Guest puffaddy Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Hi Guys,I'm a newbie to the forums so here is my intro. We (wife, son 3, daughter 1) arrived 2 Feb '09 from Garsfontein, Pretoria. We had done our LSD in Mar '07 and decided we'd like to stay in Perth's Northern suburbs. We both did skills assessments with the Australian Computer Society then submitted our PR application in Aug '07, which was granted in October '08.Some random thoughts - YMMV:- Don’t completely ignore your shipping consultant’s advice, but also listen to your heart. We got rid of lots of things we should have brought with us - ornaments, mower, trimmer, gas braai, Weber. If you’ve got the space in your container, pack it.- Toyota Hiluxes are not cheaper here so if your's is paid off and you are happy with it, seriously consider bringing it with you. - Familiarise yourself with how to rent a house here – we weren’t and it was quite a shock when we needed to find a place when our container arrived.- Familiarise yourself best you can with the local job market – after 5 months here I still haven’t worked out how to get past the recruitment agents to get interviews with company decision makers. The state of the economy doesn’t help, but I am amazed at how difficult it is to find employment.Pros:- Relaxed lifestyle.- Sense of safety.- General respect for law and order.- Beautiful, clean beaches.- Lots of clean, well equipped parks.- Plenty of good schools and play groups.- Good infrastructure in general.Cons:- No jobs yet - I am a senior systems engineer (unix/linux/perl/c++) and my wife is a senior software developer (java/c++/sql/unix/oracle) – both ~14 years in IT. If anyone has any leads let me know!- The walls of our near new rental seem to be paper thin – I can hear people’s conversations as they walk past.- As a bike nut I miss riding Kyalami, Zwartkops, Phakisa and Midvaal. WA has only one track which is more Midvaal than Kyalami, although I understand it will be upgraded.- The speed limits… are there for a good reason I know – I’m still adapting to this relaxed lifestyle.See ya later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serendipity Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 (edited) Hi and welcome to the forum. Thanks for your comments, they are appreciated.Enjoy sharing your advise / experience and possibly getting some from some other forumites. Edited June 28, 2009 by Serendipity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaffergirl Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 HiWelcome to the forum. My husband is a car fanatic, and he also misses all his track days and monthly "car" meetings. At least in Queensland we will have the A1 and in Septmber, just a few minutes south in NSW the WRC will have a stage in TWEED.There must be some other interested people in your area, you can always form a club or something. Do some research, place an ad in a local paper. That will keep you busy!All the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candivw Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Hi there,My husband and I have been here in Perth, also in the Northern Suburbs for 6 months. PM us if you ever need anything.Candice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eva Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen-in-Brisbane Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Welcome. What advice do you have regarding rentals?? What problems did you have?Are the outside walls also dry wall?? or just single brick?Is this a common problem??ThanksK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest puffaddy Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Welcome. What advice do you have regarding rentals?? What problems did you have?Are the outside walls also dry wall?? or just single brick?Is this a common problem??ThanksK@all - thanks for the welcome@We R Going - my problem renting was not knowing how to and only giving myself 2 weeks to find one. For Perth, www.reiwa.com is a good site for rentals. Notify the letting agent of your interest in any suitable rentals and they will come back to you with a date and time when the home will be open for inspection - it could be the next day it could be weeks away. The home open lasts for 30-45 mins and if you are interested you take an application form. NB you can't apply to rent a home if you didn't attend the home open. All agents wanted at least one reference from a previous landlord. The outside walls are brick cavity walls, maybe they amplify outside sounds...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen-in-Brisbane Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Thanks for the info.....much appreciated.K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeInOz Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Welcome. What advice do you have regarding rentals?? What problems did you have?Are the outside walls also dry wall?? or just single brick?Is this a common problem??ThanksKHi KHouses in WA are generally built more like South African homes. As you are Brisbound I can tell you this.All homes are built from wood or steel frame on a foundation or footing as they call it. All teh plumbing pipes etc are laid and the fondation filled over(very few are steel as wood is cheap). Very old homes have a raised floor made of woodThen the trusses and roof are mounted onto the frame. Then the inner walls are fitted (chalk board). Lastly the skin is fitted on the outside or brick veneer as they call. It has no strength but is just for looks. Some homes have a fibro (looks like asbestos, just as brittle but not poisonous) lining on the outside. Hollow bricks are being used but I see them mostly in units where the biulding is 2 or more stories.As to the rest about rentals it works the same. We found our rental and homes we bought by looking at realestate.com.auJust remeber to go to the rental tab before searching Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbyb Posted June 30, 2009 Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Hi everyone am also new to the forum but have been living in Perth, northern suburbs for nearly 5 years. Also would be happy to help where I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugan Posted June 30, 2009 Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Hi Guys,I'm a newbie to the forums so here is my intro. We (wife, son 3, daughter 1) arrived 2 Feb '09 from Garsfontein, Pretoria. We had done our LSD in Mar '07 and decided we'd like to stay in Perth's Northern suburbs. We both did skills assessments with the Australian Computer Society then submitted our PR application in Aug '07, which was granted in October '08.Some random thoughts - YMMV:- Don’t completely ignore your shipping consultant’s advice, but also listen to your heart. We got rid of lots of things we should have brought with us - ornaments, mower, trimmer, gas braai, Weber. If you’ve got the space in your container, pack it.- Toyota Hiluxes are not cheaper here so if your's is paid off and you are happy with it, seriously consider bringing it with you. - Familiarise yourself with how to rent a house here – we weren’t and it was quite a shock when we needed to find a place when our container arrived.- Familiarise yourself best you can with the local job market – after 5 months here I still haven’t worked out how to get past the recruitment agents to get interviews with company decision makers. The state of the economy doesn’t help, but I am amazed at how difficult it is to find employment.Pros:- Relaxed lifestyle.- Sense of safety.- General respect for law and order.- Beautiful, clean beaches.- Lots of clean, well equipped parks.- Plenty of good schools and play groups.- Good infrastructure in general.Cons:- No jobs yet - I am a senior systems engineer (unix/linux/perl/c++) and my wife is a senior software developer (java/c++/sql/unix/oracle) – both ~14 years in IT. If anyone has any leads let me know!- The walls of our near new rental seem to be paper thin – I can hear people’s conversations as they walk past.- As a bike nut I miss riding Kyalami, Zwartkops, Phakisa and Midvaal. WA has only one track which is more Midvaal than Kyalami, although I understand it will be upgraded.- The speed limits… are there for a good reason I know – I’m still adapting to this relaxed lifestyle.See ya later!hey matei am also from clarkson.you get used to the sound travelling!the speed limits are very irritating!! but u get used to itgood for raising kids though.give me a call and we'll have coffee sometimecheerssugan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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