teresa31

hi,
i know this seems like a bit of a daft question but how did all of you choose exactly where to go in oz?
i was born in brisbane,but have no wish to return am thinking and planning on perth.
is it best to stay in the city,fremantle areas and then listen to local opinions or is it best to pick a place on the map that sounds nice and then just make it work?
i know there is a place called 'midlands' arond perth but then do you go to a place that could or would always remind you of home (i live in nottingham)or do you go for somewhere totally un name related?
i have always had a hankering for a place with a totally unpronouncable aboriginal name,but thats just a need in me to be different .
thanks teresa

Carrianne

Hiya,

Well before we have actually travelled to Oz, we said that we loved the look of Perth.

We travelled to Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Noosa down to Bryon Bay.

I loved certain areas in Perth and most of the cities and surburbs we visited, but for me not only was it the "feel of the place" it was the amount of work for hubby, weather and we both just loved it more.

On arrival though in Brisbane we will have exploration of the areas mentioned on here to see where we like the best to rent for 6 months. With speaking to people and getting our own feel for places, then hopefully we will settle.

teresa31

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thankyou for your comments,the thing is that we ,hubbyand 2 kids are not able financially to visit prior to the actual move ,well he says that we should but i am not prepared to take out that amount from our funds when we will find out when we get there,and as so many people have said on this forum you will never know from a holiday ,but only when you are actually living and breathing that place.
i suppose i am just getting a few jitters and we don't plan the move for another few years yet it's just that i keep thinking 'better the devil you know' 'the grass is always greener' 'if it aint broke don't fix it' and i could go on .
just watched parkinson and michael caine and he was going on about age and was saying that when you get older you realise that this is not a rehersal.i suppose that helped but then again...
teresa

nightnurse2

I agree with what you are saying Teresa.

I want to go to Perth, even though we have never been and we wont be going until we get our visas. The way I look at is we can always move on to somewhere else (either in Oz or maybe even another country if we dont like). However, saying that we are going with the intention of giving it a dammed good try and feel that as long as we are together as a family it doesn't matter where we go.

As said on Parkinson last night life is not a dress rehersal and you have to take (and give) what you can. I dont know why we have chosen Perth over over areas, but it just seems right. Obviously we wont know for sure untill we get there. But just the fact that we are going to give it a go feels right, rather than spending the rest of our lives in Manchester (god forbid). Even if it does not work out at least we will have given it a try and will never have to think, when we are older, 'what if'.

Tracey

abergas

Hi
We have been in Perth almost 5 months, never been here before we migrated. We rented in North Perth, but always found ourselves heading down south, where we have settled into our own home. Just give yourself time when you get here, you all have the right attitude about giving it ago, good luck with all your plans

yve

WBB

i think the best way is to go with the flow, obviously choose your city then once you get there and have settled and found jobs schools etc then you can start putting down roots.

we have visited brisbane twice and know it is for us, all that remains now is to get that blasted visa.

tinaj

We looked at what each of the main cities could offer us in terms of housing prices, climate etc. After that we visited and decided on Brissie as it seems to suit our family's needs the most.

Think about what you want from life out there, jobs etc might have a bearing on where you should move to also cost of housing and good schools.

Good luck! It is a difficult decision when you have the pick of such a big country to choose from.

chris hogan

I suppose we have an advantage in that my Wife lived in Perth for a short while.She has lived all over Aus due to her fathers job,but ended up in Perth.She left there 26 years ago aged 15.

She has a Brother in Brisbane and a Sister in Sydney so to go to either of these two would make the most sense,but we feel instinctivley that Perth is the right place for us.Don't know why!!

I also have some contacts in Adelaide as I lived just outside there as a child.I also have a Great Aunt out in the sticks in W.A.
So maybe there is some support there I don't know.
I do know that I've got to try,to give my kids the best possible start in life regardless of what others may say(family etc).

matt&sue

tiredwithtwins

hi there,
altho it will be a couple of years before we go, we decided on adelaide as my other half has family there. he has never been, but I have travelled round oz a couple of times (altho never to Perth).
we now have 3 kids and are desperately unhappy living here - the area, the climate, the attitude, the whole ''uk'' thing. I know there are similar problems in oz, but as you said life isnt a dress rehersal...

sue

abergas

Can't really tell you about primary schools in Port Kennedy as our boys are 13 and 15, and go to senior school.

Some new migrants who came here a few weeks ago have their children in Endeavour primary school and have settled very well.

What stage are you in the migration process?

yve

janeyray

I was born in Sydney but decided on Perth. My parents came out for a holiday and said that if we had gone to the East coast instead of here then we wouldn't be thinking about going back to the UK!!??
I to come from Nottingham and the best way to describe Midland (here in Perth ) would be to say its like Hyson Green in Nottingham.!!! Certainly wouldn't like to live there!!
Don't just go on what a place is called, you need to find out which areas are nice before you decide to settle in it. Ask around when you get here, ask the estate agents, thats what I did and they are VERY honest!

downunderpom

Hi Teresa
While I understand that you're loathe to dip into the savings, it would be a LOT more expensive to come out here, based on other people's opinions, having sold up, and find that (unlikely as it may seem) you don't like it.
Have you considered a 'working' holiday, with the 'work' being an investigation of the part(s) of the country in which you are considering living?
My wife and I came out for a month in April 2001, (got married in Perth so it was part honeymoon), checking out Perth / WA, and we decided against settling there, much as we loved it, because there were no mountains. Then, we went back to the UK, intending to 'do' the East coast about two years later. Instead, while surfing some of the property.com.au pages, we found a place in the Blue Mountains, fell in love with it, and bought it over the Internet without ever setting foot on it. Crazy, but it was a gamble which we were prepared to make. Turns out that we love the property even more 'in the flesh' that we did over the web. We're now building on the site, and this will be our permanent 'live in forever' house. Mind you, we got 116 acres, so we have plenty of room!!
So, my suggestion - 'suck it and see' before you commit, then you'll have something to work for - a dream you can keep at the forefront of your mind when the going gets tough.

Anyone else on the forum done a similar kind of thing?

matt&sue

hi yve
we applied in july this year haven't heard anything yet just sitting waiting. we have looked at the endeavour on the internet it looks nice do you have to live in the catchment area of the school you choose? what school do your sons go to and do they like it?
hope you have all settled in ok

sue