Some realities of Perth.
Apr 15th 2007, 10:01 am
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Back in Glasgow
Posts: 117
Some realities of Perth.
My wife and i have now been in Perth for 6 months and all we can think about is when we can get out of it. Unfortunately we are in the process of building a house so we will be here for another year at least !!!! ( jumped into the market to quick ).
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!
Apr 15th 2007, 10:12 am
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Location: yanchep
Posts: 133
Re: Some realities of Perth.
hi
I can fully understand some of your thoughts and gripes but isnt it great not going the shops on sunday shopping and spending some quuality family time i mean there is more to australia than shopping.Yes bare foot is a way of life over here and i must admit i am one of them but only at weekends when im not at work.The driving isnt to bad i drive about 50mins to work and im use to driving the A14 in the uk and to me this is a doddle but you could always get the train which i think is superb then catch the free buses in the city.Fruit and veg try some in outer suburbs when your out driving its better quality and a lot cheaper.Yes drivers can be a pain here but cant they everywhere its part of life.Yes its quite and a bit isolated over here but the change in pace of life is why we all come over here.
In all sit back embrace aussie life chill out and enjoy your new life just go with the flow.
I can fully understand some of your thoughts and gripes but isnt it great not going the shops on sunday shopping and spending some quuality family time i mean there is more to australia than shopping.Yes bare foot is a way of life over here and i must admit i am one of them but only at weekends when im not at work.The driving isnt to bad i drive about 50mins to work and im use to driving the A14 in the uk and to me this is a doddle but you could always get the train which i think is superb then catch the free buses in the city.Fruit and veg try some in outer suburbs when your out driving its better quality and a lot cheaper.Yes drivers can be a pain here but cant they everywhere its part of life.Yes its quite and a bit isolated over here but the change in pace of life is why we all come over here.
In all sit back embrace aussie life chill out and enjoy your new life just go with the flow.
Apr 15th 2007, 10:20 am
#3
Banned
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: here there,fluck knows where?
Posts: 7,444
Re: Some realities of Perth.
jeez,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!............. .............
Apr 15th 2007, 10:25 am
#4
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 65
Re: Some realities of Perth.
From what I have read alot of people from UK are upset that shops in WA are closed on Sunday. Just remember that the locals want it like that - they voted for it in a referendum a few years back... It is designed to encourage "family time" etc.
Apr 15th 2007, 10:31 am
#5
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Some realities of Perth.
Careful people! I'll be honest, internet connections, bare feet, and when shops are open for some, might not even be an issue. Sort of a ''surburban'' complaint.
People it is all highly subjective. I find many of the usual complaints (suspects?) complete non-starters! Weird...it's always the same things that come up.
If this was a new post I though it might have been a troll...
People it is all highly subjective. I find many of the usual complaints (suspects?) complete non-starters! Weird...it's always the same things that come up.
If this was a new post I though it might have been a troll...
Apr 15th 2007, 10:42 am
#6
happy to be here!
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Ellenbrook, WA
Posts: 2,732
Re: Some realities of Perth.
Careful people! I'll be honest, internet connections, bare feet, and when shops are open for some, might not even be an issue. Sort of a ''surburban'' complaint.
People it is all highly subjective. I find many of the usual complaints (suspects?) complete non-starters! Weird...it's always the same things that come up.
If this was a new post I though it might have been a troll...
People it is all highly subjective. I find many of the usual complaints (suspects?) complete non-starters! Weird...it's always the same things that come up.
If this was a new post I though it might have been a troll...
Surely people know about these things before they come
Most of these things happen in the UK too (apart from bare feet and shops closed on a sunday)
I'm sure some think it is going to be paradise!
Apr 15th 2007, 11:34 am
#7
A former regular of BE
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Carramar, Perth
Posts: 6,241
Re: Some realities of Perth.
Tis funny, 9 out of 10 people love Perth BECAUSE it is like the OP wrote. The whole laid-back thing is what makes it so special. But 1 in 10 HATE it for those reasons. Perhaps it boils down to lack of research / rose tinted glasses. But it seems those that decide not to like it cannot / will not accept that the 1.5M people that live here are the norm and it is them that is different. No offence meant to the OP - it must be horrible to feel that way. But there are plenty like them on here who just hate it more and more as time passes rather than come to accept it for what it is...and that is what really surprises me - that it does not grow on any of them.
