Perth ladies

can i jump in on this thread and ask about mobile phones in OZ. My daughter is going to be going to Perth in Aug for the best part of a year as part of her degree from Bath Uni in the Uk. She will be going to Edith Cowan Uni to do research. i was just wondering what sort of plans they have for Blackberries as obviously I want to stay in contact easily with BBM etc. She also has to find accommodation etc which needs to be accessible to the Uni by public transport. A nice Ew'r on here already gave me some links and advice but I would be grateful for any other input which will help her in her Adventure! Try this site QC - http://www.phonesandplans.com.au/

can i jump in on this thread and ask about mobile phones in OZ. My daughter is going to be going to Perth in Aug for the best part of a year as part of her degree from Bath Uni in the Uk. She will be going to Edith Cowan Uni to do research. i was just wondering what sort of plans they have for Blackberries as obviously I want to stay in contact easily with BBM etc. She also has to find accommodation etc which needs to be accessible to the Uni by public transport. A nice Ew'r on here already gave me some links and advice but I would be grateful for any other input which will help her in her Adventure!

You missed Victoria Park - has a great cafe/restaurant/pub strip I did too! Thanks AJ :)

You missed Victoria Park - has a great cafe/restaurant/pub strip

The most important thing for us is a suburb with low crime and safe to walk to dog and has a nice cafe strip. The following police search allows you to check crime by suburb: http://www.police.wa.gov.au/Aboutus/Statistics/Searchcrimestatistics/tabid/998/Default.aspx Cafe Strip areas: Mount Lawley/Highgate (North) Leederville/Wembley (North) Sorrento (North) Scarborough (North) Subiaco (South) Claremont (South) Fremantle (South) Any area that has a cafe strip also tends to be more expensive so be prepared to pay for having a good latte only a 10 minute stroll away. Almost all suurbs have large open spaces, parks and ovals. You'll have little trouble finding a suitable place to walk your dog. This link may help locate dog friendly beaches and parks: http://www.vetwest.com.au/dog-friendly-parks-and-beaches-perth :)

Hi Chance We just moved from Perth to Dubai a couple of months ago. I lived there for 11 years (was originally from Qld) and DH grew up there. It's a fairly nice place to live but it's very laid back compared to Dubai! some parts of this are good and some are damn frustrating. If you want to live in a suburb with a cafe strip you will be needing one of the older more established suburbs, probably closer to the city. Herne Hill is a Swan Valley type suburb (east of the city a long way from the beach) and the main residential area out there is Ellenbrook. It is a new suburb and is a fairly long way to the city and public transport is very limited. It is further out than Midland. The houses are all fairly similar and the shopping is up and coming rather than well developed. I personally could not live in one of those type of dormitory type suburbs but lots of people do and are very happy. The rent would be fairly affordable for a generous, new house with a small yard. If you wanted to live in a more established suburbs you could look at ones like Bayswater, Maylands and Bassendean. These sit on the train line between Midland and Perth City. The public schooling in these 2 suburbs would be very good and the housing is a real variety with some lovely old character houses. You could be quite close to the Swan River if you lived in this area. Plenty of lovely established parks for walking. East Perth is a great place to stay for a while. we stayed in East Perth off and on when we were renovating. it's close to the city and lots of lovely restaurants to walk to. And I worked there for years. We lived in a southern suburb called Victoria Park. Which was really close to the city with a fantastic local primary school. Our school was very strict on where you had to live to attend. We only ever had 1 car as DH rode his bike to work and I caught the bus to work. We would walk/scoot/ride or bus to school/daycare everyday. You might also need to consider daycare if you are going to work. Daycare in Australia is expensive. Between $65 and $90 a day depending on the centre. I am not sure if you would be entitled to get 50% back based on your citizenship. But just something to think about. In Perth, $120k is a fairly average kind of salary TBH. I know a LOT of people who earned a lot more than this will minimal qualification. The tax man will take a big chunk of the $120! But then, part time work is easier to find than Dubai so you would be able to pick up some extra if you wanted.

We are also moving to Perth at the beginning of April haven't seen some of those websites thank you Cyclone T. When we arrive we will be in an apartment in East Perth and then have 5 weeks to find a rental before fur baby leaves quarantine. DH is going to be eventually FIFO or based in CBD. The most important thing for us is a suburb with low crime and safe to walk to dog and has a nice cafe strip. Have been looking at cars they sure are that bit more expensive:-)

