chippy

Presumably there must be some things you LIKE about aus too then.

darkless

I have bought in Currambine. It is the suberb between Iluka and Joodalup, so I figured we had the best of both worlds!!

$295,000 for a 4x2, games, formal, informal, etc, etc. Plot is not huge, but we have room for a decent sized pool to be installed

We also bought land in Carramar Heights - (stage 1b) for $135,000, so I guess we has a similar amount to you to spend. When we have jobs will prob put a house on the land but for now it was just bought as investment

Cheers
Dave

Poe

Yup ... take a look at http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=241386

Cheers,
Poe

Ansy

1) Lack of variety of products/choices
2) Expensive to make phone calls
3) General rigid-mindedness of some locals, who do not like
change or anything foreign
4) Too many disruptive strikes

Trevglas

And my list?

Australian banks (and their charges)

Telstra (makes BT look efficient)

The postman who always leaves important letters sticking out of the mailbox when its raining

Petrol prices that are up and down 3 or 4 times a day

Having to try to retrieve cane toads from our psycho cocker spaniels mouth (so far we have neen really lucky, at least he pickes them up gently so has avoided a dose of toxin)

Open stormwater drains which the above psycho-dog insists on jumping in when they are at their smelliest

Dead lizards/toads which the crazy mutt insists on rolling in given half a chance!

trehere

Agree - Australian banks are rubbish, along with the fact that most don't open until 9.30am and close at 4.30pm and aren't open on a Sat - helpful to those of us who work normal hours!
Telstra - also agree, just useless and to make things worse expensive with no real viable alternative
Petrol Prices - not so sure about this one! At least the prices are half that of the UK! Can't really complain if they change by a couple of cents at the weekend.
Disruptive strikes? - not sure about this one either! Tube and bus strikes in the UK were a lot worse!
There are things I moan about on a day to day basis - not saying I'm a perfect driver but the general standard of driving here is terrible with no thought for anyone else on the road!
The people that I have met so far though could not have been more friendly and welcoming. I find a few compliments to an Australian about their country gets an enthusiatic response and some compliments in return.

Trevglas

Granted the fuel is cheaper than the UK, but the jo-joing fuel prices are just a pain! You head off to the shops and see a garage on the other side of the road, think "mm good price, I will fill up on the way back", but when you do return, the price has gone up!

We spent 6 months in Canberra and there it was definitely the case that every other thursday, petrol would be 5-6c a litre more.

The public service payday was also every other thursday as well, but the great(?) and the good(??) in parliament did point out that this was purely coincidental!

bondipom

Corruption of public and private institutions. The police are the drug dealers, the building mafia are politicians and the PM is up for sale to the highest bidder. Both sides of politics are at it ripping off the public purse.

Cure the corruption and the politicans will stop protecting the banks, the oil industry fixing petrol prices and maybe building codes might get adhered to.

renth

Any bottle shop attached to a pub will sell alcohol on a Sunday.

The Whitfords tavern in one and there is one closer just over Marmion avenue as you head south (you can see the Woolworth sign on the left, turn left)