Young couple moving to Perth WA

[Guest The Flying Englishman]

Hello all,

 

My girlfriend and I have agreed that come late Autumn (UK) 2012 we want to move our lives to Perth, WA to hopefully improve our quality of life and lay some roots of our own for the future.

We're nearly at the end of selling our flat in Surrey, SW England and will be moving into my girlfriends fathers place in South London (I swore I'd never go back! lol) to save up as much money as we can before the move. Estimate we can probably get 20K together before we go but we were wondering - Is this really enough?

I hope to sort a job out in AUS before we go (heading out to WA in a couple of months on holiday / reccy of accommodation etc / job hunt) working in Facilities Management / Building Management / Maintenance / Construction - Whatever I can get so long as it has a salary of no less that 60,000 AUD. My girlfriend will most likely find work once we're in Perth, or rather this is what she would prefer.

Accommodation wise, we're looking to rent - 2 bed house, garden, pool (if we're lucky) with double garage etc - Haven't decided on location just yet but would love to hear your preferences, what type of accommodation you are staying in, and what the rental market is costing you right now?

Obviously there's the cost of VISA's to take into account - Still not entirely sure which one to get though although we have been told we can get working VISAs no problem based on our current jobs and savings etc. Will be contacting Ian Harrop & Associates (RMA) as they have come highly recommended, they will of course have all the answers but your first hand knowledge of anything VISA would be appreciated. Would especially like to hear from those in property maintenance / construction and how you made the transition to WA.

Also,

 

We have a 9 month old Kennel Club Registered Rottweiler puppy that we may now have to rehome :C We're trying to work out what would be best for the beast. I love him to pieces but as he's still young maybe he would be better off staying in Surrey with another family? I have explored potentially flying him out to WA which at this stage is still an option (and is my 1st choice as I consider him one of the family) but I'm concerned with the amount of time he'll have to spend in kennels / quarantine (30+ days is a long time!) not to mention the cost (£2500). Has anyone flown any pets out to Perth and how did you handle your accommodation side of things when in WA making allowences for the pooch / pet? The majority of landlords here in the SW of England don't allow pets at all, I'd imagine it is similar in Perth, which ultimately complicates our rental search in WA. I could really use some advice here as I really don't know what to do, this could be the hardest decision of them all (I'm a bit of a soppy bug*er and Iove animals but understand it may not be the the best course of action, flying the beast out with us).

If anyone can help with any of the above, or has gone or is going through something similar I'd love to hear from you.

 

 

Cheers,

Edited March 22, 2012 by The Flying Englishman

[ryu2000]

Hey Flying Englishman good to hear you have made the decision to move to Australia. What I would concentrate on at the moment is getting a job. Everything else will fall into place once you get that. If you are offered sponsorship then the company will pay for your visa in our case a 4 year 457 visa which is basically a business visa. I would not waste any money on migration agents just get out here and start looking.

 

http://www.seek.com.au

 

The way I did it was we came on holiday here and I arranged some interviews by informing the companies I would actually be in the country. This got their attention. Luckily I have family here but it was the best advise I ever took! I am in industrial software and we sell into the mining sector out here so I was very surprised at the amount of interest I had. If your job is on the skilled jobs list then you will get interviews as there is a skills shortage out here in WA.

 

Once I accepted the job we then we got the 4 year 457 visa approved within 6 weeks! We had to move very fast and we basically left our lives behind in the UK in slightly rushed circumstances.

 

The rental situation is a bit of a nightmare at the moment it is very competitive but I would not worry about that until you get the job. We stayed for a few weeks partly funded by our company in an apartment in Joondalup where I work. I am renting in Balcatta (quiet suburb) at the moment in a 3 bedroomed house brand new. This is suburb is about 15 minutes from the beach. The Australian lifestyle sold to people in the UK can be obtained but it takes work and is not as easy as it once was. We are paying about £2000 a month to live in this place. Expensive I know but this is Australia in 2012.

 

With regards where you want to live again you really need a job first to try and work out how far your commute will be. Research different areas here:-

 

http://www.realestate.com.au

 

It sounds like you don't have any kids. If I had kids I might of tried to apply for a permanent residency visa. But as it's just me and my wife we decided on the 457 route as it's the quickest and easiest.

