poppyandpeanut

hi,

has anyone got any practical experience in working in a rural WA setting. we are going out to work, (fingers still crossed) in jan 10 and could be placed somewhere very remote.
just want to make some contacts and maybe get some insight into issues like schooling, shopping, interent etc etc

any response is well recieved

p

Hoola

Lived in very remote location N.W. WA, Pannawonica for 10 months...

First the weather seasons are "very warm", "hot", "crickey it's hot today" & "bloody hell when is it going to get cooler"
Air conditioning is a MUST!!!

Everywhere you look if red, due to the minerals in the soil, clothes are smeared in red & just live with it in your car you can never get out all the dust.
I found locals generally fall into 2 categories..

A. Open & fairly friendly but slightly suspicious of "foreigners" have lived most or all of their lives in rural, remote areas & love it.

B. Not bothering with you if you're on a short term contract, effort too great for little gain if you end up moving away, don't understand our need to make friends & why we may feel isolated in this "beautiful land". Cannot possibly ever consider moving away & think you're weird if you don't "love it" like they do.

I went to this place with an open heart & open mind thinking it would be a great time to spend with my young family in a close community. I didn't find it the best introduction to Australia.

The mining work was hard for my OH, long hours (expect 12 hours as usual shift rotations) 6am -6pm daily. No social life unless you drank, nothing happened unless you went to the pub.
We like a drink but are not into that scene, our family was very young at the time.
In the centre was one shop, which served as a Deli, post office, newsagancy, supermarket, bottle shop, fish bait shop & bank. It was rural living in the raw.
If you needed anything other than could be sourced at the shop then you had to go to "The Big Smoke" Karratha, which was 3 hours straight drive away. It was generally expecetd that you stay over in Karratha for the night if having to go there as returning in one day after shopping was exhausting. Then there are the logistics of getting 2 months worth of frozen food back home before thawing out...loads of lobster pots & ice bags are needed.

Overall I wasn't put off remote locations but I would go to another one with an attitude of self sufficiency, now the chidlren are older it would be easlier to hang out at the pub a night a week & get to know people.
I've never been into camping but if you are then you're likely to fit in more as people do love the outdoors.

And for anyone else that reads here remember it is MY EXPERIENCE & OPINION

WillBlack

Living in a remote area is not about getting to know the locals better (there aren't many) it is being forced to be better acquainted with yourself.

looky

If you are moving to a small rural community trying to get to know everyone might not be the best idea. Most will already have their groups. You don't want to know everyone either, small town, nothing better to do so people gossip! Really depends how rural it is and what is the population.

The main pass time after work and on the weekends in a small community would be alcohol. Unless you are near a regional area it might be hard for you to drive around WA during the weekends. Inland towns are worst off than coastal towns. The sea and beach makes a BIG difference.

I suggest going regional as a start to your new life here. It will go much smoother.

Sally Simpson

Really interesting post.
I would love to hear more of people's rural experiences, it's fascinating!

BadgeIsBack

Mixed bag of experience. I spent a bit of time jackerooing rural/edge outback. I have friends who live rural/regional. I live semi-rural on the edge of the Melbourne rural/suburban interface myself and find the best of both worlds.

Country life - I'd suggest that the way to do it is to live within say 40mins of a regional centre, or on a beach, and try to get into the community. This means volunteer work, as a firefighter, etc, and making friends with people who are friendly, and perhaps less insular than others. Cast your net wide, and cultivate what you find.

As reported on this site a few weeks ago, I know a farming family who live 40mins from a regional centre in NSW and the town is a good 'un. Their relative proximity to this centre makes a difference. As found previously in Australia, knowing them was a ticket to the rest of the community - and everyone from roustabouts to neighbouring farmers are friendly and will accept you. I worked as a roustabout free of charge and it was most appreciated - and I got invited back! I now have numerous 'work' open to me looking after their properties when they go away.

It takes a certain character, temperament, and outlook to do all this, a certain self-sufficiency, (past track record?) robustness, humility, with a strong adaptable streak. You don't have to sell-out, but a bit of savvy is required. I strongly suggest that not all country Australians are feral hicks, some are, but many others are proud (rightly so) and well educated people and send their children to the best schools and expect a lot from them and life. Australia is a very polarised nation - and city and country traditionally are very different. Bizarrely, though, you'll find that there are people who are just at home in the city as at home in the country which is I think is all the fun!

iamthecreaturefromuranus

I live in regional Australia and if that is anything to go by then living in rural Australia is probably similar to living on Phobos... and no, its not a Greek island.

BadgeIsBack

You do hear people talking about regional and rural.....I'm still not sure if I use the words correctly.

Regional to me is away from the State capitals, but near a centre, maybe a hub. It's possible to live regional, and live an almost suburban/town life. Maybe in a suburb of a place near Bendigo, VIC or nearby. Might also be a property 60k away say.

Rural could be just the rest of the country, or even outback. I've never lived or worked truly outback, only on the edge, but I did venture there very briefly to work from a base in Kalgoorlie.

In some ways, I would prefer aspects of life out rural, than regional - depending on what I was doing and where, and who for.

Hutch

Kind of mint?

looky

So that excludes any town which is near a regional centre or metro. Rural/remote in Australia would mostly be the outback/NT/Thursday island.

aquaaddict

Interesting thread, sorry I didnt see it before, similar to what I just posted at

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=606408

Are you a teacher by any chance?

lekkilizard

We love it !

Best move we made. Not remote but classed as rural !

Friends who are more rural are enjoying it despite less shops and other amenities.

You are being given a fairly easy route in to Oz compared to most. Basically are you prepared to take the risk and grin and bare it for the next few years and then move to an area you prefer ????
Lots of people choose to stay out of Metro area once they've lived outside !!

Nx

Petals

My family lived in Kununurra for a while in North West Australia, its hot hot hot and humid humid humid in the wet. Winter months are fine but its hot for most part of the year.

Foodstuff is more expensive because it has to be flown or brought in on road trains.

Its isolated and closer to Darwin than Perth but if you get sick and need specialist treatment they fly you down to Perth for it.

Would I live there no but Dad liked it.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Phobos mint cake?? A bit like Kendal mint cake but with a slightly red, dusty, tinge to it?