Apr 15th 2007, 11:36 am
#8
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2005
Location: Limerick-Shropshire- Perth.
Posts: 3,215
Re: Some realities of Perth.
My wife and i have now been in Perth for 6 months and all we can think about is when we can get out of it. Unfortunately we are in the process of building a house so we will be here for another year at least !!!! ( jumped into the market to quick ).
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!
Apr 15th 2007, 11:49 am
#9
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
Posts: 16,622
Re: Some realities of Perth.
Tis funny, 9 out of 10 people love Perth BECAUSE it is like the OP wrote. The whole laid-back thing is what makes it so special. But 1 in 10 HATE it for those reasons. Perhaps it boils down to lack of research / rose tinted glasses. But it seems those that decide not to like it cannot / will not accept that the 1.5M people that live here are the norm and it is them that is different. No offence meant to the OP - it must be horrible to feel that way. But there are plenty like them on here who just hate it more and more as time passes rather than come to accept it for what it is...and that is what really surprises me - that it does not grow on any of them.
I'm too busy to worry about my internet connection speed and the speed people travel on the highway.
Apr 15th 2007, 12:03 pm
#10
www.perthcrest.com.au
Joined: May 2005
Location: Wonderful Carine, Perth
Posts: 454
Re: Some realities of Perth.
I guess everyone wants different things from Perth. We love the fact that the shops are closed on Sundays - we have family time playing, eating and talking.
Carine shops (5 mins from us, and many suberbs have small shopping centres) are open 7 days till 7pm (or later) so no panic there for last minute things.
My son loves to walk barefoot (he is 9 and loves the freedoom! Erm... There are more important things I need to advise/request from him).
All in all, the space in the parks/on the beach mean that we can play without worrying other families. The social aspect (we dont drink and drive, only have sleepovers if we have too many, to save the taxi probs and help to build better/stronger friendships) is so much fun!
Our children have NEVER been fitter or happier! Sports 3 or 4 times a week, minimum, and they love it!
So, just to say, its not for everyone, but (we have been here almost a year) for us, it was the best move we ever made and we have never been happier living in this beautiful country with spectacular birds/wildlife to admire and kind aussies to support and encourage us.
Its good to look at all views, and what is good for some,, may not be good for others, that is why we are all different.
If you get the chance, you are blessed, and if it doesnt work out, then 'no worries mate', life is full of opportunities, some work and some dont, but always there is a worthwhile lesson.
God bless
Carine shops (5 mins from us, and many suberbs have small shopping centres) are open 7 days till 7pm (or later) so no panic there for last minute things.
My son loves to walk barefoot (he is 9 and loves the freedoom! Erm... There are more important things I need to advise/request from him).
All in all, the space in the parks/on the beach mean that we can play without worrying other families. The social aspect (we dont drink and drive, only have sleepovers if we have too many, to save the taxi probs and help to build better/stronger friendships) is so much fun!
Our children have NEVER been fitter or happier! Sports 3 or 4 times a week, minimum, and they love it!
So, just to say, its not for everyone, but (we have been here almost a year) for us, it was the best move we ever made and we have never been happier living in this beautiful country with spectacular birds/wildlife to admire and kind aussies to support and encourage us.
Its good to look at all views, and what is good for some,, may not be good for others, that is why we are all different.
If you get the chance, you are blessed, and if it doesnt work out, then 'no worries mate', life is full of opportunities, some work and some dont, but always there is a worthwhile lesson.
God bless
Apr 15th 2007, 12:50 pm
#11
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: Waikiki W.A.
Posts: 496
Re: Some realities of Perth.
Traffic in Perth is sublime compared to Bris/Syd/melb
What's the point of drinking at the pub? Not like you can waddle home, our suburbs are big and spread out, you need to drive and then you can get done for DUI, Drink at home with your friends and open your home to them.
Bare Feet? when I was a gal we couldn't afford shoes and I went to school in bare feet! Have the class photo's to prove it
Hey it's safe and warm and free!