 

I moved here with about 8K in my pocket so 20K is more than enough. When you are meeting companies do not undersell yourself in terms of wages. I am not in your industry but check if 45K is the going rate for your type of job.

 

Cannot comment on the dog situation but understand the connection as I was gutted to leave my Dad's dog!!!

 

Good luck inbox me with any questions...

[Guest Fk1676]

Hi Just to let you know you are probably underestimating the total cost of getting your dog out to Perth. When you add together pet carrier, vet fees and vaccinations/ Microchip/Blood tests then quarantine on Australia itself, I would not be surprised if your total bill is nearer £4500, albeit our boy has a connecting flight to get!

 

Dont forget he is not allowed to leave the country for 150 days plus his 30 in quarantine after getting an all clear blood test following a rabies vaccination and the blood test cannot be taken until 3 weeks after the vaccination so there is a total of 201 days that he cannot enter Australia. (You can fly him earlier but he would have to be in quarantine for longer)

 

Hope this doesnt put you off taking him

 

We are taking ours this year as he is too one of the family

 

Kind regards

 

Frank

[Guest The Flying Englishman]

RYU2000 - Hi, you're absolutely right about sorting a job before doing anything. Plan is for me to find work first, sort VISA, move out to WA and then my GF can find work while we're settling in. Totally undersold my wages too got my currencies mixed up, thanks for pointing that out - I have ammended original post. Industrial software sounds very interesting? I can see how you would fall right into the mining industry. I'm in building management & property maintenance at the moment, hoping to continue doing this either at a realestate or corporate level in WA, although I'm pretty open to new career opportunities in construction, industrial tech, site management / project management etc - that sort of thing.

 

Paying for our VISAs won't be a problem, I think to a certain degree I would rather do this. Commiting yourself to any employer is enough let alone allowing employers to control your VISA status as well. Have heard horror stories of employers cocking up staff VISAs that's all (I tend to believe that migrants should know more about VISAs with the right research and support than employers) However, I can certainly see the appeal of sponsorship and who knows - If the right offer's on the table...

 

Thanks for the realestate link, I've found that Google Street View is a brilliant way of scoping out an area as well! When we actually get out there we'll have a better (first hand) idea of where we would like to begin our rental search. We actually planned to begin our search in the Joondalup area - What do you think of the place / surrounding area? We're used to quiet suburb living in the country (currently near Banstead, Surrey UK) Balcatta looks lovely BTW - Just checked it out on Street View!

 

 

FK1676 - To be honest, I probably have underestimated the cost of getting the beast out to Perth, it certainly all adds up! The cost itself isn't the problem, it's more the amount of time he'll be away from us. I knew there was a 30 day quarantine in Oz but wasn't aware of him not being allowed to leave the UK for 150 days before hand? Are we talking about the dogs age here? Any info on this would be a great help.

 

Cheers guys,

 

English

Edited March 22, 2012 by The Flying Englishman

[ryu2000]

Hey English...

 

 

Unless someone can correct me the 457 visa is issued upon you accepting a position. You cannot apply for it yourself. If you could it would be a waste of money and time. I am not too sure about these horror stories but I have got a 457 visa for 4 years.

 

 

Part of the 457 agreement is you stay with the company who are sponsoring you as they apply for your visa on your behalf usually with the assistance of a migration agent. As well as this they will usually pay for medical insurance for you and your partner. This is key as medical bills ain't cheap out here.

 

 

Some say the 457 visa is risky - as if you lose your job you have to get another company to sponsor you within 1 month. But it's the quickest way into the country. You can apply for PR within 2 years of being here.

 

 

Where you can also use this to your advantage is the package they offer you to get you out here. So for me, I am working for a smaller company. They obviously applied for the visa (got it in 6 weeks!) and agreed 2 weeks accomodation when we got here. I think we could of swung some flights out of them but I didn't want to push it. They also agreed to pay medical bills for me and my wife.

 

 

Another of my friends who also moved out at the same time as me got his company to pay for all his shipping fees. The agreement was he stayed in employment with them for 2 years.

 

 

And another of my mates just got offerd £10K as part of an incentive to get out here! Ridiculous!

