Give me a break! Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 These are our facts. My OH is a CNC machinist/Toolmaker, he earns roughly 3 times what he earnt in the UK doing the same job. So if you stop converting things all the flipping time, and remember you are earning dollars and spending dollars the facts speak for themselves. We have gone for a new build 4x2 with a theatre room and office, and it worked out cheaper than anything we could afford to buy fact. We own a 4x4 we did that by buying a cheaper new to the market make. We live really comfortably on just one wage fact. My OH has his weekends free, fact. We came out with less than £10,000 and we now own a new car a new house and no debts on one income fact! added to that the said house is less than 1 kilometre from the sea and is a 3 minute drive away from OH's work in Mandurah fact! My son is starting at a private school shortly, fact. All done on one wage fact........do you see where I am going with this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 I think you raise some important points but it appears that, commute aside, a lot of your decision making is influenced by money. There's a lot of discussion about money when considering emigrating and for some it is the most important element in the decision making process.For us it came a long way down the list of priorities, there were simply more important factors. I personally couldn't live your life, for ANY amount of money. I have a small house and a hail damaged car. We shop around at the markets for the bargains and most of our furnishings were bought from Gumtree or picked up from the verge. My children go to a local state school. I get paid every two weeks and after ring-fencing cash for bills etc I have around $120 until the next pay day. That is much, much less than I've had available since I was 19 and d'you know what? It really doesn't matter to me. We have a great life. I spend every moment I'm not at work with my kids. The beaches and parks are free and when it comes to school clubs and surf boards and any unexpected expenses, we find a way. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not having a dig at you, I think you talk a lot of sense but our positions are very different and I suspect our outlook too. Your goal of being mortgage free by the time you're 60 is great, mine couldn't be more different - I don't have any. For me the most important thing is the journey, not the destination. I'm enjoying this part of my life, I've had a crazy ride to get here and I hope it continues. Whether you stay or return I wish you the best, it looks like you do have some tough decisions to make and potentially a lot of upheaval. Good luck with it all. Actually, its not so much money. It might come across that we are very money driven, but actually were not. I came into this line of work late in life as i studied as a mature student and came in knowing that when you get to a certain seniority in the industry you can stop working away from home, so that is why i am currently in Africa - it gave me a massive climb up the ladder. I do very much enjoy my career. I had always dreamed of being a scientist and never thought i could be, so finaly doing it is a dream. But when i am home our life is actually fairly simple. The most common way i spend my time is down at the beach. However, i do think it is important to be mortgage free by retirement and i want to retire at 60 and am now 42. The economics are that there will almost certainly be very little, if anything, in the way of public pensions by the time we retire whether that is in the UK or Oz as both have an aging population and simply wont have the funds to provide it. It is already a significant problem in Oz with pensioners becoming homeless. We volunteer at a homless shelter and were shocked by this. Lots living in caravans and even tents. That means you either have to be mortgage free or have enough income to be paying a mortgage or rent. That would be crippling. Even then, my super isnt going to be huge to say the least - it is currently worth less than i have paid in due to the market turmoil. So, having an extra 40% income would allow me to pump money into an investment to ensure we dont starve in retirement. For us Oz was never a big dream like it is for others. I suppose its because we have lived in several other countries - Peru, Chile, China, Germany, France, Isreal. If i wasnt working in Africa, we probably would have just stayed in Oz without thinking about it. But the posting here has brought it up as the only reason we moved to Oz was to escape me doing long rosters. So i am stuck with it and we now have to decide how to make the most from the situation and one of the ways of doing that is to make max use of the money i get. It will be hard as i think my wife would prefer to stay in Oz. Personally i can take or leave Oz, though on balance i would probably leave as some of the things that are important to me just dont exist here such as the ability to pop over to Europe for a weekend or even a day. But, the decision has to be one that makes us both happy. We could very well find ourselves staying as to me, my wifes happyness comes first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 These are our facts. My OH is a CNC machinist/Toolmaker, he earns roughly 3 times what he earnt in the UK doing the same job. So if you stop converting things all the flipping time, and remember you are earning dollars and spending dollars the facts speak for themselves. We have gone for a new build 4x2 with a theatre room and office, and it worked out cheaper than anything we could afford to buy fact. We own a 4x4 we did that by buying a cheaper new to