StraighttothePoint

Entirely up to you. Depends on family size, previous medical history, job type, personal view on privitised services, level of risk you are prepared to take, etc, etc. We only have Medicare as do a swathe of people in Australia. We pay Medicare levy (small percentage of our income via annual tax returns) to cover that but we do have private dental (family $500 per annum) that includes amubulance cover. Dental costs here are very expensive and too much to pay up front hence that cover. Ambulance is included in the cover as a free extra. Assuming you do not need private health cover as part of any visa application then you just need to research Medicare and private health cover and make a decision. Comparing private health care providers is fun though because they all sound different but in essence much of a muchness but all with different fee structures. Again google private health care cover and get something back via that search. Also depending on your visa type or if you have PR then you may be eligible for family support payments via Centrelink. Like Child benefit payments. All based on income and decreases depending how much your household income is. To start all this research have a look at these links. http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/information/centrelink-website?utm_id=7 Family / Child payments with links to Medicare as well. http://www.hbf.com.au/ Example of a Private Health Care provider with links on the site to Dental Cover. Another decision is that it may be worthwhile considering using one company for all your insurance needs, e.g. building cover, contents cover, health care if you opt for that, dental and car, so you could wait until you get here and start that when you are buying your house. Just a thought.

I have sent you a private message. Also have a read through this thread and the other one in there it links to in order to get some more ideas on budgetary headings. http://www.perthpoms.com/forum/money-finance/8247-cost-living-2.html Some ongoing bills could be health care related, i.e. private cover or just go with Medicare, dental care which you can purchase separately, pet insurance if you need that, mobile phones, landline if you go with one and Internet costs. One offs not to forget include state tax costs to cover buying a car and a house. Not sure what you mean about really needing car insurance. If you put a car on the road then you will need some level of insurance. Also start up / arrival costs are another list of things you probably need to compile, e.g. the time of arrival until moving into the house. Again if you read through the site at some other threads you will see that some people say $10k and others as much as $20k depending on your lifestyle and how much you take on the never, never (debt). Just google comparison sites in Australia and you will get a few back in the search.

Mad Cow do you mind me asking? What size of house do you have? What were your electric bills and what are they now? What size of solar system went in and how much? We have looked at these systems on and off for years now and just cannot seem to work out how we could get a return on investment. It would take us ages. May be it is because we have lower than normal electric bills being eco terrorists

How / where do fly screens fit on double glazing windows?

Sal you mean you don't watch Corrie??? Heathen....

Rome was not born in a day type mentality here. As for Rocky, and without knowing what you do, then agree with above comment. Same for everyone when they arrive. Unless you have a niche skillset, or get lucky, it is an uphill task all over this city especially if you are in an area where there are limited opportunties. As for your "do Aussies really hate us poms" comments hopefully you honestly do not believe that and are saying it of frustration? It is culturally different here and there a big difference as to how things are done and not about likes and dislikes. Sure you appreciate that with being here for a while.

There has been a very recent thread discussing more or less the same thing. Read through this and see what you think. It is a family who was working on a $80k per annum income. Like them you do not say how much cash you will be bringing to cover your initial start up / arrival costs and over here that is currently, due to the economy, a key part of any migration plan I fear. http://www.perthpoms.com/forum/money-finance/10546-80k-year-enough.html Also another Cost of Living one that will give you some more food for thought. http://www.perthpoms.com/forum/money-finance/8247-cost-living.html Just try and factor in start up costs, e.g. where are you staying before you get the rental and for how long?, a bond for your rental (lump sum landlords / agent gets as a kind of safety net, transport, school stuff for the kids, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc with the advice being try and keep your debt low to zero. If you struggle to do that then think, and based on comments on the $80k thread, that on $65k you will need to live a very frugile lifestyle. Good Luck

Hmmmmm..... Big football fan and Chelsea in the same sentence..... Seems a bit of a contradiction of terms there to me Anyway the Burswood Centre has more big screens than you can throw a stick at and they are open all hours unlike many of the pubs.

On re-reading these posts it all makes, and sounds, sensible what is being said however one thing that is missing, as it is on many other similar threads, the original posters do not say how much ready cash they are bringing with them. Yes it is reasonable to assume that a salary of $80k per annum, based on this family make up, would be tight but not if the hidden factor of "what cash is available" is taken into account. It can be a big benefit now for a lot of migrants in this process these days. I have commented before that not everyone is struggling and that there are some well off folk hitting these shores. So in summary I guess if folk are coming over with no, or very limited, cash and are going to be on what is considered a low salary then they will most likely struggle and in those instances surely you have to ask yourself is it really a sensible, worthwhile move at this time. Not better to wait until the economics are more in your favour? On the other hand if cash is involved that can be used against a number of the set up costs then even a low starting salary can be enough to make it achievable. As it is said time and time again on these threads everyone is different. Appreciate that this may not help The Willsys, don't know though, but as a general point feel it should be raised for others who are reading this thread because, although it is an obvious factor, it is something that people may need to take into account more and more in relation to getting started. Use cash up front to keep the debt down could mean the difference between success and failure. Gone are the days of rocking up with next to nothing and simply getting on with it. Bit more complicated now I reckon given the state of the economy over here.

