rollingstone1980 Posted June 3, 2016 Report Share Posted June 3, 2016 Hi everyone New to the site but wanted to say hello as sure I'll be posting on here a few times as we settle in! My husband and I are moving to Perth in a few weeks on a 457 visa, I have a job (am a vet, will be working near Osborne park), he works in marketing/consultancy and hasn't got anything lined up but hopefully will find work when we arrive. We have a little boy who is 2 1/2 yo and cant wait for a more outdoor lifestyle than the UK offers! We've got a holiday let arranged for 1m and will be looking for somewhere to rent initially I think once we've explored some of the different areas; my job is NOR. Have a few qs which would appreciate some tips on...? -which family-friendly suburbs would you recommend NOR? We like to be able to walk to cafes/shops/parks rather than be beachside, Mount Lawley, Floreat and Wembley have been mentioned. I have read that Perth can seem pretty dead at times as its quite sprawling and I guess when its very hot lots of people stay indoors!? So we'd probably like one of the more bustling suburbs.... -any recommendations where to buy a car from?? don't really want to hire one for ages and waste money! guess reliable air-con is a must!! -how is the weather at the moment?? I know its almost winter so wont be too disappointed! but our luggage will need to sustain us until the shipment arrives so should we be packing quite a few warmer clothes? -seriously...how often do people see spiders?? despite being a vet I am a serious arachnophobe! have travelled in Oz before (not to perth though) and didn't encounter many but when I did I was not happy! esp the huntsman....*shiver* !! Are there cockroaches too?? loads in Sydney as I remember. That's all for now!! Thanks anyone who takes time to post...have a good weekend and hope you can catch some of the Euros footy matches over there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 Hi. Hope you are not too busy getting everything organised for your move. I am a GP and I moved out in March with my husband and 2.5 year old and so far we are enjoying it. We live in Mount Hawthorn which is only about 10 minutes drive to Osborne Park. We go to the shops in Osborne park quite a lot (Kmart was a big one when we first moved out here!). We really like it and it has some nice cafes, quite a few family friendly playgrounds (eg Braithwaite Park) and the houses are nice. It can be quite rainy at the moment. The weather is nice for a UK winter but I will still definitely pack some jumpers/coats as it can get cool. Also bear in mind that the houses aren't as well insulated as in the UK with less heating so you might find you are cold at night. We haven't seen any spiders yet but have had 2 big cockroaches in the house (one which i saw in the dark and was scared it was a spider!) We got our house sprayed for spiders and cockroaches after we moved in but it obviously didn't do the job completely! We bought new cars from dealerships but not sure where to go if you are looking for second hand. Are you starting work straight away or do you have time to look around for houses and cars etc? Are you going to be working full time. Good luck with the move! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted June 4, 2016 Report Share Posted June 4, 2016 I wouldn't get too stuck into individual suburbs yet - wait till you arrive and have a drive around to get a feel for the places. They can be very different. Before we arrived, we were certain that we had narrowed the search to two. But, when we visited we found they were the two we liked least and the one we ended up in was one we hadn't heard of. It will also obviously come down to price / budget which will vary a lot and the most popular ones carry big price tags. For your work, pretty much anywhere north of the river should be fine Weather at this time of year can be very changeable. But, you should certainly bring some warm clothes and rain coats. As mentioned, houses often have very little insulation - double glazing is rare and heating is also often rare other than reverse cycle air con - that can get VERY expensive though to use. At the same time, night time temps can get into the single figures. Summer heat affects everyone differently and some love it and some hate it. I was in the later camp and dreaded the summer. It was fine the first year as it was a novelty, but soon grew very weary of it. There are no shortage of second hand car dealers around Perth and a fair few in Osboure Park. So, I am sure you will quickly find something. And yes, air con is a must, but it will be very unusual for a car not to have it there. Spiders, you will see the odd one, and yes some, such as the Huntsman can be pretty big! But, they are harmless. You will probably at some point also come across a red back. But, we didn't have any more in the house than we have had in the UK. So don't worry too much about that. Similar with snakes - If worried / concerned about them, then avoid houses close to bushland. Perth isn't great on marketing jobs as many companies have those department over