the market make. We live really comfortably on just one wage fact. My OH has his weekends free, fact. We came out with less than £10,000 and we now own a new car a new house and no debts on one income fact! added to that the said house is less than 1 kilometre from the sea and is a 3 minute drive away from OH's work in Mandurah fact! My son is starting at a private school shortly, fact. All done on one wage fact........do you see where I am going with this Er...here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lucy G Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 I can see your points Very stormy and yes there are negatives to Oz the same as there are to every Country in the world! To us the move isn't about the money but more about the work/life balance and my hubby actually getting time to see his boys grow up - that to us is more important than money in the bank anyday! Here that is just not possible out there it is! His hours are a lot more family friendly and for the most part of the year you have good weather (slightly different to that of the UK) those things are so important when you just want to be able to get outside and have fun family time & yes those things are for free! As I have said in another thread what Oz has to offer for free far outweigh those with a pricetag on them! Ideally I guess we would all like to be mortgage free by 60 but if we aren't then so what??! Surely the life and memories created are a lot more important! Who says we'd live to 60 anyway to see the mortgage paid off? You could live life by what if, what about but sometimes you do just have to think "go for it and see". Yes the financial implications can be immense but you will pick yourself up and deal with it - at least you won't look back and say what if! When I say just go for it, it wasn't meant that this kind of decision should be taken lightly - we have spent 2yrs just going through the Visa side of things and 2yrs before that just researching and looking into things before we decided to "go for it". You have to weigh up the pros and cons thats just the nature of making such a massive move especially with children but to us the pros far outweighed the cons! I guess that was because for us it isn't about the money aspect at all. We will be far richer in Oz and that will have nothing to do with having a small mortgage or money in the bank. We will be able to watch our boys thrive as the Oz lifestyle is much more suited to them and my hubby and I will be able to spend good quality time together too! Wots the point of a good bank balance if you are miserable and not getting to spend anytime with your loved ones - as long as we can live that is all we want. As for family ties - I really cannot comment as although we do have family around they are scattered all over the country and we only see each other a few times a year the rest is done via the phone so there won't be much difference in Oz. Since we have had our children we have not had the option of being dependant on other family members and we have just got on and done it alone. We have survived and I think we cope well if you've never had something you will never miss it. When they do come and visit at least we will get good quality time with them and not the odd hour or too as they just pass through and at least in Oz it will be both of us being there for the boys not just Mum with Dad being at work 6 sometimes 7 days a week constantly apart from the occasional holiday! Our priority at the end of the day is our family - the five of us. We brought these children to this world and it is up to us to give them the best start in life we possibly can and we believe we have a better chance of that in Oz than we do here. As someone already said children will remember times they spent and with whom not how much was spent. Regarding the migration point and overcrowding - at least to gain access to Oz it is a lot harder and they have a lot more hurdles that they make you cross before you can move there which is brilliant - that here is the biggest downside of being part of the EU. Yes Perth is getting a bigger population but it is still 4times the size of the UK with a third of the inhabitants and that is a major factor!! Everyone has their own levels of what makes them happy and just because they are different it doesn't make them wrong. Every country has good and bad points and I should imagine most people are aware of both before they make their decision. If 50% are returning then 50% are staying and making a go of it. One person's negative is another's positive! Give me a break seems to have made it spot on with no regrets so as I said before there are two sides to every coin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 hi we will be moving over after our house is sold but cant understand why people want everything from the word go it leaves you nothing to aspire to we have 2 girls so if a 2 bed is all we can afford then so be it at least we'll have a roof over our heads i would rather have $ in the bank and a good quality of life for my family than a big house as far as i'm concerned kids remember what they did when they were little not what size there bedroom was ,i think alot of people are loosing sight of why they want to make the move .if i'm skint over there then it will be no different to the uk but atleast we'll have the sun which always makes you happy just sick of my kids coming home from school and watching tv cause it's raining . Don't shout at me when I say this but my view is that struggling in a location where a lot of people are in similar situation is a lot easier than struggling here in Perth. I live in both countries at different times throughout the year, lucky