What we thought of Perth
Jul 12th 2005, 2:44 pm
#46
Arrived Perth June 2006
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Currambine, NOR, Perth.
Posts: 834
Re: What we thought of Perth
Thanks so much for taking the time to write all that. i will print it off and read again when I need cheering up...im so excited, not had req for meds yets but hopefully by there by July 06. x
Sep 10th 2005, 12:11 pm
#47
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: U.K. still!!
Posts: 1,503
Re: What we thought of Perth
Enjoyed reading your experiences in Perth. I am hoping to move next year tra lodged and visa app. well on way. I have read a few other stories was starting to be put off Perth, thanks for bringing me back on line. My only real worry is finding work. I have two sets of qulifications, engineering and hotel and leisure so I have plenty of scope to aim at.
I have been told that the wages are pretty poor in comparison to U.K. but who cares when you have so much space to move in and so much more to do.
Best of luck to you.
I have been told that the wages are pretty poor in comparison to U.K. but who cares when you have so much space to move in and so much more to do.
Best of luck to you.
Sep 10th 2005, 12:51 pm
#48
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Dec 2004
Location: A land far far away
Posts: 1,149
Re: What we thought of Perth
K sent to you Judith for a great post (and for saying Iluka is nice cos that's where we have bought our house 
)
)
Sep 10th 2005, 2:50 pm
#49
Where I want to be
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: In my own head
Posts: 3,220
Re: What we thought of Perth
Great Post Judith
I love, love, love the Pickled Fairy, didn't realise they had a website though. Nice one!!
As for flies, yes there did seem to be a lot about in Dec/Jan when we were there, but having siad that I killed 7 in my kitchen yesterday. It was warm and I wanted the door open, guess I paid the price!
My Sister in Law lives at Hillarys and we just love the area, and the fact that you can walk down there, sit on the beach, the kids can go on the water slides, you can visit AQWA or look at the yachts (my passion) in the harbour, and even my 15 year old didn't say "I'm bored, can we go", but then again he is a water lover!
Shirley
I love, love, love the Pickled Fairy, didn't realise they had a website though. Nice one!!
As for flies, yes there did seem to be a lot about in Dec/Jan when we were there, but having siad that I killed 7 in my kitchen yesterday. It was warm and I wanted the door open, guess I paid the price!
My Sister in Law lives at Hillarys and we just love the area, and the fact that you can walk down there, sit on the beach, the kids can go on the water slides, you can visit AQWA or look at the yachts (my passion) in the harbour, and even my 15 year old didn't say "I'm bored, can we go", but then again he is a water lover!
Shirley
Sep 10th 2005, 3:09 pm
#50
Moomin member
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Warnbro PERTH
Posts: 858
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by walla1
oh you don't want to go there 
Sep 10th 2005, 3:29 pm
#51
Moomin member
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Warnbro PERTH
Posts: 858
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by Xgeminix
Just found this brill site, don't know whether it's been mentioned on BE before but here it is anyway!!http://earth.google.com/
Let's you zoom right into the Perth suburbs..I think you have to have broadband though.
Jude
Sep 10th 2005, 4:25 pm
#52
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 28
Re: What we thought of Perth
[QUOTE=Xgeminix]To whom ever wishes to read our experience...... may be a bit long though.
Flew from Glasgow via Dubai on June 5th and arrived in Perth June 6th and thought we were landing back in Glasgow!!...same weather even the ariel view looked the same. Yes you can all blame us for being the ones who brought the weather with them!!!
Couldn't fault Emirates airline, they even give you a 'night kit' which includes an eye mask, earplugs, bed socks and compact toothbrush..so don't bother buying any of them, although the flight back from Dubai to Glasgow was delayed for an hour and a half. I fell asleep as soon as we boarded only to wake up, look out of the window and see tarmac, with amazement I turned to my husband and said "God have we landed!!" "no" he replied "we haven't took off yet". What a sickener!!
Anyway, we find our hire car (Drivewest- Scarborough, No credit card needed and endorsements accepted) and they have left a map with detailed instructions and our route highlighted to our Hotel (Joondalup Resort, Connolly), so getting there was a breeze.
