We're baaack!

[The Monaghans]

Hello all! The Monaghans are back from their jollidays in beautiful Perth and thought we'd bore you with some thoughts about our trip! Some of you may know that we were originally intending to go to Perth when we first applied for our visa but changed our minds halfway through. We now have family living there and so took the opportunity to go and see what we were missing. Well, I have to say that it's a stunningly beautiful place. The views from Kings Park along the Swan River are breathtaking, the city itself is clean and shiny and the people very friendly. We visited AQWA, the WA aquarium and it was fantastic! There is a moving walkway which goes through an underwater tunnel and you have sharks, turtles and giant rays swimming above and around you. The kids were absolutely slack jawed with the wonder of it and frankly, so were we! We also went to Yanchep National Park and watched the wild kangaroos, some of which were carrying joeys, and koalas sleeping peacefully in the trees. On Tuesday we all went into Perth city and whilst the dads entertained the kids with a milkshake and muffin, my sister in law and I went shopping. We'd been gone about 20 minutes when I got a text from Richie telling me that Bill Bailey (the comedian) was sitting next to them! Richie asked Bill if he would have his photo taken with our kids as I was a big fan and Bill very obligingly said yes, of course. Unfortunatly for Bill and for us, our little darlings were having none of it and refused to have their photo taken with him!! Poor Richie has never felt so humiliated!!

 

The downside of Perth for me was the very thing that attracts some people to it. That is, the fact that it is all so new. There are new estates springing up all over the place but no greenery at all. There is a view of an area called Clarkson which is about 30 minutes north of Perth and you cannot see a single patch of green. No trees, no reserves, and the gardens are tiny. It's also shockingly expensive, according to himself a pint of Toohey's Extra Dry in Lonsdale is $4.50. In Perth it was $8.50!!!!

 

All in all, we loved Perth and had a fabulous time. Of course what really made it special was being with family again and it was wonderful to see our children playing so happily with their cousins again. I have to be completely honest and say I wouldn't rule out ever moving there, certainly not right now though. How on earth could I go to Perth and leave the wonderful friends that we've made here????

 

To sum up, if anyone's thinking of going for a holiday I'd say go for it, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a great time!

[Guest Kiki]

Hi Liz

 

Can I ask if you had never been to Adelaide, would you live in Perth? It was always Perth or Adelaide for us. We have visited Adelaide by not Perth really interested in your observations.

 

Everyone always says it so remote and away from everything. Did you feel that. I think coming so far away from the Uk Im not sure that matters.

 

Pleased you had a nice time have you tried anywhere else and did you do a reccie to Adelaide first.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Kimberley x

[Guest caoimhe]

Glad you had a lovely time. Stephen has relatives in Perth but Adelaide was always our place probably because that's were MY relatives are and he is so desparate to go to OZ he never cared which city but I did.

Coming from Northern Ireland you get used to being 'out on your own' so I don't think Perth would annoy me that way just that I would like to be near 'some' family'

Bet you're glad to be home though

[Guest ozzy wannabe]

Glad that you had a lovely hol, but really glad you won't be moving!!

Great to have you back.

 

:wubclub:Vicky xx

[Guest donna T]

My thoughts exactly Vicky, very glad to have you back hun and so pleased you had a wonderfull holiday. Bet you feel all re-energised now!

 

Donna x

[cormcvcr]

Hello all! The Monaghans are back from their jollidays in beautiful Perth and thought we'd bore you with some thoughts about our trip! Some of you may know that we were originally intending to go to Perth when we first applied for our visa but changed our minds halfway through. We now have family living there and so took the opportunity to go and see what we were missing. Well, I have to say that it's a stunningly beautiful place. The views from Kings Park along the Swan River are breathtaking, the city itself is clean and shiny and the people very friendly. We visited AQWA, the WA aquarium and it was fantastic! There is a moving walkway which goes through an underwater tunnel and you have sharks, turtles and giant rays swimming above and around you. The kids were absolutely slack jawed with the wonder of it and frankly, so were we! We also went to Yanchep National Park and watched the wild kangaroos, some of which were carrying joeys, and koalas sleeping peacefully in the trees. On Tuesday we all went into Perth city and whilst the dads entertained the kids with a milkshake and muffin, my sister in law and I went shopping. We'd been gone about 20 minutes when I got a text from Richie telling me that Bill Bailey (the comedian) was sitting next to them! Richie asked Bill if he would have his photo taken with our kids as I was a big fan and Bill very obligingly said yes, of course. Unfortunatly for Bill and for us, our little darlings were having none of it and refused to have their photo taken with him!! Poor Richie has never felt so humiliated!!

 

The downside of Perth for me was the very thing that attracts some people to it. That is, the fact that it is all so new. There are new estates springing up all over the place but no greenery at all. There is a view of an area called Clarkson which is about 30 minutes north of Perth and you cannot see a single patch of green. No trees, no reserves, and the gardens are tiny. It's also shockingly expensive, according to himself a pint of Toohey's Extra Dry in Lonsdale is $4.50. In Perth it was $8.50!!!!

 

All in all, we loved Perth and had a fabulous time. Of course what really made it special was being with family again and it was wonderful to see our children playing so happily with their cousins again. I have to be completely honest and say I wouldn't rule out ever moving there, certainly not right now though. How on earth could I go to Perth and leave the wonderful friends that we've made here????