me by the way and I know it, and so I see both sides of this ever ongoing debate. Sunny weather is fantastic but it don't put bread on the table. I honestly think this has a lot do with where you are based, or were based before coming out to Oz, and that can affect your thinking. That has been said on this site countless times and I strongly believe it is true. Also the media is a nightmare and suburban'ites fall for it hook, line and sinker. They are telling us it is terrible so it must be true. If they said everyday was wet some people in the UK would honestly believe it. An inner city location, a town with bigger social problems than others, a place where you cannot see a doctor easily or have good public services are all factors when deciding its time to jump ship. However living in other circumstances, and other locations, means that those people will have other views. If the UK (hate that term), because it is no more united than sticky toffee, is that bad then why is there anyone left? The number of people leaving the UK is not that great in terms of the population size and so what if people are arriving. Anyone coming to Oz had better get used to that because this is a multi cultural country with people arriving all the time from all other the world. I do agree with you that people are losing sight of why they want to move and, as I have indicated above, reality is sometimes not what people think it is. They get blinded. I also agree that coming out here and starting off small and growing is no bad thing. The issue here is though that many people do not need to do that becasue of the amazing lifestyles some people have over here. Also how can a family come out to Oz and not e-mail photos back of their new big house, their new big car and the pool? The alternative is saying we came out here and we are no better off or we are worse off. How can they possibly say that to the ones left back home? No human nature as it is many people will talk themselves into the move, get here and hate it and many will do the same and love it. It is all horses for courses. I say good luck to everyone who makes the jump regardless. Just make sure you know what you are doing, why you are doing it and make the most of it when you have done it. Oh and honestly if I was in rural Aberdeenshire, and I know it well, don't think for one second rural WA is like that. It is 110% completely different apart from maybe a few bits of the south coast around Albany and Denmark where the cooler weather and the landscape is a bit like the Moray Firth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lucy G Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Spot on Straight to the Point well put! Just incase I get misinterpreted I have absolutely no issue with people arriving and multi cultural countries - I think its a great society to live in. I just think with the size of this Country there must be a limit as to how many people can live here at once before it starts to slowly sink. Then I am totally bias as our hearts are set on Oz now and yes there are lots of people who still love UK/GB and that is wonderful too. It would be a very boring world if we all agreed about everything. All anyone ever wants to be is happy and however and where ever they achieve that is totally up to them x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 My OH is a CNC machinist/Toolmaker. We came out with less than £10,000 and we now own a new car a new house and no debts on one income fact! Are there are any jobs going at your OH's place of work!! If you came out with less that 10k and now own a car, a house and have no debts then you either have been here for a good number of years or the OH's wages must be blooming amazing Good luck to you because getting to this point, mortgage free, is what I think most of us aim for as quickly as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give me a break! Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Are there are any jobs going at your OH's place of work!! If you came out with less that 10k and now own a car, a house and have no debts then you either have been here for a good number of years or the OH's wages must be blooming amazing Good luck to you because getting to this point, mortgage free, is what I think most of us aim for as quickly as possible. MORTGAGE FREE! I bloomin wish! No we have a mortgage, no other debts! we deliberatly bought in a cheaper suburb than the one we are currently living in though, so that the mortgage is managable on one wage and is actually less per week than our rent. BTW been here 19 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 MORTGAGE FREE! I bloomin wish! No we have a mortgage, no other debts! we deliberatly bought in a cheaper suburb than the one we are currently living in though, so that the mortgage is managable on one wage and is actually less per week than our rent. BTW been here 19 months. Sorry when you said in your original post you had "no debts" I thought you meant you had no debts Of course a mortgage is a debt. Funny how many people forget that. Maybe it is because we all think it will just go away. Anyway on a positive note and a point that takes us back to the start if this thread and the cost of living. Because many people here take the option of paying their mortgage payments weekly or fortnightly over here in Oz the duration of the debt can be considerably reduced. Even getting the debt down to 20 years from the standard 25 years is a massive plus. Many of us, including me before I came here, originally signed up to mortgages that would only allow monthly re-payments. It was only when I re-mortgaged years later, and had researched the various options, that I