2 months in Perth
Dec 21st 2006, 11:27 am
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 121
2 months in Perth
Quick history first. Applied for PR 136 visa in January this year. Took about 5 months to get approval. Did it all ourselves and wouldn't recommend using an agent if you have the points required for visa application and are MODL as it really was very straightforward.
Have to admit that the last few weeks prior to leaving the UK were absolute hell which I was totally unprepared for. I'd been really keen to come but found leaving much harder than I ever anticipated. You completely take for granted the roots you've put down until you start heaving them out one by one! I really feel for people who have lived in one area most of their lives as we'd only been in the same place for 5 years with no family nearby and it was still incredibly difficult. As a result of this I arrived in Oz initially feeling very homesick and wondering what the hell we'd done! I finally understood why some people return back so soon!! I would quite happily have hopped on the plane given the chance.
Anyway it's now nearly two months in and we're all feeling much better!
I wanted to pass on some of our experiences as I found posts like this really helpful when we were in the process of applying.
Firstly if possible try to get your stuff shipped in advance. We used White and Co and paid around £3300 for a 20 foot container. We shipped all the stuff about a month in advance so that it would arrive around the same time as we did. We figured it was easier to borrow off friends in a place that we knew rather than the other way around. We booked a holiday let through Movetoperth.com for the initial two weeks which covered the time it took to clear customs and fortunately this all went completely to plan. All our stuff arrived and cleared customs 10 days after our arrival which was fantastic. I would really recommend a holiday let as they are fully equipped so you don't have to worry about towels or anything and it generally works out much cheaper than a hotel. Just make sure it includes all bills. I know that Poms in Perth doesn't!! We were lucky and managed to arrange an unfurnished rental from the UK. We found it on the realestate.com.au website as we had an idea of where we wanted to be. The house is quite dated but has a big pool and will certainly do for now!!
White and Co were fine. I wasn't hugely impressed about the admin side of things but the stuff all arrived when it was supposed to with minimal damage and that's all that matters really!!
We had arranged a bank account with ANZ from the UK which was really easy but don't do it to far in advance as you still pay the charges even when the account has been officially opened! All we had to do was go to an ANZ within six weeks of arrival with the relevant paperwork. Get used to carrying all you passports, birth certs etc etc around with you initially as you need it for so many things.
As we were on a budget we didn't have vast amounts of money to bring over so we left all the money in the UK bank and just used the ATM machines here. We also kept a uk credit card and paid for most things on that and just transfered over what was needed.
For those of you with limited funds we have managed well on approx £8000 to set up home and pay a deposit on a car and have no salary coming in for 6 weeks. We would have managed more but of course Christmas has dug into the funds with two young kids.
Ironically it was easier to get new car rather than a secondhand one as they are so much more expensive here. As I had a contract to start work we were able to get HP.
We applied for our tax file numbers online which was really easy. Applying for Medicare just involves going to a Medicare office with all relevant passports. And CentreLink for the application of Family tax benefit (the equivalent of child benefit which is means tested here) Allow plenty of time for this one!!
With regard to GP's you don't have to register in advance if you don't need one. You can just turn up and register on the day if required. Very few bulk bill anymore. (This means you don't pay for the visit it goes straight to Medicare). Most of the time you have to pay for the visit and then go and claim it back from the Medicare office. I think many of the surgeries bulk bill for kids though.
Make sure you have children's immunisation records as this is needed for GP's and schools etc. I just got my surgery to print off the record from their computer rather than carrying the red book everywhere.
Bunnings is like Homebase and we spent an awful lot of time there when we first arrived. I'd recommend The Good Guys for all electrical stuff as we found them excellent when getting the fridge etc. Also cheaper if you pay cash. It's all in the yellow pages.
Don't underestimate how hard it might feel. You have given up everything you know. Even the grocery shop is a nightmare initially until you familiarise yourself with all the new stuff. I really missed the Uk supermarkets initially as I'm a lazy cook and like all the pre-prepared stuff of which there is very little here!! But it's made me cook from scratch far more often which is probably far better anyway.
I was lucky to have set up a job from the UK as I'm a sonographer. My husband is a welder however and is finding it much harder than anticipated to get work. Everyone says 'Oh he'll get a job easily' but it ain't happening yet!! As people have often stated here as far as trades go getting overseas experience recognised isnt so straightforward!
