glenvin

Hi Padchitchat Welcome to a beautiful part of WA. So glad you chose Mandurah to live as I find a lot of ex pats head to the northern suburbs without looking south. You have arrived at a really good time as Mandurah is growing and offers a fantastic lifestyle for you with lovely beaches, beautiful canals, nice bars and restaurants without being commercial and friendly people, and great train service into Perth. Enjoy the adventure

Hi Dan No mate it's not the world criticising you just a few people who's opinion doesn't really matter so don't let it get to you. I can see why you didn't want to jump in and accept a job in a place that had bad reviews as you would have probably walked after a couple of days so it would have been a total waste of time and energy. Good luck in your new job and hope everything works out well.

Thank you for your apology it is appreciated

I don't think I said " a small purple book can sum up the complexity of me, my culture and sense of belonging" . I know who I am thank you very much and thankfully I am not like some of the people on this site who every time I make a comment seem to find a vindictive and sarcastic way of replying. I will continue to voice my opinions as I will not be bullied by the same people who think because the moderate the site control the thoughts of the people who post here. Also these certain people may like to know I am not the only one who thinks this as I have received quite a few personal emails from people saying exactly the same thing and that is why they don't post anymore. If your not in the purple circle its seems your opinions get attacked time and time again.

Its going to be fantastic. The giants are also here and I saw them in my home city of Liverpool and all I can say is don't miss them whatever you do

I am a dual citizen and have been for a number of years. We now visit the UK once a year so we keep both passports up to date. We use the UK one to skip the queues entering through passport controls on that side and also use our aussie one to do the same entering Australia. Even if we didn't travel back that often I would still want to have my British passport as even though I don't live there anymore I still have a great pride in being English and I know I don't need my passport for that but having lived in numerous countries throughout my working life my British passport gives me a sense of belonging. On a final note I only wish the UK had kept the black passports and not go over to the ECU ones, I still have my expired black one and will keep it forever.

Billy Lees china town Northbridge. Been going there for the last 12 years and no frills but great food

Husbands home from fifo so decided some retail therapy was in order and decided to combine a bit of shopping with a Saturday night stay in Perth. We stay in the city quite a lot but we always seem to socialise in the West end and we have not ventured into Northbridge for quite a while. We went for a walk in the daytime over into Northbridge and it was absolutely buzzing, it's fantastic to see that's it's well on it,s way to getting its personality back. Northbridge used to be so dead of a daytime and was always to my mind very sad looking area, but what we saw over the weekend has changed our minds about that. There were people out everywhere in bars, restaurants, shops and it was a great atmosphere and it was fantastic to see small businesses popping up everywhere. We ended up also going over there in the evening and had a great time in some of the new bars like the brewery in the square and ended up at Darlings Supper Club having a quality meal at one in the morning. All I can say for those who have avoided Northbridge for a while go back and give it a go, it's like anywhere else as long as your not hanging about there at 3or 4 in the morning you will enjoy a great night out

Love Sandrino in Freo. Been going there for a few years and never had a bad meal, great thing is it's open all day through to late at night. For the best Indian restaurant in Perth " The Royal India' on Hay street West Perth is hard to beat. Everyone goes on about Chutney Mary's and the award winning Maya in Freo but hands down for me is "The Royal India"

Plimthing agree 100% with what you posted, totally hit the nail on the head

Why are you taking it as a personal insult, it is my general view and one I am standing by. Many times I have seen someone on here try to criticize the aussie way of life and others shoot them down but that's fine as individuals we are all entitled to our own individual opinion. Also if you think I am going to trawl through previous posts to give you an example then please think again. Whilst we are on the subject of personal opinions I have also noticed the yourself and a few others are very helpful to newbies and those that agree with what you post but if others like myself don't agree then you are all very quick to shoot me and others down. Now I suppose I will have to wait for the onslaught regarding that remark

I remember when we came here 12 years ago and were living in East Perth. The Royal was just being built and that became our local for many years. The people who owned and ran it were fantastic and even though its a large place it still felt like home from home to us a bit like cheers where everyone knows your name. We still like to go back especially in the summer months as it's a gorgeous place to sit and enjoy a meal outside. Also you may catch a glimpse of Hank Marvin and his wife walking along there as they live in the apartments next door

FrankieB I totally agree with you. I live in a totally decent suburb surrounded by multi million dollar properties ( no I don't live in one of those) and can still hear some choice language in shops, bars and even restaurants. To insinuate that you probably live in a rough area is such a stupid and childish thing to say. I don't care where you live in WA you are going to find good and bad everywhere as you do in the UK. I work on the mines and I have come across some of the most foul mouthed idiots you could wish to meet and also some of the nicest people well mannered men who treat woman like myself like a lady. The trouble I find on this forum is some individuals don't like you to be critical of Perth, its people or anything that puts it in a bad light. This forum is here to help people coming over and whether that feedback is good or bad it should be talked about and discussed. I remember a forum I was on years ago and a lady posted that she was returning to the UK as everyone here was a country bumpkin, no one drove BMW's just Utes and it wasn't like Italy at all ??????????????????? where the hell did she think she was coming too. So my point is yes love Perth, Love WA but don't slag people off if their opinion is different to your's and also in saying this, if you are going back to the UK please put constructive comments regarding why you are returning and I'm sure that will be of great help to anyone thinking of moving here. Now its nearly wine o'clock so i'm off to partake in one or two

