82rhoads Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Hi all, thought I'd let you know of our experiences so far...only been here 3 days but got a lot done. The flights through Emirates were ok, managed to get a 16 and a half hour journey overnight to Dubai which worked well with the family. The tip I read earlier about booking a special meal instead of a standard one is a good tip. Took a long time to get our standard one after the specials were handed out. Still...we did have a long flight so no rush! Make sure to take a pen on the flight to fill out the visa card they hand out. It can take a little while to fill it in and if you wait to fill it in at the airport...all the planes are landing and the queues get big quickly. The taxi from the airport proved to be a costly affair, around $85 to Jolimont...but we did have a minibus as there were 4 of us and 175kg of luggage! Got the money transferred no problem, we used HI-FX in the end, Medicare took about 20 minutes to sort out, went about 3pm, although remember to have some change on you when you go into town as there are parking meters. We asked for some change at the Subiaco boutiques...'the customer mostly pays by card sir'!! quite a trendy area. We sorted the TRN out on-line, took about 15 minutes, very easy to do, car hire we used 'no birds' at Subiaco as we used them before and they're quite reasonable. Could be worth taking out the excess reducer insurance at $6 a day extra though as this reduces it to $50, as the excess is $400 normally which is still good. We did a small shop at Coles but as we'd done an on-line shop before we left we weren't too shocked. I must remember, when i'm earning dollars i'll think in dollars not my savings! Bring lots of toiletries with you though as they can be pricey and don't weigh much. I managed to arrange an interview for work before I left the UK. They mailed me the day I landed and asked to see me asap so I went the next day. Unfortunately someone walked into the place looking for work before I got there and landed the job. I've got another interview lined up for Monday so lets hope:) The weather has been lovely, my children have been happy ( we're staying with family so it helps), the locals have been friendly and I believe there is work around, although I'm staying up late applying for jobs putting profiles on sites and compiling lists of companies for my drive around on Monday...oh, and bring a sat nav if you can and get the Australian map. I have the leads to my unit but we think the sat nav itself was put into the container by accident. Google maps are good.. but dangerous when driving alone! We'll be cutting the 'cord' soon when I get employment, so things will get a bit tougher then as we'll be out of the family home. I'm hoping we did enough research to prepare us for it all. This site certainly helped:) cheers for now Darren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Welcome to WA and thanks for your update - sounds as if things are falling into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi69 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Thanks for the post, great info. good luck with the interview and your new life in Perth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Kumar P Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Great update. Enjoy your stay and have fun! All the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sapper59 Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Darren, Great post and glad to hear that you have hit the ground running in Perth. I particularly like the idea of an internet shop before arrival to avoid the traipsing out to the shops after a long flight - top tip! We will be coming out to Perth at the beginning of October, so any other tips and updates on how you find things would be most appreciated. Regards, S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen_PFR Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Welcome to Perth! At least the weather's nice for you at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82rhoads Posted August 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 thanks everyone. when i pick up more tips i'll post them up:) We think it's nice weather but our relatives who we're staying with and have been here 5 yrs are saying it's cold and are in their jumpers!! it's the depths of winter apparently... cheers, Darren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Hi Darren, Great post and Best of Luck with the job search. I had not even considered about doing an online shop and having it delivered the next day after arrival, brilliant tip. Re the Sat Nav - Just in case anyone else is thinking about it. We have a Tom Tom with the European maps. You can get the Ozzie maps for £38 and download them, so we will be doing this just before we leave. We were ready to buy a new sat nav upon arrival. For the sake of £38, we have thought even if it lasts us for our first few weeks, it will be worth it and one less thing to worry about and will save a lot of arguing just getting us from the airport to our short term rental:err: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza18 Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Hi Darren shame about the job but you seem to think there is work about can I ask what type of work you are looking for Cheers Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetteCox Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 HI Darren I'm arriving on the 15 August but thankfully have somewhere to stay! Did you sort out your medicare before you left the UK? I've not done anything yet with regards to medical insurance. I'm on a Gov Sponsored 190 migrant visa so think I'm ok for medicare. My to do list when I get there at the moment is to sort my Oz driving licence, find a car, sort a mobile phone contract, TRN which I too will do online if it's that easy. I did read somewhere that I will need to go and register that I have arrived? Did you do that and how did you find the wait? Getting excited now - only a few days left in the UK! I'm flying with Singapore - as they gave me double luggage allowance, and also because I've had exceptionally bad experiences with emirates on previous flights and no help from their customer services once back in the UK so will avoid them now, plus - yes the food is awful!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetteCox Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 Hi Darren, Great post and Best of Luck with the job search. I had not even considered about doing an online shop and having it delivered the next day after arrival, brilliant tip. Re the Sat Nav - Just in case anyone else is thinking about it. We have a Tom Tom with the European maps. You can get the Ozzie maps for £38 and download them, so we will be doing this just before we leave. We were ready to buy a new sat nav upon arrival. For the sake of £38, we have thought even if it lasts us for our first few weeks, it will be worth it and one less thing to worry about and will save a lot of arguing just getting us from the airport to our short term rental:err: HI re the satnav, if you have an iphone there are free oz maps. I've downloaded one so fingers crossed it will work ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82rhoads Posted August 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 Hi Darren shame about the job but you seem to think there is work about can I ask what type of work you are looking for Cheers Gary Hi Gary, I'm a cabinet maker/ joiner. A fair bit of work about but the wage isn't amazing. Got 2 job offers today and accepted one of them:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82rhoads Posted August 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 HI Darren I'm arriving on the 15 August but thankfully have somewhere to stay! Did you sort out your medicare before you left the UK? I've not done anything yet with regards to medical insurance. I'm on a Gov Sponsored 190 migrant visa so think I'm ok for medicare. My to do list when I get there at the moment is to sort my Oz driving licence, find a car, sort a mobile phone contract, TRN which I too will do online if it's that easy. I did read somewhere that I will need to go and register that I have arrived? Did you do that and how did you find the wait? Getting excited now - only a few days left in the UK! I'm flying with Singapore - as they gave me double luggage allowance, and also because I've had exceptionally bad experiences with emirates on previous flights and no help from their customer services once back in the UK so will avoid them now, plus - yes the food is awful!! hi Janette, we sorted Medicare the day after we arrived...very easy. I believe you have to tell WA govt that you've arrived which we're looking into. Our phones were unlocked so we're getting a sim for a couple of dollars, need some id and paperwork for this I hear. haven't sorted our licences yet as we've got 3 months but will probably get it out the way shortly. We've sorted quite a lot out but there sure is more to follow it! Good luck with your move:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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