Hi there

I'm Lisa, 32, married have two little girls under 5.

My husband has been offered a job in Perth and we are considering making the move, so I've started my research here! We moved from England to Switzerland 15 months ago and currently live in Zurich, I'm a qualified nurse but not working at the moment as I stay at home to look after my girls.

We are weighing up all the pros and cons so I would appreciate any info/advice on moving, living in Australia/Perth, how is the climate in Perth? Info on lifestyle, schooling, meeting new people & family accommodation would be helpful, I realise all this info is out there but I thought this would be a good place to start and I'm interested in others' personal experiences!

Thanks for your time!

Lisa

Hi Lisa. Your topics are a bit vague, but I would say the following.

It is very laid back and chilled out atmosphere. Including at work.

Weather is generally good. Winter is cool and wet, summer hot and dry with temps getting over 40 at times. Spring and autumn are a bit like a UK summer, though slightly drier.

Lifestyle is what you make of it and to some extent where a bouts you live. For me, we live next to a beach so that is a big part of our lives.

I would find Perth a little bland compaired to Zurich
(no offence Perthians )

Totally agree
I think it may be quite a shock coming from Zurich and experiencing Perth, but perhaps a slow down is what you're after?

You certainly have to make your own entertainment in Perth and it's very isolated if travel is one of your hobbies!

It will be what you make of it, but be prepared to slam on the brakes!

Good luck!

Someone is going to be along soon

Having lived in both places, with children, I would say you would find Perth a much more child-friendly place to live than Switzerland. Currently we live in CH, but are also thinking of mving back to Perth.

Whether to make the move? Well, depends what you are looking for. If you like mountains and skiing, stay in CH. If you like the beach and the ocean, move to Aus. If you like being in the centre of Europe, with multiple countries and cities just a couple of hours away, stay in CH. If you don't care about that, move to Aus. It all depends.....

Thanks for your comments, I'm surprised I thought Perth would compete quite well with Zurich, we currently live in an apartment by Zurich lake so that's a big part of our life but living in a house with a pool by the beach is quite appealing!

My husband doesn't like the heat so much but I do so that's another pull for me and the language barrier wouldn't be a problem anymore, we are all learning german but I would be more confident that my girls would settle in at school with other English speakers.

How do you guys cope with being so far away from your families?, obviously visits to the UK would be less frequent than from here.
Moving to Sydney is also an option, how does that compare with Perth?

Do mind me asking why you are thinking of moving back to Perth from CH?

Both options are nice, you'll get heaps more space in Perth though. But house,pool, near beach might cost you more than you realise.
Ok, so he may have a problem with Perth then. If he is not enjoying this weeks weather in Zurich then he will struggle in Perth. Summer goes on a lot longer and is a lot hotter!
Sure, no more Swiss German issues for you or husband. For the children, at the age of under 5, it does not matter so much, they will pick up German easily enough from their schoolmates.
Not easy. Thats one of the reasons we moved back to Europe from Aus. And why it makes a decision to go back to Aus so tricky.
Mainly education reasons. Younger daughter is autistic and we can't get the specialist therapies/schooling etc she needs here, in English. All available in German, but not English.
Also, a general feeling it is time to move on after 7 years. Tired of fighting the system here and struggling to communicate in Swiss German.

Oh dear that doesn't sound good ... what have I done?

Perth is great ... awesome ... wonderful

Wish we had come out when the kids were pre school.... But that being said I think have small ones and being SO far away from home must be even more hard for extended family to cope with... Kids grow so quickly.

Living perf area, I like it.... But from what I hear the East Coast is better.... And if we had our time again I would have put my foot down and insisted on Esat coast....the West coast is very small town....

Its not too hot most of the year... i used to DIE if it reached 23 C in the uk.... But the different heat here means I'm very comfortable in the mid to high thirties nowadays.... In fact 23 C and I'm raching for a sweater.

Would you be comung permanant or just for a working stay? That may alter how you feel about coming all this way.....

Then your husband is not going to like Perth in the summer at all. Weeks of 40+ with UV in the extreme can get to someone who isn't fond of heat.

Too different to compare but prepare for a bit of a shock if you come to Perth from Zurich.
Unless it's for a good reason I would stay in Zurich without hesitation.
Perth is very expensive,very far from most places that you may want to be and rather parochial.
Read through other threads on the matter and try and form a conclusion.
Do you enjoy suburban living? Driving everywhere? Hot summers and decent beaches?

Thats true

But not true of Perth

http://www.weatherzone.com.au/climat...t=site&lc=9225

We do NOT have weeks of 40+ (and well you know it )

So I was dreaming this past January when it was well over 40 for near on 2 weeks then? The old man and I built our gazebo during it, so remember very well being 40 by lunchtime every day.

Not suggesting you were dreaming at all but as someone like yourself who has lived here years, I'm sure you will agree the heat waves we experienced this summer such as the in you refer were record breaking.
To me your original reply Implied weeks over 40 were typical and to the OP and that's misleading because they're not.

It may have been 40 in your garden but BoM figures suggest nothing like that.

24th 39.4
25th 41.8
26th 43.1
27th 37.0
28th 38.9
29th 34.0