Moda Mio in Crown casino Food 10/10 Service 10/10 Atmosphere 10/10 Cost was reasonable for for the experience Jamies Food: 9/10 Service 10/10 Atmosphere 8/10 Cost: Reasonable for the standard of food Restaurant Amuse Food: 8/10 Service 10/10 Atmosphere 5/10 Cost : At nearly $500 for 2 persons we did not think the experience justified the cost Grilled Food 9/10 Service 9/10 Atmosphere 9/10 Cost 10/10 M on the point Restaurant Mandurah Food 8/10 Service 10/10 Atmosphere 8/10 Cost Little bit pricey but the pork belly is fantastic Billy Lee's Northbridge ( chinese) Food: 9/10 Service 5/10 ( very basic no frills or whistles) Atmosphere 7/10 sometimes very noisy especially at 4 in the morning haha Cost 10/10 Trebled in price in the past 12 years but still fantastic value The Greenhouse St Georges Terrace Food 10/10 fantastic fresh produce Service 9/10 Atmosphere 9/10 Cost 8/10 Bit pricey but the beautiful fresh local produce makes up for that

Stu 4668 Sorry that reply wasn't meant for you mate I had put your comment at the top of mine by mistake ooops

Darren Adding to my previous post, don't let the nasty comments some people have posted on here get to you. Its always the same idiots time and time again who are obviously so crass and unintelligent they don't have the capacity to discuss a topic without resorting to sarcastic comments or abuse. Only you can make the decision of whats best for your family so good on you as it takes guts to come over here in the first place and even more guts to decide to go back.

Hi Darren First of all I do hope you find what you are looking for back in the UK. Secondly I applaud you. We have been here for over 12 years, both my husband and myself have really well paid jobs in mining so can afford to do what we want but yes I have to agree Perth does get boring. In saying that we have lived and worked in numerous countries in the past 25 years due to work commitments and after a while things do get mundane wherever you live. Perth and WA is a fantastic place to bring up a family but I have always said if I was in my twenties I would find it very restricting to live in such an isolated place. Even thought Perth has grown and there are now lots of bars and restaurants in the city I do really miss the culture of Europe as unless your into beach life and the great outdoors WA will not be for you. Don't get me wrong we do things like bush walking or driving trips but I do really miss my city life. Our ideal would be to spend part of the year in Europe nearer our families and the rest of the year here and that is what we are working towards. We would love to make that move now but we know we would be stupid to give up our jobs so we are lucky that we are able to go back to the UK and Europe every year for 4-6 weeks and get our fix that way. So like I have said I can completely understand were Darren is coming from but in saying that I have totally no regrets in coming out here as life is all about experiences ( good and bad) and although Perth and WA is not everyone's cup of tea, it is a beautiful place with great weather and very family orientated. Good luck with the next part of your journey Darren and try not to be too down about Perth and in the future try to think about the good things you have experienced and the fact that you had the get up and go to give it a try.

Just make sure you put it in your diary. The stories that go along with the giants just makes it even more special and its just great to see how people of all ages from children to pensioners react to seeing them

I am so happy and overjoyed to hear the Giants are coming to Perth in 2015. I was lucky enough to see them last year when I visited my home city of Liverpool and it is just one of the most spectacular sights you could wish to see. This weekend they went back to Liverpool and an astounding 500,000 people went into the city to see them. All the hotels were booked out and there were visitors from all over the world. This will really put Perth and WA on the map and I for one cannot wait.

For something different drive out to Dwellingup ( dwelly to a lot of us) and take a trip down to Lane Pool Reserve its really beautiful this time of year with the Murray river running and so much greenery it's what the Australian bush is all about. Its about an hours drive from Mandurah but so worth it.

A visit to Freo is a must

I agree with Rossmoyne, we have been here 13 years and have not lived in the UK for around 25 years but feel that as we are getting older and our parents are getting older we would like to spend some time back there. What we are trying to aim for is the ideal lifestyle so we can spend the summers ( if you can call it that) in the UK or Europe and the winters here in Aus. Even after living away from the UK for so long we still get "homesick" but its really just missing family and true friends and also the British sense of humour. We know deep down that the grass is not greener on the other side but like a few people have already written we all tend to look through the rose coloured glasses and think of all that is good and great about the UK and not the downside which is why we left in the first place. We did not go back until we had been here 10 years and we did have a fantastic time in our home cities catching up with family and friends and hopping over to Italy and Spain for a few days, but what we had to remember is that it is not always like that. Also once the "novelty" of having you home wears off for everyone life gets back to it's boring self and that's what you have to think of. We now return to the UK every year for a month and having a large extended family with numerous nephews and nieces gap yearing through Asia we find that our home here is never empty. Sitting here in my garden with the sun shining and the greedy parrots eating apples I realise how very lucky we all are to live in this beautiful country.

Debbie Well done you, What a strong tenacious woman you are. I admire anyone who works and sticks at it to eventually achieve what they want even though life is not going their way. We also went through a really tough time over a ten year period but we worked through it and never gave up and it all worked out in the end. So many people give up at the first signs of things being tough and give up without fighting for it. Once again well done for giving you and your boys the life you deserve

My poor husband has to fly back up north later today, think its going to be a very bumpy ride

This is a forum and as such I am allowed to voice my opinion. I wasn't rude but "weedolly" decided to reply in a very " bad tempered" way. I asked a question and expected a civil answer but then again maybe I expect too much especially from people who have anger issues