TigerFeet

4 months in Perth, heres my view...

I wont give you the 'Coles is like asdas/sainsburys/waitrose' as youve prob heard all that all ready.

Nor will I tell you which is 'the best 4x4 to buy/drive' as youve prob read 20 threads on the subject already.

Neither will I tell you to 'embrace the Australian/Oz/Aussie lifestyle.'

This is my story....

The reasons why myself and my family came to Perth are incidental. We came because we saw an opportunity, we thought 'what the hell' jumped on the rollercoaster and away we went.

The visa process (at the time) felt like 'Phew, well thats the worst part over...'

Hmmm...

Well folks that is just the beginning.

We didnt have an official leaving party. Nor did we have our relatives see us off at the airport. Its personal chocie (!) (What am I like)personal choice at the end of the day. To have 20 or so of our nearest and dearest at the airport and emotions running very high I felt (my opinion, like I say) just didnt appeal. I dont regret it. Instead we said our goodbyes the day before. It was very sad and teary and we all hugged and kissed and it was actually ok. Sorry I cant find the right word to explain other than 'ok' but thats how it felt. It was personal to us.

The flights were brill, no probs with the 40k luggage allowance. A tip here...
When you first book your flights make sure you inform the travel agent/company you are emigrating. They can then request the extra baggage allowance. Our travel agent was fab. It took a couple of days to sort and when we went to collect our flight info she made sure it was printed we had the extra alowance so no kerfuffles at check in. And there were no problems.

Living in Perth...

The place...

Roads, freeways, highways (at least were Ive been) are very good. Reccomend you get the 'StreetSmart Street Directory' Its published by the West Australian Newspapers Ltd and you can get it from most local newagents/bookstores. Its been invaluable to me.

The locals..

Are brill! Very friendly indeed. Polite, courteus, and all that. 'How yer goin' 'Good thanks' I love it!!

Burbs..

Explore yourself. Im not going to go down the 'you dont wanna live or you should live there' scenario. We just drove round It didnt take us long to 'suss it out'. One place appeared to be a nice area...then we noticed the the iffy looking guy with the pitbull and a family arguing on the street...drove a bit further along another street..slappers.......NO Thanks! And it was mentioned on here as being ok. After speaking to a local aussie he said it was def an area to avoid...
Make your own choices, it aint rocket science and dont get hung up about it.

Schools..

They are (at least with my kids) 18 months behind the UK curriculum. They dont get homework, well mine dont! So me being the good mum (tee hee!) still get them to read to me anyway and do 'homework from the keystage books their nan sends them from UK. Its something I do because Im keen to know were they are up to, again its personal choice.

Settling in...

Now this is a big one. Its not easy. At least it wasnt for me. My partner was fine, the children ok too. Me..hmmm.

Homesickness kicked in within a few days. After 2 weeks I wanted to go back. (What?!!) I know its daft but thats how I felt. It is soooooo different here. Its very difficult to explain how I feel.... I/we get so swept along with the whole moving to Oz thing that when you get here and then its like 'ok gotta find somewhere to live and a job, etc' that its easy to forget the little things. Webcams are great but I cant hug my UK family. Just be ready for it. But hey you could be ok, I think its prob a personality thing/disorder, whatever!!

Renting...

OMG!!!!!! They want a sh!tload of money for very little. Talk about dumps. I looked round a few places were the tenats were just moving out and Im not kidding!! I wont divulge, use your imagination! All I can say is rent with your sight and smell!! Be good at making excuses and sharp exits!!

Hope its useful, just go at it with your eyes wide open.

If you dont make a plan nothing can go wrong (spike milligan) I like that idea!!

Best of Luck,
TigerFeet

possoms

Hi what a good and honest thread how is the homesickness now?

I think you are right about being swept up in the getting there, reality is very different.

Oh dear another rental nightmare this dosnt look good and your right a hell of a lot of money

Can you tell us what the suburb was that should be avoided?

All in all are you happy and glad you've done it?

Possoms

TigerFeet

Hi and thanks for your reply,

My advice is in regards to renting is look, look and look. We did and it was worth it. Dont 'panic rent' as some do.... unless of course you are absolutley sure.

I didnt wanna go down the bad area versus good area, its fairly obvious tbh

As for being happy I have good days and ok-ish days... And then I have extremley-wow-fab days and then sometimes I just burst into tears.

TIgerFeet

Dawn&Jamie

Hope you're having a good day today!

