My Rekkie Report:

Rekkie to Perth from a South African perspective by AudreyS, posted Jul 2008

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AudreyS 8 Jul 2008	OUR SOUTH AFRICAN REKKIE TO PERTH – June/July 2008 Our experiences will be very different to those living in First World countries. We come from South Africa, although some of my observations may make you believe that we live on another planet We are the Spero family. Audrey (that’s me) 47, Selwyn 44, Michael 9 and Granny Dora 78. We have already sold our house and business and have packed our container. Our situation is not so much “will we come?”, but rather “we are coming, so let’s get as organised as fast as possible”. We were up at 5am on our day of departure. We caught an internal flight from Durban to O.R. Tambo International airport in Johannesburg. At this stage I think that I should point out that O.R. Tambo International has been undergoing major construction for the past 30+ years. To my knowledge, it is the only full-time construction site with its own airport – at least that is what it feels like. It is a nightmare! To get from the Domestic Arrivals Hall to the International Departures Hall requires a walk of about a kilometre, over a road and through a carpark - I kid you not. Once this was achieved, we discovered only ONE restaurant that offered mediocre fare at exorbitant prices. There was also nowhere for smokers, and remember that at this stage we are still not off the cigarettes. ABOUT TURN, and back to the Domestic Arrivals Hall where we tucked into a friendly pub for some lunch before doing the Great Trek back to International Departures. Thank God we had eaten I would possibly have fainted otherwise. We queued for TWO HOURS to get through the ticket check and custom control. There must have been 400 people waiting to go through customs, including a school tour of giggly teenagers, being “serviced” or NOT, as in this case, by 3 surly customs officials. I was actually embarrassed to be South African. There were international visitors who could not believe that this nightmare was happening to them. We are so NOT ready for the 2010 Soccer World Cup! At least we won’t be around to share in national shame. Feeling very proud that we had not murdered anyone, we reckoned we would have just enough time for a glass of wine and a last cigarette. The newest wing of the newer wing of the new wing at the newly upgraded but yet-to-be-completed airport, where the transit lounge for those of us flying cattle-class is located, is about a 7 minute walk from the departure gate – so we discovered when we got there! Selwyn ordered two glasses of white wine, and when we got the bill he said :’That was R40-00”. For two glasses of wine? I didn’t believe him (average price in a restaurant is R12 –R15 per glass). I thought it would choke me when he added: “Each”!! AND we ran out of time and had to leave half of it. I was almost ready to trade it for missing our flight. We flew Quantas (book direct with Quantas JHB and save a fortune) where the flight was operated by SAA. It was pretty cramped but mainly uneventful. Nine hours of no sleep, but the food was good and the on-board entertainment had something for everyone. I did wonder about the lumpy piece of foam rubber which would hardly cover the top of my jewellery box that was trying to be passed off as a “pillow”. I think I was more comfortable the night I slept in my car…but that’s another story. We were asked to close our window visors so as not to be woken really early by the sun rising. How thoughtful these airline people can be. Why then did the Chief Cabin Attendant/Person wake us all up at 5am and then make us wait 20 minutes for a cup of coffee? It was still dark outside! Anyway, two hours later and after what really was a spectacular sunrise, we flew over Fremantle and into Perth. Just like Google Earth, but with more focus. I should imagine that it would bring a lump to the throat of True Blue Australians. The air is so clean that you can see for ever. Perth airport is smaller that I had imagined. We left the plane and waited no longer than 10 minutes for our luggage. During this time we were entertained (not intentionally) by a quarantine inspector with the most gorgeous Beagle on a lead who went from person to person to “sniff out” their hand luggage. Luckily he did not find anyone who had transgressed the very strict quarantine laws. After that it was a short (three mins) wait for our luggage to be X-rayed and we were out of the airport. Two hours to get in, in JHB, with so little security and so many disinterested officials, and 20 minutes to go through MUCH tighter security but with real people, doing real jobs and being friendly on top of it! Things were looking up already. Into a taxi – conveniently waiting to the left of the main entrance, and through to our hotel. $30 for two of us. It was now 9am Perth time and 23 hours since we got out of bed. All we wanted was a shower and a change of clothing. We had already decided to stay awake as long as possible so that we would get a good night’s sleep – at night, and wake refreshed in the morning. This was not to be. Our room would only be ready at 2pm. We had no choice but to stow our luggage in the hotel lock-up and hit the road. We walked from our hotel in East Perth (Goodearth Hotel) towards the beautiful Swan River. It was chilly, but not as cold as