Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Oct 4th 2007, 3:57 am
#1
Perth......at last!
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Location: Perth
Posts: 579
Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Hi every one,
We arrived on 1st May, with hubby and 5 kids and mum and dad to help us settle in for the first 3 months of our new life. ( and boy were we grateful to have them with us!)
The very worst thing for us in this whole adventure was saying 'Good bye' to family and relations at Heathrow....very heart breaking, when you watch them all cry and worse your own kids being heart broken. I remember thinking to my self 'Oh no, what are we doing to them?'
We cried all the way to just before we got to the aircraft, when one of our daughters came out of the loo and unknowingly had a very long strip of toilet paper hanging out of the top of her joggers and trailing down to the ground, and just walked passed us all still sobbing....this was the first thing to bring a smile on our faces. From there onwards things just got better.
I would fully recommend Singapore Airlines, a comfortable journey and super caring staff. This was the bit I was dreading, the flight with all the kids, but do you know, and I seriously mean this, it was like a drive from Kent to Cornwall, but just more comfortable all the way. The hours flew(pun) passed.
Before we knew it we were at Perth, not a cry or whimper all the way from the kids. They loved the personal screens and I think this made all the difference. Plus the seats were more comfy and roomy then QF.
On arrival to Perth, our friends who had come out 3 weeks before us were there to meet us with a car.I can't tell you what a relief and comfort it was to see their friendly faces. I had insisted that they do not come out for us, but there they were. And how grateful were we? We hired a 8 seater from the airport for us, as altogether we had 16 pieces of luggage! By the way we were definitely watched over and helped some how, as the lady at customs pushed us through the head of the queue and they didn't open even one of our bags/boxes.
I did notice that the taxi queue was very very long, so if you are planning to taxi when you get here, just bear that in mind. Although this may not always be the case.
We stayed in a holiday home we had booked from England for 1 month, then found another for 3 weeks.But they can be costly. The first 2 weeks were spent getting all the paper work stuff done, like medicare, centrelink, tax file nbrs, bank accounts. The kids went into school on the 3rd week.
We used to leave the house at 9am and not return until 5pm to do all the above and house hunt. A huge thanks to my parents who cooked and cleaned and looked after the kids,because of them we were able to do this. We also started looking for long term rentals, but they were scarce in the area we wanted.
We decided to look to buy instead as we felt it would be more settling for us and our kids personally. We found our home after a very heavy schedule of looking and that was only 1 month after arriving. We moved in 3 weeks after that. We are very very happy here. My parents have gone back. My hubby found a job just before we moved into our home. He did not have any trouble finding one and was offered 3 out of the 3 he was interviewed for, he is HVAC.
Our kids, who were crying that they didn't want to leave England and their family now say that they are happier here and would not want to go back the UK to live. They have a kid's life now. They are outdoors most of the time, and would never have done what they do now. They miss their cousins and we have no family here. But we communicate via MSN or telephone almost daily. The 2 of our kids that we were most worried would not settle, are happier then we have ever seen them. Life is great, we have no regrets.
So any one who has had the patience to read all this and had any doubts before, I hope this has helped you in some way. But this is just me speaking for my self even though I am known for being a very family orientated person and not having any family here, I am really happy that we did it, for a better life. But you have to be prepared for the downs and the ups, we have been very lucky so far.
And truely we are 'lovin it.'
Sponge
We arrived on 1st May, with hubby and 5 kids and mum and dad to help us settle in for the first 3 months of our new life. ( and boy were we grateful to have them with us!)
The very worst thing for us in this whole adventure was saying 'Good bye' to family and relations at Heathrow....very heart breaking, when you watch them all cry and worse your own kids being heart broken. I remember thinking to my self 'Oh no, what are we doing to them?'
We cried all the way to just before we got to the aircraft, when one of our daughters came out of the loo and unknowingly had a very long strip of toilet paper hanging out of the top of her joggers and trailing down to the ground, and just walked passed us all still sobbing....this was the first thing to bring a smile on our faces. From there onwards things just got better.
I would fully recommend Singapore Airlines, a comfortable journey and super caring staff. This was the bit I was dreading, the flight with all the kids, but do you know, and I seriously mean this, it was like a drive from Kent to Cornwall, but just more comfortable all the way. The hours flew(pun) passed.
Before we knew it we were at Perth, not a cry or whimper all the way from the kids. They loved the personal screens and I think this made all the difference. Plus the seats were more comfy and roomy then QF.
