ScottyB

Hi Folks,

I have been offered a job on the Barrow Island Gorgon Project in NW Australia.

Initially i was going to commute back to the UK 8 weeks on and 3 weeks off.

We have decided that it would be better if my wife and son went on my 457 visa and joined me in Australia so that my travelling time would be much less and we could make the most of our 3 weeks together.

Initially we were looking at basing them in Perth where our head office is however looking at the cost of living there i want to consider other areas and travel to Perth from Barrow Island was still fairly long.

The plan is to come and work for several years to save and provide a better life for the family not pay crazy rental rates in Perth and make someone else rich

I know it is totally subjective however i would welcome recommendations for areas in the NW as near to Barrow Island as possible where you would be happy bringing up a young family (Son aged 11) and making the most of the lifestyle change e.g. Beach Living if possible, good schools, restaurants and facilities.

We don't need big city living so happy to consider some of the smaller coastal towns

Any help as a starter for 10 appreciated.

Regards

ScottyB

EvannTel

Oh dear. The nearest major town is Karratha, a large iron ore/mining hub. You will find rents in Karratha eye watering compared to Perth.
There are other posters on here who are involved on the O&G business who will know better but firstly you'll have to look at your travel options in and out of Barrow - where can you transfer in and out from.

What roster will you work if you remain in Aus? You could still commute in and out of Perth (or possibly anywhere else in Aus) and live pretty much anywhere.

HelenTD

Karratha rents are more ball-squeezing than eye-watering. On the radio the other day they interviewed the mayor of Karratha. He talked about the housing problems and the 2 hour long traffic jams early in the morning and in the evening. Apparently there's going to put in 4 sets of traffic lights, which will solve the problem.

The NW has its attractions, but I wouldn't be able to take the weather, cyclone season, the isolation or health and education options.

Vegemite Kids

Hi Scotty,

I work in Oil and Gas in WA and although I'm not working on the Gorgon project I have quite a few friends that are.

The flights out to the island are from Karratha but as others have said, the rents there are ball-breaking. Easily over $1000 per week. and thats if you can even find one, which is unlikely. Available rental properties in Karratha are like hens teeth. Accomodation is extremely scarce up there cos there are so many projects on the go and Rio Tinto, Woodside and Chevron are all struggling with accomodation problems for their workers so snap up any house as soon as it comes on the market - and they have much deeper pockets than you do.

So whilst I understand what you are saying, I think living locally is not really practical financial wise unless you can persuade your company to base you there with an accomodation package.

Is your job offer with Chevron directly? or one of the contractors?

The flights from the island come into Karratha as I said and the connections are timed quite reasonably to pick up the Perth flights.

The flight from KTA - PER is just over 2 hours and obviously you have to take the check in times into account plus deplaning etc so overall the total journey time KTA - PER is about 3 hours.

If you did want to consider living up in the region but avoid the Karratha rents then a 3 hour drive from Karratha wouldnt really get you to anywhere decent (even Onslow is a 4 hour drive from Karratha and I'm not sure how your wife would like it)

so unless your wife would consider living in in a lone homestead or likes the look of Onslow, Perth and surrounds are probably your most realistic option.

But..... if you would consider a further 2-3 hour drive once you've landed in Perth,that opens up a huuuuuuuge range of possibilites.

good luck whatever you decide

VK

lancastrian48

No expert, but fly in /out to perth suburbs be best. Karatha has very high rents and aint the best of places for a new family to start out.

good luck

Vegemite Kids

One thing I forgot to say....

make sure you let your wife pick where SHE wants to live.

She's the one thats going to be there 24/7. You are going to be "swanning in and out" for 3 weeks roughly every 3 months so your preferences really count for very little regarding where your family lives.

Sorry to put it so baldly, but it is the truth.

Happy wife = happy life

Weebie

Perth in general is probably the cheapest part of WA.

If your worried about Property prices the general cost of living here is far more ridiculous and their is no escape. Perhaps you should be reconsidering your decision if costs are an issue.

ScottyB

Thanks for the swift and detailed replies folks, really appreciated!

Just to clarify cost was only part of the reason for the post, it is NOT a major issue i would just prefer not to line the pockets of a landlord for 1000-1500 a week for a nice pad if i can help it. Just the tight Jock in me....

I will be looking to use LAFHA where appropriate.

Ok so it looks like Perth is the sensible choice certainly closer than flying back to Scotland on rotation!!!

Would be very interested to hear more from Vegemite Kids about the options 2-3 hours drive outside of Perth.

What additional costs can you expect over and above a typical rental?

Electricity/Water Bills, Government taxes and Internet etc?

If anyone currently renting in Perth paying say 1000-1500 per week for a nice 3 or 4 bed would be kind enough to post details of their other expenses it would be appreciated.

Regards

ScottyB

HelenTD

You do not need to be paying anywhere near $1000-1500 per week rent in Perth, or elsewhere in WA (except Karratha or possibly Broome) to live in a very nice area. If you do want to pay that much a week in rent, then you'll find places to match.

An alternative airport for FIFO is Busselton, in the south west of WA, but there is a curfew on flights at night/very early morning, so insufficient capacity at the airport for all the people who want to live down there and FIFO to the NW. I know a family who live a bit further on from Busselton in one of my favourite WA places, Dunsborough. The husband drives to Perth airport, about 2.5-3 hours, to catch his flight north. Perhaps not so bad doing this drive at the start of his stint, but not so good at the end, to get off the plane, then face a 2.5-3 hr drive home. Driver fatigue is the cause of many accidents here.