we had imagined. The taxi driver had told us that the early morning temperature was 4 degrees! We wandered around the Bell Tower area for a while and then decided to take a CAT BUS into the shopping area. CAT busses are free and you can get around Perth with ease. Catching a bus was a novelty in itself. The last time I was on a bus (apart from a half day touristy open-deck thing) was when I was 19. Our bus driver was Jose ( so his name badge said). Jose was fond of Julio Eglessias and played badly recorded Julio cassette tapes over the P.A. system. If that wasn’t bad enough, he sang along – loudly! We asked to be informed when we got to Hay Street, as we obviously had no idea of where we were going. “You relax in my bus and I tell you where to get off” was Jose’s advice. True to his word, we and the rest of the bus knew about “Thosa people who want a Hay Street, you get off my bus!” The bus was spotless and obviously runs according to a very exacting timetable. At one stop we waited for about 3 minutes. There were no alighting passengers so Jose got out and cleaned all the rear-view and side mirrors (whilst singing away – loudly)! Hay Street is closed to traffic and is a shopaholic’s dream. I cannot imagine there would be anything that you could not buy there. It is NOT for people wearing uncomfortable shoes as the shopping district goes on for blocks. I am sure that there are some bargain shops around, but more departmental stores (I could have stayed in Meyer for a week), boutiques, speciality stores (antiques etc) and franchised clothing stores. There are more jewellery stores per square inch than I have seen anywhere in the world. We had coffee in an outdoor café and people-watched for ages. There were end-of-year sales on everywhere with up to 70% price reductions. Some really good bargains around, but as we were overweight on out way out, shopping was not an option. Imagine getting a great bargain and then having to pay for excess baggage – I would be divorced on the spot! We had been told that there were sales on all year round. We scoffed at that, but the day after the end-of-year sales ended, the stock take sales started. I could not believe my eyes. We watched a man empty dustbins – he emptied the bins, then sprayed a cleansing agent/disinfectant on the stainless steel rims, wiped them and moved on to the next one – not 20 paces away. An hour later we watched in awe as the SAME man vacuumed his area of the shopping mall with the same pride that he took in cleaning the bins. THIS is truly from a South African perspective. Back to the hotel, a one-hour “power-nap”, shower and off to Northbridge. There was great debate on Aussiemovers a couple of weeks ago about how dangerous Northbridge could be. To us it was like Melville in Johannesburg, Florida Rd in Durban or Camps Bay in Cape Town …..ON A SCHOOL NIGHT! We ate a lovely meal at an Italian restaurant called Sorrento. It was very obviously owned by an Italian family. Papa in the kitchen, boys in the bar area and MAMA in the restaurant – we know this for sure, as any unfinished plates were hand-fed (almost like here comes the aeroplane) to offending diners. Great food and great atmosphere. I did not finish my enormous plate of pasta, but asked the waitress to hide it before Mama arrived. There were lots of youngsters around – not underage, or drunk or drugged up, just enjoying themselves. We did not feel out of place at all. Neither did we feel unsafe or threatened in any way. There was a good police presence and plenty taxis roaming around to get everyone home safely. We crashed into bed and slept soundly until Sunday morning. Our hotel was on Adelaide Terrace in the city. Had we known that this was the major business centre, we would probably have opted to stay in the suburbs, but we reckoned mid-way between NOR and SOR would give us all the options. Perth City on a Sunday is eerily quiet, in fact Perth is probably one of the quietest cities I have ever been in – even after two working days there. People just do not use their hooters unless for warning, so many cars have gas conversions (and almost all buses), which are really quiet. There are NO boom boxes and the taxi drivers actually obey the rules of the road. This was the day that we actually got to meet Sharron, Mick, and their boys, Jordan and Mason. Were really excited, Selwyn collected our hire car from M2000. It was a Hyundai Elantra with only 10 000kms on the clock. We got it at $30 per day with a 500km mileage daily limit. M2000 also has a branch in Joondalup and the staff was very friendly and efficient. We had the option of renting a satnav at $5 per day but we opted to buy our own, as I certainly will need it in the future. Selwyn has a brilliant sense of direction and can look up somewhere on Google Earth and then drive around as if he had lived there for years. Blondie here gets lost in a car park! Anyway off we went to meet our new friends. They chose a restaurant called The Boat in an absolutely stunning position at Mindarie Keys. One day when we win the lottery, we will live there. It is the stuff dreams are made of. As with most food places in Perth, we had to place our food orders at the counter. We were handed what looked like a lightweight mobile phone so that we could be “buzzed” when our food was ready for collection. The system really does work, and we saw it in operation in a few other places