On arrival to Perth, our friends who had come out 3 weeks before us were there to meet us with a car.I can't tell you what a relief and comfort it was to see their friendly faces. I had insisted that they do not come out for us, but there they were. And how grateful were we? We hired a 8 seater from the airport for us, as altogether we had 16 pieces of luggage! By the way we were definitely watched over and helped some how, as the lady at customs pushed us through the head of the queue and they didn't open even one of our bags/boxes.
I did notice that the taxi queue was very very long, so if you are planning to taxi when you get here, just bear that in mind. Although this may not always be the case.
We stayed in a holiday home we had booked from England for 1 month, then found another for 3 weeks.But they can be costly. The first 2 weeks were spent getting all the paper work stuff done, like medicare, centrelink, tax file nbrs, bank accounts. The kids went into school on the 3rd week.
We used to leave the house at 9am and not return until 5pm to do all the above and house hunt. A huge thanks to my parents who cooked and cleaned and looked after the kids,because of them we were able to do this. We also started looking for long term rentals, but they were scarce in the area we wanted.
We decided to look to buy instead as we felt it would be more settling for us and our kids personally. We found our home after a very heavy schedule of looking and that was only 1 month after arriving. We moved in 3 weeks after that. We are very very happy here. My parents have gone back. My hubby found a job just before we moved into our home. He did not have any trouble finding one and was offered 3 out of the 3 he was interviewed for, he is HVAC.
Our kids, who were crying that they didn't want to leave England and their family now say that they are happier here and would not want to go back the UK to live. They have a kid's life now. They are outdoors most of the time, and would never have done what they do now. They miss their cousins and we have no family here. But we communicate via MSN or telephone almost daily. The 2 of our kids that we were most worried would not settle, are happier then we have ever seen them. Life is great, we have no regrets.
So any one who has had the patience to read all this and had any doubts before, I hope this has helped you in some way. But this is just me speaking for my self even though I am known for being a very family orientated person and not having any family here, I am really happy that we did it, for a better life. But you have to be prepared for the downs and the ups, we have been very lucky so far.
And truely we are 'lovin it.'
Sponge
Oct 4th 2007, 5:51 am
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: was Preston now sunny Perth
Posts: 158
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
good to see you have settled well and loving your new life, where abouts in Perth have you settled??
Sam
Sam
Oct 4th 2007, 5:55 am
#3
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: rockingham/perth
Posts: 147
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
hi, great read, glad your having a great time in perth, its nice to read such a positive post weve been here over 2 years now and although weve had some tough times we still love it! good luck in the future x x x x 
weve been here over 2 years now and although weve had some tough times we still love it! good luck in the future x x x x
Oct 4th 2007, 6:33 am
#4
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 567
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Well done sponge, all sounds good
Do you mind if I ask you about hubbies job as I am a Mech HVAC design engineer also and will be over as soon as house sells. Is he contract or perm, sound slike plenty there, there was a year or two ago but wondered if still the same. Any advise would be appreciated
Cheers
Mick
Do you mind if I ask you about hubbies job as I am a Mech HVAC design engineer also and will be over as soon as house sells. Is he contract or perm, sound slike plenty there, there was a year or two ago but wondered if still the same. Any advise would be appreciated
Cheers
Mick
Oct 4th 2007, 7:05 am
#5
Perth......at last!
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Location: Perth
Posts: 579
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
We are in the north, near Joondalup. Any ideas where you will head for? Good luck with the house sale, shouldn't be long for you now.
Last edited by sponge; Oct 4th 2007 at 7:13 am.
Oct 4th 2007, 7:10 am
#6
Perth......at last!
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Location: Perth
Posts: 579
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Well done sponge, all sounds good
Do you mind if I ask you about hubbies job as I am a Mech HVAC design engineer also and will be over as soon as house sells. Is he contract or perm, sound slike plenty there, there was a year or two ago but wondered if still the same. Any advise would be appreciated
Cheers
Mick
Do you mind if I ask you about hubbies job as I am a Mech HVAC design engineer also and will be over as soon as house sells. Is he contract or perm, sound slike plenty there, there was a year or two ago but wondered if still the same. Any advise would be appreciated
Cheers
Mick
Good luck to you.
Oct 4th 2007, 7:46 am
#7
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 37
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
We are flying out on the 25th October and I have just read your thread tears are running down my face feel so emotional we have four kids in the same situation and great to hear your positive comments.
