Philpom

I know a little while back things were slow for electricians around Bunbury. I am sure he'll pick something up as long as his qualifications are transferred over but you might have to be a little patient. For industrial electricians, try Swispec or Overflow Industrial (Mike Golden - tell him Phil Pomery referred you). He has or had a few Irish guys working for him that had gone over. Haven't spoken to him for over 5 months as I have had to leave the country to get work in my field as there was very little on offer across Australia.

You may have seen previous advice on here that the areas to avoid are Withers & Carey Park. Other than that you shouldn't have too many problems on where you want to live. We have a house in Dalyellup and it's great for parks and close to the beach. There's 2 public primary schools and the private (fee paying) Lutheran school. The public ones have a good rep although we didn't send our kids to either as I wanted them to have a Catholic based education. I guess also it will depend on what your rental budget is. Whatever you think will be your upper limit, prepare yourself to fork out another 50 per week on top as you may not find something you like in an area you like.

Well I don't blame you for going. My wife and I finally came to a mutual decision today that we're all going to Ireland or the UK. Can't afford to fund 2 residences in different countries. So now we have to go hell for leather to get everyones passports as I am the only one who has one and get the house packed up and stored away for when we return. Time to hound a few agents in Scotland and see if I can get in amongst the Oil & Gas in Aberdeen.

Maybe look at sending extra luggage as unaccompanied baggage depending on how much extra you want to send. It might cost a few quid but it's still cheaper than excess baggage charges and should arrive about a week after you. I think you might need an address at the other end though even though you will have to collect it yourself.

I know a lot of people usually ask why you're moving, is it just work related or homesick? I am trying to convince the wife to go to Scotland as there seems to be quite a few jobs out there for piping designers which is what I do. She's not so keen which I can understand, but it's a case of staying here and getting bits and pieces over the next 12 months or going to Scotland and securing a long term role there whether it be at Grangemouth or in Aberdeen. It's going to be tough going here for the forseeable future I think.

Well Georgiasmammy, I can understand the predicament. I am an Australian born and bred and my wife is Irish. We've been here almost 6 years from Ireland and in the past 12 months my work has been on and off and it's been difficult to pay the bills. I have been trying to convince her that we need to head for the UK as there is work for me. Even though she hasn't seen her family since we've been out here, she's reluctant to go back even though she says she misses them. I guess giving up the outdoors lifestyle would be hard, but she keeps saying that if we do go we just have to treat it like an extended holiday. The kids are also mixed in their reactions. The oldest one who was born in Ireland wants to go, the second one doesn't because it will be too cold and the 3rd one doesn't care either way. There is so much to weigh up and it's not a cheap decision to make. I am getting my UK visa ready at the moment in case it all goes pear shaped here. So much to consider but I think you're probably making the right decision whilst the jobs market is down at the moment. I have friiends with their own engineering companies and they are running lean at the moment and living hand to mouth with not being able to see any further than a month ahead.

When times were good and things were booming it was possible, but I would say that right now unless you're here on the ground the chances are slim to none.

Hi Mark, I am a Senior Piping/Mech Designer. I had 4 months out of work last year and it looks like I will be out of work again from next month. Some other designers I know have just had enough of being able to find jobs here and are or have moved O/S to either Asia or the UK. It does look like there are a few jobs for Mechanical Technicians advertised on Seek, but I would think given the current market, you would need to be here before you will get a job.

I did say don't quote me on the title of the visa. I only knew the purpose of the visa and not the full details.

I have been looking at jobs all over Australia and have applied for jobs in Brisbane, but I get the feeling that unless you're there it's hard to get a job as the selection pool is quite large. As for engineers, I get the feeling there is still a demand as there still seems to be quite a few jobs advertised. As well as the companies I mentioned, maybe look at Chevron as well. Just keep an eye on Seek as well as anything you can see on LinkedIn.

Hi Mark. Just wondering when you say Mechanical Technician involved in the engineering industry, what you are specifically looking at? Is it CAD design you do? If that is what you do, then you would be well advised to stay put and enjoy the rain, because the market here is not just dead, it's been cremated and put in a vessel and sent towards the centre of the earth. I've heard of too many guys packing up and heading for the UK given the current bouyant state of the market. I'm not far away from doing the same if my current role comes to an end as predicted.