while we were there. Sharron and Mick were just as we had expected - very friendly and outgoing. We all got along really well and I can see Michael and their boys being good friends. They are all wrestling-mad. Having transferred quite a lot of money from South Africa, we were keen to get our bank account sorted out. Off we went to Westpac in Joondalup, where we had arranged an appointment to do all the boring stuff. We met with a lady called Chris, who was incredible. She sorted out all our current account, savings account, super (pension) fund, debit cards, cheque book, internet banking etc. within about an hour. A week later when we went to the bank again, we bumped into Chris, and immediately she said: “Hi Selwyn , hi Audrey, How you doing?” I have been banking with the same branch for 5 years in South Africa and nobody knows me by name there! I was really impressed by the level of service. We felt that she REALLY DID want to help us to get organised. Despite the fact that I would rather dig my eyes out with a fondue fork than go grocery shopping, I was really keen to get to a supermarket. We trawled through both Woolworths and Coles. They are very similar price-wise and both offer a fantastic selection. Woolies in Perth is not the same as our Woolies. There it is simply a supermarket chain similar to Pick ‘n Pay. Although it does offer all the pre-packed, pre-washed, pre-prepared food items that we are used to, Coles does exactly the same. Coming from a country that exports so much fresh produce, I was amazed to see the quality and variety of fresh fruit and vegetables on offer. Carrots that were really bright orange, apples that shone as if each had been hand-polished, blue potatoes (I promise) – everything really fresh and appealing. There were 18 different varieties of lettuce to choose from. I feel some really amazing salads coming on here. There were also 12 different types of bacon in the deli fridge, along with the largest choice of cheeses I have ever seen. The pet food selection just blew me away. Coles in Joondalup had an entire aisle just for dry and canned pet food. And then there was the cold and frozen selection! Great enormous rolls of pet meat loaf, beautifully presented packets of liver, kangaroo fillets and all sorts of other interesting dishes were presented in the meat fridge, not far from the lamb cutlets that we humans would buy. Ox tail is sold as pet food, which was a bit of a surprise as it is very expensive human food in South Africa. Everything is expensive when you convert from SA Rands, and although we know that we won’t be doing this once we earn Aussie Dollars, it was fairly predictable that we would automatically multiply every price by eight. Local folk think that food is expensive, but we tried very hard to imagine earning Dollars and spending Dollars and did not think that grocery prices were bad at all. It also pays to shop around as grocery stores have specials (buy 3 get one free sort of thing) on a regular basis. We reckon that we can get away with $200-$250 per week for groceries for a family of four. So after sorting out one of our basic needs, we decided to start looking at housing. We had more or less decided that we wanted to be NOR before we left home. I had been in touch with a number of schools in the areas and had received feedback from all of them I was particularly impressed with Currambine Primary’s response. We had been through the local newspapers and knew that the beach side of Marmion Avenue is prime property and way out of our financial reach. We are going for a better way of life, not to slave to pay off a mortgage! A drive through Hillary’s, Burn’s Beach, Quinn’s Rock, Mindarie and Jindalee confirmed this. They are absolutely beautiful areas with magnificent homes and definitely something to aspire to. We looked at Connolly which was lovely but still slightly out of our price bracket. We were hoping to get into the market under $500K so that we get the full advantage of the first buyer’s rebate of $7K and a rebate on stamp duty (which can be up to $20K). Once you go over $500K, the stamp duty rebate reduces pro-rata. Being a more established area, the houses in Connolly are higher than our budget. Sadly Currambine was a disappointment. There seemed to be a lot of rented properties where upkeep of gardens and property in general, was lacking. The same thing applied to Clarkson (not the new area called Somerly) and Kinross. According to local estate agents, the areas I have mentioned are older and the houses smaller (3x1 or 3x2) which makes the affordable as rentals, but they are starting to look a bit shabby in places. It was SOOO obvious when we saw owners in their own homes cheek by jowl with tenanted properties. Looking long-term, I would hate to put my pristine property on the market if it was next to a hog’s-nest that I had no control over. Fairly obviously, the older areas are all built up and there is little land available for building new homes, so you are stuck with what’s there already. There also seemed to be fewer parks in the older areas, although their big advantage is established trees. That’s what you don’t find in newer areas – not yet anyway, although there have been plenty planted. Clarkson has a great shopping district, and whilst our perception had been that for a “good shopping session”, Joondalup was the only place to go, this is not the case. Somerly