Hotel is lovely ..TWO Queen size beds...so that's both of us sleeping like starfish for the next two weeks.
We're up at 4am wide awake stuffing our faces with crisps, chocolate.. tele on, full of energy waiting to get out and see Perth as we've been researching for so long were dying to see the reality.
The sun is shining, the crows... are well...how can explain...LOUD.
We always said this was not a holiday it was a research trip so we tried to be as boring as possible and spent the first week driving around suburb after suburb and shopping mall after shopping mall..god, the coffee over there is lovely...flat white is heaven!! averages about $3 for a cup.
Coming from West Cumbria and I suppose this does make an incredible difference to whether you will settle or not, we do not have much of anything apart from hills and rain, it's at least a 2 1/2 hour trip to an airport, shops are pretty crap, 30 mins to nearest cinema.. you get the idea. So to us the amenities in Perth are fantastic!! If hubby or the kids don't want to trail around shopping with you send them to the cinemas, just about every shopping mall has one, Andrew was quite happy watching Star Wars while I spent his dollars.
Joondalup has the Lakeside Shopping Centre which is right next to the bus and train station..we thought it was weird when we first saw a train whizz past in the middle of the mitchell freeway..it costs $7.50 for an all day return for a max of 2 adults and up to 5 kids, They are only valid on weekdays and public holidays as we found out when we got kicked off at Edgewater for not purchasing two tickets during the week!! It just so happened that on that day another couple had just landed from the UK and didn't know how to work the ticket system so clever ar*e here says "Oh you only need one ticket for $7.50 and you can use it all day and even use it for the ferry over to zoo" only for them to get kicked off as well..didn't catch there names but if you're reading this...sorry!!
Hillary's Harbour looked great even in the rain ...when it rains over there it rains.. not the typical drizzle that you get in the UK that lasts all day, there it comes down like a bucket load, your wipers can't go fast enough, then it just stops and the sun comes out!! a bit like Florida weather in fact Perth was very much like a cross between Cumbria (there winter weather is our summer weather) and Florida (extremely flat) I think we got lost up the only hill in Perth near the Darling Range National Park. Which reminds me, purchase a UBD street map of Perth and you can't go wrong. Varies from $19 - $30 from most newsagents.
We met up with some relatives of Andy's work colleague and they were absolutely brilliant!! They lived in Waikiki near Rockingham and couldn't do enough for us they took us into Northbridge for a meal to meet some of there friends, had a party for us to meet other Expats and showed us around Rockingham and Freemantle.. the Pickled Fairy is first on our list for our 2 year olds party (www.pickledfairy.com.au). Another lady whom we met at the meal met up with us in Perth and showed us around Kings Park...just beautiful, Subiaco...full of cafes, and then took us back to her house for tea.
I've made more friends in 2 weeks in Perth than I have in 32 years in the UK. Your friends are your family over there.
God, I've just eaten a full packet of Rolo's and not realised it!!
I must admit I preferred the Northern suburbs, Hillary's was just lovely, Iluka was also beautiful with it's houses looking over a man made lake with fountains. The show houses on Delgado Parade were great to look around. We could afford to rent but probably not to buy in these area's. I think we would probably like to settle in Carramar, Banksia Grove or Tapping as these areas were much more affordable. I would give Wanneroo a miss, and although some eastern suburbs in Canning Vale were nice the difference between.. now I don't mean to sound snobbish.. the northern train line passengers and the southern train line passengers.. were how can I put it, southern passengers are more varied, I wouldn't let my daughters go on after dark even though the trains all have cameras and guards, in fact coming to think off it even through the day, but that's coming from West Cumbria again,we've led a sheltered life.
South of the River the Rivergums and Settlers Hills Estates in Baldivis were nice with a lot of British Expats but these areas have less amenities than the north and have yet to have a train line til' next year.
Hubby was offered at the first place he showed his CV, they had even rang his employer for references before we got back, so they must have been keen, he's a welder and at the moment they are having to source workers from South Africa they are so desperate.
So to sum Perth up before you all die a death of boredom, here is a summary of what we thought..
Weather..... Don't chuck any of your winter clothes away - take everything.
