are despite the recession. 

 

Is this Australia as a whole or just WA thats struggling? 

[ali]

On 02/11/2019 at 23:52, BlackCountryPom said:

Its a real shame as you have the climate and beaches. I guess you have to get out of holiday mode to realise the reality when considering moving. 

I have a friend who is Australian he returned to Fremantle and is struggling to get employment and when he does find a job it doesn't last long. 

 

I was suprised at how expensive things still are despite the recession. 

 

Is this Australia as a whole or just WA thats struggling? 

I think it's probably the whole of Aus but WA has been hit a little worse because of the mines.

[FOL]

It's also depends on the market and your experience. I seem to be getting plenty of referral work for marketing and friends of mine who are in web development can't keep up with the work either. That said both of us also work for international clients, but get local clients as well.

Wifey works for government, so stable job. 

To be honest, I don't know anyone personally who has trouble having work (although no one switched in the last 3 or so years), ranging from swimming teachers to IT people to marketing, marketing & sales, social worker.

But I see stories online that it is difficult from people trying to get a job. That's sad... I cannot see how you can enjoy life when you have heaps of financial worries.

[Wa7]

8 minutes ago, FOL said:

It's also depends on the market and your experience. I seem to be getting plenty of referral work for marketing

Wifey works for government, so stable job. 

To be honest, I don't know anyone personally who has trouble having work 

But I see stories online that it is difficult from people trying to get a job. That's sad... I cannot see how you can enjoy life when you have heaps of financial worries.

I know plenty

Anything construction related is having a hard time ( and has been for the last 2yrs at least ) 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Wa7 said:

I know plenty

Anything construction related is having a hard time ( and has been for the last 2yrs at least ) 

I am a painter & decorator so thats bad news. Girlfriend works for an insurance broker

[FOL]

21 hours ago, Wa7 said:

I know plenty

Anything construction related is having a hard time ( and has been for the last 2yrs at least ) 

I guess it's who you have in your network. I am not in construction professionally and in my personal network I don't know a lot of people who are in construction. For you it's probably the opposite, hence you experience so many stories.

 

14 hours ago, BlackCountryPom said:

I am a painter & decorator so thats bad news. Girlfriend works for an insurance broker

Not perse... We've got some quotes from cabinet makers for example and they seemed to be doing fine. Often inflated prices and a few weeks of waiting.

[Wa7]

42 minutes ago, FOL said:

I guess it's who you have in your network. I am not in construction professionally and in my personal network I don't know a lot of people who are in construction. For you it's probably the opposite, hence you experience so many stories.

 

Not perse... We've got some quotes from cabinet makers for example and they seemed to be doing fine. Often inflated prices and a few weeks of waiting.

My “ network “ is not limited to one particular industry and I personally am doing fine in Perth/WA but I can still see outside of my own personal circumstances and realise things are far from great here.

 

 

[FOL]

56 minutes ago, Wa7 said:

My “ network “ is not limited to one particular industry and I personally am doing fine in Perth/WA but I can still see outside of my own personal circumstances and realise things are far from great here.

No need for the passive aggressiveness.

I'm in not in one industry either, but again, I don't notice the downturn at all, except from what I read from the news.

[Wa7]

11 minutes ago, FOL said:

No need for the passive aggressiveness.

I'm in not in one industry either, but again, I don't notice the downturn at all, except from what I read from the news.

Nothing passive aggressive about it.

Little surprised you haven’t noticed the downturn.

 

 

[Rossmoyne]

One of the major pointers to an economic downturn is house prices.  Unfortunately house prices in Perth have definitely dropped in the past 4 years, as all the real estate websites show.   Great time to buy of course, especially as mortgage rates are so low at the moment.  

Bottom line though is that most people are affected... some not apparently... but most are in some way or another.  Even a government job is no protection these days either, as a friend who is a level 8 WA government employee found out last year when she and her whole team of 35 were made redundant.

Having said all that, I am currently in Queensland staying with my son and his partner, and things are beginning to boom here again after a long recession.  Lots of building, lots of new cafes and other businesses, lots of new jobs, and property prices are on the upward trend.   Utility prices and petrol are still stupidly excessive though, just like all around Australia.   I paid $1.79 a litre for petrol today and nearly had a heartattack!!!

[Michael Wen]

I'm planning moving to Perth.

But, as Ali mentioned, getting a visa is really hard and competitive.

Someone suggested that I should have work experience in Australia at least for 2 years to increase my points.

But getting a job in Australia would need an employer who sponsor the visa. Which also difficult to find.

Kind of in a dilemma at the moment.

[Jon H]

On 21/11/2019 at 07:58, Rossmoyne said:

 I paid $1.79 a litre for petrol today and nearly had a heartattack!!!

£1.33 / A$2.40 at my local garage today!  Whinging Aussies...