is the newest part of Clarkson and right on the doorstep of the train station. It is a very new suburb and would be an ideal place to buy a starter home for a young couple or small family. There are some really lovely small duplex units that would be ideal. There were properties available from around the $300K price mark there. We were advised that Wanneroo and Tapping are mosquito and midgy heaven. We spoke to someone who had lived in Wanneroo and could not sit outside in the evenings because the midges collected in swarms under her eaves. Apparently this is because of the lakes in the area and the fact that it is too far from the ocean to get a sea breeze. Being mid-winter, there was no way to confirm or discount this information, but it was something that we did keep in mind. We drove into Butler and it just felt right. It was a mix of newish and very new homes. The parks are well established (although the trees need a few years to provide real shade) and the facilities for outdoor living at its finest, are all there. Butler has a few starter/retirement properties but is very much a suburban family suburb. There is an enormous amount of building going on with the promise of a lot more to come. Display homes are open 5 days a week and new home consultants seem to be doing good business. Display homes are built by property builders. They are built according to the building plans available through each builder. There may be numerous versions or permutations, and the display homes give a good indication of what is on offer from each building company. All new developing areas that we saw had display homes and of course they are finished and furnished by professionals, making some are dream-like. It is a good way of presenting a product as it gives even those with no imagination an idea of how to transport dimensions on a building plan into reality. New build homes are available with or without blocks (land), depending on the area. Prospective buyers can also choose a housing plan and have it built anywhere they choose. It is a good system and seems to work. Blocks in Butler are either cottage blocks, which accommodate smaller, narrow houses and go from around $190K or the blocks for larger homes which are between 500 and 600 square metres at about $210K upwards. The system for viewing pre-owned homes was ridiculous. Every Friday, a property newspaper was available from most estate agents. Inside the centre pages, there was a list of homes on display over Saturday or Sunday and the times that they were available for viewing. This tended to be about an hour each, so anyone interested had to queue up to see each one and then rush off to queue at the next one. Estate agents seemed reluctant to take viewers to see properties outside these viewing hours and certainly made no effort to follow up. They seem to be the same the world over. Some didn’t even return messages! We have friends who live SOR in Beeliar (20km from city), which seems to be a very nice suburb, also a mixture of old and new and is within easy reach of Perth. Beeliar is on the way to Rockingham, which is where we headed next. We looked at Waikiki, Baldivis and Rockingham itself. There was a beautiful estate called Settler’s Hill that really looked great, but as for the rest – not for us. Waikiki offers houses under $400K while Baldivis is a lot higher, more between $500 -$600K. We decided that Secret Harbour and Mandurah were just too far from the city centre, where I will probably be working. I know that it is only supposed to be 40 minutes on the train, but I just can’t get my head around living 50-60kms from my office. We took a drive to Fremantle which is an eclectic mix of old town quaint and new town modern. Wonderful historic building but all the mod cons. Fremantle has a vibe unlike any other place we visited. For people interested in boating, sailing etc, Fremantle is the place to go…provided your spinster great aunt died in left you a fortune! Subiaco is another place with a unique “feel” to it. Lots of lovely boutiques and tons of coffee shops, restaurants and entertainment places. Close by is Harbour Town (in Wellington Street) which is a shopping complex with factory outlets selling over-runs and rejects from factories that manufacture for high street stores. Well, that’s what we were told. The clothing is interesting to say the least. Perhaps if I had been 20 years younger I would have enjoyed it more. Cheap prices on a lot of things, but not a whole lot of quality around. Perth has to be Limo city. Every evening limos in every shape, size and colour whizzed down the main streets towards the theatres. There were sleek black or white one, vintage ones and even a stretch Hummer. Quite a sight. The weather for the last week of June and first week of July was not as cold as I had expected. Quite a few British ex-pats had told me how cold it would be, and coming from South Africa, I had expected to freeze. We were out most nights and I coped well with layered clothing. The days were mainly warm and comfortable with just a cardigan over a long-sleeved top. Sudden downpours were quite common. They seemed to come from nowhere, last a few minutes and move off to spoil someone else’s picnic in the park! I did battle with the dryness in the air. Despite being so coastal, there was virtually no humidity. Lots and lots of moisturiser was required, and I even had