Snakes, Spiders and Flies........ we didn't see any apart from in the Zoo If you don't walk in the bush, go sticking your fingers underneath fence panels you are highly unlikely to get bitten. The only flies I met were hanging out at the post box in Floreat Forum.
Driving.... Most of the roads are at least dual carriage way and they will overtake on the left or right but I didn't find any problems, if anything I thought it was easier cos' you don't get stuck behind tractors or parked cars and there aren't the annoying winding roads.
Food.... Australian bacon has a certain taste and smell that you carry with you for 24 hours but there are specialist british food shops that cater for most foods that you could miss.
Clothes....They do seem to be a bit behind in the fashion stakes but only a season or so.
Music and TV... The radio that we heard was pretty terrible from what we are used to and the Tv programmes included all of the most annoying programmes we have here like Ready Steady Cook and Bargain Hunt but I'm not going to have time to watch TV cos' I'm going to be living outdoors as much as possible.
Scenery... The views from Kings Park were breathtaking, bearing in mind that we visited in winter everywhere was lush and green.. we expected it to be sandy and dusty for some reason..in summer the grass does go brown. What we call a wood or forest they call the bush.
Renting....Rent at first til' you get an idea of the suburbs you like. Depending on the amount of capital you take over, you can pay for your rent off the interest you make so you're not losing anything.
Oh and yes we loved it all!!!!!
If I haven't covered anything please ask and I'll try and answer.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Judith[/QUO
Thanks for that, interesting and good to hear some positive info, we are going to Mandurah in the New Year, not far from you, i would like to hear more about your stay as it goes good luck.
Gail
Flew from Glasgow via Dubai on June 5th and arrived in Perth June 6th and thought we were landing back in Glasgow!!...same weather even the ariel view looked the same. Yes you can all blame us for being the ones who brought the weather with them!!!
Couldn't fault Emirates airline, they even give you a 'night kit' which includes an eye mask, earplugs, bed socks and compact toothbrush..so don't bother buying any of them, although the flight back from Dubai to Glasgow was delayed for an hour and a half. I fell asleep as soon as we boarded only to wake up, look out of the window and see tarmac, with amazement I turned to my husband and said "God have we landed!!" "no" he replied "we haven't took off yet". What a sickener!!
Anyway, we find our hire car (Drivewest- Scarborough, No credit card needed and endorsements accepted) and they have left a map with detailed instructions and our route highlighted to our Hotel (Joondalup Resort, Connolly), so getting there was a breeze.
Hotel is lovely ..TWO Queen size beds...so that's both of us sleeping like starfish for the next two weeks.
We're up at 4am wide awake stuffing our faces with crisps, chocolate.. tele on, full of energy waiting to get out and see Perth as we've been researching for so long were dying to see the reality.
The sun is shining, the crows... are well...how can explain...LOUD.
We always said this was not a holiday it was a research trip so we tried to be as boring as possible and spent the first week driving around suburb after suburb and shopping mall after shopping mall..god, the coffee over there is lovely...flat white is heaven!! averages about $3 for a cup.
Coming from West Cumbria and I suppose this does make an incredible difference to whether you will settle or not, we do not have much of anything apart from hills and rain, it's at least a 2 1/2 hour trip to an airport, shops are pretty crap, 30 mins to nearest cinema.. you get the idea. So to us the amenities in Perth are fantastic!! If hubby or the kids don't want to trail around shopping with you send them to the cinemas, just about every shopping mall has one, Andrew was quite happy watching Star Wars while I spent his dollars.
Joondalup has the Lakeside Shopping Centre which is right next to the bus and train station..we thought it was weird when we first saw a train whizz past in the middle of the mitchell freeway..it costs $7.50 for an all day return for a max of 2 adults and up to 5 kids, They are only valid on weekdays and public holidays as we found out when we got kicked off at Edgewater for not purchasing two tickets during the week!! It just so happened that on that day another couple had just landed from the UK and didn't know how to work the ticket system so clever ar*e here says "Oh you only need one ticket for $7.50 and you can use it all day and even use it for the ferry over to zoo" only for them to get kicked off as well..didn't catch there names but if you're reading this...sorry!!
