Hi all,

I haven't been on here for quite some time - life just gets in the way you know! I am training to be a midwife, qualifying next year, so we as a family have decided to head to Australia in August / September next year for a few weeks to explore, to see if we like it before starting the visa process. We know that we would realistically end up in Adelaide or Perth for various reasons, so those are the areas that we are going to check out.

Can anyone local to those areas (or in the know in some shape or form!) be able to give any helpful tips of holiday lets to cater to a family of four, reasonable car hire places, airlines that can be recommended for internal flights etc? We are trying to keep the costs as low as possible as it's probably going to cost about £5k anyway.

If anyone else has some useful tips or things that we should also check out, I welcome any ideas! For others that did the recces before moving, did you use this opportunity to look at schools, suburbs, rental properties etc? It's ok exploring the area to see if you like it, but how deep do we go?!

I can't suggest on areas although I know Perth, but reccie before even applying a visa, I'd just call it a holiday. And as that, looking at rental without visa would be pointless as areas and availability change. As for schools, if going for public schools, they depend where you rent so yet a moot point. Suggest you enjoy your holiday, see sights, maybe talk to locals whilst here to "get a feel" and then decide if you'll go after a visa, keeping in mind that visa regulations change often.

Not trying to put you down, rather encouraging you to have a good time but don't get your head set into a certain suburb or a house until visa in hand....

I think that you may misunderstand... I feel that it isn't just a 'holiday'. Of course we can do the touristy things too, but we need to establish whether we could live there, and that encompasses looking at areas, what the properties are like and how much they cost, for example. It seems daft to limit myself to Real Estate Australia website / app when I will be in the country and can look at the real thing - I think that it would be naïve not to? I certainly won't be setting my heart on a certain suburb or school as it would be irrelevant, but to explore them would only provide me with more knowledge, I feel.

We have closely monitored the visa situation for a couple of years now, so I am not a novice to that either. We can't afford to go to Australia to explore twice (once pre visa, once post-visa), but I am not spending thousands on a visa and the move without ever having been to the country. This is the only opportunity to do so all rolled into one, hence the original post.

I do understand that but you are talking about coming here in a year, with visa most likely 2015-2016. A lot can change in that time, not just about visas but suburbs, jobs and schools. You'd be surprised how quickly a good school goes bad with a wrong new principal! Been there done that.

As for real estate, ATM it's fighting for rentals but who knows what the situation is in 2 or so years?

After decade and half here, seen all of it go up and down, jobs, houses and rentals and as I said, wish you all the best but to come for a "reccie" year or two before even having a visa.... Well things change, a lot.

I came over before my visa application, as young spark wasn't sure he would move. We only came to Adelaide as we only had two weeks, and booked a furnished apartment through home away website. Didn't look at any houses, but did look at different suburbs.

What does your OH do, cos a quick look on seek showed 297 midwife vacancies advertised in last 30 days, 32 in Perth and 8 in Adelaide.

Hi there LL. For internal flights (I'm assuming Perth - Adelaide - Perth) you'll need to budget $300 - $400 each I'm afraid, domestic airfares from Perth are crazy. Adelaide is the closest capital city to Perth and it's still a two and three quarter hour flight. You can occasionally get lucky with airline specials - the airlines that fly this route are Tiger, Virgin Blue, Jetstar and Qantas. The first three are 'no frills' airlines and in the cheaper fare brackets you have to pay extra for checked baggage, food and drinks etc. Qantas is a full service airline but good specials from them are few and far between.
Good luck with your planning!

Teza, I understand where you're coming from, fair point, so thank you. Old.sparkles, I am quite lucky that I could work anywhere, apart from the U.K. it seems with the lack of jobs around! DH is a floor finisher and is on the state sponsored list for WA and SA (and others but we wouldn't want to live there). When we'd gone through the process of converting his qualifications into the AQF III, an agent contacted DH and asked when we were coming out as he had contract work as early as the week after! However, I appreciate things change all the time and it's only in the snapshot that you're looking for jobs that ascertains if there are any, if that makes sense! SoS, thanks for the heads up on the internal flights, I shall definitely check them out. We hadn't made up our minds on the flight details, but it would most likely be one way to Adelaide, internal to Perth, fly home from Perth (or vice versa).

I have lived in Perth & Adelaide. Just moved back to Perth from Adelaide end Feb 13.

From a holiday let perspective, consider house sitting to save money and to get the feel of a neighbourhood. You will need to water plants and feed pets but saves you $$$$s. Just google house sitting Perth/Adelaide/Australia - lots of sites will pop up. Some people will even let you use thier car...

At this point in time, Perth is more expensive in some things than Adelaide and vice versa. For example, utilities were more expensive in Adelaide as was car rego. Food is more expensive in Perth. Pace of life is slower in Adelaide - service is better in restaurants in Adelaide FWIW.

Adelaide is colder in winter than Perth. Summer depends on the year - last year Perth was hotter than Adelaide over the summer period but I did have the hottest day I've ever experienced in Adelaide - 45C...

I'm a Q fan so always flew Q from/to SA/WA. Did one return flight on Jetstar which was fine - no issues. TBH there really isn't a huge difference between airline prices. Remember with the low cost carriers you have to pay extra for luggage and you will have a bit... Just check out their sites and do the math.

Happy to try and answer specifics for either State if you wish ....

Hello, wondered if you might pop back here

Try googling some caravan parks. We stayed at Mt Barker for our recce, but that might be too far out for you. Also, be aware of when school hols are here as they will push prices up for accommodation. These are the term dates for 2014 School Hols

Car hire really varies depending on size etc, but we found it quite reasonable when we were here. If you do stay in self-catering, make the most of Coles/Woolies (supermarkets) fuel discount vouchers that you get with your shopping. Fuel costs tends to be on a 10-14 day cycle here varying in cost from around $1.32 up to around $1.48, so the discount vouchers you can get with your shopping can make quite a difference.

Give me a shout if I can be of more help