to buy lip balm. The water is very hard and I could not get shampoo or soap to lather the way I am used to. These are such minor things that I will need to get used to. Don’t go to Perth with “cheap ‘n cheerful” sunglasses. I got mine from a market some time ago, but really battled with the glare from the sun. I will definitely be getting a decent pair of polarised ones when we get there. Hopefully this pair I won’t sit on! Only the cheapies survive – I always wreck the expensive ones. The intensity of the light, the lack of pollution and the sudden short-lived downpours create an abundance of the most magnificent rainbows I have ever seen. We saw one virtually daily somewhere along the line. The employment section of the Western Australian newspaper is so big that it comes in two sections! I was told by an agency before we left that Australia’s unemployment rate is 3%, and that 3% doesn’t really want to work. Harsh words, but at first glance I think she may have been right. Between the jobs in the newspaper and the thousands of vacancies advertised on the Seek and MyCareer websites, I find it difficult to believe that there is any unemployment at all! I interviewed with an agency while we were there, and the consultant had earmarked six suitable positions before I had even come through the door. I am a recruitment consultant myself (you would think I had some special skill, like nuclear physics) and was very impressed by this. As we drove along, we listened to a local radio station, 92.9. It was a mixture of talk and music. A great selection of both. Our favourite listening time was from 4pm onwards when we got the Hamish and Andy show. What a pair of nutters those two were! They obviously love what they do and are a laugh a minute. One of my favourite programmes was the day gravy-flavoured chips (crisps) were launched. This, as a response from listeners – some 40 000 people responded to a request to come up with an original flavour. Hamish and Andy had callers from all over commenting on the new launch. They even managed to get the Prime Minister on air! I almost wet my pants when one of them called the PM “MATE!” Western Australians are very proud of their state. If a product is grown, made, laid or manufactured in Western Australia, it’s on the label. Many houses we saw had flag poles in the garden even, proudly flying the national flag. They have a lot to be proud of. Perth is a clean, modern city, with systems that work. Admittedly, there are rules and more rules, but everyone swims in the same direction. We accomplished a huge amount in two weeks. All our financial affairs are in order, we have life insurance and pensions ready to roll. We secured a furnished rental and a long-term unfurnished rental. We placed orders for furniture to be manufactured in time to move into our new home. By sheer coincidence, we rented the house next to Sharron & Mick, which is a great bonus. We enrolled Michael at Butler Primary. We were really impressed by the school when we had our tour. The system there is different, and the children are not pigeon-holed. Michael (age 9) will be in the 4/5 class, where some children are in year 4 and others in year 5. This allows the opportunity for each child to develop to his or her full potential. The teaching style is informal, relaxed and fun. The teachers at Butler Primary have all been hand-picked and obviously love what they do. We did the 12 hour flight back home with mixed emotions. We were really sad to be leaving, but very relieved that Perth had MORE THAN met our expectations, and could offer us the lifestyle and future that we were hoping to find. We have one final hurdle – the goodbyes to friends and family. We are NOT looking forward to those. P.S. No, I haven’t shut up yet…Good idea to get those neck things that you see on planes. We picked up a couple at Perth duty free. They really DO make a difference.
BrownFamily 8 Jul 2008	Well, pour me another coffee, Audrey, it's a long read! Bev
brown2008 9 Jul 2008	Great read, can you PM me, re the pensions and life insurances you have sorted, did you get them via the bank? Thanks Lovely Ange xx
Vicki123 9 Jul 2008	Hi Audrey Thanks for a great report, have been keeping an eye on your blog with how you're doing and so glad things are going well for you. We're coming out in Sept and just wondered also who you contacted regarding pensions and life insurance, as I'm finding it hard to find an Aussie/UK financial advisor who can help us with what to do with our pensions etc Cheers Vicki
melanddavid4 9 Jul 2008	Fab rekkie report!! really informative and enjoyable to read, are you going to put some pics on? mel x
rockinghorse 9 Jul 2008	Hi Audrey Wow you put alot of effort into the report. So very interesting reading it from a South African perspective. Alot of the things you talked about we all take for granted. I have so wanted to go to Afica for years. Think I have been every where else. But when I ever talked about travel to Africa with my father he would say can't you go some where else it's dangerous. He had friends that had been to South Africa and been mugged. So my trip got put off. Perth is such an amazing place. I love the Swan river, I think it's so beutiful. I hope you will be happy there. We are currently living in Victoria but are heading East. My husband spends so much time in Qld with his job. Saying that he's currently in Singapore! He asked me yesterday if I fancy a move to Hong Kong as he's been asked to go for six months. I said no, not until we have relocated to Qld. Anyway best of luck Michelle Ps remeber Australia is not just Perth So many places to explore. The Northern Territory is amazing. Each State has it's own beauty. You could travel for ever! Do you know I just love it all.
