Information about WA please.

[rikamarie]

Hallo everyone!

I am a teacher and I'm applying Western Australian Sponsorship. We really want to go to Perth but we have to select 2 other regions too. Which one's would you suggest: Christmas and Cocos Island; Gascoyne; Goldfields Esperance; Great Southern; Mid West; Peel; South West or Wheat Belt.

I've reseached Perth but none of the others. The area really should be highly populated because that means more working opportunities for me (because there will be more schools.

Is there also someone in Perth, willing to help with a layout off basic cost of living there. I have a layout, I found it on the web and the information put on there is quite new, but if I can maybe send my layout of costs to someone to check it for me,that would be excellent!

Thank you so much!

[elliemellie]

Hi,

we're off to Geraldton, you're welcome to come!

The movers are coming tomorrow so i have to be quick (my husband is already grumpy)

WA - you've got Perth as the hub. South there's a lot of nice little towns along the coastal route - Bunbury and Albany is quite large

North of Perth you've got Geraldton and then a lot of small towns.

we're off to WA next Tuesday. big road trip to Albany then back to Perth and then up to geraldton.

let me know if i can help.

cheers, I need to go sleep for the big day

[Jordy]

I would choose Peel and South West.

Peel = Mandurah

South West = Bunbury to Margaret River.

All the others are inland with very small towns of less than 2000 people. Tiny farm dorpies.

[Joeemm]

I'd go with Jordy, Mandurah and the Bunbury/Margaret River area are very nice, relatively close to Perth and growing nicely

[vaughanroe]

I reckon the Great Southern Area which INcludes (Albany) is really nice and of decent size its also 4 hrs drive to Perth give or take.

My Advice would be :

South West

Peel

Great Southern

All really nice areas. Living costs are similar between Albany and Perth.

Albany also has a fairly large ex- South African population.

Heck I reckon I will oneday retire and move from Perth to live in Albany.

[AndreaL]

I loved the beauty of Albany, but found it too cold and rainy...it is said that it rains every second day, or rather, it drizzles. I'd go Peel and South West.

[rikamarie]

Hi,

we're off to Geraldton, you're welcome to come!

The movers are coming tomorrow so i have to be quick (my husband is already grumpy)

WA - you've got Perth as the hub. South there's a lot of nice little towns along the coastal route - Bunbury and Albany is quite large

North of Perth you've got Geraldton and then a lot of small towns.

we're off to WA next Tuesday. big road trip to Albany then back to Perth and then up to geraldton.

let me know if i can help.

cheers, I need to go sleep for the big day

Hi there! Thanks for the offer but I am currently in South Africa. Was thinking of emailing my spreadsheet with living costs to someone.

[rikamarie]

Thanks for the input everyone!

[Emille]

yes peel and southwest

[OzzieWishes]

Mandurah and bunbury are great - close to perth (about 1 and half hours) and beautiful beaches.

[Bams]

Hi RikaMarie

I am picking up on your thread / post, seems like you completed the same form that I am busy with...

Please let me know which area you decided on, seems like the majority is leaning toward South West and Peel.

Did you manage to get a cost of living from someone or have yours reviewed?

Always reassuring to see if you are in line with others.

[B007]

I will take any of the above areas

[RevinOz]

Geraldton is great!

Warmer than the southern areas, fantastic beaches, best fishing, surfing, snorkelling, crayfish, city living without the hassle.

And lots of schools!!!

We moved here in March. Been all over the State - Gero is the best.

[Mikej]

Great Southern - Albany

About 36,000 and 50,000 in the region.

[AndreaL]

Albany is very pretty, but I just did not like the weather and work can be hard to find....we were part of the South African contingent that worked at Fletchers back in 2007. Our good friends Derrick and Glenda are still there, but he is FIFO to a mine site up North.

[Mac777]

Can I also have some information about WA please?

But more about what it's like as a state. What is the weather like? What are the shops and entertainment venues like? Are the suburbs small, large? Scenery? Mountains or lakes, are there any and are they nice? Where can you go on holiday there? And how does it compare to the other states?

In short, if you had to sell it to me what would you say???

[OubaasDik]

You know how people keep telling you that Aus is huge and they can't tell you what the Aussie weather is like, because it varies so much?

Well, WA is about 1/3 of Australia, and really it has the whole Australian range of weather, scenery, etc .....

