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unhappy in Perth
We emmigrated to Perth in 2001 with our 3 children. We made so many mistakes - spent too much on our house, put children into expensive private school (whihc we would never have done in UK but with our strong UK £ it just seemed so cheap until we earned dollars!)did too much too quickly. Meant to look around Oz before settling but just wanted to put some roots down. Have had cafe for last 2 years but now selling it and thinking of moving to east Coast (brisbane/Sunshine coast) as it just seems so hard to find a decent sized business here. Just wondering if anyone had made a similar move and whether their are more opportunities over east. Also feeling 'isolation' of Perth that we thought would not matter. You just start to realize that to travel anywhere out of WA is so far and so expensive which with 5 of us makes it practically impossible. Although do think Perth probably has best climate, beaches etc. as have been warned off humid climate in Brisbane. Came to Australia for the dream that we are sold in UK. sunshine, beaches, relaxed lifestyle etc etc but it just seems to have been so hard and moving here makes you evaluate all your beliefs. It is also so hard when everything looks so similar on the surface but is so different to make it impossible to draw on your acquired instinct and knowledge - schools in particular have been a constant nightmare. State schools seem so underfunded and private schools so elitist but still have 20 plus kids to a class. Know we are the classic 'whinging pom' but it is just so much harder than anyone can imagine and once you have such a conscious life change you expect to have positive results!! Anyone had a similiar experience??
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Re: unhappy in Perth
Originally posted by PeteSara We emmigrated to Perth in 2001 with our 3 children. We made so many mistakes - spent too much on our house, put children into expensive private school (whihc we would never have done in UK but with our strong UK £ it just seemed so cheap until we earned dollars!)did too much too quickly. Meant to look around Oz before settling but just wanted to put some roots down. Have had cafe for last 2 years but now selling it and thinking of moving to east Coast (brisbane/Sunshine coast) as it just seems so hard to find a decent sized business here. Just wondering if anyone had made a similar move and whether their are more opportunities over east. Also feeling 'isolation' of Perth that we thought would not matter. You just start to realize that to travel anywhere out of WA is so far and so expensive which with 5 of us makes it practically impossible. Although do think Perth probably has best climate, beaches etc. as have been warned off humid climate in Brisbane. Came to Australia for the dream that we are sold in UK. sunshine, beaches, relaxed lifestyle etc etc but it just seems to have been so hard and moving here makes you evaluate all your beliefs. It is also so hard when everything looks so similar on the surface but is so different to make it impossible to draw on your acquired instinct and knowledge - schools in particular have been a constant nightmare. State schools seem so underfunded and private schools so elitist but still have 20 plus kids to a class. Know we are the classic 'whinging pom' but it is just so much harder than anyone can imagine and once you have such a conscious life change you expect to have positive results!! Anyone had a similiar experience?? |
Re: unhappy in Perth
Hi there
i moved over from UK in 99 - started in sydney - hated it so moved to melbourne.. been here 4 years and ive decided to go back.. i left my partner to travel here so doing it on my own was very difficult. been tossing up whether to go home or even europe for 3 years and have decided to draw the line.... i agree with all you say even though i dont have kids... but the culture is different... im thinking of trying out perth as i love it there.. got good friends there but at the end of the day im probably going to same position! maybe you should move to east coast and give it a chance - like me trying perth - but ultimatily i would decide what it is you miss... you will still have to start all over again and make friends... you will still be away from home, family and friends etc... i have no kids but if i did i wouldnt want them growing up here away from family and prefer they had a uk education! hope that helps.... can you advice what perth is like - ive heard its hard to break into? |
Re: unhappy in Perth