Sharron&Mick 11 Jul 2008	My goodness Audrey you have been busy, pics look great - that was cheeky getting us from behind, guess that was Selwyn?? See you very soon, take care, have a good flight - Sharron, Mick and Boys xxx
brown2008 13 Jul 2008	great photo's audrey, Ange xx
AudreyS 13 Jul 2008	Thanks Ange Didn't take any of the wine region as these were a wee bit out of focus! Only joking - didn't have time to stop for a wine when we were there (my story and I'm sticking to it)!! XX
brown2008 13 Jul 2008	Bless you, sharron is a lucky lady having you as a neighbour. Your house looks fab, how did you organise the temp rental before you arrive, or is a private rental, ie word and mouth? Ange xx
podomike 13 Jul 2008	Dear Audrey We've been viewing this discussion site for over a year. This was the best Rekkie report I've ever seen. Honest and informative. We have our skilled migration Visa's and visited Perth 3 times in the past 8 years. Last visit was October last year. Within 6 hours my wife and i said we would never live in Perth. It was then pseudo American set up. Fast food everywhere. Healthy place but unhealthy people (perhaps) Took us a few days to get "in the groove" and then we started to enjoy. We're both Podiatrists and Registered to work in Australia. Not many jobs appear in Perth but we will see. Wife is 12 weeks Pregnant, moving is postponed for a while. Thanks again and have a great life. Mike
iman 13 Jul 2008	Hi Audrey, My family and I are also moving from a 3rd world country to Australia but we are not apt to living in such a quiet environment, having lived in Tehran/Iran all of our lives. (I'm 37 and a business manager, my wife is 30 and a network admin and our daughter is 5) I don't also believe that you can have the same job opotunities and income as you can possibly have in Sydney or Melbourne although the cost of living in those bigger cities might be twice or 3 times more than in Perth. Can you tell me briefly what were the main reasons behind your decision and chosing Perth as your destination in OZ? I'll appreciate to have everyones point of view on this topic so who ever reads this text pls feel free to share your good comments accordingly.
AudreyS 13 Jul 2008	Hi Ange We went through KimW on this site. She is F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!! So accommodating and really helpful. If you click on the author box and type in her name. you will get her contact details. Otherwise, ask Sharron (Oh great one who helps everyone!!!), as I suspect that she has a secret handshake with Kim. LOL We are leaving our furnished rental on 15th August to move in next to Sharron's new house, so if you can get your agent to wake up, you can move in after us!!
AudreyS 13 Jul 2008	Hi Mike Firstly, congratulations on the new baby. Hope all goes well. I am really glad that you enjoyed my rekkie report. I did try to be honest, without offending anyone or any area - I must admit I was a bit nervous, but hey, MY perception is MY reality. I was there for 2 weeks, so not exactly a specialist. I have travelled the world but never done North America, so your comment about pseudo American was a bit lost on me. All I can say is that I agree with you about the number of fast food joints around. However,the shopping centre in Joondalup has a food court that offers some really good fresh and healthy food outlets. Fresh salds, wraps, veggie stuff galore. I know that this is all very well when you are in the centre and not great in the suburbs...but all is not lost. I cannot believe that there is not a huge demand for podiatrists in Perth as there are practises everywhere. This was one thing I did notice- we have very few here and they are really aimed at Grannies with ingrown toenails! I am not denegrating what you do, far from it, which is probably why I noticed the number of podiatry clinics all over the place in Perth. They seem to be attached to medical centres, so maybe you are looking in the wrong place? As for unhealthy people...I bow in admiration to some of them. I am one of those disgusting smoking people, whose only exercise is running up bills and jumping to conclusions. I have vowed that our first weekend in Perth will include the purchase of a bicycle for my son and I and hopefully Dad as well, and a MUCH healthier lifestyle, including kicking the butt (Just don't get in may way as it could be yours). As I've said before, I am hardly an expert on Perth, but in the time that we were there I saw so many walking, jogging, cycling people that have inspired me. This is a life-changing move in so many ways. I think we can go the extra mile on this one. You are a triathlete - hope I don't fall off my bike whilst breathing and chewing gum!! Best of luck to you too. Audrey