signed up to a loan that allowed me to make both lump sum and regular re-payments. Mind you that was a long time ago and so no doubt it was because originally the more flexible options were not in the UK market to sign up to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackboots Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Sorry when you said in your original post you had "no debts" I thought you meant you had no debts Of course a mortgage is a debt. Funny how many people forget that. Maybe it is because we all think it will just go away. Anyway on a positive note and a point that takes us back to the start if this thread and the cost of living. Because many people here take the option of paying their mortgage payments weekly or fortnightly over here in Oz the duration of the debt can be considerably reduced. Even getting the debt down to 20 years from the standard 25 years is a massive plus. Many of us, including me before I came here, originally signed up to mortgages that would only allow monthly re-payments. It was only when I re-mortgaged years later, and had researched the various options, that I signed up to a loan that allowed me to make both lump sum and regular re-payments. Mind you that was a long time ago and so no doubt it was because originally the more flexible options were not in the UK market to sign up to. I don't think we had heard of mortgages ( ours was monthly in the UK ) that you could pay weekly or fortnightly untill we got ours for the same here , much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give me a break! Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 Sorry when you said in your original post you had "no debts" I thought you meant you had no debts Of course a mortgage is a debt. Funny how many people forget that. Maybe it is because we all think it will just go away. Anyway on a positive note and a point that takes us back to the start if this thread and the cost of living. Because many people here take the option of paying their mortgage payments weekly or fortnightly over here in Oz the duration of the debt can be considerably reduced. Even getting the debt down to 20 years from the standard 25 years is a massive plus. Many of us, including me before I came here, originally signed up to mortgages that would only allow monthly re-payments. It was only when I re-mortgaged years later, and had researched the various options, that I signed up to a loan that allowed me to make both lump sum and regular re-payments. Mind you that was a long time ago and so no doubt it was because originally the more flexible options were not in the UK market to sign up to. We have that and an off set bank account so that it gets paid off even quicker, we are also hoping to pay more than the weekly amount to pay it off quicker. Its a good plan I think and you dont get penalised for doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted February 1, 2012 Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 I don't think we had heard of mortgages ( ours was monthly in the UK ) that you could pay weekly or fortnightly untill we got ours for the same here , much better The first bank that I found out about paying weekly re-payments was the Clydesdale in Scotland. This was way ahead of others in the UK although I think they were affiliated to the Midland Bank so they may have offered the same service. My old mind tells me at some point in the Clydesdales history it was Ozzie owned so that may have explained why they offered the product. They also allowed you to make a number of lump sum re-payments per annum with the same product. I also think that other Scottish institutions followed this lead. It worked for us. Then when we re-mortgaged again to the Nationwide a number of years later we asked for a similar product and we got one from them where you paid a monthly payment and as many lump sums as often as you liked which was in effect a way of paying as many additional regular amounts as you wanted to. Not quite weekly but the principals were the same because it vastly reduced the duration of the mortgage. This was long before the days of comparison websites, choice and assistance from the institutions. It was down to you to find the best deal. He who dares and all that...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerthPomToBe Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 I just wanted to add something, having just came over in October I know what the prices are like in the UK and here in Oz and to be honest with all the price increases in the UK lately there isnt much difference now as to how much things cost on most everyday things. Even my car is only just marginally more expensive here that in UK. When you take into account the current exchange I dont see a huge difference for most things. Yeah some things are more expensive but some things are cheaper too. I think it swings both ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CruDeShue Posted February 3, 2012 Report Share Posted February 3, 2012 Aaaagh, I just typed out a long reply and it's all disappeared! I'm not going to type it all out again, so I'll just thank the people who have posted monthly costs and talked about getting bargains and what sort of free stuff is available. My husband and I are used to living a pretty frugal life - not because of money but because we're just more 'home body' type people. Plus, we aren't bothered about keeping up with the Joneses! Having read through the replies here, I'm hoping that this will stand us in good stead for when we arrive in Perth in June! The reason we're moving to Oz is to give our child (ren) more of an outdoor lifestyle, which isn't really a possibility here. We're not