On this sort of salary, you could afford to live in a great suburb, such as close to the river or the ocean, and have plenty of disposable income for holidays in your time off. At the moment you son would be in primary school for another year or two, depending on his exact age, and a lot of schools have a very relaxed attitude about kids going on holiday during term time. This is different in high school, though, where you would probably have to plan on just going away in school holiday periods or long weekends. You can also just go away on a Friday afternoon, returning Sunday afternooon, but you tend to have to drive longer distances here to get anywhere.

Have a search on BE for "cost of living" threads. As a tenant you have rent, electricity, gas, telecoms, water usage, food, entertainment, sports club fees for kids, school fees (can vary from minimal in state primary to extortionate in some private schools), car registration, servicing, driver's licence, insurance (you would need contents insurance for your belongings as well). I've probably forgotten a few, it's getting pretty late.

coatinginspection

What position did you secure pal? Tentatively looking for work out there myself...

EvannTel

Another option could be around Bunbury. The suburb we live on you could rent a 4 bed, 2 bath house, 1 acre, water views, pool, possums in the garden, kangaroos for....wait for it....$650 or so a week. Its 2 hours to Perth airport, 40 mins to Bussleton, 1 hour to Margeret River.
MASSIVELY better value then Perth unless you need/want the full facilities of a big city. Its not the back of beyond but does lack some "sophisication" but then anywhere outside Perth central could be described like that.

La Vida loca

Ask Chevron to put a housing package into it, and live in karratha... or PErth.

If not trade your $ off and the hassle of moving to Perth and setting up.

verystormy

We are in Mandurah, which is about an hour drive from the airport and a lot of the guys who live down there are FIFO - one of my neighbours used to work on Gorgon and all work in regional WA, as do i.

Mandurah is a smallish town with good road and rail connections to Perth. The train takes about 50 mins. It has pretty much everything that you need. The only things we really go into Perth for are things like higher end restaurants. The town centre is very pretty and a lovely place to have a stroll on a evening.

Housing is much more affordable than Perth, particularly if you want to be next to a beach. We rent and have a great new house with 3 double bedrooms next to the beach with a swimming pool and in ground spa for $325 a week.

I drive to the airport and leave the car in the long stay, though for an 8 week stint this might not be feasable. There is a shared cab service that i have used called Mandurah Mine Line that picks up a minibus worth of guys who are flying out and takes you to Perth Airport. Costs $50.

Dont even think about living up in Karratha unless the company were willing to pay housing costs. You would easy blow over $1000 a week and not really get much to show for it. Also not really the most fun place in the world to live.

Have a look on realestate.com.au for properties. Here are a few examples near me. The surf club there also takes kids from a very young age.

http://www.realestate.com.au/propert...anup-404212624

http://www.realestate.com.au/propert...anup-404972832

http://www.realestate.com.au/propert...ille-403861925

If you like golf the last one in on a golf course

Vegemite Kids

Hey Scotty,
How long is your contract on Gorgon? Are you planning to try stay for the whole 4 years of the 457?

It might be better to base you wife and son in Perth initially so they don’t feel too isolated. Hard enough for them to move to the other side of the world away from friends and family but especially as you will be away for 2/3rds of the time as well, so maybe living in Perth might be easier for her?

What is she saying her preferences would be? Would she want to work whilst over here, or is she planning to be a stay-at home mom to your son?


Within approx 3 hour drive from Perth you have the following lifestyle options
· Live in a small fishing village with great beaches, eg Jurien Bay (rock lobster – Yum!)
· Live beside one of the best windsurfing beaches in the world at Lancelin. Which also has great scuba-diving / snorkelling areas and fun 4x4 sand-duneing as well.
· Have a hobby farm in the Chittering Valley / Northam / York / Mount Helena / Donnybrook
· Run a horse stud / agistment in Serpentine
· Live on a houseboat on a fabulous estuary at Mandurah, 1 hour south of Perth, and go kayaking and crabbing. Also has a very good golf course if that’s your thing.
· Live at a safe and sheltered beach where upwards of 100 dolphins come in to play, but is right next door to the third largest city in WA (Bunbury) so good work opportunities for your wife if she wants to work.
· Get involved in the arts scene in Dunsborough and Margaret River. Maybe your wife would like to work in an art gallery?


Thats just some of the options off the top of my head but probably covers the main lifestyle choices your family could have if they didnt want to live in suburbia in Perth, although for the cost of renting an average 3-4 bedroom house in Karratha, you could get something pretty fabby in Perth/suburbia and have the best of beach and city if you wanted it.

VK

ScottyB

Health and Safety Advisor mate, been trying to get something for a while myself finally managed it.

Thanks for all of the info verystormy, and for taking the time to copy and paste all of the links in of potential houses you are a star!!

Mandurah certainly looks like a potential location seems to have everything you could ever need and only a short hop on the train the shared Mandurah Mine Line sounds a great idea as well!

Prices are really good!

Do they have a local football team? My wee boy aged 11 plays at a good level if he could get a trial he would hopefully slot into a local team.

Fixed term Staff contract waiting on a breakdown of exactly what this means Vegemite, it is our intention to do the whole 4 years if it is available and PR at the end of that would be great.

Wow, loads to consider there a massive thank you for taking the time to put all of that down for us!

I am liking the advice of letting the wife choose, if she gets it wrong i can blame her....

My wife is a very good artist in her own right and she plans to start again when we move down. She also works in retail so a job in an art gallery would probably be her idea of heaven! She will probably want to work just to keep her sanity and socialise. I will show her your list above and we will let you know how we get on.

I can see a tug of war between Mandurah and Dunsborough/Margaret River already....