AudreyS 13 Jul 2008	Hi iman (please complete your profile so that we know who we are talking to) Your photograph shows a beautiful wife and daughter. I cannot "briefly" describe anything, so please bear with me. I was brought up in Johannesburg, South Africa and started my working career there. A few year later I married and had my first child (Tarryn Louise). We had a full-time, live-in maid and gardener, which meant that we could "concentrate on our careers". How I now regret those years. I was not the first person to see many of Tarryn's "firsts" - her Nanny was. I was at work until unearthly hours - making money. The more we made, the more we spent. Tarryn went on a luxury cruise with us to South America at the age of 11 - she hated it! It was an expensive adult holiday for a child. Somewhere along the line I realised that a career and big bucks is not all that counts. It cost me my marriage and a lot more - but mainly posessions. My "family time" now is more precious than anything. I was given another chance to do the Mom thing with Michael, who was born when I was 38. We moved from Johannesburg to Durban, which offered few job opportunities but a better lifestyle. We created our own company and market niche and did very well - not MEGA bucks like before but a comfortable living. Sure, the job opportunities were not the same, but it all depends on what your priorities are. Perth offers us the same laid back lifestyle as in Durban. We will both have to work in Perth, but we will have a work/life balance. You have a lot of initials behind your name and can probably work in any city in the world. just depends on what you are looking for. NOT right or wrong here.
marcusm1 13 Jul 2008	Hi Audrey I found your report very informative. Please give me more details how to organize bank accounts and life insurances. Is the life insurances global?Also how to go about looking for surburbs. do you know of any sites that gives more info with pictures? I applied for my Visa on the 23 March 08 still awaiting Is there any other for of communication toyou like , e-mails, skype.... Regards Marcus
brown2008 13 Jul 2008	great thanks for that, will have a look and see what she has to offer. SPEAK SOON ANGE XX
AudreyS 13 Jul 2008	Hi Marcus Don't know if you are/not from South Africa. Please complete your profile so that we can all see. We share on this site - good, bad and ugly. I am not an expert but can give you my views from a South African perspective. Two weeks in Perth does not make me a fairy godmother although I do have a few of my opinions to share. I think you need to explore this site in more detail - like click on all the toolbar/thingies/tab stuff/. Clearly I am techiclally challenged, and I cope. there is so much info there, with links to other sites. Go to TheMints blog and see all the suburb info Jane has posted. It will take hours if not days, but well worth it. I am not an insurance expert but we got ours through Westpac when we activated our account on arrival in Perth. Look back a few days on the discussion board or punch in AudreyS in the author block for more details. You are a long way off getting your visa. E-based ones are still at August/september 2007. it all depends on what you applied for1. Don't shoot the messenger! Good luck. Audrey
brown2008 13 Jul 2008	the new photo, is of us in Kings park, with my best mate Jane, who lives in Bunbury, ex pat for 17 years, she always has to get her face in, but not her chin!!!!!!!
marcusm1 13 Jul 2008	Hello Audrey or should I say G day Thanks for the speedy response. I updated my profile Do you really think it will take that long as there were some changes as of the 1st July 08, the decenralising of the 457 visa may speed the process now in Adeliade. Have you tried being on Skype, if you have my contact is "marcusmunsamy" a great way to chat or even talk. will keep in contact Regards Marcus
iman 14 Jul 2008	Dear Audrey, Thanks for your complements and your good thoughts. I assume our situation is a bit different from yours as you have already earned enough not to worry much about the future but we are just in the beginning of the road and have to work hard. We have had different types of education and different life style, living in Iran is a real challenge and I believe we are in the 4th world country if you are in the 3rd!!! By the way we'll visit all cities before making our decision to settle in any of them. Hope to see you someday in Perth!
BrownFamily 17 Jul 2008	Finally got round to your rekkie, Audrey, (life has been more than hectic here) and it was great. Thanks for all the info and such an honest point of view. Butler and Ocean Reef aren't too far apart are they??? Take care. Bev PS Got the neck cushions already, thought they'd be indispensible as we have a night flight.
jaime&ross 23 Jul 2008	hiya loved reading your rekkie, its surprising what you can do in two weeks, we went last year from england for two weeks in the easter hols and everyone said "oh no i wouldnt go to australia for two weeks" but they havent been to perth hey its well worth all the travelling for two weeks! Its so good reading others perspective on perth and brings back the lovely memories hopefully we'll be there in sept if our visa hurry ups and gets here! good luck with your move xx
jo&tony&kids 23 Jul 2008	hi jaimie, did you work for klm at norwich airport a few years back?
jaime&ross 24 Jul 2008	hi No it wasnt me sorry!