Wendy
Wendy
Oct 4th 2007, 8:12 am
#8
Perth......at last!
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Location: Perth
Posts: 579
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
25th Oct is drawing close, who are you flying with?
How old are your kids? and do you have family here?
Good luck with it all.
Oct 4th 2007, 8:15 am
#9
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,918
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Hi every one,
We arrived on 1st May, with hubby and 5 kids and mum and dad to help us settle in for the first 3 months of our new life. ( and boy were we grateful to have them with us!)
The very worst thing for us in this whole adventure was saying 'Good bye' to family and relations at Heathrow....very heart breaking, when you watch them all cry and worse your own kids being heart broken. I remember thinking to my self 'Oh no, what are we doing to them?'
We cried all the way to just before we got to the aircraft, when one of our daughters came out of the loo and unknowingly had a very long strip of toilet paper hanging out of the top of her joggers and trailing down to the ground, and just walked passed us all still sobbing....this was the first thing to bring a smile on our faces. From there onwards things just got better.
I would fully recommend Singapore Airlines, a comfortable journey and super caring staff. This was the bit I was dreading, the flight with all the kids, but do you know, and I seriously mean this, it was like a drive from Kent to Cornwall, but just more comfortable all the way. The hours flew(pun) passed.
Before we knew it we were at Perth, not a cry or whimper all the way from the kids. They loved the personal screens and I think this made all the difference. Plus the seats were more comfy and roomy then QF.
On arrival to Perth, our friends who had come out 3 weeks before us were there to meet us with a car.I can't tell you what a relief and comfort it was to see their friendly faces. I had insisted that they do not come out for us, but there they were. And how grateful were we? We hired a 8 seater from the airport for us, as altogether we had 16 pieces of luggage! By the way we were definitely watched over and helped some how, as the lady at customs pushed us through the head of the queue and they didn't open even one of our bags/boxes.
I did notice that the taxi queue was very very long, so if you are planning to taxi when you get here, just bear that in mind. Although this may not always be the case.
We stayed in a holiday home we had booked from England for 1 month, then found another for 3 weeks.But they can be costly. The first 2 weeks were spent getting all the paper work stuff done, like medicare, centrelink, tax file nbrs, bank accounts. The kids went into school on the 3rd week.
We used to leave the house at 9am and not return until 5pm to do all the above and house hunt. A huge thanks to my parents who cooked and cleaned and looked after the kids,because of them we were able to do this. We also started looking for long term rentals, but they were scarce in the area we wanted.
We decided to look to buy instead as we felt it would be more settling for us and our kids personally. We found our home after a very heavy schedule of looking and that was only 1 month after arriving. We moved in 3 weeks after that. We are very very happy here. My parents have gone back. My hubby found a job just before we moved into our home. He did not have any trouble finding one and was offered 3 out of the 3 he was interviewed for, he is HVAC.
Our kids, who were crying that they didn't want to leave England and their family now say that they are happier here and would not want to go back the UK to live. They have a kid's life now. They are outdoors most of the time, and would never have done what they do now. They miss their cousins and we have no family here. But we communicate via MSN or telephone almost daily. The 2 of our kids that we were most worried would not settle, are happier then we have ever seen them. Life is great, we have no regrets.
So any one who has had the patience to read all this and had any doubts before, I hope this has helped you in some way. But this is just me speaking for my self even though I am known for being a very family orientated person and not having any family here, I am really happy that we did it, for a better life. But you have to be prepared for the downs and the ups, we have been very lucky so far.
And truely we are 'lovin it.'
Sponge
We arrived on 1st May, with hubby and 5 kids and mum and dad to help us settle in for the first 3 months of our new life. ( and boy were we grateful to have them with us!)
The very worst thing for us in this whole adventure was saying 'Good bye' to family and relations at Heathrow....very heart breaking, when you watch them all cry and worse your own kids being heart broken. I remember thinking to my self 'Oh no, what are we doing to them?'
We cried all the way to just before we got to the aircraft, when one of our daughters came out of the loo and unknowingly had a very long strip of toilet paper hanging out of the top of her joggers and trailing down to the ground, and just walked passed us all still sobbing....this was the first thing to bring a smile on our faces. From there onwards things just got better.
I would fully recommend Singapore Airlines, a comfortable journey and super caring staff. This was the bit I was dreading, the flight with all the kids, but do you know, and I seriously mean this, it was like a drive from Kent to Cornwall, but just more comfortable all the way. The hours flew(pun) passed.
