NHNH2016

Hi everyone,

I am taking my first trip down under with the wife (who has been before and travelled east cost) in July 17. Unfortunately we are only to visit for 2 weeks and our plan/trip is all booked for a week in perth and a week in Melbourne.

We are using this trip for a bit or R&R, the wifes 40th and my 38th but the main reason is as a reconnaissance mission for a permanent move down under.

We will be staying within central Perth/Melbourne and have arrange car hire so we aren't restricted in getting out and about. The plan is to spend a couple of days at each location to meet a couple of potential employers, recruiters, have a look at housing and areas of where we would like to live when we do move.

Could anyone confirm whether the above would be of any benefit/makes sense? Any pointers which we may not have thought off?

Cheers
NH

Dorothy

Winter in Perth is cold, and very wet.

A week in Perth and a week in Melbourne doesn't seem like much time to do a recce and try to meet with recruiters. You'll spend the first day or 2 getting over jetlag then trying to find your way around a strange city won't leave much time for actually researching anything.

As an aside, what work do you both do? What visa do you intend to move to Perth/Melbourne on?

NHNH2016

Well I am looking outside my office window and I seriously doubt its much worse and we are now in Spring. Cold/Wet doesn't bother me, I'm British.

Unfortunately we have bills to pay so going longer than 2 weeks would eat heavily into our holiday entitlement especially as we've been away for 2 week already this year.

The recce wouldn't be to discover where to eat, things to do etc as I am sure both places have ample of places to see/do things. Its the experience rush hour traffic, commute, what could we get for our money in terms of accommodation/lifestyle so basically the mundane things unfortunately.

Jet lag is a concerns but it is what it is and have to deal with it...no kids on board so just looking after each other only.

Project/engineering management with Construction/Engineering sector and ICT Business Analyst (investment banking/trading systems). If my company can't sponsor/transfer then we would apply for 189. That process won't start till back end of the year.

spouse of scouse

You've probably thought of this already, but tee up your meetings with prospective employers and recruiters prior to arrival.

Re areas to live, you're going to need to do your homework, again prior to arrival, and make up a very short list of your preferred areas. To really get to grips with an area you need to walk the streets, visit the shops, talk with people, go at different times of the day/night - you get the drift.

Shame you couldn't come for a bit longer, but it is what it is. I'm sure you'll have a great time anyway! Best of luck.

evets

Then Melbourne would probably suit you better Then again the winters here while not anyware near like the UK do feel cold, housing quality here is poor, no double glazing and poor insulation. Thus it does feel colder.

My preference would be Melbourne, as it offers a more European experience, but at the end of the day it all depends on what your are moving for. Perth would have better weather and access to the beaches.

Rush hour in Melbourne, whether it be public transport or driving will still be rammed.

Depending on if you are going to rent or look to buy, both options are expensive in Melbourne. Look at domain.com.au to get an idea of rental prices, house prices are hard to gauge as the prices, if listed are always under valued and can/will always go above the quoted value.

NHNH2016

What are modern apartments/houses like? Do they not have double glazing/insulation?

I think Eltham in Melbourne or at least in that vicinity (north west) is where we are currently in favour for.

evets

Not sure about modern apartments/houses, all I can tell is they are getting smaller. Some rooms do not have windows in the recent apartment builds I seen in the suburb I was living in. Talking to a friend, who is an architect, she said this is legal which I found shocking.

Eltham is a fair bit out, had to google it. One thing to note public transport outside of core hours ie after say 7pm will take you longer as it runs less frequently. I did live on the same line for a bit and found it a PITA getting home after rush due to the less trains running.

Check out https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/journey#j...5D=showPlanner to get an better idea of travel times out side of rush hour.

Japonica

Loads of good advice previously. I agree that because your time here is limited that you really need to have all your prospective employment meetings arranged well in advance and have your shortlist of suburbs ready as well.

Double glazing? Not really standard as far as I know. We rented in Perth, built in Perth, and now renting in Melbourne. Nothing had double glazing. We even paid extra for thicker glass in our build, up from the greenhouse glass that was standard, but it wasn't double glazing which would have added tens of thousands to the cost.

