Young Couple's view - 7 weeks in.

[kylel39]

Hello everyone,

 

Thought I'd give a little something back to the forum (might bore you to death though), as it was an invaluable help to us prior to making the move. So here my thoughts on how everything has went so far, hope it's of use to someone;

 

We were maybe in a little unique position in that we were a young couple (both 23) making the move over to Perth, having never lived together. Back home we both lived with our families and were saving for a deposit on a house, going travelling or as we've done now give Australia a shot. We decided (not too sure why) to go and give Perth a go as going travelling would just blow all our savings and we'd be coming back to square one -although travelling seems like a wonderful thing to do.

 

I'll try keep it shortish and not bore you all with the details as I tend to ramble;

 

Prior to Perth;

 

I fortunately had a job lined up although we were both only coming out on 417 (Working Holiday Visa).

Company said sponsorship wouldn't be a problem and we'll see how things go after the first few months then get the ball rolling with a 457 visa. I meet all the requirements etc so hopefully shouldn't be an issue getting it processed.

I'm a QS/Estimator or Contract Administrator as they call them over here. I suppose my work is a little niche as it was particularly for a Roofing Contractor rather than a general builder.

I managed to secure the job by just firing out my CV to around 30 Roofing Contractors (a big thanks to Bensdad) for the assitance in pointing me in the right direction there. A few came back queering if I was in Perth etc and basically said to contact them on arrival. One we had more dialogue and a job was offered although nothing firm like a contract or that. Start date agreed 2 weeks after I arrive roughly.

 

Journey to Perth;

 

Flew with Emirates - excellent and would thoroughly recommend.

3 day layover in Dubai which was great and seems a lovely place. Done the usual stuff with a waterpark thrown in.

Delayed leaving Dubai airport on the runway because of flooding in Perth - great news. Only an hour or so though.

Arrived midday, weather looked like back home, grey and bleak - certainly not like the pictures....

 

Arrival;

 

Flew over with a friend who's lived there for 18 months. He was back home (Scotland) visiting so that was good.

We stayed with friends (girlfriends sisters friends) who we didn't really know. Turns out they are lovely and we got on really well with them.

Stayed with them for 2 weeks down in Mandurah (about an 55 min train journey from Perth). Bit of a trek but just hopped on the train no problem into the city and got most things done. $11.60 for a dayrider ticket which allows you to use any public transport for free that day (bus + train). Only after 9am though.

Done a lot of walking because they were actually based outside Mandurah so a 40 min walk just to get to the train station.

 

Fun Stuff;

 

We had pre-arranged meeting with the bank (NAB) so we picked up our cards and set up accounts. All straightforward enough.

We organised Medicare cards, went into any medicare practice and you can do it there. Note, they look for a stamp on your passport to confirm your date of entry into the Country. Mines was an electronic passport so didn't have this, so keep your boarding pass/ticket as proof. She let me off anyway as my partners was stamped.

We also arranged proof of age cards as the we didn't want to carry our passports everywhere if we were going out. You do this at the equivalent of a DVLA office, costs about $25 I think.

We applied for our TFN online, I would recommend doing it prior to arrival even though it says you can't (you can). They ballsed it up and for some reason it hadn't processed so when I started work I didn't have a TFN. Anyway reapplied and got it sorted. Take note of the reference no. though as I never.

We bought a car, went for a Kia Sportage 2001. Not the most exciting but for $3-5K you don't get a lot for your money. Does the job and fine so far....bar the $1255 dollar service bill which it needed. Unexpected cost but that was timing belt along with a few other things. But got piece of mind and all that now although that was a nice suprise.

My partner is a nurse and had been applying for jobs through seek etc. Anyway the first interview she got, she got offered the job. Working in Hospital as a Registered Nurse so happy days. She started 3 weeks after we arrived.

 

Rental;

 

I work in City Beach and my partner Nedlands/Shenton Park area.

Looked for rentals on the Perth to Fremantle trainline that way I could drive to work in 10-12 mins and my partner get the train to work in 15-20 mins (inc walking).