Anyway on the whole I think we could be happy here. The weather's great and I love living near the coast. The house prices are a disaster but we're no worse off than we were in the UK as we couldn't afford to buy there either. As long as the job thing works out I think we'll be ok. I miss friends and family but who doesn't!! We're very lucky as we had friends here already which has helped us settle in more quickly as a result.
As has been said before 'same shit - shinier bucket' It's not eutopia but I certainly don't hate it. I think I expcted it to be a bit more laid back but it's not really. Compared to my job in the UK the holidays are much shorter and sick pay much more limited. People are friendly on the whole but no different to the UK really. Some are nice some not so nice, same old, same old!!
It will be intersting to see how we feel in a year. I like it here but also appreciate that the UK isn't so bad after all.
Anyway sorry it's a bit of a ramble but hope it helps someone!!
Have to admit that the last few weeks prior to leaving the UK were absolute hell which I was totally unprepared for. I'd been really keen to come but found leaving much harder than I ever anticipated. You completely take for granted the roots you've put down until you start heaving them out one by one! I really feel for people who have lived in one area most of their lives as we'd only been in the same place for 5 years with no family nearby and it was still incredibly difficult. As a result of this I arrived in Oz initially feeling very homesick and wondering what the hell we'd done! I finally understood why some people return back so soon!! I would quite happily have hopped on the plane given the chance.
Anyway it's now nearly two months in and we're all feeling much better!
I wanted to pass on some of our experiences as I found posts like this really helpful when we were in the process of applying.
Firstly if possible try to get your stuff shipped in advance. We used White and Co and paid around £3300 for a 20 foot container. We shipped all the stuff about a month in advance so that it would arrive around the same time as we did. We figured it was easier to borrow off friends in a place that we knew rather than the other way around. We booked a holiday let through Movetoperth.com for the initial two weeks which covered the time it took to clear customs and fortunately this all went completely to plan. All our stuff arrived and cleared customs 10 days after our arrival which was fantastic. I would really recommend a holiday let as they are fully equipped so you don't have to worry about towels or anything and it generally works out much cheaper than a hotel. Just make sure it includes all bills. I know that Poms in Perth doesn't!! We were lucky and managed to arrange an unfurnished rental from the UK. We found it on the realestate.com.au website as we had an idea of where we wanted to be. The house is quite dated but has a big pool and will certainly do for now!!
White and Co were fine. I wasn't hugely impressed about the admin side of things but the stuff all arrived when it was supposed to with minimal damage and that's all that matters really!!
We had arranged a bank account with ANZ from the UK which was really easy but don't do it to far in advance as you still pay the charges even when the account has been officially opened! All we had to do was go to an ANZ within six weeks of arrival with the relevant paperwork. Get used to carrying all you passports, birth certs etc etc around with you initially as you need it for so many things.
As we were on a budget we didn't have vast amounts of money to bring over so we left all the money in the UK bank and just used the ATM machines here. We also kept a uk credit card and paid for most things on that and just transfered over what was needed.
For those of you with limited funds we have managed well on approx £8000 to set up home and pay a deposit on a car and have no salary coming in for 6 weeks. We would have managed more but of course Christmas has dug into the funds with two young kids.
Ironically it was easier to get new car rather than a secondhand one as they are so much more expensive here. As I had a contract to start work we were able to get HP.
We applied for our tax file numbers online which was really easy. Applying for Medicare just involves going to a Medicare office with all relevant passports. And CentreLink for the application of Family tax benefit (the equivalent of child benefit which is means tested here) Allow plenty of time for this one!!
With regard to GP's you don't have to register in advance if you don't need one. You can just turn up and register on the day if required. Very few bulk bill anymore. (This means you don't pay for the visit it goes straight to Medicare). Most of the time you have to pay for the visit and then go and claim it back from the Medicare office. I think many of the surgeries bulk bill for kids though.
Make sure you have children's immunisation records as this is needed for GP's and schools etc. I just got my surgery to print off the record from their computer rather than carrying the red book everywhere.
Bunnings is like Homebase and we spent an awful lot of time there when we first arrived. I'd recommend The Good Guys for all electrical stuff as we found them excellent when getting the fridge etc. Also cheaper if you pay cash. It's all in the yellow pages.
Don't underestimate how hard it might feel. You have given up everything you know. Even the grocery shop is a nightmare initially until you familiarise yourself with all the new stuff. I really missed the Uk supermarkets initially as I'm a lazy cook and like all the pre-prepared stuff of which there is very little here!! But it's made me cook from scratch far more often which is probably far better anyway.
