Hi Im new here and just making our initial daunting steps towards immigration to Aust.
We are looking at a move to Bunbury , but would love to know more about it from people who live there already or who have in the past or even just visited it.

I have sooo many questions, re Bunbury and Aust and moving in general but I thought I would only scare some of you off if I bombarded y'all with all that's swirling in my head right now

These questions can wait im sure till Ive gained your trust and friendship, so ultimately my first and simple question to y'all is .... Do you recommend Bunbury for live/work? what are your experiences?

A bit about me and family:
im 38 , wifey 36 , baby girl (1yrs old today !!) , were quite homely and don't do nightlife (not anymore , burned both ends out long ago now) but do like a degree of cosmopolitan lifestyle , fine wine, dine, arts , cinema etc.
Im trying to get a job with the local planning dept in the council (thats what I do here in Bristol uk)
wife hopefully would get work with a local college /university, international admissions is her forte
Im originally from N.Ireland , and I think I noted some N.I expats talking about Bunbury on another thread some time past. If so...maybe you would like to help out a fellow sham and give us the craic on Bunbury.

hello there...I'm about 8000 miles from there...however...you might want to look over at the immigration stuff before you get too far into where (exactly)you want to be...I'm sure you will be fine..

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

Thanks for the advice SD
Im trawling through that site also

Good luck and Congrats on the kiddies Birthday!!

Know Bunbury fairly well it has come ahead in leaps and bounds over the years,from a somewhat hard,working class town to something far more refined..but still it is small and limited in many aspects with regards to the arts,social life and cosmopolitan life style.

Yeah bunbury is cool for a weekend but htats about it.

Hi,

My husband and I live in Australind which is 15 minutes from Bunbury. We have just come back from the cinema which is decent and cheap.

There's a good number of quality restaurants in proportion to the population and we love living here.

The beaches are good and it's a very family friendly place to live.

In terms of facilities we find it's got everything we need but we are not interested in things like a) clothes shopping b) museums

The uni is small and very limited, check out the ECU SW website. There is also a TAFE college, but I doubt either have positions relating to international admissions. For example, in the UK my husband worked in academia, but if he were to do that here he would have to work for a uni in Perth as ECU SW has no Maths department!

There is a new road linking Bunbury to Perth, so it takes about 1.5hrs now which is fantastic. You are also about 1.5hrs from Margaret River.

Basically, we like eating out, cinema, beaches, space, wildlife and Bunbury suits us really well. I should also mention it's great for sports for adults and kids.

There is an Entertainment Centre, but if you want to see a band you've heard of you'll be travelling to Perth.

Worsley is a big employer here, quite a few are Fly In Fly Out as well. My husband could not find work here and gets a commuter train to Perth. I am a teacher and many schools in Bunbury are merit-select and I found it fine getting a job.

Hope this helps,
Gemma

Many thanks
troubador, Foxall and weebie, it seems you all have first hand experience with Bunbury. Out of curiousity what is your opinion of the Council there , in particular the Planning dept if you have ever had dealings with them. Is it a tight ship or in need of some "city boy" to come give them a shake.

Hi - I live in Australind which is about 14km north of Bunbury. (Gemma where abouts are you? Im in Kingston)
Love it here but despite Bunbury being a City it is very small and well........ not sure it has a cosmopolitan life style? Maybe you should come try before you buy. You either love it or hate it here - thankfully we love it

Can't really help with what Bunbury is like to live in, but have always found it to be quite pleasant when visiting. Margaret River is an hour drive from there so if wine is your thing then that's a bonus.

I would have thought you may find it tricky to get the same type of job around and in Bunbury though.

I moved from Bristol to Perth 3 years ago, then back 2 years ago, then back to Perth 1 year ago. Still can't really say hand on heart it's that much better living here.

Sorry- can't help you with information about the council/shire.

Daunted, I live in Leschenault but actually work at the school in Kingston! Enjoy the peacocks!

I live in Bunbury:-) And also have a one year old. Good place for young kids, and thats pretty much it:-)

I can send photos of Bunbury if you want..

Aren't they lovely Foxall Kids have friends who live your way - its a beautiful area xx

WA suffers from a lack of planning talent, so I'm sure your skills would be welcomed by the general population, if not some of the planning staff and/or councillors. As for needing a shake-up, there's an awful lot of bad and illogical, and sometimes suspicious, planning going on.

http://www.walga.asn.au/careers/council_websites

This website lists the councils in WA: you might find a planning job somewhere on there, plus there's quite a few town planning consultancies in Perth that might have projects on in the SW.