What's the point of drinking at the pub? Not like you can waddle home, our suburbs are big and spread out, you need to drive and then you can get done for DUI, Drink at home with your friends and open your home to them.
Bare Feet? when I was a gal we couldn't afford shoes and I went to school in bare feet! Have the class photo's to prove it
Hey it's safe and warm and free!
Apr 15th 2007, 1:01 pm
#12
Proudly Deplorable
Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: Some realities of Perth.
My wife and i have now been in Perth for 6 months and all we can think about is when we can get out of it. Unfortunately we are in the process of building a house so we will be here for another year at least !!!! ( jumped into the market to quick ).
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!
Enjoy your life back in the UK.
Apr 15th 2007, 1:18 pm
#13
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 484
Re: Some realities of Perth.
Hi lang81
Sorry to hear you're not settling. Can I ask what made you decide to come to Perth? Did you do any research on Perth?
I personally just do not understand why people have a problem with shops being closed on Sundays even if you work Mon-Sat theres late night shopping on Thursdays. Sundays are for chilling out & enjoying time with your family. Enjoy it!
The barefoot thing, well does it really matter? I don't do it & I'd rather my DD didn't mainly for safety reasons but if others choose to thats up to them.
I have to agree with you on the lack of courtesy on the roads & the mad drivers but its not much better anywhere else. Public transport here is fantastic. It is regular & on time.
We're going to change banks because we too have had problems (HSBC!)
For anybody reading this & considering coming to Perth, the positives far outweigh any negatives for us. Everything seems better when the sun is shining! The beaches are absolutely stunning & I feel it is a much better lifestyle to bring up a young family. It all depends what you want from life & if you've done your research & still think its for you then you'll be fine
Leigh
Sorry to hear you're not settling. Can I ask what made you decide to come to Perth? Did you do any research on Perth?
I personally just do not understand why people have a problem with shops being closed on Sundays
even if you work Mon-Sat theres late night shopping on Thursdays. Sundays are for chilling out & enjoying time with your family. Enjoy it!The barefoot thing, well does it really matter? I don't do it & I'd rather my DD didn't mainly for safety reasons but if others choose to thats up to them.
I have to agree with you on the lack of courtesy on the roads & the mad drivers but its not much better anywhere else. Public transport here is fantastic. It is regular & on time.
We're going to change banks because we too have had problems (HSBC!)
For anybody reading this & considering coming to Perth, the positives far outweigh any negatives for us. Everything seems better when the sun is shining! The beaches are absolutely stunning & I feel it is a much better lifestyle to bring up a young family. It all depends what you want from life & if you've done your research & still think its for you then you'll be fine
Leigh
Apr 15th 2007, 1:39 pm
#14
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Sandringham, Vic
Posts: 350
Re: Some realities of Perth.
Hi lang81
Sorry to hear you're not settling. Can I ask what made you decide to come to Perth? Did you do any research on Perth?
I personally just do not understand why people have a problem with shops being closed on Sundays even if you work Mon-Sat theres late night shopping on Thursdays. Sundays are for chilling out & enjoying time with your family. Enjoy it!
The barefoot thing, well does it really matter? I don't do it & I'd rather my DD didn't mainly for safety reasons but if others choose to thats up to them.
I have to agree with you on the lack of courtesy on the roads & the mad drivers but its not much better anywhere else. Public transport here is fantastic. It is regular & on time.
We're going to change banks because we too have had problems (HSBC!)
For anybody reading this & considering coming to Perth, the positives far outweigh any negatives for us. Everything seems better when the sun is shining! The beaches are absolutely stunning & I feel it is a much better lifestyle to bring up a young family. It all depends what you want from life & if you've done your research & still think its for you then you'll be fine
Leigh
Sorry to hear you're not settling. Can I ask what made you decide to come to Perth? Did you do any research on Perth?
I personally just do not understand why people have a problem with shops being closed on Sundays
even if you work Mon-Sat theres late night shopping on Thursdays. Sundays are for chilling out & enjoying time with your family. Enjoy it!The barefoot thing, well does it really matter? I don't do it & I'd rather my DD didn't mainly for safety reasons but if others choose to thats up to them.
