madmaz

hi everyone i'm a metal machinist and would like to live in perth .could anyone answer my questions honestly .i know perth is meant to be a great place to live but are there plenty of jobs in my line of work ?and where are they. how hot does the summer get ,is it too hot for the average north west family (england)what is there to do for children as they approach their teens.are there jobs for she who must be obeyed that would fit in around school and their holidays.i'm not expecting perth to be my utopia and i know people will say i'm mad because i have never been .we are planning to go for the visa then when validating have a good look round .we would be grateful if people could say where they are going and why ,and also if there are any links or websites so we can check out other places in oz.all i would like is for my family to be happy and healthy and hopefully live in a nice place with not too much stress. thanks in advance madmaz & family

H143

I would recommend going to the 'Moving back to the UK' section and reading the '5 reasons you are moving back' post as most people seem to be moving back from Perth! They might be able to tell you a bit what it's like.

leighdamien

Hi Madmaz

Perth is a lovely city, very pretty and has a real outdoor healthy lifestyle. We lived there for the first year after we emigrated and it really does have a lot of good things going for it, friendly people, easy lifestyle, no traffic jams etc. If you are the kind of people who are happy to live in a nice house in the suburbs and don't need to get out that much then it would be great.

We lived in Subiaco which is very close to the city centre and that suited us as there were shops and restaurants we could walk to but once you get further out (you will probably need to go out further for space for a family) in Perth there isn't a whole heap of infrastructure. You won't get a local pub on the corner or anything and you will have to get in the car to go anywhere. I think that is why a lot of people find it hard emigrating there as it is so different to the UK's town centre feel. Things just aren't open late at night and there isn't Sunday trading. The areas my friends live in have one pub for a couple of suburbs so you need to book in early if you want to go out on the weekend for dinner.

We found the isolation of Perth to be a challenge, it is a long way to go to get away and and expensive plane ride if you want to see any other cities. I fou7nd it crazy that you couldn't get things fixed at work quickly as you were forever waiting for part for the photocopier to come from 'over east'. We did come from London though and we did travel a lot before we emigrated so maybe the isolation wouldn't be an issue for you.

We actually upped sticks amd moved to Brisbane after a year in Perth. This was partly due to family reasons for me but I don't realistically think we could have settled in Perth for more than a year or two as it just didn't have the scope we were looking for.

Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask me any other questions as I'm happy to help.

Cheers

madmaz

thanks for the reply.i think what worries me is that perth seems great if you have small kids but what do the teenagers do.anybody out there with teenagers in perth can give me an idea.at the end of the day my main reason for wanting to come to oz is a better life for my 3 children and for them to be happy and safe.something i feel they wont be staying here in sunny manchester!!!!
cheers maz and ian

NKSK version 2

I would agree with your take on this. Perth is a lovely city and is good for young kids (I have two of them!!)

It really depends on your family philosophy. Our view is that Perth is not the place we'd want our kids to be late teenagers in. 13 to 15 fine but after that - no.

Reasons are quite complex but......essentially you are living on an island of 1.5 million people. Think about that for a moment. Think about the opportunities for teenagers as they move to become young adults. Think about how much access there is to university courses that they are interested in (compared for example with the UK where there is a much broader choice of higher ed courses). I came here thinking that there was good mobility between states for higher ed but in reality this is not the case.

I also think that my kids will feel very remote and isolated. Personally, at my age, after travelling a lot, I'm not too bothered about that but I think they will be. And they can begin to explore the rest of the world much more easily from London, New York, Singapore or even the eastern states.

Finally, the courses for Y11 and Y12 students which are about to start in January 2007 are I think so seriously flawed that I fear that high school graduates from WA may well be completely out of the global race with regard to their qualifications.

Vash the Stampede

You've piqued my curiosity. What's so bad about them?

Vash the Stampede

Here's a few links to descriptions of life in Perth by ex-pats who have visisted and/or are already living there.

Our first year in Perth.

Our research trip to Perth.

Rekkie report April 2006.

My rekkie.

Perth rekkie.

Perth's rainy season.

Perth rekkie report.

Rekkie report - Perth.

Our rekkie in Perth.

NKSK version 2

When I sat down to write down a response to you I paused because I don't know where to begin without boring all with eduspeak.

