mindblower

Hi Perth Expats

Hoping for some replies to this one..

My friend has returned from a 3 week tour of all Oz major cities.

He strongly advises I go too see Perth on a reccie prior to going there to get a real feel for the place..trouble is although this sounds sensible it's an expensive cost you can do without.

Also said Perth is isolated from the rest of Oz/world only the city ,Freemantle and the coastal areas there of note though he didnt see a great deal of the suburbs ( his own opinion of course).

Putting a dampener on my move this, any useful thoughts ? if your there and it's a lot more positive than this please tell me.

Thanks

Dave

DebraH

Personally I would go and have a look - we went out in August and had a really good look around - also at Mandurah and Bunbury - places we probably would have turned our noses up before - only because we had never been there. I never liked Perth on my first visit - 11 years ago, I preferred the east coast, but I loved it there this time - even though it probably rained 18 days out of 21

I liked the cleaniness - I live near Slough, so probably the streets of Perth looked exceptionally clean, I loved the shopping malls and the people.

at the end of the day it's up to you, yes it costs to get out there, and a lot of people do go without never stepping a foot in australia before they emigrate. good luck

CadburysFingers

It really ticks me off when people say Perth is isolated (not you, your friend) it is total crap, Perth is a huge place, and has many outstanding suburbs north south west and east of it. So what if it is miles from the nearest big city in Australia or the next country, so are many places in the world. Unless you travel hundreds of miles a day, this wont affect you in the slightest. Lets face it if you wanted to travel from London to Glasgow, you would have to do it by plane, here is no different, the other coast is a plane ride away.

Unfortunately the phrase "Perth is isolated" is one of those phrases that people just say, without actually knowing what they are talking about or mean. Its like all these numpties who say, "ooooooooohh its all at the front, it must be a girl, or a boy, depending on who says it. How inclined to offer an opinion would these wassacks be, if there were ten options to choose from instead of two..................boy or girl.

sophia

hiya dave
no-one can tell you whether you are going to like it here or not, only you can decide that. I do think that your friend's advice to visit first is a very sensible one.
Look at it this way, ok either you spend some money on visiting first OR you fly out here without having a look, spend thousands moving yourself and your possessions over here only to find that you don't like it and want to either move to another city in oz or return to the UK (this happens quite regularly). Surely this is the more expensive option?? Obviously a visit is not going to tell you whether you can settle here or not, but will give you a good idea of where you are moving to...and for you to get your own feel for the place.

Again your friend is right in so far as there isn't too much outside the Perth Metro area which some people might find quite daunting. Personally I don't really think about it. There are 1.25 million people living in the Perth Metro area so although it's not huge, there are enough people so you don't feel too isolated...well I don't anyway!! Fremantle is lovely, has a nice trendy feel to the place (full of very random people...this is way cool, makes me laugh lots!!).

I guess there are so many factors to think about, it's probably best that you come and see for yourself first!!

Good luck

love sophia xx

mindblower

Thanks for responses thus far

Perthforme

I know people that have never left the town they live in , only eat english food when abroad , etc .
Yes Perth is far away from everwhere else , but it has everything you could need out of life.
Some love it some hate it .
I will do my best to grow old there as i love it .
Only you will know when you get there if its 4 you . Good luck

SteveBannister

We've been here 3 months and LOVE IT!!

Isolation is a state of mind. Being so far away from the rest of the country just makes Perth more 'self-sufficient'. Everything is here that you could want, we even have a 'Next' clothes shop!

sunflower7

Well I liked Perth, especially Fremantle area - had some character to the place.
It may be on its own with regard to big cities in WA, but it has plenty there.
Guess it depends what your after, one of the things I'm after is a little more space than Birmingham/Solihull has to offer. I think about how often I actually visit all the other nearby places in the UK, - not alot on a day to day basis. Perth is a huge area, WA simply massive in comparison to UK, and I usually fly when I holiday anyway. Quite like the idea of being in a place that has a city, but also a great coast line/space/etc to chill out in as the years fly by. God I sound like a nearly retired person now....