We viewed 3 properties in total so not many. Using gumtree, and realestate.com.au as our source.

The agents are pretty hopeless over here and not interested in helping you. We turned up for one home open and the agent didn't even show up.

We applied for one, that we thought we would get. Never even heard back from the agent to confirm either way.....after being told we'd hear in 24 hours.

Seen one in gumtree privately. Went to view really liked it and applied. The owner had a home open the next day so we had to wait. Ended up getting in and are now in a lovely apartment right next to the train station in the lovely Subiaco. It's a 3x2 I suppose although only classed as a 2 bedroom and a study in the advert for some reason. Study big enough for a double bed so who knows why. They're very strict on sub-letting and our owner was quick to reaffirm that, not an issue for us anyway. We pay $550/week which seems high but the location is excellent and I think that's pretty reasonable judging by other similar apartments that are up for rent.

We've taken it on a 6 month lease and the owner seems great.

If you can go private, seems like the way to go imo, much less hassle.

 

Work;

 

My partner seems to be getting on fine and the shifts are much the same as back home for a nurse.

Money is good with an increase for working certain shifts also.

Private Hospital so there's more onus on the financial side of things as well as patient care which is new to her.

Ramsay Healthcare she works for and they'll probably sponsor her if so required also.

My work is a little indifferent.

The work/methods is much the same as back home but a little more relaxed - less stringent on spec etc.

The company I've went to don't seem the best to be honest. Financially I don't think they're particularly sound and it's a very strange work environment - to many reasons to list. But I'm pretty sure it's just this company and not a statewide thing.

I've sort of started looking for other jobs as I'm a little concerned with the company - to many reasons to list on here.

Contacted another company who expressed an interest when I arrived and went for a chat with them. Went well so hoping to hear this week. They seem like a good company and much more what I expected when I came over.

A note on work, the 2 jobs I'm looking at, both were not advertising for an available position. So it pays to get your name/cv out there.

 

Finances;

 

We came over with $15,000 between us.

You do spend money quick but we've managed thus far no problem.

Only slight problem when I've been at my work 5 weeks and not been paid even close to half my wages. Another issue and only related to that company not Oz as a whole. Usual payment is every 2 weeks I think over here.

We've basically paid our bond (4 weeks rent) plus 2 weeks in advance so $3300, bought a car $3700 plus a $1255 bill and then furnished our apartment from scratch and been living fine on that money we came over with.

You soon spend money quick when you're not working though but I think we've done pretty well with what we've had and what we've had to buy.

We'll probably be earning around $130-140K before tax between us to give you an idea of our salaries.

Food shopping - it's hard to say what we spend a week. But I would think we'd be spending no more than $150/week easily on food etc.

Gas/Electric - we get billed every 3 months or something like that. Speaking to other people and seeing a bill for 1 month, $150 month should again be comfortable.

Broadband/Phone - We pay $63 per month for unlimited boradband and a home phone (not any mins). Don't even have a phone set up just needed it for the phone line. Get this done as soon as you can as it's usually 2-3 weeks to install. We're with DODO btw and seems fine so far not really had any issues. Speed wise it's slower than what I had back home probably (not by much mind you) but more than does the job. I can stream films no problem here, although 720/1080p streaming is a little tough.

Mobile Phones - I received an Galaxy S4 as a company phone so don't foot the bills. My partner is just using a top up style sim from Virgin which is great. You top up $29 and get like $450 of credit. They work in money rather than mins/text here. But she never even get's close to using it although it wipes it at the end of each month unless you top up again. You're probably looking at $60/month for a top of the range phone and good bit of mins/texts.

Water Rates - Fortunately we don't pay these because of the apartment we're in. But it's not really expensive from what I hear.

Think that's all our bills really.

 

Other Stuff;

 

The best purchase we've made since being over here is a Sat Nav, get one as soon as you get a car - so handy. Ours was like $97 and does everything we need.

We shop at Woolsworths because there'a a new one 20 seconds away from us. Looked at Coles and that but it's all much the same really.

