Nomore

we have just recently arrived in Perth...and i have to say it is a disapointment so far!!! we have been here 3 months and although we have just bought a new house in Carramar we have payed over the odds!!! People bid above the asking price rather than below the asking price of a house..this ends up being a battlefield and you end up paying more than what the house is worth..I find the winter here as cold as UK..we are full of cold and with no central heating it feels like the Antartic in our house...I have 3 kids who hate the place..all they say is it's boring and theres nothing to do!!! i'm starting to agree with them..and to finish off on a good note our furniture arrived from the UK last week after 10 weeks of waiting for it...and it's mostly damaged...i must stress to anyone who is thinking about emigrating...don't use CROWN RELOCATIONS...they stole some of our furniture before it even arrived here...they have been the biggest problem of all.... Will things get better????

NKSK version 2

It will get better - honestly.

By September the nights won't be as cold and by November summer will be virtually here - this changes your perspective. It won't make it any easier that the UK is having such a fantastic summer.

Nomore

thanks for that...i must say that i can't believe i am missing such a fab summer in UK..typical...i will give it a year i think in Oz...hopefully it will be for the best in long run that we came here...although the kids need alot of pursuading...

northernbird

I agree, it will get better. It was the one thing that surprised me was how cold it got in the evenings, I arrived in August.

How old are your children and what kind of thing did they do of an evening/weekend before you came here. Folks on here might be able to give you some idea of what sort of activities are around.

sunbather

How old are your children? Has hubby found work ok?

Have you made many friends yet? I know I found it hard for the first few months, but once I had made some friends and started socialising regularly it made a huge difference.

What kind of things are your kids into?

I have found there is plenty to do as far as organised stuff goes. There is not a lot for kids who just like to hang around, but mine have never done that anyway, always gone to scouts, soccer, basketball, etc etc

Nomore

My kids are 7 11 15....2 boys and 1 girl...girl is 15...she hates it here and is returning to UK when she is 16,,,they all miss everything about UK...family, friends..which i do too...i think we came here expecting bigger and better things and infact we now have a smaller house, bigger morgage, less family, no friends...i know things will cahnge but it's so difficult trying to convince ourselves!! The kids did football and rugby...daughter did dancing...i know there are classes to join here but it's knowing which ones are the best...i also feel that the education is abit lower than in the UK

sunbather

We were obviously typing at the same time

sunbather

Whereabouts in the UK did you come from?

Nomore

hi ...we come from Leeds....great place...fantastic nightlife...great shops...thought Perth would be the same...but it's not is it!! summer will be better won't it...i need to give it time

northernbird

The old chestnut of education. Its early days yet, you have to give the kids a chance to settle. Lots of people reckon the education isn't up to much, I find it OK, different but OK.

As for sports and dancing clubs there are plenty around. Ask around at school, it will help break the ice with other parents. I believe Carramar has a very active community association. Worzel and Adenray both live in Carramar and always seem to be dead helpful to newbies, drop them both a PM introducing yourselves. You have to make the effort here I have found, friendships don't just happen, they take work. PM me if you fancy meeting for a coffee.

northernbird

Perth is about as far removed from Leeds as I am from Claudia Schiffer!! I come from a small village in Lancashire so Perth to me is the metropolis but I can imagine the disappointment if you are used to buzzing city life. Hopefully once you make some friends you will feel a bit more settled.

worzel

Hi! We are also in Carramar and also thought Crown here awful but we have loved it since the moment we arrived - I think arriving in time for the Aussie summer rather than winter definitely helps.

May I suggest you get yourselves down to the Dome cafe at Hillarys tomorrow lunch and meet the girls to share your story. No doubt they will be able to advise on clubs and so on. You won't miss them - they have an Aussie flag.

Sam and I know about 6 families in Carramar now and probably 3 times that within 10 mins of Joondalup - friends make a big difference. Give it time.

sunbather

I'm sure it will feel better once the spring comes. The cold at night seems to go right through you.

I too thought that the shopping was crap but then started to find my way around and have found other places that are better. Can't say I'm too bothered about nightlife, have always been used to country living so am happy having friends round etc. Once you have a firm friendhsip base you will find that there will be an invite most weekends to a party or bbq, or something.

When you are feeling down, take a wander to the beach. Always works for me. I am at the other end of Perth from you I'm afraid, down in Baldivis. Beaches here are great and see dolphins most weeks which helps lift my spirits.

worzel

True - you do need to get used to travelling into the city for a lot of things. I reckon there is at least as much going on as there was in Birmingham (I was about 25 miles away in the UK - same as I am from Perth now roughly). I work there so am used to it and go for a beer after work most Fridays and often do other stuff there at weekends. In the burbs, things are definitely a different pace but then, personally, I like that.

The Corderys

Things will get better, as you make more friends and the Kids make more friends. I intitially had a lot of homesick moments, I wasn't entirely convinced that i'd made the right decision, but it takes a while to settle, especially if like me the uk was all you'd ever known apart from the odd holiday abroad..
But it works the same as the UK, everything looks a little bit better when the sun is shining. Australian culture is also such that most of your socialising is done outside, so winter can be a bit quiet.

Winter is cold, but nothing like a UK winter, and summer will make up for it i promise you, and winter doesn't go on forever. People phoning from the uk to tell you how hot it is won't help but you can return the favour in November-March. Carramar isn't exactly a hive of activity , at the moment it doesn't have the facilities here to entertain most people but it is supposed to be getting better.
How old are your kids?

We had Crown and they were very good for us, but that was a year or two back, I'm sorry your experience with them wasn't a good one, that won't help how you feel about your move. Are you persuing any action to get your stuff back?