9 Months in Perth update

[PMBDarryl]

Good day all

It's been a long while since I was on here so thought I'd send an update which we found very helpful and encouraging when going through the application process ourselves. We are both from Pietermaritzburg and moved to London in 2001. After living there for 12 years we decided that we wanted a better lifestyle for us and our daughter so did a LSD trip and settled on Perth which is the complete opposite of London, quieter, warmer and a lot less travelling for work.

We started our application in 2012 and it took almost two years to finally get the PR190 visa on my wife's nursing qualifications. I guess we were lucky in that we did our application from the UK and in pounds which was easier on the wallet than applying in Rands but still bloody expensive for the whole process. We arrived on 31 March 2014 making it almost 9 months since our arrival. There have been some ups and downs but mostly ups!

My wife had a job prior to our arrival which made things easier on the stress levels and I was looking to start work once we had found a long term rental and kindy place for our daughter. My wife enjoyed the hospital where she's working and is still working there which is a mere 10 minute walk from home. It took me 7 months to find a permanent position in records management and now working for an Australian law firm in Perth's CBD and enjoying it. While looking and applying for 100s of jobs, I only had two interviews the whole time, despite having my CV professionally done by a person highly recommended on this site. Funnily enough I got the job on my old CV.....I did have erratic temporary work through the 7 months which kept me sane and was extremely relieved to finally get the permanent position and life is now great. I would highly recommend to everyone coming over to have enough funds to last you a few months, or for one of you to have job before arriving.

Since then we have purchased a new car which is now mostly paid off and now looking at purchasing a bakkie, or ute as the aussies call it, to get us to camping spots and some beach fishing which I am yet to try out here in Australia. We live in a modest unit close to Perth's CBD and it only takes me 25 minutes (by bus and walking) desk to door which is a far cry from 1h20min in London. Too easy! Saying that when we look to buy next year it will be further out in the suburbs to buy a house with a pool and bigger garden for our daughter to play in so these travel times will increase a bit. We are fortunate enough to still have a house in the UK rented out so we'll sell that next year and use the equity on that for a deposit on a property here. Can't wait for that.

The downs were missing family and friends back in the UK and me not finding permanent employment for such a long time. Not making too many friends so far has been a downer but as we've been so busy exploring Perth and the surrounding areas has limited us a bit. We have made a few friends but need to find more to go camping/ fishing and braaing with. It will come with time, 9 months isn't a long time in the greater scheme of things.

Ups, well there have been many of these. Finally getting to oz and living the lifestyle we wanted is now happening and we are loving it. My daughter has settled in well at kindy and starts pre-primary on the 2 February. She's made heaps of friends and is very popular so that has been fantastic which also means lots of birthday parties to attend on weekends. Neither of us owned a brand new car and we are now on the cusp of having two new vehicles. Both of us are permanently employed and we are living fairly comfortably, similar to where we were in the UK. Seeing and exploring the national parks surrounding Perth has been great (tip: buy an annual pass for $88 which gives you unlimited entry to any national park in WA for 12 months - visit more than 8 times in a year and you've got your money back. You can go back to the ones you like and it's a good incentive to visit new ones). I'm guessing other state national parks have the same annual passes which will probably vary in price but the WA one is good value for money. Over Christmas one of my wife's workmates called up to see if we wanted to use their beach cottage in Albany for a week or two, we accepted and saw two of the best beaches in WA. If you ever head down to Albany I HIGHLY recommend Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay (10/10) and also Goode Beach in Frenchman's Bay (10/10), you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. Go on a calm (read not windy) day and spend a day on each, they are too good not too. We also get to spend heaps more time with our daughter and often walk down to the Swan river to watch the sunsets and enjoy a cold beer. Sometimes we are lucky enough to see dolphins right there which is only a 5 min walk from home, a far cry from a busy London.

Perth in general is a great city to work and live in, close to great wine regions, has excellent beaches, there's hardly anyone here, people are friendly, good public transport and a great looking city. The only downside I guess is that prices are extremely high for eating out and alcohol is also very expensive at around $10 per beer so we don't eat out too often as we feel the cash can be better spent elsewhere. Other than that I feel we made a great choice and can't imagine living anywhere else. We've been to Melbourne and Sydney and feel Perth is perfect for families with kids, like us.

Anyone thinking of moving to Oz, do it. It's been a great move for us and I'm sure it will be the same for you. There will be ups and downs but the ups will far outweigh the downs so where the bloody hell are ya?

[Donovan83]

there's hardly anyone here,

One of the many best things about Perth <3 Wonderful place.

[PTLF]

Nice post and thanks for the advice!