Insulation is pretty minimal. One bonus of moving from Perth to Melbourne was that ducted central heat is more common here, so that's a bonus. We didn't have it in Perth (many don't) and relied on a portable gas heater in winter. Of course you'll be here in July, so if you can take Melbourne in the winter, then you'll be fine. Actually everyone kept warning me about the dreaded Melburnian winter our first year here, but the worst part of it was the gas bill.

We lived in Perth for 5.5 years. Miss the beaches and the climate, but like the feel of Melbourne better. Lots going on in the city. Can zip down to the peninsula for a beach fix. Love the ranges and Yarra Valley. Still doing day trips to areas around country Victoria. We'd exhausted most of the day trips in WA in our time there.

Driving in the CBD in Melbourne is a bit stressful (well, for me, I hate those hook turns). If you're staying in the CBD and don't need the car for interviews, it's fairly walkable. Perth's CBD is pretty uncomplicated in comparison.

Keep in mind the economy of one state is doing much better right now than the other. This spins off into rental prices etc.

Good luck!

verystormy

I cant comment on Melbourne as I have never been. But, we lived nearly 9 years in Perth.


First, weather. Some think Perth has a great climate. But, summer can be stinking hot - too hot. There is good reason why you see cars in the supermarket car park huddled close to the entrance - so as to get from air con to air con as quickly as possible. Now, it does get the famous Doctor - a wind that blows in on an afternoon. But, this also means being on the beach is impossible.


Winter can be very cold with night time temps in the low single figures. As mentioned with housing, it can be uncomfortable and it wasn't unusual for my wife to watch TV in hat, coat and gloves. It also gets twice the rainfall of London.


Jobs, from what you have posted would be significantly better in Melbourne. Perth is currently in recession and that means construction has tailed off - government is broke and your wifes occupation barely exists there. IT generally is tiny in Perth with most companies having their IT functions over east.


As for lots to do, Perth is very isolated - several hours on a plane to the next city while the city itself is pretty small. Most of Perth is just suburbia

moneypenny20

Dorothy's Canadian. Cold here is a different thing to cold in the UK (or Canada).

NHNH2016

Morning/evening

Thanks for the information...not sure how the wife will take..."reduced housing energy efficiency"

We had a feeling Melbourne would be the most preferred out of the two. Im contemplating just to focus on Melbourne in terms of setting up professional meetings and viewing properties. Our visit to Perth could be used to recover from jet lag but still go explore the city.

Setting up meetings with potential employers/recruiters is under way. Now need to narrow down neighbourhoods which we can check out in person.

Have a good day all.

brits1

Agree with your information, we spent 14 years in Perth and if we were to ever think of going back to Aus it would have to be the East Coast. I think it will also depend on where work in your line of work is available as there seems to be quite a lot of skilled IT people already in Aus so you might have to really put yourself out there if you cannot get a transfer. July in Perth can be wet ( my birthday is that time of year ) and cold maybe more so in Melbourne so don't forget to pack your light woollies, have a good time the jet lag usually lasts a couple of days but just try and stay awake until normal bedtime as that usually helps. Good luck

teza

To be honest, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but given the state of thing in WA, HIGHEST unemployment in the country and work being luck of the draw, I'd spend that week somewhere with more prospects...

carcajou

I live in country WA. The state is in a major recession right now and employment prospects in Perth are not good. I concur with what others have said about housing - bad insulation and ineffective reverse cycle heaters (quite often only the lounge room will have any heating/reverse cycle). Most people I know still rely on a fireplace. It does get cold. Melbourne is also about twice as big as Perth.

Still, I prefer WA to Victoria, it suits my job and interests, and that's what it comes down to for you as well.

Buzzy--Bee

It is perfectly easy to arrange these meetings from the UK if you wish, just phone up the recruitment consultants and say you'll be in Melbourne next week and could you take them out for a coffee to discuss the job market in your field. This approach works well and gets you a foot in the door.