 

 

So to summarize once you get a job offer the company will pay for the 457 visa and application. Anything else you can barter about. This is my recommended route.

 

 

Also check if your job is on the skilled visa list:-

 

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/sol-schedule1.pdf

 

 

I had no idea what I was going to enter the country as. Then I noticed they had put Engineering Technologist on the visa so I finally had a job title

 

 

Compared to where I have just moved from near Wythenshawe Balcatta is like a idealic suburb. There aren't many English here and it is a mixed of different nationalities. It's pretty quiet and does the job.

 

 

I work in Joondalup. They say Joondalup will be the next city after Perth in the long term. As I don't work in the city my drive is 20 minutes. If I worked in the city however the drive would be about an hour. Joondalup is also full of English and South Africans so if you are looking for home comforts that's your place.

 

 

Give me a shout if you have anymore questions.

[verystormy]

First thing first. Forget everything else until the visa is secured. We came out on a 457 and for what I do it was easy. However, I don't know how difficult it is for your job. Some find it impossible to find a sponsor. So some research on that will be paramount. Don't assume that you can just get one. For a employer to have their nomination accepted they have to establish that the reason they are employing you is because they can't fill the vacancy with a local.

 

Also, you are then tied to the employer and as mentioned, if you lose your job you only have 28 days to find another that is willing to take over the sponsorship. I know a few people that have had to leave Oz because of this. Also, be aware that it is a temp visa and there is no guarantee of gaining perm residence

[nicolac34]

Hi Flying Englishman!

 

As most people have suggested the visa is probably one of the first things to consider. I would have a look at the immigration website and do the visa wizard to see what sort of visa you might qualify for:

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/

 

We are also a young couple (27/28) and we moved out to Perth in July last year on Working Holiday Visa’s. We found that this was the easiest as there was no waiting around for a job offer and enabled us to just hop on a plane and see what happened. We are lucky in that my brother lives here so we had a place to stay rent free until we sorted ourselves out. It took us 5 weeks from landing for us both to sort jobs and get a flat to rent. Once we’d decided that we did want to make a life for ourselves out here we pursued jobs that might offer us sponsorship (CV’s went out to relevant companies speculatively) and lo-and-behold I was offered a job with permanent visa sponsorship.

 

£20k will be enough to set yourselves up here no problem, have you considered whether you’d like to go travelling at all before you get here? This is something we really regret not doing, and is something quite a few young couples we’ve met did. Spent a few months before arriving in Asia or travelling Australia – it’s a good idea if it’s the kind of thing you are into as you’re unlikely to get such a convenient break in employment again! £20k is the sort of funds that would allow this – we set ourselves up on only £5k when we arrived.

 

FYI a Salary of $60,000 is quite low here in WA, so I’d have a look on that Seek.com.au website to get an idea of salary expectations – I’d hope with your skills you could earn a bit more than that.

 

Accommodation wise – it’s expensive. There’s no getting away from that fact! You’ll get to Perth and I’m sure like most brits arriving will be astounded at how expensive Perth is. For a house with a garden, pool and garage you’ll have to live out in the sticks if you want to keep to a reasonable rent. Joondalup is ok – when we arrived we lived in Clarkson with my brother which isn’t that far away. For us coming from London it was like the back-of-beyond . Far too much like suburbia for our liking – and you have to drive absolutely everywhere!! It was too far out of the City for us so we ended up renting in Subiaco/Shenton Park. It’s 10 minutes on the bus into the CBD for work, 15 minutes in the car to the beach and walking distance to shops, bars, restaurants, cinema, parks etc – so for a young couple it’s perfect for us. We’ve got a 2 bed Unit with a garden and parking for $430 a week. To give you an idea of bills, there’s no council tax or water rates as the landlord pays those usually, so you have broadband (we pay $40 a month), electricity (dependant on energy hungry air con, ours is between $80-$160 a quarter), gas (again dependant but approx. $80 a quarter), we have foxtel because the TV out here is awful when you have an advert break every 2 minutes ($91 per month), mobile phones on pay-as-you-go ($30 per month each), smartrider ( like an Oystercard for public transport $20 per week – 1 zone), food (hmm well depends again, but for the two of us we spend around $100-$150 a week on food shopping).

