The Cairnsys

My husband and I decided 4 and half years ago we were going to try and immigrate to Perth Australia. It took us 2.5 years to get visa and now it has took us 15 months to eventually sell our house. It's is now major decision time!
It may just be nerves however all we see is bad reports about living in Perth.
We will be leaving a comfortable life in Scotland but always said we were doing this for our 2 boys now aged 7 & 11. We will be living with family for first few months do not have jobs organised yet and any jobs for my husband who is an electrician seem to not pay as well as we first thought. We have been out to Perth twice and do love it but very aware how expensive it is.
Does anyone have any insight/ advise! We still have time to pull out of the house sale in the UK! Thank you

abi31

You seem very unsure - it's a pretty major thing to do if you're not 100% behind the idea.

However, though you may have heard a lot of negative things about Perth from other sources, it has struck me that on BE the people who are negative about Perth are the ones who don't live there so I wouldn't set too much store by that.

Besides, loads of people just seem to do nothing but whinge and have a desire to spread their negativity for the sake of it - you just need to determine what you want out of life/lifestyle and determine if Perth offers those opportunities (NB if your favourite things are visiting historic cities of Europe and walking through the dales and moors - don't move to Perth or anywhere else in Oz - it worries me how many people seem to disregard that!)

moneypenny20

And many many more people are struggling hard for various reasons and have no other outlet to 'whinge' than here. People who are happy and settled have less reason to whinge obviously. Some people's lives are so shit for whatever reason that it's very hard to be positive.

There are also a great many people who believe that being honest about the negatives is just as important as being honest about the positives. Some people don't want to hear the negatives so some people 'big' up the negatives to attempt to convince others that shit does indeed happen, no matter if the bucket is shinier.

To the OP, if you really believe your reason for moving is for the children then don't move. Life is no different other than the climate which may or may not suit you once you're actually living with it.

Dorothy

What exactly is it you're doing for your boys? Can you be specific in what you think will be "better" for children here in Perth as opposed to in Scotland?

renth

I think my 3 are much better off here than in the UK.

northernbird

Even with all the shit I have had with my eldest in recent months I still believe the same as you.

Although saying that, not sure we could afford to come if we were selling our house now and transferring at the ludicrously low exchange rate.

renth

You're right there. I certainly wouldn't be coming now with the terrible exchange rate, staring at a recession.

Amazulu

Damn straight

Imagine your child being a pom

db444

Why not try it and give it a go, you say you have family here? You usually only regret the things you dont do.

Grayling

What a silly cliche

I think you will find there are plenty of people who regret lots of the things they do do

Caz8NZ

I lived in Perth for 9 months whilst I was doing some travelling. its a lovely place, and I always thought it seemed a great place to have a family. Its natural to have last minute panics as its a massive change.

I guess what you need to consider is, if you don't like it, will it be possible for you to go back to england?

renth

Well that's guaranteed to upset them, the OP is in Jockland!

Caz8NZ

Ooops my bad. Didn't know that

h2oskineil

You may have this one covered???
Will your husbands qualifications as an electrician 'transfer' to Australia, or will he have to obtain and Australian qualification/license'?
Have you factored that into your time without work?

Have you studied the house prices for both rentals and buying?
www.realestate.com.au
www.reiwa.com.au
Expect to pay $400-$600 (per week) for something 'nice' in a good suburb.

House prices haven't risen (IMO) over the past year or so..... but may be a lot higher then when you started the visa process. (Do your maths)

We rented-out our UK home and rented here for the the first 5 years.
If you are not 100% sure, this may be a get out clause if after a couple or years it isn't working out.... IT WILL TAKE (for most people) A COUPLE OF YEARS TO SETTLE IN!

We made a pledge to ourselves, we would not go back to the UK without Australian Citizenship, so our son had choices in life when he is older. I think he has a much better life here than in the UK... there is so much sport and opportunities.

We earn more income here, but we exchanged a tiny UK mortgage (which makes me weep when I think how small it was!) with a few hundred thousand dollars Australian mortgage. We didn't want a big mortgage, but to live in a reasonable suburb..... you have no choice.

If after you have done your sums, you can afford it..... Just do it - Life is an adventure..... do you really want to be sitting in Scotland in 10 years, saying.... "I wonder what we would be doing now if we had gone to live in Perth?"

Grayling

Like yours ?