Before we knew it we were at Perth, not a cry or whimper all the way from the kids. They loved the personal screens and I think this made all the difference. Plus the seats were more comfy and roomy then QF.
On arrival to Perth, our friends who had come out 3 weeks before us were there to meet us with a car.I can't tell you what a relief and comfort it was to see their friendly faces. I had insisted that they do not come out for us, but there they were. And how grateful were we? We hired a 8 seater from the airport for us, as altogether we had 16 pieces of luggage! By the way we were definitely watched over and helped some how, as the lady at customs pushed us through the head of the queue and they didn't open even one of our bags/boxes.
I did notice that the taxi queue was very very long, so if you are planning to taxi when you get here, just bear that in mind. Although this may not always be the case.
We stayed in a holiday home we had booked from England for 1 month, then found another for 3 weeks.But they can be costly. The first 2 weeks were spent getting all the paper work stuff done, like medicare, centrelink, tax file nbrs, bank accounts. The kids went into school on the 3rd week.
We used to leave the house at 9am and not return until 5pm to do all the above and house hunt. A huge thanks to my parents who cooked and cleaned and looked after the kids,because of them we were able to do this. We also started looking for long term rentals, but they were scarce in the area we wanted.
We decided to look to buy instead as we felt it would be more settling for us and our kids personally. We found our home after a very heavy schedule of looking and that was only 1 month after arriving. We moved in 3 weeks after that. We are very very happy here. My parents have gone back. My hubby found a job just before we moved into our home. He did not have any trouble finding one and was offered 3 out of the 3 he was interviewed for, he is HVAC.
Our kids, who were crying that they didn't want to leave England and their family now say that they are happier here and would not want to go back the UK to live. They have a kid's life now. They are outdoors most of the time, and would never have done what they do now. They miss their cousins and we have no family here. But we communicate via MSN or telephone almost daily. The 2 of our kids that we were most worried would not settle, are happier then we have ever seen them. Life is great, we have no regrets.
So any one who has had the patience to read all this and had any doubts before, I hope this has helped you in some way. But this is just me speaking for my self even though I am known for being a very family orientated person and not having any family here, I am really happy that we did it, for a better life. But you have to be prepared for the downs and the ups, we have been very lucky so far.
And truely we are 'lovin it.'
Sponge
Oh what a lovely inspirational post
One thing i am dreading are the farewells.......i try not to think about it too much TBH. We will be in Manchester airport boarding our plane , 15 weeks today, just cannot believe how quick the time has gone. We too also fly with Singapore with a 4 night stopover.....so reading your post has made me more excited than ever.
I hope you continue to live a happy and fulfilled life in Perth
Oct 4th 2007, 8:18 am
#10
Perth......at last!
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2006
Location: Perth
Posts: 579
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Oh what a lovely inspirational post
One thing i am dreading are the farewells.......i try not to think about it too much TBH. We will be in Manchester airport boarding our plane , 15 weeks today, just cannot believe how quick the time has gone. We too also fly with Singapore with a 4 night stopover.....so reading your post has made me more excited than ever.
I hope you continue to live a happy and fulfilled life in Perth
One thing i am dreading are the farewells.......i try not to think about it too much TBH. We will be in Manchester airport boarding our plane , 15 weeks today, just cannot believe how quick the time has gone. We too also fly with Singapore with a 4 night stopover.....so reading your post has made me more excited than ever.
I hope you continue to live a happy and fulfilled life in Perth
Glad to hear you too chose SQ. Good luck with it all. And thanks for the good wishes.
Oct 4th 2007, 9:40 am
#11
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 757
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Nice feel good post Sponge, enjoyed it
Oct 4th 2007, 10:08 am
#12
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2005
Location: Flagstaff Hill, Adelaide
Posts: 176
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
great thread glad everything is going well
good luck with the new life
sion
good luck with the new life
sion
Oct 4th 2007, 10:31 am
#13
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: yangebup perth au
Posts: 2,505
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
really good thread
we leave for perth on 4th nov and cant wait
good luck
look forward to hearing yr update 1 yr on
we leave for perth on 4th nov and cant wait
good luck
look forward to hearing yr update 1 yr on
Oct 4th 2007, 11:10 am
#14
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,693
Re: Been in Perth 5 months and 3 days....lovin it!
Good to read an uplifting post- well done.
Dave
Dave
Oct 4th 2007, 11:32 am
#15
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Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Lower Chittering, Perth
Posts: 4,646