kidding ourselves that we'll buy a huge property with a pool, near to the beach which we'll drive to in one of our brand new 4x4s. It's not something we'd want anyway - not that there's anything wrong with that, it just isn't our thing. I'm looking forward to 'verge surfing' and grabbing bargains at the markets! At the end of the day, if it doesn't work out, we'll either try somewhere else in Australia or come back to the UK. We won't be ashamed to say it didn't work out, we'll be grateful that we had the chance to live somewhere else and that we could give it a go. At least we'll never be left wondering 'what if...' It is a huge thing to do, uprooting yourself from everything and everyone you know but I know I would always regret it if we didn't give Australia a chance. So, to that end, we're going to give it a good two years (if we can financially) and try hard not to compare it to here, favourably or unfavourably. I think that's all anyone can do and, hopefully, it will be successful for us and everyone else making the move! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Aaaagh, I just typed out a long reply and it's all disappeared! I'm not going to type it all out again, so I'll just thank the people who have posted monthly costs and talked about getting bargains and what sort of free stuff is available. My husband and I are used to living a pretty frugal life - not because of money but because we're just more 'home body' type people. Plus, we aren't bothered about keeping up with the Joneses! Having read through the replies here, I'm hoping that this will stand us in good stead for when we arrive in Perth in June! The reason we're moving to Oz is to give our child (ren) more of an outdoor lifestyle, which isn't really a possibility here. We're not kidding ourselves that we'll buy a huge property with a pool, near to the beach which we'll drive to in one of our brand new 4x4s. It's not something we'd want anyway - not that there's anything wrong with that, it just isn't our thing. I'm looking forward to 'verge surfing' and grabbing bargains at the markets! At the end of the day, if it doesn't work out, we'll either try somewhere else in Australia or come back to the UK. We won't be ashamed to say it didn't work out, we'll be grateful that we had the chance to live somewhere else and that we could give it a go. At least we'll never be left wondering 'what if...' It is a huge thing to do, uprooting yourself from everything and everyone you know but I know I would always regret it if we didn't give Australia a chance. So, to that end, we're going to give it a good two years (if we can financially) and try hard not to compare it to here, favourably or unfavourably. I think that's all anyone can do and, hopefully, it will be successful for us and everyone else making the move! You might want to check out the posts above which point out that actually kids here less outdoor lifestyle. Summer, parents are worried about the sun and winter it is bucketing down with rain. There also arent the big parks and things that exist in UK cities because keeping such a thing watered would not be practicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arwen Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 You might want to check out the posts above which point out that actually kids here less outdoor lifestyle. Summer, parents are worried about the sun and winter it is bucketing down with rain. There also arent the big parks and things that exist in UK cities because keeping such a thing watered would not be practicle. In our suburb alone we have 5 parks with playgrounds. Lots of cycle paths around. Yes it can be hot and in the last few weeks of heatwave my children have spent time in the pool and at the beach. Slip slop slap and it is perfectly safe to be out if you avoid the hottest time of the day, particularly when it has been as hot as it has. My children go on bike rides early or late to avoid the heat of the middle of the day. It doesn't bucket it down with rain the entire winter and as most Aussie haters are keen to tell us about the UK you can have just as much fun in the rain. Wellies and a rain coat and you can have a lovely walk with the children. After all kids love splashing about in puddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 You might want to check out the posts above which point out that actually kids here less outdoor lifestyle. Summer, parents are worried about the sun and winter it is bucketing down with rain. There also arent the big parks and things that exist in UK cities because keeping such a thing watered would not be practicle. We haven't found that, my 12 year old is out all the time, in the pool, playing soccer, skate park ... We've only once had a soccer game cancelled in 5 years (due to lightning). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerthPomToBe Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 That's codswallop! I have never been anywhere else in the world where the kids are more catered for than here! In my suburb alone there are at least a dozen play parks that I know of! Most of the big parks are all shaded for the kids. We have got a fantastic outdoor lifestyle, you just have to be sensible like going out early in the day or later afternoon. There are always free events for the kids all over the metropolitan area. The parks are always clean and well maintained. Not like the UK where u will find glass bottles and sometimes even needles!! There is absolutely no where else in the world I'd rather be bring up my child! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Give me a break! Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Lots and lots of big parks here, far more than where I came from in the UK! and yes there are times when the children find it too hot outdoors usually mid afternoon, and about 10 days a year!, As for the rain, really no, there arent a lot of days either where it rains continually like the weeks and weeks that it goes on for in the UK. For goodness sake have you seen the huge lush green park that is Kings Park with its HUGE play areas. See lots of people slag off the new housing estates but they are all planned around lots of open communial GREEN parks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 There has got to be more opportunity here for the kids to be outside doing stuff surely? It is a sporting heaven for them as well as having all the other usual outdoor amenities. The problem though is at what age they "turn" and go to teh dark side. When they go to teh dark side you will notice it staright away. I have no idea the age of the kids in question in the posts above but mine "turned" when he hit 14 and three quarters!! Up until then it was beach, bike, park et al. At the point of "turning to the dark side" he got lost in technology, garage bands, football on Fox, Facetube, Twatter and Youbend. He just became a teenager. Out of it now though and at uni, job and lumps of common sense in his satchel. He came through it and saw the light. So maybe the question is not is it better here, which I honestly believe it is, but how do you help them not "turning" and "going to the dark side"? I am sure that many here may stay on the straight and narrow and become sports buffs and outdoor fanatics but not all will. Peer pressure here is the same as anywhere and so good luck to you all trying to keep them going for that early morning cycle, the Friday nights at the indoor volleyball and the body boarding. I just failed but hey I can live with it........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraighttothePoint Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 I just wanted to add something, having just came over in October I know what the prices are like in the UK and here in Oz and to be honest with all the price increases in the UK lately there isnt much difference now as to how much things cost on most everyday things. Even my car is only just marginally more expensive here that in UK. When you take into account the current exchange I dont see a huge difference for most things. Yeah some things are more expensive but some things are cheaper too. I think it swings both ways. I tend to agree with you on that as long as you can get that 3:1 ratio on wages a lot of posters talk about on these threads. If you say earn $30k in the UK and get $90k here then maybe you will be in the same boat financially on that example. You may not be better off but no worse off. However the problems I notice here are that not all people coming across get the job, and therefore the salary, they thought they would and end up taking a lower paid job. Suddenly that 3:1 ratio is out the equation and every week that goes past more and more dip into their cash savings. Cash savings dip, income lower than expected and therefore not good in the short to medium term. Also there are hidden things here that hit you. Healthcare and dental care both optional but things that you get pushed towards, car purchase tax which is just a way of slugging you for more tax, higher taxation here, education costs because some people feel that the WA State schools are not for them, two cars because they live in the sticks due to having to buy a cheaper house, a pool because what is the point of coming all this way and not having a pool, a bigger house because they are and so by default bigger running costs and so on. Yes I know that the above are mostly optional but they are things that are here and people either strive for them and borrow to get them quicker. This is probably why we get the feeling it is more expensive here because our wants and needs are greater than from where we came. I always think struggling or being poorer in Perth is a very hard thing to be. It is shocking at any time but being in that state in a very wealthy city must hurt that bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Legal Angel Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi Piccolo I'm over from Tipperary since last September 2011 and to be honest, I've I had my chance again, I wouldn't have come. Can I do a few comparisons with you: Rent I rent a tiny, tiny 3x1 for $360, NOR 40klms north of the CBD - its not easy getting a rental and the real estate leases/agents are extremely strict and loaded for the landlord - I had to wait 3 weeks for my oven to be fixed and when my lease finishes in a month, I have to wait until they say I have returned the house in the same/good condition - I might have to wait 2 weeks for my bond to be returned - what am I to use for the bond for the new rental? You have to have liquid cash. My house was robbed the week after christmas. I had insurance but that doesn't relax me - In Ireland I could bascially go anywhere, day or night, even in Dublin. Catch the DART, no problem, here they have to have transit police due the the violence - its sad but its true - I don't feel safe here. In Ireland, though I couldn't sell my house due to the economy, I wasn't being held hostage by a landlord/agent. I could have a dog if I wanted and in fact, I had a dog and a cat. I am a well paid legal secretary in the CBD - but the commute is 1 hour - and my 10 year old daughter has to be up at 6.30am, leaving the house for before school programme at 7.30am - and I don't get back to pick her up until 5.30pm - that's a hell of a day for a young child. In Ireland I worked part time, with a part social welfare