My friend has been in Perth almost 4yrs, i remember when she first went, she had similar problem to you, homesick when everyone else is fine, think its different for women, kids have school, blokes get stuck into jobs! she was really bad for first 4 months i think, now she loves it, would never come back, sure you will be feeling brighter in a few weeks!! take care

Vash the Stampede

They don't get homework?!

I wish I could have told my own teachers this when I was growing up; they threw homework at me all the time!

TigerFeet

No, not a single thing!

'mazing init? poor you, but you are in the uk... How old are you?

Vash the Stampede

I am in the UK, but I've only lived here for just under 2 years; I was born and bred in Australia, mate! And I'm 32 years old...

How old are your kiddies?

For decent accommodation in Perth, click here; a little pricey, but I doubt you could fault it!

windy gale

YOU WERE DOING SO WELL till i got to the home sick bit then it made me feel home sick missing having a cuddle with your family there is no cure for home sickness i find having a beer and cuddling a good friend helps, i have 2 cuddly good friends and some beer

Sleeping Beauty

great post, honest and from the heart.
i always like reading the 'keeping up to date' threads from people that have already made their move (good or bad!!). it keeps the rose tinted specs off the face, so to speak.

have your kids and hubbie settled in okay? how old are the offspring?
i cant advise you on the homesickness, sorry. just wanted to say you sound as though you have got your feet firmly on the ground, and from what people have said on here, it will get better with time. (hope i dont sound patronising ).

if you are feeling a 'bit off', there's always tomorrow, and it could be a great day!!!

Clippy

A good thread, nice to hear how it really is. We're kind of the same you know, just thinking we 'must' try it, gotta go for it - you only live once and all that. Don't want to look back and regret we didn't try it at least.

I hope your homesickness eases, 4 months must seem like a long time but I guess in reality it's going to take a hell of a lot longer for you to really feel 'at home'. Must be a rollercoaster for you.

I'll send you some karma

magic.no7

Nice thread without the bull,my auntie returned after 6 weeks but went back after 2 and has never looked back. The reality is its all new as youve explained, you'll be right, I hope us 7 are in your shoes in 12 months.
Good Luck.

Sleeping Beauty

my auntie returned after 6 weeks but went back after 2 and has never looked back.

...but went back after 2 what, weeks?

can you do that on a PR visa?

by the way, welcome to BE forum!!

magic.no7

sorry went browsing.My auntie went 18 years ago but left came back and soon returned to her husband and daughter.(things were different then).
Your thread just reminded me of her advice to us recently about migrating.

Tuxtrip

It was very interesting to read this thread because it sounded so familiar to my own experience - but in reverse. When I moved to the UK from Australia, I felt much the same about many things. The rentals were so expensive - £500 a month for a two and a half bedroom flat, complete with rotting food in the fridge and mouldy sandwiches under the sofa cushions. Schools with tarmac playground areas and no playground equipment - not even a basketball hoop! Nowhere for the children to sit and eat their lunch - no benches, just the tarmac areas, so often wet. My children didn't seem to get as much homework as they were used to when in Australia and my Mum sent me some great books for them to read as well.
Now, five years on, I know that what I had experienced in this particular part of the UK in not necessarily standard in other parts of the country. My children now attend a different school, in the next village and just five minutes along the road from the previous one. Smaller classes, more homework and enough benches to seat every child at lunchtime. Still lots of tarmac, but an altogether different environment. I recognise the 'less than desirable areas' and am fairly good at 'sussing out' the dodgy tradesmen. Rent is still more expensive, but then I realise that I am paying for the privilege of not living in 'certain areas'.
As a new migrant, the same insecurities and comparisons seem to present themselves, whichever way you are going. I often read posts and think 'Yes, I've experienced that here'. Perhaps we get so used to our surroundings that we do not see the 'odd' things any more - we just come to accept them. Or perhaps we haven't seen and experienced enough of our home country to open our eyes to these differences - I am certainly guilty of that! Life in the West is not like life in the East. It just takes time and travel to realise it.
Eventually, we find the place that we are happy to call home and neighbours that we are happy to call friends. Until then, we just keep searching and learning from our experiences along the way.

Vash the Stampede

Sounds like my experience in the Midlands; and when I was in London, the price was twice as high! :scared:

I still haven't grown accustomed to the tiny, oldfashioned streets, the cramped living space, the lack of privacy and the grime and filth which seems to cover every exposed surface over here.