Originally Posted by webgum

Thanks for that! I've just finished work here in Blighty and am preparing everything for leaving in the next few months. You've focussed me - a good realistic description of what to expect.

Cheers and good lucK!

PS my hubby been offered a job with an envirnomental consultancy in Perth. Kinda similar area to yours?

Originally Posted by Go Banana's !!

And to all you guys out there, she is Julia Roberts's twin sister

Originally Posted by Go Banana's !!

And to all you guys out there, she is Julia Roberts's twin sister
Jill

Originally Posted by Larissa

We arrived in Perth on 12/10/04, so this is really a 3.5 month update... We’ve been having too much fun to post on time! On arriving in Perth we stayed on our friend’s floor for 10 days. With hindsight we should have rented elsewhere, as kipping on the floor when we were emotionally drained and jet lagged was not a good idea.
We spent the latter part of the 10 days touring Perth in our hire car. We went up to Yanchep, down to Falcon and over to Yarradale and Byford, to collect our cat. Our furniture arrived a few days after we did, so we quickly arranged storage and booked the cat into a cattery, since he was due to leave the quarantine station. Byford did a brilliant job of looking after our moggie and he was totally unphased by the experience.
Once we had decided to find somewhere near the Northern Coast, we then visited a number of estate agents and collected A4 lists of the houses available for rent. We were limited in having our cat and feeling the pressure of staying with friends; they were well meaning but we couldn’t handle other people trying to arrange our lives.
The drive by viewings were tiring and the kids weren’t impressed by the distances we were covering. We found a 3 bedroom house in Joondalup, which we thought was pretty basic, but we were happy to have somewhere with good transport connections and within reach of facilities in Joondalup.
As we settled into our rental, it quickly became apparent that we were sharing our accommodation with a host of other insects, including cockroaches and silverfish. Thankfully, my experience on “Expats� had prepared me and I knew what products to buy to get rid of the critters. 2 mortein bombs later, we were met with a scene of carnage, took plenty of photos and detailed all the rental problems. Over the next few months we had a number of tradesmen round to repair bits and pieces with the house; the most annoying problem was that the majority or our fly screens were unusable so we found it hard to ventilate the place. New frames were made and fairly recently (after a call to an arbitration service) they were installed.
We quickly enrolled our daughter in primary school, which was a huge shock as she found that the work was too easy. The kids were friendly though and we put her name down on the wait list for a church school in Joondalup. There were only about 6 school weeks until Christmas, so she didn’t make that many friends to play with over the holidays.
I also started our 2 year old at nursery one day a week. It was fairly similar to the UK, but less learning focused… plus it’s hard to see what the kids have been doing each day. However, it’s doing him and me good, since his behaviour has improved immensely (he had been very unsettled after the move) and I’ve been able to do my own thing.
Early on in our stay in Perth, I made the decision that I would try to establish a routine and drag myself out to things, even if I didn’t feel up to it. I battled with negative feelings, not homesickness per se, but more a feeling of being overwhelmed by the newness of everything; from stuff in the supermarkets to meeting people. I instantly hated suburbia and found meeting new people everyday just did my head in.
One Thursday I rolled up at Siren’s house for coffee with the girls. I was a bit of a mess to be honest… but I poured out my heart, munched a few cakes and felt much better. I also got lots of tips from the girls and learnt that what I was going through was pretty normal; I stopped beating myself up about it and quickly moved on. Thursdays quickly became my “Golden time�, a welcome break from the kids and time for me. My confidence improved as I ventured further afield to different women’s houses each week and I now have a fairly good idea of areas in Perth. Our ladies’ nights have also been pretty cool, a chance to catch up with women who can’t make Thursdays and a chance to see Perth by night. I’ve also had the feeling of being “at home� and am no longer freaked out by suburbia, although we are realising that it probably isn’t for us.
Meanwhile, my husband Simeon was looking for work as a Health and Safety & environmental engineer. We quickly discovered that a major reworking or his CV was required, then the job market went dead as we ran up to Christmas. Early on we had decided to stay away from mining, since the children are young. We figured we could exist until spring or longer, so he hung on for the right job. I was also alarmed by the fact that we weren’t making Australian friends; in the UK we were used to knowing our neighbours and people down the street, but Joondalup didn’t feel that friendly! Needing to get out and do his own thing, he answered an Ad in the Quokka for voluntary work at an organic garden. He didn’t get paid, but spent a day a week there and brought home bags of yummy veggies. He also made Aussie friends and we got to meet a friend through the organic garden, who lives in Muchea.
Muchea is a rural area and our new found friend has a small holding there. She was really kind to us and our kids loved meeting all her animals. She even took us to her place in the Chitterings and my older child experienced quad biking for the first time up there. We’ve house sat and spent an idyllic weekend out there. We’re thinking about moving out that way, but need to be pretty sure before making such a commitment.
Just before Christmas my mum was in and out of hospital with a superbug. This was a testing time and I remember being sat at some craft group… it just hit me and I had to get out to the loo quick and burst into tears! Fortunately she got the treatment she needed, but this was a very vulnerable time for me and hubby had to walk on eggshells.
Christmas was fairly relaxing and it was great to get cards and prezzies from friends overseas. We went to Dewson’s Carols by Candlelight and have really enjoyed the Aussie picnic thing. We also love going into Perth by train and our glad we live outside, so that it’s more fun travelling in. We’ve spent a few days out at the beach but are very aware of the danger of going out in full sun. Our favourite spot is Mullaloo beach, mainly because it has great waves for boogie boarding and because the beach is patrolled, which is important to us with young children.
In the past week Simeon landed his first contract for environmental work. He’s set up as a sole trader and is doing some work for a Perth company on acid sulphate soil testing. With some more great advice from Expats, he’s procured his own lap top. Things are beginning to fall into place and it’s a relief to have some money coming in, although the work will be very challenging. He’s just arrived home after a days work and its great to see him “focussed� again.
I turned 30 recently and had a great night out with the girls on Saturday. I wasn’t that impressed with the food (not a real tofu fan!) but the company was great. On Monday we flew from Jandakot to Rottnest Island. It was truly an amazing experience and we had a great day out. It was strange to be out there enjoying the beach life as my birthday has always been in the middle of winter! I also got my own boogie board and snorkel set, so am really chuffed and rediscovering my childhood We had a lovely meal overlooking Thompson bay, the food was delicious and the views were great. We also met loads of Quokkas, so the children were in their element. We went to Geordie bay and met a friendly stingray, then went on glass (plastic really) bottomed boats. We flew back over the sunset coast, seeing the bush fires in the distance and went really low over Hillary’s boat harbour. It really was the best birthday!

I don’t know what the next few months holds for us, but I’m really glad we’ve had this opportunity to start a “new life� in Aus. We’ve quickly learnt not to compare with the UK. You have to accept Aus for what it is and embrace new experiences.
Larissa