payment as I'm a single parent - I paid my mortgage and had a much better life/work balance. Here I see my poor beautiful daughter for 2/3 hours per day - in Ireland I picked her up from school at 2.30pm and had 6 hours with her. AND and this is a huge generalisation, the people in rural Ireland where I lived, were a damn sight friendlier. I have had a few children over for play dates, yet my daughter has only been asked back to one home - what is wrong with the parents - would they want their child treated in this shabby way - they may not wish to be my best buddy, but ignoring a child is cruel. And I had, and thank god, still have great friends in Ireland - its tough for me here because I work in the city and I'm away from my house/suburb for 12 hours a day - I can only really socialise at the weekend - I have family here but the novelty of having the irish relatives over has worn thin and we are on our own. Much easier in Ireland - and no, in the extreme heat people aren't out and about and the kids are not outside playing - unless its in their own pools, and if you rent, you can't put a pool up. Yes you guessed it, I'm going back. Not sure when, probably not this year as my house is rented to the local county council, but I'd rather be monetary poor in ireland than isolated with no chance of ever owning a home (due to my age and being a single parent) in Perth. I am very sad that Perth has not lived up to my expectations - and I don't think they were unrealistic - I lived in Perth many years ago and lived in Melbourne for almost 20 years - so its not that I'm not used to the australian life - just that after returning to and living in Ireland for the last 15 years - my focus is on family work/life balance and an easier more relaxed lifestyle. Its not that we don't go out - my daughter does swimming (which she also did in Ireland); shes in Girl Guides and joins in after school sport - we make the effort, its just so much harder than in Ireland. I just don't fit in here. I'm sorry if this is not what people want to hear - maybe tomorrow I'll be more positive, but to be honest, I am so lonely and disillusioned, I looked at return flights today. I know you have to give it a few years, and I need to save some more before we go back, but going back we are and I can't wait. I'm not sorry we tried it but don't burn all your bridges before you come - can you rent your house to the County Council? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piccolo Posted February 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 H Legal Angel, thanks for your post. It's an interesting read. You do sound quite lonely and I'm sorry for that. It can't be at all easy being a single parent in a new place. We are planning to rent our house to the council but they did say there's a clause in the 4 year contract that allows us to move back in whenever we want. The rent won't cover our mortgage payment but we'd be supplementing from Oz (not that much). I hear everything you're saying and I really really don't mean to be insensitive so please don't take this the wrong way but I have to ask....do you think you might feel differently if you had someone to shoulder the burden with you, like a partner? I know myself that I couldn't do this on my own so for that, I think you are incredibly brave. I just wonder if having to do it alone has impacted on you and compounded all the things you've mentioned? Of course I could be wrong and Perth just mightn't have been for you anyway! I'm hoping when we get there that I won't have to work or if I do, it'll be part time as I do want to be with my baby who's 1 and I also would love to have another baby within the next year hopefully. My husband's salary might be enough to sustain us, not that we're expecting this high luxury life at all!! We live in a very very tiny house in Dublin that is 200k in negative equity currently so anything would be an improvement on that!! We reckon our budget for renting in Oz will be $400 a week but we haven't settled on a suburb until OH gets work. Yes the Irish are friendly but at the moment, our neighbour is dealing drugs from her house and anti-social behaviour is a regular occurrence in our little cul-de-sac. I don't want my child to grow up around that, this area is not the best but we paid a FORTUNE for our house in 2006! It's very disheartening. We have both been to Oz before so have an idea of aussie values and also the social problems present, we're not foolish enough to think they don't have their prolems too. We would be VERY selective in choosing a suburb for this reason. Anyway these are my thoughts I guess. I hope that life picks up a bit for you. My sister arrived home last Sat after just 5 months in Kingsley, Perth wasn't for her but I think she knew that going out there and did it for her OH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clairmathews Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 Hi there, My name is Clair. We are looking at moving to Perth next year or how ever long it takes to do the big move. Would you be able to send out some prices to what things are bills, food etc. I really want the lifestyle but a little scared about the move. Many Thanks Clair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piccolo Posted February 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 I think there are prices on this thread no? You could google cost of living in Perth v UK and you get directed to a great site that shows you right down to price comparisons on milk, beer, wine, petrol, cars, rent etc.. Cant remember the name of it though sorry!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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