 

As for your puppy – well in my opinion if they are part of the family then why would you leave them behind? We are having a our pet cat shipped over from England in May – we had to wait until we knew we’d get PR visa’s and then they brought in the rabies changes so this is the earliest we could get her out here. I love our cat and there’s no way I’d have left her permanently. It’s the same sort of process for dogs, but basically they need to have a rabies vaccination and a blood test 30 days later to prove they are rabies free. This blood test needs to be 5 months before they fly out to Australia (so if you are thinking of bringing your pooch time to get them vaccinated now!!) Then when the 5 months is up they put them on a plane to Perth and they spend 30 days in quarantine just outside of Perth. You can go visit them if you like. We are using Pet Air and they’ve been great, organising everything for us. For our cat it’s costing £1,290 (dogs I’d imagine would be a little more as larger cage) and then a further $1,000 (£600) payable for quarantine. It’s definitely worth contacting an agent and getting some quotes as they do vary if you are prepared to do some of the sorting out and paperwork yourselves.

 

In terms of rentals allowing pets, there are some out there! We didn’t specifically ask our landlords when we moved in, but asked them when we were sure she was flying over and they were fine with it. Most places let you pay an extra ‘pet bond’ and then it’s fine. You’ll find flats in the city a problem and most will specify no pets, but then you’re after a house anyway.

 

Wow, think I’ve rambled on enough now! Good luck!

[verystormy]

The only thing I would say about this is that it is a very iffy idea to come on a WHV and assume it will be anything other than that. It works for certain jobs. But I have seen way too may posts over the years from people on WHV that want to stay and can't. I would always say anyone coming on a WHV treats it as that and assumes you will be going home

[Guest The Flying Englishman]

RYU2000 - I see what you're saying re the benefits of a 457 Work VISA, there being room for negotiating medical Insurance, flights, accommodation etc later on if you're lucky and yes you're right - your employer pays for this by sponsoring you. If I can get a job lined first this type of VISA does make sense and infact I imagine this will probably be the type of VISA I'll end up with. Looks like the 457 VISA will have further benefits this year as well, see below:

 

"The Australian Government has reviewed the 457 skilled immigrant visa and has made some provisions that will fast track the transition to permanent residency starting on July 1, 2012. Starting in July 1, 2012, non-resident workers on the 457 skilled immigration visa will be able to transition to permanent residency if they have 2 years with the employer who has sponsored them and if the employer provides a full-time position in the 457 visa holder's nominated occupation. Furthermore, the Australian Government has recognized that 457 visas deserve priority in review as they are highly responsive to the needs of the labour market." - Checked this out on multiple sites and they're saying the same.

Could I put my girlfriend on the same 457 VISA then?

Why would you need Medical Insurance when (I presume) you would be entitled to use Medicare? Medicare still something I need check out.

Checked to see what I would be entering the country as on the Skilled VISA list you sent me, thanks for that. While my job isn't really on the list I would probably qualify for Project Builder, Fitter (General) something like that. Will look into this further.

How did you go about sorting a car out? I've been toying with the idea of importing my 2.0 16V Corrado out there when we go but won't if I don't need to. Will only do this if it's significantly cheaper to do so. Any info on this would be great.

VERYSTORMY - I intend to get a job sorted first, VISA will then follow suit. Hopefully won't be losing new job any time soon! Considering the upheival we'll be undertaking I agree with you re the Working Holiday Visa (WHV) - It's not long term enough. Although I can see why people choose to use them as they allow you to get out there right away. A friend of mine has done this - Problem she faces now is that her VISA has now run out meaning she can't work!

NICOLA34 - Hiya, we're 28/29 pleased to see we're not the only young couple doing this! Most people I talk to have familes, and or / are buying houses etc. The plan would be for us to get permanent sponsorship in the end as well (provided we didn't want to go home!). Totally hear what you're saying about going travelling before the move, and infact we're hoping to go Walkabout in Oz for a few weeks before hand. I intend to setup a couple of interviews in Perth while we're out there as well, makes sense to do this while we're in the country.