Hillary's Harbour looked great even in the rain ...when it rains over there it rains.. not the typical drizzle that you get in the UK that lasts all day, there it comes down like a bucket load, your wipers can't go fast enough, then it just stops and the sun comes out!! a bit like Florida weather in fact Perth was very much like a cross between Cumbria (there winter weather is our summer weather) and Florida (extremely flat) I think we got lost up the only hill in Perth near the Darling Range National Park. Which reminds me, purchase a UBD street map of Perth and you can't go wrong. Varies from $19 - $30 from most newsagents.
We met up with some relatives of Andy's work colleague and they were absolutely brilliant!! They lived in Waikiki near Rockingham and couldn't do enough for us they took us into Northbridge for a meal to meet some of there friends, had a party for us to meet other Expats and showed us around Rockingham and Freemantle.. the Pickled Fairy is first on our list for our 2 year olds party (www.pickledfairy.com.au). Another lady whom we met at the meal met up with us in Perth and showed us around Kings Park...just beautiful, Subiaco...full of cafes, and then took us back to her house for tea.
I've made more friends in 2 weeks in Perth than I have in 32 years in the UK. Your friends are your family over there.
God, I've just eaten a full packet of Rolo's and not realised it!!
I must admit I preferred the Northern suburbs, Hillary's was just lovely, Iluka was also beautiful with it's houses looking over a man made lake with fountains. The show houses on Delgado Parade were great to look around. We could afford to rent but probably not to buy in these area's. I think we would probably like to settle in Carramar, Banksia Grove or Tapping as these areas were much more affordable. I would give Wanneroo a miss, and although some eastern suburbs in Canning Vale were nice the difference between.. now I don't mean to sound snobbish.. the northern train line passengers and the southern train line passengers.. were how can I put it, southern passengers are more varied, I wouldn't let my daughters go on after dark even though the trains all have cameras and guards, in fact coming to think off it even through the day, but that's coming from West Cumbria again,we've led a sheltered life.
South of the River the Rivergums and Settlers Hills Estates in Baldivis were nice with a lot of British Expats but these areas have less amenities than the north and have yet to have a train line til' next year.
Hubby was offered at the first place he showed his CV, they had even rang his employer for references before we got back, so they must have been keen, he's a welder and at the moment they are having to source workers from South Africa they are so desperate.
So to sum Perth up before you all die a death of boredom, here is a summary of what we thought..
Weather..... Don't chuck any of your winter clothes away - take everything.
Snakes, Spiders and Flies........ we didn't see any apart from in the Zoo If you don't walk in the bush, go sticking your fingers underneath fence panels you are highly unlikely to get bitten. The only flies I met were hanging out at the post box in Floreat Forum.
Driving.... Most of the roads are at least dual carriage way and they will overtake on the left or right but I didn't find any problems, if anything I thought it was easier cos' you don't get stuck behind tractors or parked cars and there aren't the annoying winding roads.
Food.... Australian bacon has a certain taste and smell that you carry with you for 24 hours but there are specialist british food shops that cater for most foods that you could miss.
Clothes....They do seem to be a bit behind in the fashion stakes but only a season or so.
Music and TV... The radio that we heard was pretty terrible from what we are used to and the Tv programmes included all of the most annoying programmes we have here like Ready Steady Cook and Bargain Hunt but I'm not going to have time to watch TV cos' I'm going to be living outdoors as much as possible.
Scenery... The views from Kings Park were breathtaking, bearing in mind that we visited in winter everywhere was lush and green.. we expected it to be sandy and dusty for some reason..in summer the grass does go brown. What we call a wood or forest they call the bush.
Renting....Rent at first til' you get an idea of the suburbs you like. Depending on the amount of capital you take over, you can pay for your rent off the interest you make so you're not losing anything.
Oh and yes we loved it all!!!!!
If I haven't covered anything please ask and I'll try and answer.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Judith[/QUO
Thanks for that, interesting and good to hear some positive info, we are going to Mandurah in the New Year, not far from you, i would like to hear more about your stay as it goes good luck.