Sandra

Sorry I am only picking

I used to drive from the South of England (Reading) to Scotland/N.Ireland via Ferry and my biggest decision was to go in daylight and have dinner stops, or fill a flask and go through the night.

I wouldn't even contemplate a drive to Perth in my maddest of days. I have driven to Brisbane and Melbourne and those 12 hour journeys take some thought - we do overnight stops on those journeys.

I agree the term isolated is maybe over used but possibly true when kids are growing up and need more experience - they will look outside (as we have done) and if they move .... it will be elsewhere and that is some distance from Perth, even if it is only to another Aussie State Capitol to Uni!

And if we look at cost.....we will all argue who got the cheapest from, where and to.......but please tell me how cheap you can get a family of four to Brisbane for a week for the theme parks as a bit of a break over Christmas.

Cheers

kiwichild

Perth has a lot of Poms in it, so u may find a clique, but I have lived here for a bit and personally don't like the place(just have commitments here at the moment). Also very hot at times in summer, and locals not the friendliest, but then I'm a kiwi lol.
Still have found friendlier aussies elsewhere in this country.
I'd be more inclined to look over east or at adelaide or ballarat (an hour drive to melbourne). Williamstown in melbourne is meant to be nice.

anyway, good luck

Tiawamutu

I started another thread about Perth Dave, with some useful info, and people's thoughts on the place (from some who already live there)

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...80#post2835880

SteveBannister

Definitely picking! lol.

Why drive, when it's cheaper and quicker to fly? If your kids are going to travel, let them. They normally fly the nest and travel from the UK anyway. Didn't you? And if Australia is one of the popular places for people to travel to, then you're giving them a head start aren't you? Nowhere is too far away these days, we don't feel cut off or isolated at all. In fact, quite the opposite. We went to Adelaide first and felt like it was the end of the world. My wife hated it it. Perth, she loves yet it's further away. Go figure!

Sandra

I told you I was picking

If my kids don't travel I will be very upset....the further the better and I believe that big time. My mum lives in Spain and my Dad in Vancouver. My head start for the kids will be an Aussie passport, the rest will be up to them.

I was reacting to the fact you needed to fly to Scotland....which I found a bit of joke if comparing it to getting to Perth. I agree distance is a personal perspective - but 50 odd hrs driving comparing to 8 is not.

I have never been to Perth so I will state I am not speaking from personal knowledge of being there....I do know the cost of fights for a family of four and we have yet to visit our rellies in Perth - but have driven to Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

Personal Opinion of course......

Lewis Lapthorn

Well said buddy, totally agree.

I think many people who choose to settle in other areas of Oz (for whatever reason which I'm not criticising) use that reason for not living in Perth. I think often to help justify their decisions, rather than slag Perth off.

The problem is, when you refer to a place as isolated, one immediately thinks of loneliness and desolation. This might have been the case 45 years ago - but then again, it was the same in most other Oz cities 45 years ago.

How can one of the most spread out cities in the world, housing over a million people, with unrivaled infrastructure, and in a state containing an abundance of wonderful places to see between 2 and 6 hours drive be isolated? If you need to go any further for enrichment - get on a plane - as you would have to do if you lived in any other city in the world.

It is total bo11ocks as you say, and when examined, so blatantly obvious.

samnrob2

Both seem a little touchy!

All I'll say is that I can't fly to Sydney, Melbourne or Cairns within two hours from Perth. I can / have done from Brisbane. I was at a conference in Sydney with a girl from Perth and she was bemoaning the five hour flight to get there.

To me, that seems too detached from other major cities in Oz. Especially when you consider so many national events take place on the East Coast (I'm thinking primarily sporting events (Australian Open Tennis, Melbourne Cup, etc).

Especially coming from the UK, where you can get a choice of cities within half an hour's drive or so. And getting from London to Glasgow? You can fly there within the hour! (Although I beg the question why you'd want to go to Glasgow )

If you're not a city person maybe it won't be an issue living in Perth?

Good luck with whatever you choose.

p.s. I also came to East Coast for more job opportunities (in my line of work)

R