The biggest issue is the lack of clear assessment criteria. In other words the description for a student's achievements is so nebulous and woolly that parents will have no idea just exactly what their child does or does not know or understand.

It all comes down to complete jargon - teachers cannot understand the assessment criteria so god knows how parents, students and employers will. From this branches a whole host of other problems - how do you standardise achievement between schools? How do you show and measure progress? How do you maintain an external examination if there is no real prescribed content?

In terms of content it is all very woolly - apparently (and I'm not a physicist so I cannot verify this) students of physics will be asked to debate the ethics of airbags in cars.

Take a look at The West or even The Australian to see the daily coverage of the debate or visit www.platowa.com

Vash the Stampede

Thanks, will do. Great to see that West Australians are refusing to take this lying down!

The issue of suitable assessment criteria really is a fundamental one; I remember that when I was on my teacher training placement in Tasmania, the state government was in the middle of a curriculum overhaul. I just looked at the new system and blanched; of the small percentage that was actually comprehensible, I saw little that would improve the standard of education.

It was at this point that I realised teaching was not for me. In the following year, I switched to a BA and haven't looked back.

NKSK version 2

What worries me in WA is the absolute power that the minister of ed has. There is no room for compromise, it's all political and I actually don't think that she understands the real issues.

In a country which prides itself on it's egalitarian and fair-go philosophy, the factions, invested interests, power-brokering and shameless self-serving nature of WA's politicians has astounded me.

halcyon 52

That seems to be about how I feel about the place. It is where I will go if we get a visa and I loved it but it seemed to lack something.
One thing me and the missus noticed was how early everything seemed to shut, it seems that by 9 o clock the city is tucked up in bed.
I feel Perth can offer lots that the U.K cannot but it depends on what sort of lifestyle you want or are leaving behind in the U.K.
I loved Perth but would like the opportunity to see east Australia just as a comparison.

Luma

We really enjoyed reading those - Thanks!

madmaz

thanks vash
these have kept me busy this afternoon.as we have family in perth we thought it would be easier if we get our visa to go there but maybe it might be worth looking at other areas brisbane qld gold coast.
thanks again
maz and ian

Vash the Stampede

You're welcome, guys.

anthonyandkatewagstaff

Maz and Ian

My wife and I are moving to Perth in Aug from lovely Droylsden, East Manchester . Although we don't have any kids (we're both 25), Kate's sister has been in Perth since 1999 (she's now 18) and we spent 1.5 years there (2000 to 2001). Not sure how old your teenagers are as your post doesn't say but I thought I'd let you know her and my views.
Kris absolutely adores the nightlife in Joondalup which from what I can gather seems to rock! She particularly enjoys "The Carine" although I don't pretend to know where that is. For all the Perth slaters out there, believe me, there is much more to the northern suburbs in terms of nightlife than The Old Bailey !
Kris has a good circle of mates and they frequently get the train from Clarkson into Perth city centre bound for Northbridge, which from personal experience is at least as good in terms of music (house, trance, dance etc.. etc..), if not better, than Manchester (The Printworks, Deansgate Locks) if for no other reason than you don't have to trek as far between venues.
Some aussie pubs/bars can be very different to UK ones in that they have bands on. You can get a good idea from a Fri/Sat night visit to Walkabout in Manchester.
Some of the Perth nightclubs are excellent, underlined by the fact that they get at least annual visits from the likes of Judge Jules, Above & Beyond and Armin.
The train from Perth runs until about 2am and is patrolled by train police which makes things feel safe. I used to get the 219 back from Manchester after a night out and ALWAYS felt threatened. Never once did I feel like this coming back from Perth on the train in the early hours.
Kris came back to UK last Christmas and went out quite a few nights with her old Manchester pals. They ended up going to Ashton .... Her words not mine... "it was rank, everyone just wanted to get p**ssed, the guys were sleezy and the drinks were a ridiculous price, I can't wait to go out again back home".
Admittedly, Perth aint for everyone! But in terms of teenagers, the outdoor life is ideal and there's plenty in terms of nightlife. It won't come to you but where in the world does it Without doubt, it's safer.
Don't be brainwashed by a lot of the anti-Perths on this site. Perth is a gorgeous place and affords the working man a millionaires lifestyle. I wish I was there now....10 weeks and counting .

Cheers

Anthony