saraliz

Wow, Chicago vs. Perth. Tough choice. As a native of the US midwest (a small town in Michigan, to be exact) who is now living in Perth, the best thing I can say about your decision is 'good luck!'.

Here are a few of my random thoughts on the subject:

Chicago (& the USA in general) - a 'convenience' lifestyle geared around people who work, i.e 24 hour shops, banks open on Saturdays, etc. I really miss this. Voters here in Western Australia just voted 'no' to allowing Sunday trading (although there are a select few shops that can open on Sunday, though they tend to be extremely expensive!). Shops also close early during the week (5pm). I know this sounds like I'm a shopaholic (I'm not, trust me!) but I like to be able to do things in my own time, rather than trying to rush around on a Saturday afternoon along with everybody else in Perth (when I'd rather be on the beach!). Another thing to note, internet shopping is extremely limited here... especially compared to the US!

Winter. Midwest. Bleugh! I don't mind the cold, and I love snow, but looking up at a grey sky for 5 or so months of the year gets really depressing. Honestly, you'll see a blue sky maybe 4 times all winter. And when there isn't snow, everything is brown, dead and dreary (at least in the UK there's usually still a bit of green in winter!). And don't get me started on slush....

Perth. I know it's a cliche, but it is essentially a big country town. If you're used to small town life, then you may well find that there's too much to do! However, if you're used to big city living, you could easily find it a bit limiting after a while.

Isolation. As has been said before, Perth is a very isolated city. If you want to go to a bustling metropolis, you're in for a long plane journey. Environmentally though, Perth has it all - ocean (& Rottnest Island) to the west, mountains/hill to the east, desert to the north & forest to the south. Which can be great for taking weekend trips away, especially if you're into outdoor activities. That said, you can only go to the same places so many times...

Sprawling suburbs, necessity of owning a car... you'll find these characteristics both in the US & Perth!!!

Settling in... Perth is a town of immigrants. You'll find nearly as many "foreign" accents as you will Aussie accents. People here won't blink an eye at your accent, and probably won't remark on the fact that you're foreign unless you're a Brit during cricket season! As to Chicago, I can't even begin to imagine what it would like living there as an immigrant. I'm sure others here can fill you in!

Family & friends - Chicago's definitely a lot more convenient to the UK for visiting friends and family.
....

I could go on and on. There are so many positive's and negative's to each choice... You're the one who knows what you want at the end of the day, and both places are different enough from each other to (hopefully) help with your decision. Good luck!

NeilB

Hi,

Thanks for the very comprehensive answer.

In many ways that is the bind, every 5 minutes or so I’m settled on a direction (luckily my wife is easy going) which then changes.

Relatives in Perth would make touchdown easy but as I’m a keen winter climber Australia is not the first choice, but then again the lifestyle access to the NZ labour market plus trips to India etc make life seem a little easier.

The disadvantage is it really is a long way from anywhere and coming from a large UK city we might tire quickly.

Chicago (initially) work internal transfer winters, snow and mountains, sounds good. But there has been introduced an element of travel (I work for a major Consultancy) would mean leaving my wife at home for periods of time, plus a lack of understanding how the travel would be funded as we have already sold the house, paid the bills off and closed all the credit cards.

I guess we really had planned to have a big adventure and put some roots down, it’s just the destination which is causing the grief. I could do tents city in the snow from a while then tire, equally my suntan will only go so far.

Cheers,

Neil

Manc

when you find the mountains around chicago let me know.

cindyabs

Well if you pile the snow high enough.........

NeilB

The geography is rather relative when considering Perth…… I drive most weekends 7 hours to Scotland on a Friday and back on a Sunday, so are you saying that there are no significant hills in a 7 hour drive radius of the Chicago area?

Manc

Having driven through Chicago on a Friday evening, in 7 hours of driving you should make it to Bloomington............

Rushman

Maybe they're on the Lake bed!!

anotherlimey

In 7 hours you might get to the other side of the Truman Show.

Manc

Where are the nearest mountains / hills to Chicago?

Ozarks in Missouri?

anotherlimey

f*** knows; I can't see any from my window, the terrain is featureless apart from the man made ponds in the suburbs.

Manc

I drove down 55 to St Louis awhile ago.....Illinois does appear to be a bit of a billiard table..

Rushman

The "Essex" of the US

Angry White Pyjamas

Equally as rugged and interesting as Central/South Florida then. Oh look daddy, another swamp/clump of dead looking trees/drainage ditch/strip mall/6 lane concrete carpark as straight as a die for as far as you can see.

NeilB

From the early post, the Chicago location was only initial (first dream was of Edmonton in Canada, but that’s another story). I guess the first 6-9 months would be Chicago then free to move.

So coming full circle, until I am able to land, get bank, credit, ID etc I need to stay near the work.

Once settled, credit card etc can move far more freely then settle. In Perth the work is all in Perth.

Cheers,

Neil

Angry White Pyjamas

Um what visa where you planning on coming over on? L1? Doesnt that mean you'd need to be near your employer for the duration?