Still Game

Question for those who are currently living in Perth or have lived in Perth over the past 3+ years....

Is it really truly as bad as many folks are making out?

These are the things I've heard / had told to me:-

Are there hundreds of people leaving weekly and as the mining bubble is either burst or deflating, has this transferred to jobs in other industries as well?

Is it getting even more expensive than it was (for some odd reason)?

Is there a mahooosive housing crash underway where many properties will be losing 100,000 upwards in value (many which I hear were overvalued anyway)?

Is crime skyrocketing through the roof and it's not even safe to walk in broad daylight by yourself, even with a mean looking dog?

Is it not advisable to be at any train station after commuting for fear of being attacked? And that you really have to watch yourself/your family when out at a large public event.

Is Perth really such a horrible place? I know some of the above will be sensationalised and some negative stories from some folk who haven't had a great time - however, just trying to really separate fact from fiction.

I'm not daft enough to believe everything that was told to me or that I've heard; besides, everyone's story is different.

Just genuinely interested in hearing from those who currently live there or have lived over the past 3 years... how do you think Perth is going? Happy to hear happy stories too of course!

Beoz

A coffee and bacon and egg roll is expensive. I know that much.

renth

Loads of people losing their jobs. My mate in the motor industry who contracts to the major dealerships has never seen it so bad. Lots of empty units in industrial estates like Wangara

House prices and rents dropping (which is a good thing IMHO).

I believe there is now net negative migration (more people leaving Perth than coming either back to Eastern states, NZ or abroad).

Sea is still blue and the sun shines for 90% of the year. It's still a great place to live but I'd be a bit worried about coming here unless I was sure of my employment prospects for the next few years.

verystormy

We were there until early last month - now back in the UK.

There have been a lot of people leave - when I was at Perth airport there were families in front of me in the que and behind me also leaving - it felt like an exodus.

The job situation is bad across the board - that was the main reason we left. After 18 months with no work. Everyone I know now is unemployed. The last morning there, I took the dog for a walk and coming back walking down the road I couldn't help but look at all the neighbours who were facing losing their houses due to no work - about half in a fairly affluent area.

Crime has gone through the roof according to the official stats and its no surprise. Take a mix of a major problem with ICE and combine with unemployment and the result is predictable.

Housing, from our experience is doing very badly. We started the year with a house worth $600k. It is now on the market after repeated reductions for offers above $499. With still no sign of a buyer.

Still Game

Ok. Thanks for input. Sorry to hear some haven't had great experiences, verystormy I really hope your house situation sorts itself out positively for you.

Sounds like there's definitely some truth to what I've been hearing. I guess on the flip side if you're going with a secure job it might be a good time to buy property, something which has evaded us so far. The question is, how secure is secure.

Dorothy

Not very secure I'm afraid. My partner is a diesel mechanic with 27 years of mining experience. He's now working in the city for 1/2 what he was making. Yes it's a permanent job, but the place is talking about downsizing and with that comes redundancy. My state government job is on the line now that they've outsourced half of what I do to an overseas provider.

Not much security here in WA right now at all.

Still Game

Sorry to hear about your OH. If he was working on mines was he FIFO? I have some friends oh's who were in that boat and now having to find work in Perth - struggling. They were earning quite a bit mining but salaries are very different in Perth is what I've been told. More in line with other 'normal' salaries ... although I have no idea what 'normal' is.. does anyone!

Re your job, I really hope it works out for you. Must be a very worrying time. Is this something that is across the board through the WA govt, lots of jobs in lots of areas being outsourced?

Beoz

Do the price of the coffee and egg and bacon rolls get affected by Perths boom and bust cycle?

It's been a while since I've been over. No one is buying my services.

Dorothy

Yes he was FIFO for a long time but was forced to take a job doing something other than what he was trained to do. Half the salary, same hours.

As for my job the WA government has initiated a hiring freeze across the board and is looking to slash jobs from permanent people who have worked for them for years. What I'm doing now is something that really has to be done onsite so I'm safe for a few months. After that who knows? Oh, and I'm a permanent employee who's been in my job for 7 years

Amazulu

Economy is bad. Many sectors are laying off workers. Some areas like commercial and infrastructure construction are still busy. Interestingly, the company I work for has never been busier and has just had their best year ever with 2016/17 looking to be even better - with their biggest customers being mining companies. They are hiring like crazy. As this is the wealthiest city in the southern hemisphere, there is a lot of inherent, latent, saved wealth here - which is now being deployed by people in order to maintain their lives. It won't last forever

Economy is still growing though

Lots of people leaving

Laws of supply and demand mean that prices are falling - economics 101

Housing market has dropped with some areas stable and some even rising. Overall the market is depressed

There is crime just like any other western city but overall it is a safe place to live

Commuting is generally safe but as always, there are incidents and as with anywhere else there are fruit loops on the train

Remember that opinions are like assholes etc - only you can decide whether a place is for you. Perth is an awesome city to live in. It's clean and green, people are generally friendly, it's wealthy and healthy and I think it's the best city in Australia

Good luck

the troubadour

Perth appears to be returning to its somewhat backwater status, clearly in evidence prior to the boom. Some quarter of offices are now vacant in the City/West Perth area. Could it be not long before the tumble weeds return and the Dullsville tag returns, as Perth returns to what it does best, that being of course naval gazing?


Just in the past week I know a CEO that has been relieved of duties after insurrection of a kind from within after a restructuring process went horribly wrong. Folk are scared. Clutching to their jobs with all their might, knowing little in the way of alternatives are readily available out there.


Just in the early days, as the place remains grossly over priced. Housing certainly set for far greater falls. So many For Sale signs in evidence. It does look like it is going to get rather messy.
The full extent will remain unknown until it hits us. There are plenty of forces attempting to talk up the market with a collection of the normal vested interests, as well as a few perhaps over playing doomsday scenario.
As usual the truth is more likely to be found between the two with a greater probable onus on far steeper declines.

renth

This one was 2 million last time it was sold, now languishing empty and unsold at 1.55

1 Discovery Circuit Iluka WA 6028 - House for Sale #119292243 - realestate.com.au

the troubadour

The other side of the coin there appears to be more special offerings around the traps. Pub lunch specials for example.
Dinner specials on particular nights. Still eating out still as a general rule far too expensive.
I do detect as well far less opposition to a downturn of quite some gravity. Something any numbers of the over positive were in denial about until rather recently. A number quite violently so.

the troubadour

What does surprise me though is just how expensive country WA tends to be. I find Perth metro prices being the norm to eat out in places like Albany though with far less earning potential. Hardly confined to there either.


Prices really need to decline far further in acceptance of the growing reality that boom days are well and truly over.

Japonica

We lived in Perth until 2015. Saw the writing on the wall and as we'd wanted to move at some point anyway (we'd been there over 5 years), we figured it was the time to get out.

My husband's new company had an office in Perth and he used to get sent back (yes, the irony) for jobs on and off last year. The Perth office closed a few months ago and there's been no more work for him in WA.