We live right next to the Subi Markets which is great for fruit/veg etc also. Much cheaper than the supermarkets.

Furniture - cheapest place is the likes of Fantastic Funiture, Super A-Mart, K-Mart, Big W etc. We bought our stuff from a mixture of those and gumtree etc. Bare in mind you do pay for quality so if it's cheap it generally isn't the best. We tended not to by the cheapest of stuff but middle of the road. There's plenty of bargains to be had if you look around in independent places and gumtree etc though.

Electronics - we bought a lot from K-Mart and The Good Guys who seemed the cheapest with a good selection. There's plenty options though with the likes of Dick Smith, JB Hifi, Kambo's etc. We Bought the TV second hand which is maybe a little risky but got a good deal for a TV which we wouldn't have been able to afford brand new and it's great.

The TV channels itself on freeview are ok but we'll probably get foxtel to be honest. Just more so for the football and being able to record - getting up at 1:30am to watch us get beat from Arsenal isn't the greatest fun....especially on a crap stream.

We arrived in the wettest September for over 40 years so probably good for acclimatizing and getting stuff done. Getting hot now though, getting close to like 30 most days and surpassing it on some so far.

Oh drink is expensive, I'm not a beer man so just cider for me. The good news is they have a great selection of ciders over here and price ranges from $6-12 bottle. Depends what you drink and what you get up to on a night out but you're probably talking $150 no problem. Most of the bars are nice over here, not been to any nightclubs or that yet.

Seems to be plenty to do and there's always something happening at weekends. I've been to watch Perth Glory the past 2 weekends with a couple friends and it's been good fun. Nice atmosphere at the games over here, pretty relaxed.

Perth seems to be a really clean city and Subiaco where we're staying seems lovely. Plenty going on during the week and weekends, with loads of lovely restaurants, cafes and bars.

 

Overall we're enjoying it so far and not missing home or that to much as we've been so busy. Seems like a lovely place and looking forward to spending the next wee while here and just seeing how things go. If you were to compare it to the back home, I personally don't think there's too much difference in many aspects. It's certainly a friendlier place, with people acknowledging you more and offering to help where required. Some things I think they're behind on but in many other things I think they're ahead of us. So take the good with the bad and all that.

 

 

Anyway, I think I've rambled enough...actually I've definitely rambled enough. But if anyone has any questions or what's to know any further info feel free to ask away even if it sounds stupid. I know I had loads of questions prior to arriving and there will be loads of stuff I will have forgotten also.

 

Kyle

[Sapper59]

Kyle,

 

Great post and very helpful for those considering making the move from UK. Thanks for sharing and hope you are having a great weekend.

 

Regards,

 

S.

[ali]

Great update Kyle - good to know that Perth has something to offer the youngsters lol

[LugubriousDuncan]

Awesome post mate.

[7cdb]

Awesome post mate.

 

 

Yeh agreed

 

thanks fella

[fifi69]

Brilliant post. I'm sure it will help plenty of people.

 

it all just shows what can be done if your prepared to put he effort in.

 

Subi is a great place and def a place for people who like a bit of action to look at.

 

all the best for the future

[portlaunay]

Thanks for your post Kyle, glad PP was able to help when you were in the early days and I know your contribution will be appreciated so keep them coming.

[kylel39]

Thanks everyone, just my thoughts so far. There's of course been up's and down but if you prepare well then there isn't anything that comes as to much of a shock.

 

We've personally had plenty to do and there always seems to be something on - to name but a few;

 

Roof top cinema, drive in cinema, football (soccer, AFL, Legends Football), outdoor/indoor swimming, loads of golf courses, a variety of festivals, wonderful beaches, lovely parks, Kings park, good restaurants, Wildlife Parks (Caversham), Sand boarding/Dunes 1 hour away, plenty of bars/nightclubs etc etc.

 

If you can't find something to do then to me it says more about you as a person than the place.

 

We've found Subi great so far, always something happening and close enough to everything else. Some wine festival thing last weekend and another little market thing on Thursday night coming up. So no real complaints :-)