Gail
Sep 10th 2005, 6:27 pm
#53
kelly Slater...mmmmmm
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 304
Re: What we thought of Perth
I thought the bus drivers in Perth were a bit suicidal..there were several times i had been practically thrown off my seat by them rushing through a traffic lights before the red was at its brightest. Other than that though love the west coast.
Sep 11th 2005, 12:25 am
#54
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria to Tapping, Perth
Posts: 650
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by Oz wannabe1
Enjoyed reading your experiences in Perth. I am hoping to move next year tra lodged and visa app. well on way. I have read a few other stories was starting to be put off Perth, thanks for bringing me back on line. My only real worry is finding work. I have two sets of qulifications, engineering and hotel and leisure so I have plenty of scope to aim at.
I have been told that the wages are pretty poor in comparison to U.K. but who cares when you have so much space to move in and so much more to do.
Best of luck to you.
I have been told that the wages are pretty poor in comparison to U.K. but who cares when you have so much space to move in and so much more to do.
Best of luck to you.
Sep 11th 2005, 12:25 am
#55
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria to Tapping, Perth
Posts: 650
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by The Jones Family
K sent to you Judith for a great post (and for saying Iluka is nice cos that's where we have bought our house )
)
Sep 11th 2005, 12:27 am
#56
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria to Tapping, Perth
Posts: 650
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by Carkedit
I thought the bus drivers in Perth were a bit suicidal..there were several times i had been practically thrown off my seat by them rushing through a traffic lights before the red was at its brightest. Other than that though love the west coast.
Sep 11th 2005, 12:55 am
#57
BE Enthusiast
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Whitehaven, Cumbria to Tapping, Perth
Posts: 650
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by peppi
How do you get it too do that...? I can only get it to zoom o areas that are already pin marked......what am I doing wrong...? how can i get it too stick a pin in perth...please...?
Sep 20th 2005, 8:37 am
#58
Just Joined
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 10
Re: What we thought of Perth
Hi Judith!
You seemed to cover everything. Nicely reported! It's refreshing to see that someone really explores a place before passing comment. I read a posting earlier today where the report was very negative and based on "doing Perth in 2 hours - before boredom took over". I think the author suffered from rampant youth, strange expectations and a mind that defied stimulation. Thu clew wos thu way he merdured thu Engalish langwage. Even us colonials could do better than that!!! Scary stuff!! :scared: :scared: :scared:
EarlyConvict
You seemed to cover everything. Nicely reported! It's refreshing to see that someone really explores a place before passing comment. I read a posting earlier today where the report was very negative and based on "doing Perth in 2 hours - before boredom took over". I think the author suffered from rampant youth, strange expectations and a mind that defied stimulation. Thu clew wos thu way he merdured thu Engalish langwage. Even us colonials could do better than that!!! Scary stuff!! :scared: :scared: :scared:
EarlyConvict
Sep 20th 2005, 9:37 am
#59
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Perth
Posts: 243
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by aussie73
Snakes and spiders are nothing to worry about, peoples fear of them is way out of proportion of any danger. However flies can be annoying in some parts of Perth and WA during summer.
when outdoors.BUT at least in your home you can have the fresh air all year round
thanks to mandatory fly screens over there. Get one warm day here in UK open your doors and windows, and flies, bluebottles, wasps daddy long legs invade UGH! :scared: Great site this, finding out loads of things about Perth. Keep up the good work BE's!
Sep 20th 2005, 10:16 am
#60
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,693
Re: What we thought of Perth
Originally Posted by Xgeminix
To whom ever wishes to read our experience...... may be a bit long though.
Flew from Glasgow via Dubai on June 5th and arrived in Perth June 6th and thought we were landing back in Glasgow!!...same weather even the ariel view looked the same. Yes you can all blame us for being the ones who brought the weather with them!!!
Couldn't fault Emirates airline, they even give you a 'night kit' which includes an eye mask, earplugs, bed socks and compact toothbrush..so don't bother buying any of them, although the flight back from Dubai to Glasgow was delayed for an hour and a half. I fell asleep as soon as we boarded only to wake up, look out of the window and see tarmac, with amazement I turned to my husband and said "God have we landed!!" "no" he replied "we haven't took off yet". What a sickener!!
