pomerz

Thanks Sue.....Just google earthed woodvale and it looks lovely how with so many areas did you end up choosing? was it schools jobs location or job school location or just lucky with all lol

The Poms

petensue

It was a bit scary to come over with no job and no schools.We wanted areas with good primary and high schools so we choose a few areas first then drove around to get a feel for the place.We decided on Woodvale and got a rental and then my husband found a job.We bought a house to soon really after 4 months but I though owning a house would make it easier to settle.

The trouble with a place with good schools is the house prices are more and we wanted a pool so had to settle for a three bed one bathroom house which was fine to start with but with three girls it is a bit cramped.

We are now thinking of moving but mainly due to the house prices are to expensive for us in Woodvale.

At least now you will be coming over in less than a year!Sue.

AlanEll

Hi Pete n Sue.

Sue in reply to your post about school info any advice would be greatly appreciated. We almost have our visa and hopefully will be over early 2011. We have a 14 yr old who is just about to choose his subjects for gcse and wonder what stage he would be at if we make the move next yr. He has just turned 14. We also have a 5 yr old who is in yr 1 here in the UK so he may be a little ahead of the kids over there as i believe they start school at 6. He is already reading and writing pretty well.
Thanks in advance
Tracy & Alan

petensue

Hi Tracy & Alan.I have a just turned 16 year old whose birth date is Nov 1993 and she should be going into her final year 12 if she goes back to school(long story).So I would think if your son is 15 next year he would be in year 10.They do get to choose some subjects but years 11 and 12 I would say is like choosing GSCE subjects in the UK.

In WA they can start school the year they are 4 before sometime in June.My daughter is the youngest in her class as she was not 4 until June 2008 when she started kindy.She was 5 in pre primary and this year will go into year 1 where she will be 6.Most of her friends will be 7 a couple of months after she is 6!Your youngest sounds like he is more advanced as they have just started to write a few words and are not reading yet.

I hope you can understand this as I am in a bit of a rush.Hope you get your visa soon as it is such a great feeling to know you can make proper plans.Sue.

LouDan

I'm Brand new to the forum. Just a quick word, I currently live in Secret Harbour WA and am moving back to Manchester within in the next month or so. I have a fully furnished house which all needs to go, if anyones interested pls message me.

Good luck with ur move.

AlanEll

What a pity we won't be organised this year. As a matter of interest how is Secret Harbour? We haven't decided on an exact area and it depends on jobs too. Woodvale looks nice too. Good luck with your move back to the UK.

LouDan

Hi, Secret Harbour is lovely it's got shops, beach, golf course, and schools. It's very much a place for families. Oh and it's very quiet and boring.

AlanEll

How far along the process are you?? We started May 2009 for the 176 visa and have only just had our medicals and police checks done. We didn't want things moving too fast though as there is so much planning in such a big move.

Hope it all goes well for you!

Kayelem

Hi. We are moving to Perth in June. We initially will be renting in Joondalup only because of recommendation from a friend who lives there. We are then going to get a feel for other areas and looka round schools. We have a 12 year old daughter and 2 sons 9 and 5. There is no high school (state) in Joondalup so prob won't stay there. I haven't organised schools before we go as I wouldn't change schools here without looking around and letting kids look around too.

rockpeblar

One thing to bear in mind when looking at these outer suburbs is the commuting time to work. We lived in Golden Bay (next suburb to Secret Harbour) and the commute to work was an hour each way (I worked in Redcliffe). After 3 months we moved to the Perth hills and now my commute is 15-20mins and I get the opportunity to come home for lunch when I want.

MarcusB

hiya, sorry its taken me so long to reply im very new to this site but im getting there. our 175 took about 6 months but we had to get my husbands skills checked before that by the australian computing society. that took about 7 months i think. it was all very quick and very simple really. my 14 yr old didnt want to go at first but after validating our visas in march 09 hes now happy to give it a try as hes seen what there is there. is your 15yr old a boy or girl?
its all very scarey as we are now getting quotes for shipping etc and selling stuff plus trying to sell the house.
have you seen any schools you like the look of. we had a quick look round safety bay school whilst we were there which looked ok but they dont have league tables or anything over there that im aware of so u worry about where to send them in case its not decent. also looked round a private school which was lovely but was very keen on religion. lots to think about. would love any tips from people who have already made the move.xx.

ToWAorBust

My son is a boy. He is now 16, I really think he is just scared. We moved here when he was in grade 5 from where nothing ever changes. even now 5 years later his old friends are still doing the same things. So this devistated him and he never recovered. He also has a stubborn dad so he wont look at Perth or any of the things it has to offer being a huge city compared to this one. but I hope he will come around. Schools I found a really good list of schools and will base our house decisions on that after checking for bullying. I have heard so many good things about the schools there but I really have to wait and see. After 60 days we are still waiting for our SS Sponsership from WA. I was told this isn't suppose to be that long
Christine

MarcusB

hiya, im heading out to perth in april. my daughter is 5 end of feb so i think she will be in pre-primary when we get there. can you give me any info on how you are finding the schools. did she find friends and is the work really behind as its rumoured to be? i think my main concern is my kids being ok as they are 14,12, and 5. i just want them to be happy.
thank u x rosa x

AlanEll

Hi Rosa,

We are in the same boat as you. We have 2 boys 14 and 5 at the mo and will hopefully be over early 2011. The oldest is looking forward to it but we are a bit concerned as he has just picked his gcse subjects. From what i have gathered on the forum he is a little ahead of those in Oz so transition hopefully won't be too difficult.

Our 5 yr old will be a bit ahead as well as he is reading and writing really well and they don't start until 6 over by.

This forum is fab for picking up nuggets of info.

Tracy

ToWAorBust

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/s...e101_20092.pdf
This is a good reference for "SUMMARY STATISTICS OF SCHOOLS AND FULL-TIME STUDENTS Freemantle is getting 3 new schools according to this site They had a really good list of schools but unavailable now. Thats the Department of Education site