I was lucky to have set up a job from the UK as I'm a sonographer. My husband is a welder however and is finding it much harder than anticipated to get work. Everyone says 'Oh he'll get a job easily' but it ain't happening yet!! As people have often stated here as far as trades go getting overseas experience recognised isnt so straightforward!
Anyway on the whole I think we could be happy here. The weather's great and I love living near the coast. The house prices are a disaster but we're no worse off than we were in the UK as we couldn't afford to buy there either. As long as the job thing works out I think we'll be ok. I miss friends and family but who doesn't!! We're very lucky as we had friends here already which has helped us settle in more quickly as a result.
As has been said before 'same shit - shinier bucket' It's not eutopia but I certainly don't hate it. I think I expcted it to be a bit more laid back but it's not really. Compared to my job in the UK the holidays are much shorter and sick pay much more limited. People are friendly on the whole but no different to the UK really. Some are nice some not so nice, same old, same old!!
It will be intersting to see how we feel in a year. I like it here but also appreciate that the UK isn't so bad after all.
Anyway sorry it's a bit of a ramble but hope it helps someone!!
Dec 21st 2006, 11:32 am
#2
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,918
Re: 2 months in Perth
Originally Posted by jojo90
Quick history first. Applied for PR 136 visa in January this year. Took about 5 months to get approval. Did it all ourselves and wouldn't recommend using an agent if you have the points required for visa application and are MODL as it really was very straightforward.
Have to admit that the last few weeks prior to leaving the UK were absolute hell which I was totally unprepared for. I'd been really keen to come but found leaving much harder than I ever anticipated. You completely take for granted the roots you've put down until you start heaving them out one by one! I really feel for people who have lived in one area most of their lives as we'd only been in the same place for 5 years with no family nearby and it was still incredibly difficult. As a result of this I arrived in Oz initially feeling very homesick and wondering what the hell we'd done! I finally understood why some people return back so soon!! I would quite happily have hopped on the plane given the chance.
Anyway it's now nearly two months in and we're all feeling much better!
I wanted to pass on some of our experiences as I found posts like this really helpful when we were in the process of applying.
Firstly if possible try to get your stuff shipped in advance. We used White and Co and paid around £3300 for a 20 foot container. We shipped all the stuff about a month in advance so that it would arrive around the same time as we did. We figured it was easier to borrow off friends in a place that we knew rather than the other way around. We booked a holiday let through Movetoperth.com for the initial two weeks which covered the time it took to clear customs and fortunately this all went completely to plan. All our stuff arrived and cleared customs 10 days after our arrival which was fantastic. I would really recommend a holiday let as they are fully equipped so you don't have to worry about towels or anything and it generally works out much cheaper than a hotel. Just make sure it includes all bills. I know that Poms in Perth doesn't!! We were lucky and managed to arrange an unfurnished rental from the UK. We found it on the realestate.com.au website as we had an idea of where we wanted to be. The house is quite dated but has a big pool and will certainly do for now!!
White and Co were fine. I wasn't hugely impressed about the admin side of things but the stuff all arrived when it was supposed to with minimal damage and that's all that matters really!!
We had arranged a bank account with ANZ from the UK which was really easy but don't do it to far in advance as you still pay the charges even when the account has been officially opened! All we had to do was go to an ANZ within six weeks of arrival with the relevant paperwork. Get used to carrying all you passports, birth certs etc etc around with you initially as you need it for so many things.
As we were on a budget we didn't have vast amounts of money to bring over so we left all the money in the UK bank and just used the ATM machines here. We also kept a uk credit card and paid for most things on that and just transfered over what was needed.
For those of you with limited funds we have managed well on approx £8000 to set up home and pay a deposit on a car and have no salary coming in for 6 weeks. We would have managed more but of course Christmas has dug into the funds with two young kids.
Ironically it was easier to get new car rather than a secondhand one as they are so much more expensive here. As I had a contract to start work we were able to get HP.
We applied for our tax file numbers online which was really easy. Applying for Medicare just involves going to a Medicare office with all relevant passports. And CentreLink for the application of Family tax benefit (the equivalent of child benefit which is means tested here) Allow plenty of time for this one!!
With regard to GP's you don't have to register in advance if you don't need one. You can just turn up and register on the day if required. Very few bulk bill anymore. (This means you don't pay for the visit it goes straight to Medicare). Most of the time you have to pay for the visit and then go and claim it back from the Medicare office. I think many of the surgeries bulk bill for kids though.