east the same as IT. As a result, many consultancies are also over east. So, he may need to be flexible. Being on a temporary visa can also impact job searches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollingstone1980 Posted June 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2016 Thanks for the replies and tips! We will definitely have a look round some of the areas once we arrive and hopefully by the sounds of things picking up a car shouldn't be too tough. I start work about 10 days after we arrive, it will be part-time 3d a week so we should have some time to explore and find where we like best. verystormy, where do/did you live, are you back in the UK?? Lin, did you look around a fair bit before you settled on mt hawthorn?? does it seem a friendly suburb? was one of the ones mentioned to us. I messaged our holiday let today about whether there is any heating! She said they do have a reverse aircon unit and extra blankets if necessary. Good to know that reverse aircon is not economical long term when we'll be paying for it ourselves... Lin, let me know if you would like to meet up sometime when we arrive, as we both work in medicine (just different species!) and have a similar age toddler?! did he/she settle in fairly quickly? how do you survive without cbeebies?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaseandAnne Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Hi, I cant answer your question on NOR suburbs, other than its full of POMs but I have been meaning to post about cars, especially the second hand car market which I will do in more detail another time. For now just a few pointers, in the UK we have MOT but here they don't, there is no requirement for the car to be tested (over the pits) unless it runs out of Rego. So you can buy a car, drive it for 20 years, do nothing to it and as long as you've paid your Rego sell it on to someone else as it is!! This goes the same for second hand dealers, they can buy them in with rego and don't need to look over it, they can just sell it on, add a warrenty and job done. The only requirement is they have to check that there is not outstanding finance, damage etc. Cars are expensive here and European cars are even more expensive and not so plentiful as you might think. My advice go for as new and as much money as you can afford and ask your new colleagues for recommendations as to good dealers local to you. I went looking for a cheap run around priced around $2000 and some second hand dealers hadn't even cleaned the rubbish out of the cars from the previous owner! When I questioned this I was told, "its a cheapy mate, you take it as it is" as if they were doing me a favour!!! Privately was even worse but that's another story. Weather is chilly at mo, and its raining, our house has reverse cycle which works lovely but as Verystormy said the windows aren't upto much and theres little insulation so 20 minutes after you turn it off its chilly again. Its nice when the sun comes out though, much warmer than it would be in UK at a similar time of year if sun came out. Been here a couple of months and seen a few red backs but only peoples cars (im a mechanic) that obviously don't use the car much. They are quite docile and don't seem too bothered by us, I just left them alone and they did me the same courtesy. Not seen any others not even in our garden and weve got quite a few bushes, not seen any cockroaches. we do get the odd Cricket that follows us in from the garage but they are harmless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 Hey Rollingstone, Exciting times! Congrats on moving here. A lot of us have done a 3-4 week temporary let then found a house to rent longer-term. You should have plenty of time so explore a few suburbs when you get here to see what feels right. If you look on realestate.com you'll probably already have an idea of what sort of property you're looking for. Aussies seem more likely to drive places than walk, so suburbs can seem less lively than you'd expect, but plenty of places feel like they have a good atmosphere when you wander around. Away from the seafront, lots of places have the bonus of great parks and walks/cycle paths along the river etc. Don't be too disappointed with the weather when you get here - it is the winter! It's gorgeous for families in the summer when parks and beaches are full of families getting together over a bbq. This time of year it's great on some days, wet on others. Kids Around Perth is a good free app to get on your phone - plenty of advice on where you can take kids, even on rainy days. carsales.com.au is the biggest online place to look for cars, and again can help get an idea of what you're looking for before you arrive. We found low mileage, 2 year old cars being sold by main dealerships for a reasonable price through this site, and had no problems. Dan p.s. Put on abc kids when you get here, and you'll think you were watching ceebeebies! p.p.s. Our 2 ½ year old has been fine. Settled okay, even handled the flight better than we expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 Welcome @rollingstone1980. Thank