Anyway, we find our hire car (Drivewest- Scarborough, No credit card needed and endorsements accepted) and they have left a map with detailed instructions and our route highlighted to our Hotel (Joondalup Resort, Connolly), so getting there was a breeze.
Hotel is lovely ..TWO Queen size beds...so that's both of us sleeping like starfish for the next two weeks.
We're up at 4am wide awake stuffing our faces with crisps, chocolate.. tele on, full of energy waiting to get out and see Perth as we've been researching for so long were dying to see the reality.
The sun is shining, the crows... are well...how can explain...LOUD.
We always said this was not a holiday it was a research trip so we tried to be as boring as possible and spent the first week driving around suburb after suburb and shopping mall after shopping mall..god, the coffee over there is lovely...flat white is heaven!! averages about $3 for a cup.
Coming from West Cumbria and I suppose this does make an incredible difference to whether you will settle or not, we do not have much of anything apart from hills and rain, it's at least a 2 1/2 hour trip to an airport, shops are pretty crap, 30 mins to nearest cinema.. you get the idea. So to us the amenities in Perth are fantastic!! If hubby or the kids don't want to trail around shopping with you send them to the cinemas, just about every shopping mall has one, Andrew was quite happy watching Star Wars while I spent his dollars.
Joondalup has the Lakeside Shopping Centre which is right next to the bus and train station..we thought it was weird when we first saw a train whizz past in the middle of the mitchell freeway..it costs $7.50 for an all day return for a max of 2 adults and up to 5 kids, They are only valid on weekdays and public holidays as we found out when we got kicked off at Edgewater for not purchasing two tickets during the week!! It just so happened that on that day another couple had just landed from the UK and didn't know how to work the ticket system so clever ar*e here says "Oh you only need one ticket for $7.50 and you can use it all day and even use it for the ferry over to zoo" only for them to get kicked off as well..didn't catch there names but if you're reading this...sorry!!
Hillary's Harbour looked great even in the rain ...when it rains over there it rains.. not the typical drizzle that you get in the UK that lasts all day, there it comes down like a bucket load, your wipers can't go fast enough, then it just stops and the sun comes out!! a bit like Florida weather in fact Perth was very much like a cross between Cumbria (there winter weather is our summer weather) and Florida (extremely flat) I think we got lost up the only hill in Perth near the Darling Range National Park. Which reminds me, purchase a UBD street map of Perth and you can't go wrong. Varies from $19 - $30 from most newsagents.
We met up with some relatives of Andy's work colleague and they were absolutely brilliant!! They lived in Waikiki near Rockingham and couldn't do enough for us they took us into Northbridge for a meal to meet some of there friends, had a party for us to meet other Expats and showed us around Rockingham and Freemantle.. the Pickled Fairy is first on our list for our 2 year olds party (www.pickledfairy.com.au). Another lady whom we met at the meal met up with us in Perth and showed us around Kings Park...just beautiful, Subiaco...full of cafes, and then took us back to her house for tea.
I've made more friends in 2 weeks in Perth than I have in 32 years in the UK. Your friends are your family over there.
God, I've just eaten a full packet of Rolo's and not realised it!!
I must admit I preferred the Northern suburbs, Hillary's was just lovely, Iluka was also beautiful with it's houses looking over a man made lake with fountains. The show houses on Delgado Parade were great to look around. We could afford to rent but probably not to buy in these area's. I think we would probably like to settle in Carramar, Banksia Grove or Tapping as these areas were much more affordable. I would give Wanneroo a miss, and although some eastern suburbs in Canning Vale were nice the difference between.. now I don't mean to sound snobbish.. the northern train line passengers and the southern train line passengers.. were how can I put it, southern passengers are more varied, I wouldn't let my daughters go on after dark even though the trains all have cameras and guards, in fact coming to think off it even through the day, but that's coming from West Cumbria again,we've led a sheltered life.
South of the River the Rivergums and Settlers Hills Estates in Baldivis were nice with a lot of British Expats but these areas have less amenities than the north and have yet to have a train line til' next year.