Originally posted by PeteSara We emmigrated to Perth in 2001 with our 3 children. We made so many mistakes - spent too much on our house, put children into expensive private school (whihc we would never have done in UK but with our strong UK £ it just seemed so cheap until we earned dollars!)did too much too quickly. Meant to look around Oz before settling but just wanted to put some roots down. Have had cafe for last 2 years but now selling it and thinking of moving to east Coast (brisbane/Sunshine coast) as it just seems so hard to find a decent sized business here. Just wondering if anyone had made a similar move and whether their are more opportunities over east. Also feeling 'isolation' of Perth that we thought would not matter. You just start to realize that to travel anywhere out of WA is so far and so expensive which with 5 of us makes it practically impossible. Although do think Perth probably has best climate, beaches etc. as have been warned off humid climate in Brisbane. Came to Australia for the dream that we are sold in UK. sunshine, beaches, relaxed lifestyle etc etc but it just seems to have been so hard and moving here makes you evaluate all your beliefs. It is also so hard when everything looks so similar on the surface but is so different to make it impossible to draw on your acquired instinct and knowledge - schools in particular have been a constant nightmare. State schools seem so underfunded and private schools so elitist but still have 20 plus kids to a class. Know we are the classic 'whinging pom' but it is just so much harder than anyone can imagine and once you have such a conscious life change you expect to have positive results!! Anyone had a similiar experience?? Most places here in aus have the same problems, minus the "isolation" . If your main problem is the isolation of Perth and you don't fancy it here in Brissie - try Newcastle in NSW - you have the benefit of surrounding beaches etc, there is just as much employment there as in any other city.. but the houses are cheaper than Sydney. I found Newcastle and surrounds far more beautiful than here in Brissie.. with less people than Brissie and sydney (too city like for me), but not isolated, - a happy medium when people emigrate they seem to go for the capital cities - and don't look around. Newcastle is a good alternative, only a couple of hours drive outside sydney (two I seem to recall, it took me to drive from Newcastle to Sydney when I was living that way) Can't answer you - but between Brisbane and NSW, I preferred NSW - well Newcastle anyway, I didn't think too much about Sydney.. too packed/city like for my liking. cheers |
Re: unhappy in Perth
Jat
Suppose perth is difficult to break into. There is a real small town culture. We live in the western suburbs and can't believe how 'up themselves' so many of the good old realxed Aussies are! Do think Peth is beuatiful though and probably the best beaches climate etc. Just sometimes feel like we are living on a small island and can't get off! I suppose it is different for us with the kids as we are thinking of where they are going to want to be in a few years time and wonder if Perth will offer enough opportunites. There is a lot going on here though and think you would have a good time. |
Sorry I can't offer any advise Sarah, just sympathy I'm afraid but your post is an important warning not to get carried away with spending when you arrive with a bank balance full of $$$.
Luckily we took the desicion to buy cheap and live quite frugally, if not we would have been in the same position as you. I hope your luck improves. Diane |
Anyone live in or near Newcastle. Please tell us about it. thanks.
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Re: unhappy in Perth
Originally posted by PeteSara We emmigrated to Perth in 2001 with our 3 children. We made so many mistakes - spent too much on our house, put children into expensive private school (whihc we would never have done in UK but with our strong UK £ it just seemed so cheap until we earned dollars!)did too much too quickly. Meant to look around Oz before settling but just wanted to put some roots down. Have had cafe for last 2 years but now selling it and thinking of moving to east Coast (brisbane/Sunshine coast) as it just seems so hard to find a decent sized business here. Just wondering if anyone had made a similar move and whether their are more opportunities over east. Also feeling 'isolation' of Perth that we thought would not matter. You just start to realize that to travel anywhere out of WA is so far and so expensive which with 5 of us makes it practically impossible. Although do think Perth probably has best climate, beaches etc. as have been warned off humid climate in Brisbane. Came to Australia for the dream that we are sold in UK. sunshine, beaches, relaxed lifestyle etc etc but it just seems to have been so hard and moving here makes you evaluate all your beliefs. It is also so hard when everything looks so similar on the surface but is so different to make it impossible to draw on your acquired instinct and knowledge - schools in particular have been a constant nightmare. State schools seem so underfunded and private schools so elitist but still have 20 plus kids to a class. Know we are the classic 'whinging pom' but it is just so much harder than anyone can imagine and once you have such a conscious life change you expect to have positive results!! Anyone had a similiar experience?? I sent you a pm A |