Make sure you have children's immunisation records as this is needed for GP's and schools etc. I just got my surgery to print off the record from their computer rather than carrying the red book everywhere.
Bunnings is like Homebase and we spent an awful lot of time there when we first arrived. I'd recommend The Good Guys for all electrical stuff as we found them excellent when getting the fridge etc. Also cheaper if you pay cash. It's all in the yellow pages.
Don't underestimate how hard it might feel. You have given up everything you know. Even the grocery shop is a nightmare initially until you familiarise yourself with all the new stuff. I really missed the Uk supermarkets initially as I'm a lazy cook and like all the pre-prepared stuff of which there is very little here!! But it's made me cook from scratch far more often which is probably far better anyway.
I was lucky to have set up a job from the UK as I'm a sonographer. My husband is a welder however and is finding it much harder than anticipated to get work. Everyone says 'Oh he'll get a job easily' but it ain't happening yet!! As people have often stated here as far as trades go getting overseas experience recognised isnt so straightforward!
Anyway on the whole I think we could be happy here. The weather's great and I love living near the coast. The house prices are a disaster but we're no worse off than we were in the UK as we couldn't afford to buy there either. As long as the job thing works out I think we'll be ok. I miss friends and family but who doesn't!! We're very lucky as we had friends here already which has helped us settle in more quickly as a result.
As has been said before 'same shit - shinier bucket' It's not eutopia but I certainly don't hate it. I think I expcted it to be a bit more laid back but it's not really. Compared to my job in the UK the holidays are much shorter and sick pay much more limited. People are friendly on the whole but no different to the UK really. Some are nice some not so nice, same old, same old!!
It will be intersting to see how we feel in a year. I like it here but also appreciate that the UK isn't so bad after all.
Anyway sorry it's a bit of a ramble but hope it helps someone!!
Have to admit that the last few weeks prior to leaving the UK were absolute hell which I was totally unprepared for. I'd been really keen to come but found leaving much harder than I ever anticipated. You completely take for granted the roots you've put down until you start heaving them out one by one! I really feel for people who have lived in one area most of their lives as we'd only been in the same place for 5 years with no family nearby and it was still incredibly difficult. As a result of this I arrived in Oz initially feeling very homesick and wondering what the hell we'd done! I finally understood why some people return back so soon!! I would quite happily have hopped on the plane given the chance.
Anyway it's now nearly two months in and we're all feeling much better!
I wanted to pass on some of our experiences as I found posts like this really helpful when we were in the process of applying.
Firstly if possible try to get your stuff shipped in advance. We used White and Co and paid around £3300 for a 20 foot container. We shipped all the stuff about a month in advance so that it would arrive around the same time as we did. We figured it was easier to borrow off friends in a place that we knew rather than the other way around. We booked a holiday let through Movetoperth.com for the initial two weeks which covered the time it took to clear customs and fortunately this all went completely to plan. All our stuff arrived and cleared customs 10 days after our arrival which was fantastic. I would really recommend a holiday let as they are fully equipped so you don't have to worry about towels or anything and it generally works out much cheaper than a hotel. Just make sure it includes all bills. I know that Poms in Perth doesn't!! We were lucky and managed to arrange an unfurnished rental from the UK. We found it on the realestate.com.au website as we had an idea of where we wanted to be. The house is quite dated but has a big pool and will certainly do for now!!
White and Co were fine. I wasn't hugely impressed about the admin side of things but the stuff all arrived when it was supposed to with minimal damage and that's all that matters really!!
We had arranged a bank account with ANZ from the UK which was really easy but don't do it to far in advance as you still pay the charges even when the account has been officially opened! All we had to do was go to an ANZ within six weeks of arrival with the relevant paperwork. Get used to carrying all you passports, birth certs etc etc around with you initially as you need it for so many things.
As we were on a budget we didn't have vast amounts of money to bring over so we left all the money in the UK bank and just used the ATM machines here. We also kept a uk credit card and paid for most things on that and just transfered over what was needed.
For those of you with limited funds we have managed well on approx £8000 to set up home and pay a deposit on a car and have no salary coming in for 6 weeks. We would have managed more but of course Christmas has dug into the funds with two young kids.
Ironically it was easier to get new car rather than a secondhand one as they are so much more expensive here. As I had a contract to start work we were able to get HP.