Don't quote me on the exact title of this, but if you are a permanent resident who has not obtained Citizenship, then I believe if you wish to retain this and return to the UK, you need to apply for an 'indefinite leave to return' visa. I believe this visa has an expiry date but can be constantly renewed as long as you do it before the expiry. I have been looking into a little lately as we have been looking to head to the UK for work and she's the only one in our house without Citizenship

http://www.skyscanner.com I've been looking lately and this will throw up the best prices out there. Qatar Airways seems to offer the cheapest flights at the moment.

I live in Bunbury and yes it is a lot quieter than Perth, but with that means you don't get traffic congestion and all the problems that go with living in the big smoke. Like Chook said, it's less than 2 hours to Perth. There's plenty of shops, although the selection would be nowhere near what you get in Perth. Lots of things for the kids to do, plenty of sports clubs and no matter where you live you are never too far from the beach. I think it's a great place to bring up kids and there are some very good cafes, restaurants and bars. Most expats that move here love it although they do sometimes miss the things that come with living in a bigger city. It's cheaper to rent in Bunbury although for some reason at the moment, rentals seem to be in short supply, so you may have to look at something you may not normally go for just to get a roof over your head.

I am a senior piping designer, who is doing any sort of discipline job that is being thrown at me just to stay working. To be honest, if this role finishes as I suspect it will, then I am on the big bird for the UK as there is little to nothing to move to. Can't pay the mortgage and other debts on the dole. Maybe have a look at Bechtel (Wheatstone Project) and CKJV (Gorgon Project). Alternatively, have a look at Woodside, Conoco Phillips and Inpex. More chance for engineers, but you might have to be prepared to look at an on site operations engineer role.

http://www.swanpersonnel.com.au/ http://www.bsptechnicalrecruitment.com.au/ http://www.techresources.com.au/list-jobs/16/Perth http://www.tecside.com.au/ http://www.ambitengineering.com.au/ http://www.execom.com.au/ There are other agencies but this should be plenty to get you started. As for engineering companies, I am not sure whether you want an office based role or site based on a construction project. If you are looking at site based roles, then maybe look at Leightons, CKJV, Downer, Monadelphous, RCR which are just a few off the top of my head. As for engineering consultancies, I would suggest going through the Yellow pages and picking them off there. Bigger companies in town are Clough, WorleyParsons, Ausenco, Lycopodium, Aurecon, Hatch, Fluor & SKM. There are obviously others but like I said just go through the yellow pages and get your CV off to them.

Well if you take todays exchange rate, then the price differences don't look as scary as when the spreadsheet was done in April last year.

Things are still slow and you'll definitely need to be persistent, but there seems to be far higher demand for engineers than there is for designers. I know a lot of businesses have scaled back, but I keep hearing of engineers being hired.

We didn't get charged at all for cleaning. We were told by the removalist company at this end that we would be up for a delivery charge as it was being delivered to Bunbury but we never got charged. I have heard of other people having to pay customs for cleaning.

We brought our Dyson with us and TBH I don't even remember trying to clean it and it got through. Whereas I gave my golf trolley a thorough scrubbing and they still took it out of the container and cleaned it some more

I agree that ducted reverse cycle is the way to go. More expensive to run but so much cooler than evaporitive. Our outdoor unit packed up a couple of summers ago during the hottest part of summer and we had to go without for 6 weeks whilst the repairer kept turning up with the wrong parts. My wife almost went insane.

Should have explained myself a bit better. A smart estate is where the suburb is cabled right up to your house and you have no need for a TV aerial on your roof as the signal comes through the cable and you also don't need a phone line to get broadband.

We use VoiP for phone calls to the UK & Ireland with a provider called Engin. We live in a smart estate so we have no need for a phone, so this means we pay $20 per month on top of our broadband package (which is a different provider) and that gives us free local and national calls and free calls to the 8 international destinations which I think are the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, India, NZ and 2 more that I can't remember. If you don't live in a smart estate you would have to have a phone line and sell your soul to Telstra for it.

If I remember correctly he originally posted a link to his business website but due to the policies of this site it was removed

We hired a car but didn't use the car seat from the hire car company as you can get a better deal from http://www.hireforbaby.com/products/list/forward-facing-child-restraint/ depending on how long you want to hire one for. As mentioned, Australia has different legal requirements for car seats here than in Europe so your car seats, even though they will work here are not legal.