Although both of us are originally from South London, born and raised we currently live in Surrey pretty much in the country - We like our peace and quiet (although I'm normally the one breaking the peace and quiet with loud Rock music, thrashing guitars, motorbikes, cars or whatever! lol) we like a sense of comminity, as opposed to people from the city who couldn't care less - We used to be like this ourselves so I know it's true!

FYI - The $60,000 salary mentioned in previous post is the absolute minimum I would accept, dependant on VISA sponsorship etc. I would really be looking at salaries much higher believe me For some reason though when ever I'm job searching on www.seek.co.au Aussie employers never seem to have the offered salary information on the job spec??

Puppy - Totally agree with you, the little beasty is one of the familly and to be honest I don't know what I'd do if I had to leave him behind (difficult for any bloke). I was told that he would need to stay in the UK for 150 days + 30 days quarantine in Oz - I better get on and get him vaccinated then. I'll check out Pet Air, thanks for the recommendation. Feeling alot better about getting him out there now!

Cheers all,

English

[verystormy]

I think you are seeing most of it fairly well. However, you might find it hard to gain sponsorship. You have to remember that it is a requirement that an employer shows the reason for sponsoring you is because they can't fill the vacancy with a local. This is also practical as no company wants to spend money on visas and things unless they really have to. The likelihood of getting this will depend on your skills / what you have to offer. It is difficult to know this without knowing what you do. You mention project builder / fitter. Are you fully qualified in either of these? Do you mean house building? If so that doesn't bode well given very few people in WA on housebuilding projects are perm staff. Most are on short term contracts for the duration of the project. Construction is also suffering a lot at the moment with areas such as house building dropping like stones at the moment.

 

Fitter? Of what? Mechanical fitters are doing well, but even trade qualified find it hard to get sponsorship.

 

The vast majority of 457 visas go to professions / management such as engineers, nurses, doctors, scientists. These probably account for 90%. Then 9% to skilled migrants such as mechanics, pipe welders and things.

 

Any job that can only attract a salary of $60k is unlikely to be one that attracts sponsorship.

 

Sorry if this all sounds negative, but you need to look at this a lot closer

[ryu2000]

Hey English if you come on the 457 then your partner would be your co-dependent. That is the 457 visa would also cover her.

 

I was very lucky with our visa situation. I have worked for the company before (they are based in California) and have worked for their competitors in Europe. I have over 13 years experience is the industry. They were looking to expand their Australia presence opening an office in Perth. I saw their job advertisement on seek.com.au a month before I flew so we arranged a meet up. I also met with competitors and got offered a few jobs whilst out here. It think actually meeting up with these companies was key.

 

As you also mentioned we sell directly into the mining industry. We do deal with other industries but if you like it or not mining is the main industry in Western Australia.

 

As verystormy said they key is getting a job and sponsorship. I would not even plan any moves to Australia or even think about moving out here until you get a job and sponsorship and it forces your hand. I also agree it would be great to come over on a WHV but it would have to be treated as a temporary situation. I know loads of people who stayed here after the WHV however this was 10 years ago and things were a lot different back then. Your job has to be on that skilled list.

 

Good luck...

[JoRoc]

Hi, We moved to Perth 3 months ago and all is going well. you mentioned about bringing your dog, we were in the same boat in that we couldnt imagine leaving him behind and yes the cost of £2,500 we decided to go for it as wanted him out here and we are glad we did. Yes it was hard sending him off for his flight and the 30 day quarantine period but to be honest with everything else going on at the time it went really quick. We sent or dog 2 weeks before we came as they changed the quarantine laws re the rabbies jab from Jan2012. so didnt visit him until the day we collected him. I am not going to lie when we picked him up he had lost loads of weight and was looking pretty scruffy but after a few days of being back with us he was back to his normal self. Bathed, a nice meal and some new toys and he was happy as larry. We now are so glad we did it as we are back to being a family again (with the dog) and love taking him down to the beach etc. So I guess you have to weigh up the pro's and cons. We used a company called Petair who are based down south and they were really nice and very helpful.

 

Good luck with all of your plans and hope to see you out here later in the year.