Hubby was offered at the first place he showed his CV, they had even rang his employer for references before we got back, so they must have been keen, he's a welder and at the moment they are having to source workers from South Africa they are so desperate.
So to sum Perth up before you all die a death of boredom, here is a summary of what we thought..
Weather..... Don't chuck any of your winter clothes away - take everything.
Snakes, Spiders and Flies........ we didn't see any apart from in the Zoo If you don't walk in the bush, go sticking your fingers underneath fence panels you are highly unlikely to get bitten. The only flies I met were hanging out at the post box in Floreat Forum.
Driving.... Most of the roads are at least dual carriage way and they will overtake on the left or right but I didn't find any problems, if anything I thought it was easier cos' you don't get stuck behind tractors or parked cars and there aren't the annoying winding roads.
Food.... Australian bacon has a certain taste and smell that you carry with you for 24 hours but there are specialist british food shops that cater for most foods that you could miss.
Clothes....They do seem to be a bit behind in the fashion stakes but only a season or so.
Music and TV... The radio that we heard was pretty terrible from what we are used to and the Tv programmes included all of the most annoying programmes we have here like Ready Steady Cook and Bargain Hunt but I'm not going to have time to watch TV cos' I'm going to be living outdoors as much as possible.
Scenery... The views from Kings Park were breathtaking, bearing in mind that we visited in winter everywhere was lush and green.. we expected it to be sandy and dusty for some reason..in summer the grass does go brown. What we call a wood or forest they call the bush.
Renting....Rent at first til' you get an idea of the suburbs you like. Depending on the amount of capital you take over, you can pay for your rent off the interest you make so you're not losing anything.
Oh and yes we loved it all!!!!!
If I haven't covered anything please ask and I'll try and answer.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Judith
Flew from Glasgow via Dubai on June 5th and arrived in Perth June 6th and thought we were landing back in Glasgow!!...same weather even the ariel view looked the same. Yes you can all blame us for being the ones who brought the weather with them!!!
Couldn't fault Emirates airline, they even give you a 'night kit' which includes an eye mask, earplugs, bed socks and compact toothbrush..so don't bother buying any of them, although the flight back from Dubai to Glasgow was delayed for an hour and a half. I fell asleep as soon as we boarded only to wake up, look out of the window and see tarmac, with amazement I turned to my husband and said "God have we landed!!" "no" he replied "we haven't took off yet". What a sickener!!
Anyway, we find our hire car (Drivewest- Scarborough, No credit card needed and endorsements accepted) and they have left a map with detailed instructions and our route highlighted to our Hotel (Joondalup Resort, Connolly), so getting there was a breeze.
Hotel is lovely ..TWO Queen size beds...so that's both of us sleeping like starfish for the next two weeks.
We're up at 4am wide awake stuffing our faces with crisps, chocolate.. tele on, full of energy waiting to get out and see Perth as we've been researching for so long were dying to see the reality.
The sun is shining, the crows... are well...how can explain...LOUD.
We always said this was not a holiday it was a research trip so we tried to be as boring as possible and spent the first week driving around suburb after suburb and shopping mall after shopping mall..god, the coffee over there is lovely...flat white is heaven!! averages about $3 for a cup.
Coming from West Cumbria and I suppose this does make an incredible difference to whether you will settle or not, we do not have much of anything apart from hills and rain, it's at least a 2 1/2 hour trip to an airport, shops are pretty crap, 30 mins to nearest cinema.. you get the idea. So to us the amenities in Perth are fantastic!! If hubby or the kids don't want to trail around shopping with you send them to the cinemas, just about every shopping mall has one, Andrew was quite happy watching Star Wars while I spent his dollars.
Joondalup has the Lakeside Shopping Centre which is right next to the bus and train station..we thought it was weird when we first saw a train whizz past in the middle of the mitchell freeway..it costs $7.50 for an all day return for a max of 2 adults and up to 5 kids, They are only valid on weekdays and public holidays as we found out when we got kicked off at Edgewater for not purchasing two tickets during the week!! It just so happened that on that day another couple had just landed from the UK and didn't know how to work the ticket system so clever ar*e here says "Oh you only need one ticket for $7.50 and you can use it all day and even use it for the ferry over to zoo" only for them to get kicked off as well..didn't catch there names but if you're reading this...sorry!!