[u'>Housing[/u'> – In Perth you are more likely to find houses and freestanding units (multiple small villas on one property) with apartments available in the city or suburbs closer to the city. REIWA is the Western Australian Real Estate Institute: http://reiwa.com.au/Pages/Home.aspx Perth Rentals: http://www.myhome.com.au/rent/wa/ Herne Hill is approximately 25km away from the CBD and is about a 40 minute drive.The following site will give you an idea of possible suburbs (distance from CBD to suburb border): http://myboot.com.au/WA/25/suburblist.aspx This is also an interesting site that has plenty of valid suburb information: http://www.viacorp.com/perth-suburbs-compared.html The suburbs Cakepops mentioned in her post are not close to Herne Hill but in Perth nothing is really that far away. This site will let you see if there is an established playgroup in the area you are looking at: http://www.playgroupaustralia.com.au/wa/ The following is a free parents information service that may have something to assist (I didn’t read it as my 2 are adults): http://www.yourkids.com.au/ [u'>Vehicles[/u'> - Be prepared that cars will cost a lot more than in Dubai. The following will give you an idea of price: http://www.autotrader.com.au/ http://www.carsguide.com.au/ http://www.carsales.com.au/ Petrol is very high with it today reaching $1.57 a litre (yes a 12cent increase since my post yesterday). You can track pricing on the following site: http://www.fuelwatch.wa.gov.au/fuelwatch/ [u'>Schools [/u'>– There are excellent private and government schools available in Western Australia. While your children are not school aged it may be worth looking at if you want to consider catchment areas. Ranking website: http://bettereducation.com.au/SchoolRanking.aspx [u'>Medical [/u'>- Government hospitals are not in all suburbs but Western Australia has an extensive ambulance service for emergencies. Will you have private health insurance or just the Government Medicare system? If you have private health your options will be broader. Hospital Listing: http://www.health.wa.gov.au/services/category.cfm?Topic_ID=2 Private Health Insurance: http://www.privatehealth.gov.au/ http://healthinsurancecomparison.com.au/ [u'>Groceries[/u'> – As I said previously I find the cost of groceries the same to 10% more than in Dubai. I agree with Cakepops that the quality and freshness is much better as is the variety of produce. The best way of comparing would be to look at some of the online supermarket sites. Use postcode 6056 (Herne Hill) and look for the products you would be likely to purchase. *Nb. Online prices tend to be 10 – 15% more than if you do the grocery shop yourself* http://www2.woolworthsonline.com.au/ https://www.colesonline.com.au/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CMLForwardViewCmd?storeId=10052&catalogId=10001&viewName=HomePageDisplay [u'>Kiwi Expat Community[/u'> - There are loads of Kiwis in Perth and there are Kiwi clubs , associations and even a blog (which I haven’t read): www.facebook.com/pages/kiwis-in-perth/122783034430446 http://www.kiwisinoz.com.au/ http://kiwisinperth.blogspot.com.au/ [u'>Fishing[/u'> - Fishing very popular in Perth so you husband will have no trouble finding spots: http://www.perthnow.com.au/lifestyle/fishing A few other bits and bobs you might find helpful: http://www.australia-migration.com/page/Cost_of_Living_calculator/95 http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/PrimaryMainFeatures/6463.0 http://www.aussiemove.com/aus/costlive.asp If there is anything I've missed or anything else you think of later please shout :)

120k per year is about double the average wage in Oz. Not quite double http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6302.0

120k per year is about double the average wage in Oz. I assume it's in mining or gas industry with that kidn of wage, sure you might not have a super ritzy life but you won't be on the poverty line either. To be honest a lot of government schools are better than private. I enjoyed my years at a state school way more than a private school to be honest!

Oh yes, cars and gas are really expensive here! Try www.gumtree.com to see prices of used cars if you want to do some research.

I've been here 3 months, but will try to help with what I've found. I second CT, my food bill is about the same as in Dubai, however, it feels like things don't go off as fast as they do in Dubai so maybe that's why. Eating out is expensive here. A pub lunch for us (3.5 people) is easily 100$A with a beer/wine or two. Babysitters are easy to find so that's nice. In terms of schooling, private schools are on the order of 10-13K per year, 7-9K for catholic. However, they have some fantastic government schools and they're free. My current thought is my DD (4) will got to public primary and private secondary, but a lot of people do private all the years here. But you'll have to look at the school districts related to the places you're thinking of looking. I'll post a link to school lists when I get to the proper computer. For rentals, I would look on the REIWA site to get some ideas. Good places to look S of river are Bichton, Applecross, Shellys. Maybe City Beach or Hillarys for beach life and good schools. North would be Mt Lawley, Inglewood perhaps. The western suburbs are more pricey but lovely such as wembly, shenton park, Claremont. This is just a list to let you get a feel for the rents within a 20 min commute, by no means inclusive. In terms of lifestyle, you can really live happily cheaply here with kids as there are many parks, outdoor activities and beaches so close to everything here. I've found the people friendly and really great so far. Of course, if you go out a lot it's pretty expensive. HTH, if I can help in any other way just ask. <em>edited by Cakepop on 21/03/2012</em>

I am at work now but when I get home tonight (about 9pm as I have training after work) I'll do a bit of research and come back to you tonight or tomorow. Just a couple more question - The friends that live centrally. Do you know the suburbs? Do you have a range for weekly rent? Being a kiwi I assume that you drive. Will you be a 2 car family? Will you be long term leasing or buying? Would you be looking for playgroups, kiddigyms and toddler groups? Would you prefer an area with know for young families? Do you or your husband play sports or have hobbies? I think your SIL may live in Margaret River, a very beautiful part of WA, and about 290km (3.5hours) south of Herne Hill. Which is a good distace for in-laws in my mind :D

Hi Chance. I am a Perth girl who moved back home in May 2011 so can help you with information. My questions: Will you be renting or looking to buy? Will you be working? Do you have children? If yes, ages? If school age, do you have an education preferance? eg. Govt, private, co-ed, single s*x, catholic etc. Do you want to live near your husbands work or would he be willing to travel? If he is willing to travel what time each way? eg. 30 minute commute etc What is important to you? eg. Near a soccer oval, beach, close to a cafe strip, big backyard, want to keep horses etc Do you have friends in Perth? If yes, where are they located? Are you from a specific cultural back ground? I ask as there are some great associations and support networks for particular expat groups. Do you have specific dietary, medical or religious requirements? I ask as some areas will be better equip to assist with these. Have you ever been to Perth? If not, what is your expectation? Yes, Perth and Australia in general is expensive at the moment. I found that grocery shopping was similar to 10% more than I was paying in Dubai with utilities (gas, electric, telephone) about 15% more. Petrol is currently sitting at $1.45ish a litre and cars, as you would expect, are more expensive than in the UAE. Depending on your prefered lifestyle, frequency of eating out, frequency of travel and family composition (kids or not) $120k per annum could be good or could be tight. If you would prefer to email let me know and I'll post my address. Cheers