PeachArchers

Hi all,

We moved to Australia 2 years ago on a state sponsored visa, the only state that had our occupation listed was the ACT so we moved to Canberra, a term of the visa was that we had to live in Canberra for 2 years, that period has now expired and, having travelled the majority of the East coast, we are considering a move to Perth. Obviously the climate is better in Perth but I've noticed on other people posts that Perth gets referred to as "sterile" or "isolated".

What I was wondering is if anyone who reads this has spent any time in both cities and what is their view on the two places. I realise that moving across Oz will be a hassle and expensive but would appreciate the views of anyone who lives in, or has spent time in Perth firstly and in Canberra secondly.

Thanks guys, you were all so helpful when we moved here from the UK that we figured who better to ask about our current dilemma.

Amazulu

Perth rocks. Canberra is just plain bizarre. Get your ass over here

PeachArchers

That is the best laugh I've had in ages!!!😭😭😭

bcworld

I'm pretty sure if "sterile" was being thrown around it would be more often directed at Canberra than Perth!

Dorothy

I guess it depends on what you do for a living and if you can find work in WA.

PeachArchers

Good point, well made!!👍👍

quoll

Personally I would rather slit my wrists than move from Canberra to Perth but each to their own! If that's where the job is then I guess you go. But in this climate I wouldn't be going without a job to go to.

Better weather? Really? At least Canberra doesn't have those weeks of consecutive eyeball roasting days (how's this week going folks?) and we have nice different seasons. Sterility level probably about the same. Fewer Poms in ACT. PC more pronounced in ACT. Commutes likely shorter in ACT. Beach closer in WA but if you've done the entire East coast in 2 years it should only take you 6 months to do all of WA.

Its the isolation that would do it for me but it's closer to UK so that's a plus for holidays home.

All comes down to the job really. It's still Australia.
(Edited to say, I see you were from Cambridgeshire - beats both of them into a cocked hat IMHO LOL.)

PeachArchers

I agree with most that you say, apart from the bit about cambs!!!

moneypenny20

You say you've travelled around the East coast and are thinking about moving to Perth. Have you been to Perth? I honestly don't think 'the climate is better in Perth'. Canberra in winter would be too cold for me but Perth in winter also gets very cold and in summer it has its days of unmitigated hell. If I had to move and picked because of climate, Canberra would win out of the two.

If you can get work, go look and decide from there.

paulry

We settled in Canberra 5 years ago and we're so glad we chose here rather than any other city, all of which are over-crowded and besides being by the sea they provide little more than Canberra. One of the best things I like about Canberra is being relatively close to everywhere - close enough to go for day trips and/or weekend breaks to the kinds of places Canberra doesn't offer. Perth doesn't offer that. When you're sick of Perth, to where can you easily go? But as several others have said, work is priority number one.

Beoz

What a confusing post. Essentially you are saying that Canberra offers nothing. Why not just move somewhere that does offer everything? Perhaps that might be Perth.

paulry

Yes, I suppose it comes across that way. What I mean is we have all that is important to us here: A good healthy lifestyle, excellent schools, colleges and universities. It's a very safe and benign atmosphere. Near zero traffic jams. Plenty of space, it's clean, orderly and dignified. Plenty of nature, fresh clean air, nice homes, great sports and health facilities with quick and ready access to them. Filled with friendly and a good proportion of sociable people. A great place to raise kids. Good restaurants, pubs, cinemas, the theatre, and an abundance of decent paying jobs and excellent career progression opportunities. A thoroughly modern and very fine city. Is that enough for you?

Okay, we don't have the sea (And how pivotal is living by the sea to our lives anyway?) but its easily reached in just a couple of hours on pretty good roads. Same with the ski slopes in winter. Sydney is just a few hours drive away on one of the worlds best intercity highways.

I acknowledge that it's not everyone's cup of tea, but we're very happy here and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. My advice to the OP (without knowing anything of their personal circumstances) is to look very closely and realistically at how they might think Perth will suit them better.

Beoz

I'm going to have a punt here but I'd say Perth has everything you mention, except skiing but serious skiers don't ski in Australia anyway. .... though Perth does have traffic jams when driving from the airport. I can confirm that.

Who cares about traffic anyway. If you spend an 45 mins or more in a traffic a day you are living the the wrong location, using the wrong mode of transport, or your job is in the wrong spot. Its well documented, often incorrectly documented on here, that Sydney has traffic issues - really - not for me as I abide by the advice above.

At least the OP is not targetting the cheap thing. You know, lets move to the Gold Coast because its cheap.

verystormy

I live in Perth.

The first thing is research jobs. The economy in WA is seriously struggling at the moment.

As for lifestyle, I would say it is a bit sterile. It feels pretty plastic. It is on first impression a nice looking city. Then you realise that it is pretty sterile.

Climate is not necessarily better than anywhere else. It is baking hot here at the moment and I have grown after 8 years to detest summer.

PeachArchers

Thanks for all the advice so far guys, sorry if we caused a bit of an argument!!! We're gonna fly across in the near future to see for ourselves.