We applied for our tax file numbers online which was really easy. Applying for Medicare just involves going to a Medicare office with all relevant passports. And CentreLink for the application of Family tax benefit (the equivalent of child benefit which is means tested here) Allow plenty of time for this one!!
With regard to GP's you don't have to register in advance if you don't need one. You can just turn up and register on the day if required. Very few bulk bill anymore. (This means you don't pay for the visit it goes straight to Medicare). Most of the time you have to pay for the visit and then go and claim it back from the Medicare office. I think many of the surgeries bulk bill for kids though.
Make sure you have children's immunisation records as this is needed for GP's and schools etc. I just got my surgery to print off the record from their computer rather than carrying the red book everywhere.
Bunnings is like Homebase and we spent an awful lot of time there when we first arrived. I'd recommend The Good Guys for all electrical stuff as we found them excellent when getting the fridge etc. Also cheaper if you pay cash. It's all in the yellow pages.
Don't underestimate how hard it might feel. You have given up everything you know. Even the grocery shop is a nightmare initially until you familiarise yourself with all the new stuff. I really missed the Uk supermarkets initially as I'm a lazy cook and like all the pre-prepared stuff of which there is very little here!! But it's made me cook from scratch far more often which is probably far better anyway.
I was lucky to have set up a job from the UK as I'm a sonographer. My husband is a welder however and is finding it much harder than anticipated to get work. Everyone says 'Oh he'll get a job easily' but it ain't happening yet!! As people have often stated here as far as trades go getting overseas experience recognised isnt so straightforward!
Anyway on the whole I think we could be happy here. The weather's great and I love living near the coast. The house prices are a disaster but we're no worse off than we were in the UK as we couldn't afford to buy there either. As long as the job thing works out I think we'll be ok. I miss friends and family but who doesn't!! We're very lucky as we had friends here already which has helped us settle in more quickly as a result.
As has been said before 'same shit - shinier bucket' It's not eutopia but I certainly don't hate it. I think I expcted it to be a bit more laid back but it's not really. Compared to my job in the UK the holidays are much shorter and sick pay much more limited. People are friendly on the whole but no different to the UK really. Some are nice some not so nice, same old, same old!!
It will be intersting to see how we feel in a year. I like it here but also appreciate that the UK isn't so bad after all.
Anyway sorry it's a bit of a ramble but hope it helps someone!!
Good honest post ...thanks for sharing
Hope your first christmas in OZ will be the first of many and be very happy.
We have booked a rental from Poms in perth for 16 days in febraury...hope the bill isnt too much
Dec 21st 2006, 11:53 am
#3
......in the sand !
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Perth, WA :)
Posts: 4,421
Re: 2 months in Perth
Informative honest post Jojo. You must have arrived about the same time as us (9/10/06)
Whereabouts are you ? Have you seen the meetup arranged for 13/01/07 at Kings Park ?
Gillian
Whereabouts are you ? Have you seen the meetup arranged for 13/01/07 at Kings Park ?
Gillian
Dec 21st 2006, 11:55 am
#4
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,693
Re: 2 months in Perth
[
Excellnt post, cheers, keep us updated again on life in Perth.
Dave
Excellnt post, cheers, keep us updated again on life in Perth.
Dave
Dec 21st 2006, 11:56 am
#5
Gutter Gob!!
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Perth
Posts: 13,098
Re: 2 months in Perth
Welcome to Perth
Dec 21st 2006, 12:08 pm
#6
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Wigan > Perth > Wigan
Posts: 1,233
Re: 2 months in Perth
Very good post!
We've been in Perth for all of 5 days now but so far so good!
Still need cars, jobs and a rental place though so we've got a lot to get through yet!
We've been in Perth for all of 5 days now but so far so good!
Still need cars, jobs and a rental place though so we've got a lot to get through yet!
Dec 21st 2006, 12:23 pm
#7
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: U.K. still!!
Posts: 1,503
Re: 2 months in Perth
Gr8 post. Me and mine are hoping to come to Perth once we have the visa. Please contiue to keep all of us hopefully Oz bound posted on life down under
Dec 21st 2006, 12:31 pm
#8
visa holder
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Thornlands, Bayside
Posts: 1,964
Re: 2 months in Perth
Great post, hope you continue to enjoy living in Perth. All the best and look forward to more updates.