Re: unhappy in Perth
Originally posted by PeteSara We emmigrated to Perth in 2001 with our 3 children. We made so many mistakes - spent too much on our house, put children into expensive private school (whihc we would never have done in UK but with our strong UK £ it just seemed so cheap until we earned dollars!)did too much too quickly. Meant to look around Oz before settling but just wanted to put some roots down. Have had cafe for last 2 years but now selling it and thinking of moving to east Coast (brisbane/Sunshine coast) as it just seems so hard to find a decent sized business here. Just wondering if anyone had made a similar move and whether their are more opportunities over east. Also feeling 'isolation' of Perth that we thought would not matter. You just start to realize that to travel anywhere out of WA is so far and so expensive which with 5 of us makes it practically impossible. Although do think Perth probably has best climate, beaches etc. as have been warned off humid climate in Brisbane. Came to Australia for the dream that we are sold in UK. sunshine, beaches, relaxed lifestyle etc etc but it just seems to have been so hard and moving here makes you evaluate all your beliefs. It is also so hard when everything looks so similar on the surface but is so different to make it impossible to draw on your acquired instinct and knowledge - schools in particular have been a constant nightmare. State schools seem so underfunded and private schools so elitist but still have 20 plus kids to a class. Know we are the classic 'whinging pom' but it is just so much harder than anyone can imagine and once you have such a conscious life change you expect to have positive results!! Anyone had a similiar experience?? Schools are chronically underfunded now. I can see the cutbacks from just 5 years ago. Languages, start grade 5 here if you are lucky. Music and thats only a recorder at grade 4, art totally disappeared. All of those things used to be available from grade 1. Big funding is being given to Private schools not the state ones, Its like the governments big arm twist to push people into private healthcare, the squeeze is on to make people go private. Try the church schools, some fees are under $3000.00 a year even with all the levies. I agree the most chronic snobbery in the world exists in Private schools here tho. You can almost see the snot in the air. As for buying a business, this is a tip for anyone not aimed at you guys, Look at businesses out of the peak season. EG: Heaps of restaurants change hands up here after the Xmas hols. Busy busy busy of course, come Feb March its tragically quiet. Seen many a shop/rest go bust for a newcomer who counted on holiday trade. Buying when you get here. How many times do you read on here, Ohhhh we just arrived and everyone is so friendly. Sorry to be blunt but a wallet full of pounds and a pommie accent does seem to bring out big smiles. Just calm down, look at the local wage then spend. Pounds are now a long distant memory. Climate see it at its worst, that in OZ is often summer, many people dont grasp that fact too easily. Melbourne would be a see winter, worse than the UK one. As for buying a house two years ago, you should be fine! big increases since then, are you sure you paid too much, it would have to be a very bad area for that to have happened. Before making any further moves, send one person over, hire a car and take a good look around, I know its impossible with 5 people but one should be affordable and money well spent. Good luck with it all anyway :) :D Brisbane/SE Qld by the way is the biggest growth area in OZ, and growth = new business opportunity. |
DOtty/Sarah
When talking about snobbery in private schools are we talking mega expensive private ones only or does that include the church linked schools too? Can't afford the fees for either and am happy with my school at present but just thought the cheaper private schools would have kids from all walks of life there. |
Originally posted by DianeOZ DOtty/Sarah When talking about snobbery in private schools are we talking mega expensive private ones only or does that include the church linked schools too? Can't afford the fees for either and am happy with my school at present but just thought the cheaper private schools would have kids from all walks of life there. Some snobbery goes on in the church schools, some are there for genuine religous reasons. Some however cant afford the big ticket fees so go church and then do the snob thing anyway. What is slightly amusing tho is some of these schools have a huge portion of charity cases. One Catholic school up here takes 30% of kids whos families cant afford to pay. Much amusement in our houshold when snobby SIL found out the bus run in the morning filled up in the Housing Comission area :D :D My kids went state, I still work 1 mornings a week for a group of kids with severe reading problems, so I can see the cutbacks. There are good state schools they try very hard with what they have, but it is true to say they have begun to suffer badly from lack of funding. |