neville 3 Aug 2008	Hi Audrey S, from a south African perspective this is the most informative I have read.We will be moving to Perth in December 2008 & J-loop looks great to us. You seem to have made many contacts in the short time you were there. Did you hook up with a mentor to help with house search, shopping centres schools etc. or was it just trial & error. I am still trying to get some REAL detail about bringing in my car - got any ideas? Once again thanx a lot for a very informative approach & positive attitude to a new life experience. I am registered as neville on this web or contact me at els.neville@gmail.com it would be great to arrive & meet up with some settled ex-SA's Cheers Neville
AudreyS 4 Aug 2008	Hi Neville THIS site has been an absolute Godsend, and the place that we got a lot of info. There are also many other sites that we visited to get more info, we just Googled absolutely everything and trawled through so much. We bombarded everyone with e-mails if we needed additional info. Even the Customs people, when we were unsure of what we could or could not bring. As far as cars are concerned, we didn't bring ours. Have a look the John Hughes website. He seems to be the biggest in Western Australia. This will give you an idea of what you can get for your money. DONT multiply by 7.something or you will never buy anything. Look on the SEEK website for jobs in your field and the salaries being paid and then work out affordability. Earn Dollars and spend dollars. One thing I can tell you is that European cars seem expensive to service and maintain. We have only seen one Mercedes Benz car in Perth and there has to be a reason for that! All the buses are Mercs though so there must be some servicing facilities. Another thing you have to consider is your container. If your container leaves around the same time as you, you will be waiting up to 6 weeks for your car. Rental for 6 weeks? This could be a very costly exercise. There is also the cleaning, fumigation etc that the car will need to go through when it arrives. These things all add up. I hope that other people post on here and give their experiences. Looking forward to a dop and a tjop when you get here. Audrey
neville 21 Aug 2008	HiAudreyS, Its Neville again. Hows the move going? Here its chaos. A quick question, we have been told that getting kids into state schools is almost impossible as most of them have 6 month waiting lists. Is this generally true or just another ploy to get us to stay in SA?
HouseLouw 21 Aug 2008	Hi there, What a fantastic fantastic report. We are on stage two of our Skilled Visa - still a long way to go but am so excited. We will be in Brisbane for Dec for a whole month visiting my mom and dad. Cannot wait to start my research on schools and houses. Our hearts are kind of set on Rockhampton at the moment. Good Luck and God Bless u and your family.
AudreyS 21 Aug 2008	Hi Neville I think you have been misinformed or maybe your informant doesn't understand the system. State schools work on a catchment area basis. If you live in Joondalup, your children will go to state schols in that area. I don't know much about them, but you can easily follow the links on this site to get there. From what I understand, the state schools HAVE to make space for children from the catchment area. Only private schools decide who they want and who they don't. OR who can pay and who can't! The state/private school thing is hugely debatable, but all I can tell you is that from a Durban state school (heavily subsidised by parents) to what Michael has here is chalk and cheese. The entire system is different and far superior to what we were used to. Others disagree, but it depends on your frame of reference.I HAVE A HAPPY CHILD, and that to me is more important than anything else. If he wants to be a brain surgeon and we have to make adjustments to his education later on, so be it. Don't stress. You need to be here to appreciate what Australia has to offer. We will have been here 3 weeks on Saturday and are still amazed daily by general "stuff" that works, as opposed to "broken". Just get your butts out here!!!!!! Good luck and BIG virtual hugs. (EVERYONE needs them) Audrey
78girl 21 Sep 2008	Hi Audrey Your reports have given me good info.Thinking of moving to Perth.I am in SA,Durban. Can you tell me,did you go through an immigration agent or did you apply on your own? If it was immigration service can you please tell which one. Keep well and are you now in Perth.
ghan111 25 Sep 2009	This is very helpful. Good Job!!!!
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Photos (click for full size version - approx 35kb)

Talk about "ultimate control" - here the male is alseep on the female's head!

This was our first sighting of Perth beach living. Mindarie Keys from the restaurant called The Boat. Absolutely stunning.

This is where we start our new lives. Our rental furnished rental in Mindarie.

One of the parks in Butler.

All roads lead to Hillary's?

A public gas barbie in Butler park.

Same park, different view.

A rather cloudy view of Perth City taken at King's Park.

How polite, and we didn't have to pay for parking either.

Our "office" in Perth city. We took our laptop and did all our e-mailing from here.

A very cloudy sky near Rockingham, and just one of the magnificent rainbows that we saw.

Fremantle boat club. Obviously a very poor area....LOL

I think there are more recreational drugs in Caversham Wildlife Park than in Northbridge!

L to R - Sharron's son Jordan, Sharron and me - well just our backs. This is our unfurnished rental (almost finished). Sharron and Mick's home-in progress on right.

Hey dude, how ya doing?