[Mwgster]

Hi ryu2000

 

Interesting to hear your route into Australia. I have residency now and have just come back from Perth having validated the PR. The 457 route I imagine is quite difficult unless you have the specific skills that an employer is looking for. My background is as a software engineer (14+ years experience in C# .NET, Winforms, SQL, SSRS, Delphi, C, Visual C++) and I am not having much luck at all. It seems that unless you are on Australian soil, then it is going to be difficult. I can appreciate that agencies get a lot of interest from overseas and cannot really do a lot unless you are on Australian soil. A lot of people say that the Australian market is much more geared to networking.. who you know etc? Have you found this to be the case? We have a potential second viewing on our house... if this leads to a sale then I guess the thing to do is to start phoning people and arraning a potential flight over for any interviews that I can arrange.

 

We have stayed in Ocean Reef both times that we have visited.. Great place... I have 2 young kids too.

 

If you have any suggestions on how to best crack that first ellusive job, then I would really appreciate it.

 

All the best

Mwgster

[ryu2000]

Hey Mgwster.

 

The best advice I can give you is you need to be in the country.

 

With regards to the employment situation things have changed somewhat since I arrived. As I said in previous e-mails on the West coast we sell into the mining industry as it's the main industry here - on the west coast we are in different industries such as manufacturing. On the east coast at the moment, the economy is in a bit of a decline. People say the GFC could finally be catching up with Australia, or perhaps the high Australian dollar is beginning to cause problems. On the West Coast, because of the decline in demand for iron ore from China a lot of major mining projects have been put on hold. There are variety of different media spin reported on this issue but it is what I have seen in happening.

 

Therefore many FIFO and project staff have lost their jobs. These staff have relocated back to the city. In the news we are fed a variety of different reports whether the mining boom has peaked - but this is what I have seen at a local level. Don't get me wrong there are jobs available but I think it is more competitive than it was. Therefore, agencies will (possibly) not be interested unless you are in the country. I've seen these types of responses from agencies e-mails to friends who are trying to get into the country to work. In summary whether it's 457, Holiday Visa, or PR - it's best to be in the country. My wife applied for work offshore whilst back in the UK. She didn't get any response until she was physically in the country.

 

My opinion is Perth is it is a city - but with a town type of mentality. This is not a bad thing, but yes networking is key to succeeding out here. If you know anyone out here, who is perhaps in a company in the city then use this link. I've seen it in my industry and also through friends who have got other friends jobs etc. You should also consider some form of contract work when you get here to get that 'Australian' work experience. Additionally, you also need to think if you are in software some of your work will be away from Perth. I am in software but I spend much of my time flying out to various areas across Perth. I am not FIFO but this is expected if you are working in Perth for some jobs.

 

I have visited Ocean Reef. Yes it is a nice place I know people in Butler but that area is also too far out for me. We also found there wasn't enough going on in that area of Perth. Ocean Reef is probably far up as I would go as I do not feel it's quite established. That said, I don't have any kids so my priorities are different I live in a place called Innaloo which is near Scarborough. We like this area as it is more established and crucially it is near public transport. The freeway getting into the city is a bit of a nightmare in the morning so think carefully where you want to live. Joondalup is the next town up from Perth. There is work here but the city centre is primarily a large retail park.

 

Finally, if you are going to spend money on a flight to see if there is work out here. I had success with this as I was physically in the country at a set time. Just make sure if you do this you have contacted job agencies beforehand. There is a motto in Australia that WA stands for 'Wait Awhile'. Job applications are processed at a very slow speed out here. If job agencies cannot guarantee interviews it would be money wasted. As we found out what money you have doesn't go a long way at the moment because of the high Australian dollar!

 

Good luck - feel free to ask anymore questions...

[Mwgster]

ryu2000

 

Many thanks for a great insight. What you are saying is pretty much as I thought so that is reassuring. :-)

 

I suspect that as you intimate, the Australian economy may be at a critical point. I will admit that I am no expert in this area but do you think the astronomical house prices and strong AU Dollar are sustainable? The dollar has already started to weaken against sterling over the past month. How do first time buyers break into the market? This may have a detrimental impact on house prices. When we get over, I think we will rent for a year or two just to be sure of the market, we don't want to be buying a house when prices are artificially high, for the dollar to weaken and then for house prices to crash!