I'd suggest you start at wikipedia and search from there ..... it really is gigantic.

[Mac777]

Would it help if I refine my query to Perth and surrounds?

We will be going there and as I'm rather nervous about job prospects I would like to go somewhere I will have the best chance of getting something and that would most likely be where it is busiest and more densely populated.

Wikipedia has helped but is very generic and doesn't quite offer that 'personal' perspective.

[OubaasDik]

Can I also have some information about WA please?

But more about what it's like as a state. What is the weather like? What are the shops and entertainment venues like? Are the suburbs small, large? Scenery? Mountains or lakes, are there any and are they nice? Where can you go on holiday there? And how does it compare to the other states?

In short, if you had to sell it to me what would you say???

Perth weather - like Cape Town, but on steroids. Also a Mediterranean climate. Rains in winter (if it bothers to rain) - dry in summer. Summers can be hot - if you don't have a/c you may well regret it. In summer sometimes it gets to over 40 deg and stays there for a weeks .... eventually the inner walls of the house seem to be radiating heat. Winter can be really windy - the rain can be horizontal - no umbrella can stand up to that. I seem to remember about a year ago we had frost one morning ...

Lots of parks in most suburbs. Shops and entertainment are just like anywhere really - big Westfield type centres and a few cinemas - restaurants.

Perth has some really nice beaches - not much surf at all - I think Rottnest island offshore shelters them.

Going out bush is interesting - the vegetation is pretty different and the sand is 90% beach sand for about 15km inland at least - damn difficult to walk in. If you are in the bush in early summer - be ready for the flies to cart you away - not too bad in the city, but when the family and I went to Joondalup, we'd pick up 30-100 flies each sitting on our backs and we'd whack each other as we jumped into the car.

About 20 km inland you run into the Perth hills where the you get suburbs that aren't almost totally flat.

Many of the newer suburbs were developed by one developer, who bought all his paint and doors and house plans from one place (I speak of Somerly as an example (I live in Somerly) when I'm there). This means every third house looks similar to every other third house, and the front doors look similar and the paint schemes are similar.

Many of the newer suburbs aree referred to as Legoland ....

[Mac777]

Thanks Oubaas.

Appreciate it. It helps getting other peoples' perspectives on the place.

I have to admit, it sounds like a flat version of Midrand with the seasons swapped around.

Our plan is to start there and move to Victoria after our two years are up. We'll have to wait and see though.

[OubaasDik]

My wife thinks of it as Bloemfontein-by-the-sea .....

Beware - it can grow on you .... I like it apart from the heat. I'd still be there, if I wasn't offered a job in CNB out of the blue for an unholy amount - so you can see just what I sold my soul for.

[Mac777]

From my perspective it wouldn't really matter I suppose. Compared to here it would be an upgrade no matter how you looked at it.

[Mikej]

It is not all the same, down in the south and south west it is cool, wet and green and there are gigantic forests that people walk into and are never seen again (I think the tokolosh takes them). The trees are amongst the tallest in the world, it really is quite a surprise to see when you are expecting a dry and red desert.

[Mac777]

It is not all the same, down in the south and south west it is cool, wet and green and there are gigantic forests that people walk into and are never seen again (I think the tokolosh takes them). The trees are amongst the tallest in the world, it really is quite a surprise to see when you are expecting a dry and red desert.

How far down south do you have to go for it to be cooler? I love my summers and all that but for the regular working day and sleeping, I don't do too well with heat. I'm one of those guys who just has to look at a picture of a hot day and I start feeling hot.

However, I want to be relatively close to the hub/Perth:

Firstly, because we like having the big cities within reach for the entertainment and usual amenities, and

Secondly, to stay close to where the jobs are.

We're currently living in Alberton, south of JHB. Can anyone name a few suburbs/towns similar to it or something like Edenvale???

As we have never been there we have no clue where to go, as in which suburbs are nice and which aren't, etc.

It's so damn hard going there blind, in a manner of speaking.

[Mikej]

Albany is about 400km south of Perth on the coast, I think (not sure) that Margaret River has a similar climate and is closer to Perth but is much smaller than Albany. We rarely get those very hot days that you get north of Albany in the rest of WA. If you need to be near the city in WA then Perth is your only option. As for finding an Edenvale in Australia I don't know about that.