Lisa sent you a Private Message.

It is indeed but not one here in Perth. It is The Railway Inn, Lower Largo, Fife. Lower Largo being the birthplace of the real life Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk, on whom the famous story was based.

Secret with LinkedIn is to have a network of professionals regardless if you / they are in Perth or not. Start your account and contact, or search for, as many of your current business contacts as you can from your current network and link to them now. Do not use LinkedIn like Facebook that is one piece of advice. Use it purely as a business tool and stay away from all that LOL, OMG, poking and such like nonsense. What tends to happen is that when people come into contact with you re business they will, in many cases now, just give LinkedIn a quick check to see if you are there so hence the reason for keeping it professional and having a presence. It is a tool that is being used more and more. As well as adding business contacts you can join groups, e.g. job groups, industry groups, IT discussions and so on. When you are up and running then target a few Perth / WA and/or Aussie groups and join in on those. You will soon find out when linking to people here, via other contacts even, that they are somehow linked back to people from all over the place including ones you currently may know. It is a small world. You can also add your CV and put your settings to looking for work. Best way to learn about LinkedIn is to really get to grips with the help files because the tips in there are really relevant in relation to using the software. I know obvious but always the best place to start and to give you some confidence. Secondly look at some existing accounts and hunt out the professionally built ones and try and aspire to those. The better the account then the more professional you will appear. You have not said what your areas of expertise are in IT but if it is non-managerial then some people could argue that LinkedIn is not for you. I would disagree and say the smart peolple are using this tool now more and more so get on board.

Will it not depend on how long a quote is vaild for? If you get one now would it be vaild for 8 months? May be ask a couple of companies how long their quotes are valid for and base it on that?

Great update style post and sure it will make others feel more relaxed about what is to await them on arrival. One tip is in the summer always hit the beach when the wind is from the east, and before lunchtime, and you will more than likely get your gently lapping waves.

Difficult question to answer due to the fickle way that IT recruitment agencies here work. They are being hit with so many requests for jobs from so many people across the globe that the majority like to conduct face to face interviews in order to keep their admin time down. Unless you have a skillset that is in a niche area of course and then they really want to chat to you and will do so via the phone or Skype. Jobs here are advertised on multiple agency websites. The customer base is not that large in Perth and so the agencies tend to all have relationships with the main players and so when one job is available several agencies are chasing to fill it. If you look through this site at the job threads you will find that Perth is a face to face kind of town. It is all about chatting over coffee here, who you know and if they like you. If you are on LinkedIn then that is good way, maybe better to be honest, of building a network of contacts here in Perth. Then look through the Seek website for jobs in Perth that you would be appying for and you will see the main recruitment agencies from that over the next few weeks and you will see the pattern. As you can see I am not offering any particular agencies, sure some other posters may, but to be honest in my experinece here they are all much of a muchness and not that good in terms of communication.

I think you may / will find that unless you have an Aussie address to use that you probably register with some of these organisations. Not sure if you have one to use? You can, as has been suggested, open a bank account online and when you return in August activate it then, i.e. open the account online remotely, deposit some or all your cash, go into the bank on arrival and activate the account so you can deposit and withdraw funds. Westpac, National and other banks all have online options and help files that explain how they work. You may even be able to open it online now and activate when you come over for the reccy but again they may be looking for an Aussie address at point of activation. TFN (online applications), Medicare and Centrelink do not take that long once you get here in August and are fairly stright forward so I would not be wasting any time in worrying about those if you are only here for 5 days. Perhaps better to use the time to look around,get a feel for the place and see how the transpot links work, chat to estate agents if you need to and so on. If you leave out the admin stuff then 5 days should be fine especially if you are coming back so soon. All assuming of course that you do not know Perth that well because you do not say.