 

On the jobs front, I think you are spot on. Like I said, it is reassuring to hear that your wife found herself in a similar situation to what I am in. When I apply for a job now, I pretty much know it is going to go nowhere but you never know. I am in contact with 2 agencies and building up a rapport with them so they at least know who I am, my situation, skills and what jobs will potentially suit me. I have been totally up front with them so hopefully they have been reassured that I am coming over and will not put them in an awkward situation with a client. We have set up bank accounts, sorted shipping agents, visited potential schools etc so are pretty much ready to go. I have heard a lot about the 'town' mentality in Perth. From my point of view, I like that, as I am a country boy originally, however, like you say, it then does mean that it is a little bit like 'jobs for the boys' (and girls! ha) so difficult to break in. I guess more effort to network is required than back in the UK, that is something I will definitely need to work on. Unfortunately I do not know anyone working in Perth so that makes things a little harder. We have a long shot with a work colleague of my wife who's husbands best friend is in IT somewhere in the CBD. She is not sure with what company but is going to get his details for me. I am quite flexible on the job requirements front, if it means time away from home etc, then so be it. I guess that as an outsider looking in, I need to be flexible which I am quite happy to be. I would not consider contract work long term (I will need a mortgage and stability!), but as a short term thing and as you suggest it may be the best option for getting my foot in the door. I guess I will have to play that one by ear. Just wish I had more Web/ASP .NET/AJAX experience as there are a lot more roles in this area. I am primarily a winforms C#. NET, SQL Server, SSRS developer; roles which are even thinner on the ground.

 

Like the WA - Wait Awhile comment haha. Funnily enough a couple we met while at the beach in Beaumaris last month mentioned there was a famous WA comment but didn't get to the point of telling us what it was! My wife and I suspected it was something along these lines haha Indeed, the trek from Ocean Reef/Iluka/Joondalup areas to the CBD is a bit of a concern. However, the train network is much better than where I am now. It is quite cheap too (did a bit of research as to prices and times when I was in Perth last month), so may be the best option if I am working in the CBD. As for Ocean Reef/Iluka etc from a family point of view we felt it had everything we might need. It made me chuckle when you said this area was not very established as we thought it was but that Yanchep/Jindalee etc were how you see Ocean Reef. But hey, if I didn't have kids, I would probably think the same as you, just a case of different priorities I guess. One of the good pointers for me is that I have been surfing for 15 years and am now somewhat land locked (Wrexham is 70 miles from my nearest surf break). With the kids and both me and my wife working, I dont get to the beach as much as I would like. The fact that I could live relatively close to the beach, commute to work in around an hour etc sounds great. Not so sure about the Shark situation though! Will get some more local knowledge on that in time.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to reply, very much appreciated. If anything else crops up, I will definitely be in touch if OK with you.

Laters

Martin

[ryu2000]

When you are in Australia you are presented with a variety of different stories. There is no doubt as I said earlier the mining boom has peaked. But that is just the 'boom'. Mining will continue but not at the rate it has been. What caused the issue here is there have been a a few major projects put on hold recently. There are a variety of conspiracy theories as to why this is. For example, our Chinese friends are trying to decrease the value of iron ore - so have stopped buying. Another theory is the recently carbon tax by the government. Mining companies have decreased production in order to avoid paying the tax. Whatever it is mining will continue so there will be jobs. Perth is a great city but let's face it - they just dig holes in the ground this ain't London, Paris, New York LOL.

 

As for the dollar - yes it will weaken. It has to - as I've said in the past the East coast is suffering. There have been recent interest rate cuts. There is no doubt that Perth is staggeringly expensive at times - eating out, food shopping, rent, mortgage - all ridiculous. Me and my wife deal with it by dividing everything by three as we are paid three times the amount we were in the UK. We are paid very well as a lot of people are in Perth - hence the high prices. But for your average man the street who maybe aren't as well paid - the interest rate cuts are probably very welcome. But in summary there won't be any crash of the economy as it's still a successful country. Resources will always be in demand.

 

With regards to property. What you will need to get used to is the Perth bubble - which isn't going to burst anytime soon. WA has the potential to be the resource captial of the world. There are 1000's of people arriving a week to try and be part of this success. This has driven the rentals to sky high prices. The problem is there are not enough houses available. There is quite simply a housing shortage out here. I can back this up as my wife works for government and this high on the agenda. There are rentals available but they are becoming harder to get hold of in the established areas.