Certainly so, a year here has taught me not to expect education as a god given right and I happily hand over the small contribution we have to make whereas last year and straight off the boat I thought it was outrageous. :scared:
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Re: unhappy in Perth
Originally posted by dotty Schools are chronically underfunded now. I can see the cutbacks from just 5 years ago. Languages, start grade 5 here if you are lucky. Music and thats only a recorder at grade 4, art totally disappeared. All of those things used to be available from grade 1. Big funding is being given to Private schools not the state ones, Its like the governments big arm twist to push people into private healthcare, the squeeze is on to make people go private. Try the church schools, some fees are under $3000.00 a year even with all the levies. I agree the most chronic snobbery in the world exists in Private schools here tho. You can almost see the snot in the air. As for buying a business, this is a tip for anyone not aimed at you guys, Look at businesses out of the peak season. EG: Heaps of restaurants change hands up here after the Xmas hols. Busy busy busy of course, come Feb March its tragically quiet. Seen many a shop/rest go bust for a newcomer who counted on holiday trade. Buying when you get here. How many times do you read on here, Ohhhh we just arrived and everyone is so friendly. Sorry to be blunt but a wallet full of pounds and a pommie accent does seem to bring out big smiles. Just calm down, look at the local wage then spend. Pounds are now a long distant memory. Climate see it at its worst, that in OZ is often summer, many people dont grasp that fact too easily. Melbourne would be a see winter, worse than the UK one. As for buying a house two years ago, you should be fine! big increases since then, are you sure you paid too much, it would have to be a very bad area for that to have happened. Before making any further moves, send one person over, hire a car and take a good look around, I know its impossible with 5 people but one should be affordable and money well spent. Good luck with it all anyway :) :D Brisbane/SE Qld by the way is the biggest growth area in OZ, and growth = new business opportunity. |
Re: unhappy in Perth
Originally posted by dotty Schools are chronically underfunded now. I can see the cutbacks from just 5 years ago. Languages, start grade 5 here if you are lucky. Music and thats only a recorder at grade 4, art totally disappeared. All of those things used to be available from grade 1. Big funding is being given to Private schools not the state ones, Its like the governments big arm twist to push people into private healthcare, the squeeze is on to make people go private. Try the church schools, some fees are under $3000.00 a year even with all the levies. I agree the most chronic snobbery in the world exists in Private schools here tho. You can almost see the snot in the air. Anyway its just a point, our school seems to be alot better off resource wise etc than the one you talk about. Totally agree with the private school comments etc, although for younger children (ie up to year 7) you should be able to find plenty of schools with fees less than $3000/year. But you can probably end up paying more than that anyway when you take the uniform into consideration :scared: :eek: . |
Re: unhappy in Perth
Originally posted by MrsDagboy Dotty, are you sure its not just the schools in your area or the one you have dealings with that have been so severely cut back? :confused: I know that some schools really seem to struggle, both for money/resources & also teacher aide/special ed time etc but luckily ours doesnt seem to be one of them. Although I dont know what it was like 5 years ago from an adult view, I can tell you that at the boys school they do Art from Year 1, Choir from Year 2, Music from Year 1, LOTE (language other than English, in our case French) starts in Year 2 I think. Instruction in instruments does start in Year 4/5 in our school the same as yours, but I remember when I was at school we didnt start the recorder until year 4 either :confused: . I cant imagine the majority of kids under 8 being able to grasp the music reading or having the manual deterity to play a flute or something anyway. Anyway its just a point, our school seems to be alot better off resource wise etc than the one you talk about. Totally agree with the private school comments etc, although for younger children (ie up to year 7) you should be able to find plenty of schools with fees less than $3000/year. But you can probably end up paying more than that anyway when you take the uniform into consideration :scared: :eek: . Maybe I should have started this in another thread so I dont get jumped upon for hijacking! :D |
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