Hillary's Harbour looked great even in the rain ...when it rains over there it rains.. not the typical drizzle that you get in the UK that lasts all day, there it comes down like a bucket load, your wipers can't go fast enough, then it just stops and the sun comes out!! a bit like Florida weather in fact Perth was very much like a cross between Cumbria (there winter weather is our summer weather) and Florida (extremely flat) I think we got lost up the only hill in Perth near the Darling Range National Park. Which reminds me, purchase a UBD street map of Perth and you can't go wrong. Varies from $19 - $30 from most newsagents.
We met up with some relatives of Andy's work colleague and they were absolutely brilliant!! They lived in Waikiki near Rockingham and couldn't do enough for us they took us into Northbridge for a meal to meet some of there friends, had a party for us to meet other Expats and showed us around Rockingham and Freemantle.. the Pickled Fairy is first on our list for our 2 year olds party (www.pickledfairy.com.au). Another lady whom we met at the meal met up with us in Perth and showed us around Kings Park...just beautiful, Subiaco...full of cafes, and then took us back to her house for tea.
I've made more friends in 2 weeks in Perth than I have in 32 years in the UK. Your friends are your family over there.
God, I've just eaten a full packet of Rolo's and not realised it!!
I must admit I preferred the Northern suburbs, Hillary's was just lovely, Iluka was also beautiful with it's houses looking over a man made lake with fountains. The show houses on Delgado Parade were great to look around. We could afford to rent but probably not to buy in these area's. I think we would probably like to settle in Carramar, Banksia Grove or Tapping as these areas were much more affordable. I would give Wanneroo a miss, and although some eastern suburbs in Canning Vale were nice the difference between.. now I don't mean to sound snobbish.. the northern train line passengers and the southern train line passengers.. were how can I put it, southern passengers are more varied, I wouldn't let my daughters go on after dark even though the trains all have cameras and guards, in fact coming to think off it even through the day, but that's coming from West Cumbria again,we've led a sheltered life.
South of the River the Rivergums and Settlers Hills Estates in Baldivis were nice with a lot of British Expats but these areas have less amenities than the north and have yet to have a train line til' next year.
Hubby was offered at the first place he showed his CV, they had even rang his employer for references before we got back, so they must have been keen, he's a welder and at the moment they are having to source workers from South Africa they are so desperate.
So to sum Perth up before you all die a death of boredom, here is a summary of what we thought..
Weather..... Don't chuck any of your winter clothes away - take everything.
Snakes, Spiders and Flies........ we didn't see any apart from in the Zoo If you don't walk in the bush, go sticking your fingers underneath fence panels you are highly unlikely to get bitten. The only flies I met were hanging out at the post box in Floreat Forum.
Driving.... Most of the roads are at least dual carriage way and they will overtake on the left or right but I didn't find any problems, if anything I thought it was easier cos' you don't get stuck behind tractors or parked cars and there aren't the annoying winding roads.
Food.... Australian bacon has a certain taste and smell that you carry with you for 24 hours but there are specialist british food shops that cater for most foods that you could miss.
Clothes....They do seem to be a bit behind in the fashion stakes but only a season or so.
Music and TV... The radio that we heard was pretty terrible from what we are used to and the Tv programmes included all of the most annoying programmes we have here like Ready Steady Cook and Bargain Hunt but I'm not going to have time to watch TV cos' I'm going to be living outdoors as much as possible.
Scenery... The views from Kings Park were breathtaking, bearing in mind that we visited in winter everywhere was lush and green.. we expected it to be sandy and dusty for some reason..in summer the grass does go brown. What we call a wood or forest they call the bush.
Renting....Rent at first til' you get an idea of the suburbs you like. Depending on the amount of capital you take over, you can pay for your rent off the interest you make so you're not losing anything.
Oh and yes we loved it all!!!!!
If I haven't covered anything please ask and I'll try and answer.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Judith
please respond if time allows, an informative post this one ,cheers.
Dave