Joex
Joex
Dec 21st 2006, 12:34 pm
#9
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: Now Perth! Kalamunda
Posts: 690
Re: 2 months in Perth
Great post, as you say it is useful to people following you to see how you managed to do things and what problems you had. Seems like you are settling well and have done the hardest part. We are planning on arriving in Perth sometime around easter as soon as we have our visas so the practicalities are always good to read about.
Good luck for the future and have a Great first Christmas in Your new adopted country
Cheers
Good luck for the future and have a Great first Christmas in Your new adopted country
Cheers
Dec 21st 2006, 1:06 pm
#10
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 757
Re: 2 months in Perth
Good honest post really enjoyed reading it, hope you will keep us all updated
Dec 21st 2006, 1:27 pm
#11
Back to WA! Yay!
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: Madeley, WA
Posts: 975
Re: 2 months in Perth
Great read guys. I'll be doing all this in Jan and Feb and suffice to say it will be a distraught christmas! Thanks for your story
Dec 21st 2006, 2:43 pm
#12
Lee N Liz
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: In Limbo
Posts: 63
Re: 2 months in Perth
Ramble what ramble? its just what we need to read Great post
and merry chritmas
Anyway sorry it's a bit of a ramble but hope it helps someone!!
and merry chritmas
Originally Posted by jojo90
Anyway sorry it's a bit of a ramble but hope it helps someone!!
Dec 22nd 2006, 1:15 am
#13
Just Joined
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: was Leeds, now Perth WA
Posts: 11
Re: 2 months in Perth
Hello everyone and Merry Christams,
Great post and our experiences seem very similar, we're been here a month and things are going well, both got jobs though agenices and found a small unit to rent but still waiting for our container, which, now we've been told won't arrive until the new year! It Shipped on the 8th November but we're managing with some new goods and a lot of borrowed goods!
I see there's a meet up at Kings park and we'd like to go but we're newbies and shy! :scared:
Just to help others, we found you can register for your TFN number online and Gas, Electric and Phone can be done over the phone easily.
Broadband is poor and slow (compaired to my 6mb unlmited in the UK!) but at least we're connected and now have contact with our family and friends in the UK.
We've also changed our Driving Licenses, this was simple but took a long time as the offices are so busy but was worth it as it enabled us to buy a new car and helped on my security clearance for working at the Airport.
Todays also a big day as our money from our house sale in the UK should arrive in the new Westpac bank account!! fingers crossed, its a long story but our house sale collapsed on the exchange day, which is also the day we were booked to fly! A tense month was had waiting for the news that the sale had eventually gone through
Its not enough to buy a nice house in Perth, so its work,work work for us.
Thanks for a great and helpful site and all wishing you all the best for the New Year
Great post and our experiences seem very similar, we're been here a month and things are going well, both got jobs though agenices and found a small unit to rent but still waiting for our container, which, now we've been told won't arrive until the new year! It Shipped on the 8th November but we're managing with some new goods and a lot of borrowed goods!
I see there's a meet up at Kings park and we'd like to go but we're newbies and shy! :scared:
Just to help others, we found you can register for your TFN number online and Gas, Electric and Phone can be done over the phone easily.
Broadband is poor and slow (compaired to my 6mb unlmited in the UK!) but at least we're connected and now have contact with our family and friends in the UK.
We've also changed our Driving Licenses, this was simple but took a long time as the offices are so busy but was worth it as it enabled us to buy a new car and helped on my security clearance for working at the Airport.
Todays also a big day as our money from our house sale in the UK should arrive in the new Westpac bank account!! fingers crossed, its a long story but our house sale collapsed on the exchange day, which is also the day we were booked to fly! A tense month was had waiting for the news that the sale had eventually gone through
Its not enough to buy a nice house in Perth, so its work,work work for us.
Thanks for a great and helpful site and all wishing you all the best for the New Year
Dec 22nd 2006, 1:24 am
#14
Where traffic lights rule
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Brighton QLD
Posts: 2,460
Re: 2 months in Perth
Originally Posted by jojo90
The Good Guys for all electrical stuff as we found them excellent when getting the fridge etc. Also cheaper if you pay cash.
Dec 22nd 2006, 7:52 pm
#15
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2005
Location: Buckinghamshire
Posts: 961
Re: 2 months in Perth
Excellent post, thank you for the information and also for sharing your experiences so far, warts 'n all. Its good to keep us still in the UK away from those rose tinted specs 
Wishing you a very hot and happy Christmas.
Karen x
Wishing you a very hot and happy Christmas.
Karen x