I have to agree with you on the lack of courtesy on the roads & the mad drivers but its not much better anywhere else. Public transport here is fantastic. It is regular & on time.
We're going to change banks because we too have had problems (HSBC!)
For anybody reading this & considering coming to Perth, the positives far outweigh any negatives for us. Everything seems better when the sun is shining! The beaches are absolutely stunning & I feel it is a much better lifestyle to bring up a young family. It all depends what you want from life & if you've done your research & still think its for you then you'll be fine
Leigh
Apr 15th 2007, 1:42 pm
#15
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 93
Re: Some realities of Perth.
My wife and i have now been in Perth for 6 months and all we can think about is when we can get out of it. Unfortunately we are in the process of building a house so we will be here for another year at least !!!! ( jumped into the market to quick ).
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!
I am not writing this to scare people off from Perth however if you are in the UK and are dreaming of coming here then you may like to know of some of the harsh realities of life here.
First of all i would like to point out that most of the shops are closed on Sundays. There are many big shopping centres here and none are doing business on Sundays !!! Yes the city is open but the stores there are crap compared to the UK and it is so small. It may sound trivial but when you have come from a place where Sunday shopping is quite normal it is bloody hard to get your head around. Apparently WA is the only state in OZ where this happens ?
Lots of people walk about in their bare feet !!!! Let me tell you that this is weird to see when you are working in a University (like i am) and you see people walking to classes with no shoes ! Am i the only one who finds this disgusting ????
The freeways are just as busy as the roads were in Glasgow, so don't think that driving here is a pleasure, in fact it is one of the most frustrating things about Perth.
The people here just don't know how to drive. Drivers will sit at 90 ks in the outside lane and they don't move over for anyone so they overtake down the inside lane. It is real life wacky races.
They also love doing burnouts in their V8s. We live in Greenwood and it is a decent suburb however it seems to be the burnout capital of Perth.
Drivers here have no curtesy either. You will sit at a junction for ever and no one will let you out, they don't flash their lights here (to let you in /out at junctions) and a friendly wave of thanks is non existent.
The nearest pub is always miles away and the drink is expensive. $8 a pint in the Greenwood is considered good and $10 is normal in other bars.I have paid $15 for drink in Subiaco ! Getting a taxi from the city or Northbridge is almost impossible. There are no private taxi companies here so they are sparse to say the least. Never mind, you could always have a few pints then drive home. Drink driving here is rife, worse than Scotland.
The cost of living (for us) is roughly the same as it was in Scotland. House rental prices are high as are house prices, fruit and veg is pretty expensive, bills etc are similar to what we were used to. We got a bill from the water board for $84 for 2 months water at our plot of land !!!!!!!!!! It is just a big plot of dirt and have never seen any water in my time there ????
The one big difference though is the cost of petrol, much cheaper than UK prices, although it is going up all the time. It was $1.06 in December and it is now hitting $1.32 in some garages.
Banks are worse here than in the UK. You get charged for having an account with the banks ($5 a month) and if you use atm's make sure it is your own banks that you use, you get charged for using other atm's.
They don't hold any large amounts of cash either which made life difficult for us when we tried to buy a car. We went to the local branch to withdraw $7000 and were told that we would not be able to get this amount from the one branch, so we had to go to 2 banks to get this money out !!!
Internet connection is as slow as a week in the jail. Broadband is miles behind the UK and is such a problem that it features highly in the political stakes.
The topic is Perth and its isolation hits home when you get here too. I thought about a weekend in Sydney recently and it is $300 one way. Instead we chose to drive to Margaret River, one of WA's premier holiday destinations. We walked the length of the town in 10 minutes and had a drink in one of the 2 bars there. Not much happening there, except for wineries.
There are also a shortage of building materials which causes delays in house building.
The good things about Perth are it's beaches and weather, although it is raining heavy as i write this.
I know everyone will not agree with this thread , but these are only our thoughts and experiences of Perth.
Oh and if any of you guys are joiners / carpenters then be warned, they use gyproc over 5 metres long here !!!!!!!