you for joining our forum and I hope we can all help you along the way to settling in to your new life in Perth. To answer your questions.... It is hard to know where to suggest for anyone to live as your likes and dislikes can be so different to anyone elses. So please get out and about around Perth and the northern suburbs and see what feels right for you. Get back to us with queries about areas and suburbs that you like and I am sure you will have many comments from every perspective to help you. Buying a car... well it depends on whether you want to buy second hand or new. A very reputable car dealer in Perth is John Hughes who has his car yards in Victoria Park. He has second hand cars and dealerships of new cars. There are multi car dealers in Osborne Park also... new and second hand. You can buy a second hand car through Gumtree, but you need to be careful and know what you are buying. Also sometimes this forum will advertise cars for sale for various reasons. Weather... well at the moment it is winter. It was 13C today with strong winds and sun at times. It was flippin cold actually as we are all used to hot weather. Houses here are built for heat and not the cold. There is no such thing as double glazing and insulation between walls... I actually have never understood why because it would make houses so much cooler in summer and warmer in winter... Spiders... don't see many... squash those I do. As I do any cockroaches etc. Be good to hear how you get on once you are here and please post questions you need answers to.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 Hi, we lived in Dawesville, which is a great area and a very beach suburb. But, pretty much the exact opposite of where you need to be as it is south of Mandurah. Though I highly recommend a visit as the beach there is excellent and one of the best for swimming with dolphins. Yes, we are back in the UK now. We were in WA for 8 years and returned to the UK in March mainly due to work / lack of in WA. Though we are also very happy to be back and are enjoying being close to friends and family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollingstone1980 Posted June 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2016 Thanks so much everyone, good tips and feel like there's definitely a friendly community already out there when we arrive! Re the weather, after an amazing sunny week here last week it has been chilly and pouring with rain the last couple of days so won't be much worse/if anything may be slightly better in a Perth winter! Our stuff is now en route (used PSS shipping agents who were great) so living out of a couple of suitcases now.... One thing I will be asking about at a later date is how to get access to some UK TV (know there are some clever things you can do with iPlayer etc nowadays!) but that can wait...hopefully wont be watching much most of the time as will be outdoors and at the beach!! Thanks for the abc kids tip Dan... This time next week we will be about to start the mammoth flight to Singapore, 3 nights there then on to perth...cant wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollingstone1980 Posted June 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 Hi everyone Just to say we arrived safely Saturday evening and have been settling in to our little pad in Scarborough (really like it here but a bit concerned about the building site on the front which has just started and looks like it will take years to complete!!) Had a bit of a drive around some areas but need to revisit for sure, thinking beachside may be the way to go though... Love the "winter" so far! Noticed there is a winter festival on in fremantle which we may have to visit!! Next on the list to arrange is buying a car and sorting a mobile phone...so much to do! Have a great day everyone and will post again soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegg Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 Hey , we stayed in Scarborough when we first arrived …. holiday let "endless summer apartment" ….. Any how scarbs is a great base !!!! We now live in Mullaloo , got kids kindy and high school sorted - and we are loving every single second of it ! Feel free to ask us any questions …… Loads of help on this forum anyhow, But yep ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollingstone1980 Posted July 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2016 Hi Pegg...we are staying in Endless Summer too!! Good old Air BnB Really good for the short term whilst we explore, loving Scarborough! So glad to hear it's all going well for you...sure we'll be needing more advice as we go, thankyou! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegg Posted July 3, 2016 Report Share Posted July 3, 2016 Hi Pegg...we are staying in Endless Summer too!! Good old Air BnB Really good for the short term whilst we explore, loving Scarborough!So glad to hear it's all going well for you...sure we'll be needing more advice as we go, thankyou! Fantastic ;o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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