Amazulu

Afternoon Captain Grumpy

'was' is the operative word

Grayling

edited before you got there

Amazulu

I'm too sharp for you

Defintely not a Pom

Grayling

Nor am I....but you are JAFA



so I win

renth

Being a pom is cool!

Amazulu

If you're a pom maybe........

When my son does his travels later on in life, I hope he uses that Aussie accent to its full advantage in Europe, US etc.........

Grayling

Oh...his ambition is to serve drinks or wash pots for a living then?

Amazulu

Were you ever young?

Grayling

Yes......but I wasn't disadvantaged by an awful South African or Australian accent though

moneypenny20

Boys, boys, boys. Hello, thread about Perth, not a love in for you. Go get a room.

renth

We ought to have some sort of a matrix or spreadsheet so we can keep up with who is battling who.

I find it hard to keep up with my haters, especially when they change their avatar.

the troubadour

If you have a good life in Scotland then I'd think very carefully what you are giving up to move to Perth.
Poor exchange rate,very expensive housing market and what appears to be a wobble in the resource sector.
Doing it for the kids is not a reason I'd choose either. Don't find Aussie kids any better by and large....and then there is the accent..lol.....

kips

Hi Cairnsys

My family (both parents and two sisters), who live in the UK, visited us for a month during July and August.

I warned they were coming in the middle of winter when it is very cold in the mornings and evenings, the weather is very mixed as WA gets most of its rain this time of the year. We did get some wet, miserable days but also plenty of sunny days - thank goodness.

It was their first visit to WA. The last time the came to see us was in 2004 when we lived near Wollongong, NSW, so they spent a lot of time visiting Sydney, which they really enjoyed. I was worried they might find Perth boring compared to Sydney but I needn't have worried.

Here they loved the beaches, the weather on days we had those cloudless, dazzling blue skies Perth is so famous for, temperatures in the low to mid 20s, the spacious homes, clean streets and parks, lack of pollution, small population, less traffic than Blighty and the following places we visited:

King's Park, Cottesloe, Fremantle, Hillarys' Boatyard, Yanchep Lagoon, the Governor's House and gardens in the CBD, Perth Mint, the quirky Shakespeare Village, Araluen Botanical Gardens, Jarrahdale's Serpentine Dam and a trek through Kitty's Gorge, Lesmurdie Falls, Swan Valley Trail, John Forrest National Park where they got to feed wild kangaroos which turn up everyday next to the beer garden at the pub there. It was fanatastic. We saw a mother with a joey in her pouch, a big buck and two kangaroos boxing !!! My family were blown away.

The other highlights were whale and dolphin watching at Port Augusta (what a stunning spot). We also took my family to the Vasse Felix and Voyager Estate wineries and the chocolate factory at Margaret River, Busselton and Yallingup in the South West. And a macadamia farm in Baldivis which I'd never been to.

On the downside my family were shocked at the price of food and toiletries in the supermarkets and the lack of choice, compared to UK supermarkets. Also not impressed by the high cost of eating and drinking out in Perth and prices of clothes, shoes and books.

I explained you get round that by buying things in the supermarkets when they are on special, especially when half price, and buying big ticket items in the major sales in June and December.

And the high cost of meals and drinks in restaurants and pubs is something we just have to live with. It's the price we pay for higher wages and good standard of living.

My sisters hate very hot weather and creepy crawlies so they admitted couldn't handle the summer here. My youngest sister freaked out when she saw a sign warning of snakes at Araluen. I pointed out it was way too cold for the snakes to be out and about in August. Hope some of this helps.

verystormy

Ok, i am going to disagree with a some of the posters on here who say just do it. They assume there is nothing to lose. Reality is there is a huge amount to lose. It is a fantastically expensive thing to do and a lot of people go from having a small / no mortgage to having a huge one.

There are plenty of posters on here and other forums that have done it, done like it and are trapped as they now dont have the money to go back.

You need to be very certain this is what you want. Which brings me to the question of you saying you think it will be better for your children. That is a very worrying thing as a lot of people seem to think Perth / Oz is some utopia that doesnt have the issues of the UK. Reality is has them. The economy might be better in Oz now, but nobody knows what it will be like in a couple of years. The whole situation could be reversed.

ShoreyM

I believe that children have a better future here than they'd have in the Uk at the moment. More opportunities with jobs/apprenticeships etc.

We rent our house in the Uk as we couldn't sell at the time (4 years ago) and wouldn't consider selling now with the exchange rate, so we rent here. It is very expensive but we earn more too. My husband is an electrician and since he's had his licence has never been out of work. It isn't an easy decision but we're certain we made the right choice. My boys have a fantastic life here, and while they're still young, Perth is the place for us. Once they move on though, we'd be looking at the Eastern States. Wishing you well with your decision and if you have any more questions, just shout.