Don't you need debt you have a credit rating and of course when you come out here you have no immediate debt, i.e. mortgage, car loan, etc???!!! Bizzare world. I came out with cash and could not get a credit card but could have bought the bank twice over. I was told it was not because I was necessarily a big risk to them but it was because I was not known to them via any credit rating reports. Get a job, rack up some time here, some minor debt and call back. Chicken and the egg. So as Give me a Break says it does not follow because we have had a good credit rating in the UK that it is relevant here. Mind you on looking back best refusal that I have ever had in my life. I now do not have a credit card here and by keeping away from the banks as much as possible and keeping debt low it makes it all much, much easier. I appreciate that not everyone can achieve this immediately. An accountant said to me a few months after I first arrived, "The secret in Perth is earn just enough and you will have a great life here. Earn too much, or take on too much debt, and you will start chasing the buck and then your lifestyle to meet that will mean missing everything that is good about living in Perth." I thought that was sound advice. Not rocket science but sound advice. Mind you this was from a multi millionare living in a suburb over looking the Swan so he could afford to be generous with that view point!! I think he was right though because why come all the way out here to be up to your neck in debt???

Maggie there are loads and loads of threads / posts on this site about cost of living etc. and so perhaps start with this link on this site. It is a Cost of living thread from September 2012 http://www.perthpoms.com/forum/money...-living-2.html It will at least let you list out the types on exepnse items you need and get you thinking about starting figures for them. May be just add 10% to the September figures and you should be on the safe side. It will really be all down to what you will be earning, where you will be wanting to settle and how much disposable income you will have left at the end of each week or month. Some people live frugally, some do not and everyone is different, e.g. some have privaye health care, some have Foxtel (Sky), some have not, some have two cars and some one and so on. I suppose best way is to build a budget table based on what your own style is, fill it in as much as possible from information you get from this site and other websites and you can and then refine it as you get more information. Sorry do not kow anything about work for brickies but again there are a lots of posts on this site that you can search through to get a general feeling for it or start a separate new thread asking some specific questions.

Hi Have a read through this thread from last week. http://www.perthpoms.com/forum/health-care/10579-what-can-i-claim-back-medicare-457-a.html Medicare link to what it is all about and what you claim. http://www.perthpoms.com/forum/health-care/10579-what-can-i-claim-back-medicare-457-a.html A typical private health care provider to see what is on offer and the costs. http://www.hbf.com.au/health-insurance/ Once you have read the thread, and know what visa you are coming here on, then you can sort out what you need to do. Private health care is as good as what you pay for in essence and you can have as little or as much as you want by the way of services on your policy. Note if you choose not to have health cover, a lot of us do not, then you can take out separate dental and ambo cover comes with that on some policies. Health cover is all about risk as it is with all types of insurance.

My mate is a draughtsman, contracts to architects all over the place and works remotely from home. I assume he has certain software and a skillset to allow him to do that though. Is that not an option, i.e. get the work from the UK but sit back in sunny WA and do the work? Or is the rates an issue? Cuts you losses to stay here perhaps?

Hi Start with this link on this site. It is a Cost of living thread from September 2012 http://www.perthpoms.com/forum/money-finance/8247-cost-living-2.html You may have missed it when searching. It will at least let you list out and get starting figures for what you are looking for. May be just add 10% to the figures and you should be on the safe side. Really all down to what you will be earning, where you will be wanting to settle and how much disposable income you will have. Some people live frugally, some do not and everyone different, e.g. some have privaye health care, some have Foxtel (Sky), some have not, some have two cars and sme one and so on. I suppose you build your budget table on what your own style will be, fill it in as much as you can and then refine it as you get more information.

Beware it's hot or beware things cost a flaming fortune in WA!!! :biggrin:

Honestly? If I had left a secure job to go to the mines to chase the dollar, took on a massive mortgage or 2 because of that, and then it went belly up? Hopefully I would balme myself because I took the risk in the first place. Not easy to accept I know and much easier to look for somebody else to blame however everyone makes choices and choices usually involve some level of risk.

Ok first thing to do is to have a look at this Australian government site and to work through the visa wizard. http://www.immi.gov.au/visawizard/ You perhaps have got confused between visa's and citizenship but assuming you mean visa as per this post. Once you have had a go at this then read through the posts / threads on this site just to get a feel of the types of questions, information and replies that are on here. (All the forums are listed when you are on the Home page.) There is a lot of people who have posted on here who have not been sure about which visa and have used and recommended agents to others and so you do not need to worry there is plenty of current information about. Also if you are new to this, and a bit worried, try and find out if there are any Australian immigration type exhibitions and/or seminars on near where you live and go to one or more of those as a source of general information and fact finding. Sure if you Google you will find something. As for charging for an application pack all businesses do different things and without really understanding what you asked them in a little bit more detail then it would be hard to comment. To be honest once you do a some more research on this site you will be able to make up a short list of agents to approach and so no need to worry.

DyLeB's summary is excellent and puts it all into perspective. PHC is all about risk and if you want to take the chance here without it, and just be on medicare, then it is everyone's choice to do that.