 

Same goes for property. People are paid very high wages out here. Additionally Australia went through a credit boom in the last 10 years. So the average house price in Perth is now $500,000. I cannot see it going much higher but at the same time I cannot see any crash. If you are looking to buy you will probably have to buy further out in somewhere like Butler maybe - or even further. As with the rentals there is a chronic shortage of affordable housing here. I am living in a house that is probably worth a million at the moment but I am paying a rent to cover a half a million pound mortgage. I have a property back in the UK so at nearly 40 I doubt I will buy in Australia. Just save what money we have left and look at alternative investment options.

 

This year the has been a rise in the temperature of the Indian Ocean. There is no doubt there are some total monsters out here. The guitarist in my band runs a dive shop out here and is a marine biologist so I have first hand information. You do see some stories on the news but don't let it stop you! If you are into surfing you will love it out here.

 

Good luck!

[StraighttothePoint]

Whatever it is mining will continue so there will be jobs. Resources will always be in demand.

 

Some really good, qualitive stuff in this thread and I have been reading it with interest. The one issue perhaps that is not 100%, and it can be viewed differently by everyone of course, is that the above points are not in my view strictly such a definate in terms of WA. Perth is a boom and bust town, always has been and always will be because of the limited economic activity there is here and its too single and heavy reliance on resources. We have peaked, we are slowing and there will be a bust or severe hardship coming. This is not me being negative just forecasting what is pretty obvious based on historical information, the recent economic pointers and the actions being taken by both government and the private sector. Both are preparing for a fall.

 

Mining will continue so there will be jobs. In WA yes but only in terms of providing what a market wants, or needs, or to keep existing mines operational or moth balled. Jobs will tumble when the demand goes down and there will then be the inevitable knock on effect especially here in Perth where everyone will take a hit. Many people in the resources sector, and many other related or dependant sectors, are on contract and so there will be immediate pay offs with no sweetners or decent notice periods.

 

Resources will always be in demand. Absolutely but the big players will get them from cheaper sources and/or emerging new markets, e.g. India, Brazil and Africa. The high dollar, higher wage demands and to an extent political interference in the market place has already meant this has started and there will be a move to alternate options.

 

OK so I could be wrong. If so great. However one thing is clear, to me anyway, that the risks associated with of coming here in this current economic climate are far greater than it has been for a while now. The economic climate is not the same as a few years ago. Again all said and done those who jump in, with no fear, have as much chance as anyone of getting on because he who dares and all that. Perhaps the lucky ones are those just starting the visa application now, or thinking of starting it, because by the time they have their visas and decided on a plan of action then things may be clearer over here and they can either push through with their plans, defer or decide not to come.

 

Good luck to one and all.

Edited May 14, 2013 by StraighttothePoint

[verystormy]

I will just make a comment regarding mining. As some may know, i am a manager in the mining industry and have worked at a number of Australias largest mines.

 

The current downturn is pretty severe - it is not just the cancellation of a few projects - there have been a number of mines gone care and maintanance. There have been a significant number of redundancies and jobs are simply drying up. For example, i had a quick look on infomine the other day. For my role, there has always been over 1000 jobs in the catergory. Even in the mid GFC, it only went down to about 800. There are currenty now just over 100.

 

The reason is simple and obvious to myself when i moved to Oz 5 years ago haven previously worked in countries around the world. The cost of mining in Oz.

 

At the moment, the small companies cant raise cash and the big boys are concerving cash so not developing. A lot of companies are now looking at projects outside of Oz and this is seen in the figures from the Dept Mines, applications are down 200%, but the amount of companies taking projects outside of Oz is up 200%. It is simple economics. In my last role in WA, i was paying about $380 a meter for drilling. I am now in a role in Tanzanai paying $157 a meter. Still using an Oz drill company.

 

A haul truck, built in the same factory costs less than half to buy in Africa than it does in Oz and less than a third to operate it.

 

Yes, mining will continue, but at a very reduced rate.

 

Be prepared for some big redundancies to come from BHP and Rio - both of whom are using the phrase "mining austerity".