Scossie

Hey....

Finally got around to re-registering on this site since our move to Oz from Scotland. It's only taken me 8 months!
I used to post as John Lamont when we were doing our emmigration application.

Now living in Kensington, South Perth. Close to the river & handy for the beerfest on the foreshore on Australia Day.

Had a good browse around the forums tonight & saw a lot of names I recognise who were doing their applications at the same time as us. Most now living in Oz.
Hope you are all doing well!!

Met up with 'abergas', when I was doing my gas course over here. How you going Dave?

Might be able to make it to the night out in Freo on Friday if it's still on.....

Cheers..... John......

debsy

Nice to hear from you John.

Hope that all is going well for you.

Good luck.

Scossie

Cheers Debs......

Thanks for the reply.

John.....

wengerboy

hello john not sure we`ve spoke before but we have now!how are you finding it any horror stories or is it a o k

Scossie

Hey wengerboy....

Perth is a fantastic city & I've no regrets about coming to live here.

2 of my best mates emigrated to Perth 5 and 2 years ago, so that gave us a good start. Instant circle of friends and all that.

We came over in the winter so we've beem able to acclimatise slowly as the weather got hotter. It's really hot just now. (40 degrees the other day), but you do get used to it.

No horror stories at all. I reckon I'm now living in the best city in the world. The lifestyle is much better than the UK.

A good tip is to assimalate into the Oz way of life as quick as possible. As far as I'm concerned we're now Australians who used to live in Scotland. (Hence the 'Scossie' username).
Don't ever adopt a, 'them and us', attitude, and you'll be fine.

As Clive James once said, "Fade into the ambiance like a Chameleon".

I don't know what stage you're at, but we waited 18 months for our PR visas. A bloody long time, but it was worth the wait!

Cheers..... John.....

wengerboy

superb scossie(great name by the way)i hope to also go in the winter and acclimatise too (2 kids)!great to read a possy post about perth too lot of neg stuff said about it but yuo`ve given a ringing endorsement cheers p.s waiting tra 6 weeks max apparently)

Scossie

Cheers......

You're at the same stage as my mate Gordon.
He's a joiner & has had his TRA application in for about 2 months,(fast tracked), & hasn't heard anything yet.

He's hoping to be over in Perth this time next year. The wait isn't as long as 18 months now since the ASPC took over.
We applied to London, & I think they processed 1 application a day & then all headed off to the pub!!

I've attached a picture of our new car. Don't know if it'll work or not. (The attachment that is, not the car).
If it does.... Check out the number plate......

Cheers.... John......

wengerboy

try again wanna see it

Scossie

Nope.... Didn't work!!

Oh well.... My wife got me the private number plate, SCOSSIE for my Christmas.........

wengerboy

was it pricey? fancy a wenger 1

gwrees

Hi mate, hope your enjoying yourself out there! I'll be there in a few months hopefully. Whats the Gas Course like out there? I was CORGI Registered here until a few months back but I let it expire when my ACOPS ran out, wasn't going to fork out all that dosh for a few months of gas work, but now Ive been told if I do the new ACS course (CCN 1) it will carry on out there, do you know if its worth me doing it, or just wait till I get to Perth and start from scratch there? Decisions decisions! Ive got the Plumbers licensing form already, I need to have a look at it yet though!

Cheers, Ger.

Scossie

Hi Ger.....

Don't do any more gas courses in the UK!

None of them are valid in WA.

I got my WA Plumbers licence no bother when I got here but was told I couldn't do gas until I completed their course.
It only takes about 4 weeks as there is no such thing as central heating in WA. You don't need it!!

You have to learn all the WA regulations etc. as they are totally different to the UK ones, and then sit an exam.
It's not to hard........ I got 96% and the pass mark is 60%...

Cheers..... John.....

gwrees

Thanks for that John, massive weight off my shoulders, I was seriously thinking about doing the first ACS course, thank god I didnt!! Have you got a plumbing job out there now, I'm sure its a bit different than here, am I right in thinking they braze everything out there, form tees with flaring tools and stuff?
I was in Perth this time last year for a bit and everyone kept telling me, don't worry about work, there's loads here for plumbers, but it doesn't stop me worrying!

We'll meet up for a few beers when I get there!!

Scossie

Yup, they do braise everything out here.

The difference in the way they do plumbing is a bit of a shock at first.
There's no such thing as surface pipework! Everything is chased into the walls!! A total pain in the arse if you ask me!
Every house's ground floor is a concrete slab as well, so you can't run pipes under the floor. The drains and water services have to be pre laid before the slab goes down.

I'm off to bed now. It's getting bloody late here. I've got a bit carried away on the internet! If you want to reply I'll get it in the morning.

That beer or 12 sounds good when you get here.....


Cheers...... John.....

gwrees

Nice one, cheers for that info John. I applied, skilled independant last August, so hopefully all going well we will be there septemberish. Thing is the misses is pregnant! She's expecting 2nd baby in May so if the meds come before then we'll have to wait until it pops out! As soon as the visa comes we're off, house is sold already so no ties now, except for my mum starting to give us grief! Anyway, Ive got some reading up to do now on the plumbing in Oz!

Cheers, Ger