 

To sum up, if anyone's thinking of going for a holiday I'd say go for it, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a great time!

 

Hi Liz & family,

 

so glad you had a lovely time, I know you were looking forward to it and it's great to hear it worked out well, but lovely too that you came back x

 

I'll give you a call and hopefully meet up with you next tuesday (23rd) as I am on a two week contract at the moment and it finishes on Monday 22nd.

 

Look at you guys though, brushing shoulders with the stars!

 

Thanks for your post, it was great to hear it.

 

x

[minkyme29]

Hi Liz and family

 

Thanks for sharing your holiday impressions and experiences. We too love Perth and went there on our reccie three years ago in the hope that we might move there but alas the SIR visa would not allow us to live within the metro area. It is a stunning place and the beaches are superb. Kings Park as you say is something special, particularly the views and scenery as you walk through the tree tops! Did you go to Fremantle and Rottnest Island?

I was thinking the other day whether we would move there eventually and I am really not sure. The thought of uprooting ourselves yet again to move to a place that is so much more expensive and as you say devoid of trees, would be tough I reckon. Although I would so love to be near to close friends from our college days

AQWA is amazing so to anyone wishing to 'do' Perth you must pay it a visit.

Well we're glad you're home safe and well and also glad you're staying put for now!

Welcome home

 

Dette

[Guest paula]

Really pleased that you enjoyed your visit to Perth. We moved here 22yrs ago after living in Adelaide a number of years. When we came here most of the Northern suberbs, which is where everyone seems to want to live, was bush. It has been developed over that time & trees & parks have not had time to grow & develop. Beer is cheaper in Adelaide & also much cheaper to eat out. Our daughter, who still lives in Adelaide compares our utility bills & tells me they are lower here, certainly electricity & car rego. Possibly rates & water too. Food used to cost more but I noticed a rise in Adelaide prices last time i was there. We much prefer the climate here. Winters are much milder. It does not get cold until later in the day. Summers can be hot, much the same as Adelaide but we do get a breeze here in the afternoon. Our only complaint with Perth is that it is more expensive to visit the other States.

[The Monaghans]

Hi Liz

 

Can I ask if you had never been to Adelaide, would you live in Perth? It was always Perth or Adelaide for us. We have visited Adelaide by not Perth really interested in your observations.

 

Everyone always says it so remote and away from everything. Did you feel that. I think coming so far away from the Uk Im not sure that matters.

 

Pleased you had a nice time have you tried anywhere else and did you do a reccie to Adelaide first.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Kimberley x

 

Hi Kimberley,

 

Yes, if we'd never been to Adelaide I think we could definitely have settled in Perth. I think we'd have found it a bit harder at first and I would almost certainly have had to go straight to work so that we could have had a bigger mortgage. We didn't do a reccie, finances wouldn't allow, and as things have worked out I'm glad we settled in Adelaide. Paula is right, the weather there is a bit "better" than here, Perth hasn't had a winter really this year, according to my sister in law they had about two weeks of rain and that's about it. There doesn't seem to be any problems with water shortages though, everybody has a sprinkler in their garden (reticulation???) and you can wash your car everyday if you want to! On the downside, it was 46 degrees on Christmas Day! I know it was 43 degrees here on New Years Eve and we really struggled with that! It didn't feel isolated at all. If anything (and I feel a bit disloyal saying this - I'm waiting to be shot down in flames...) it feels slightly more isolated here, Adelaide really is overlooked by most people and has a pretty "backwards" reputation. There, I've said it. Line up and take your best shot everybody!!! I wouldn't blame anybody if they preferred Perth to Adelaide, it's horses for courses as far as I'm concerned and each city has it's own merits. But for now, we're staying put here thank you!

[Guest Kiki]

Hi Kimberley,

 

Yes, if we'd never been to Adelaide I think we could definitely have settled in Perth. I think we'd have found it a bit harder at first and I would almost certainly have had to go straight to work so that we could have had a bigger mortgage. We didn't do a reccie, finances wouldn't allow, and as things have worked out I'm glad we settled in Adelaide. Paula is right, the weather there is a bit "better" than here, Perth hasn't had a winter really this year, according to my sister in law they had about two weeks of rain and that's about it. There doesn't seem to be any problems with water shortages though, everybody has a sprinkler in their garden (reticulation???) and you can wash your car everyday if you want to! On the downside, it was 46 degrees on Christmas Day! I know it was 43 degrees here on New Years Eve and we really struggled with that! It didn't feel isolated at all. If anything (and I feel a bit disloyal saying this - I'm waiting to be shot down in flames...) it feels slightly more isolated here, Adelaide really is overlooked by most people and has a pretty "backwards" reputation. There, I've said it. Line up and take your best shot everybody!!! I wouldn't blame anybody if they preferred Perth to Adelaide, it's horses for courses as far as I'm concerned and each city has it's own merits. But for now, we're staying put here thank you!

 

Thanks Liz for your honest reply.

 

We visited Adelaide on reccie in March /April. (if you were at Libbys Lunch river cruise thingie I might of met you). We always planned Adelaide after researching and really the friendliness of this forum and Im not really a big poster just a looker lol. We have no visa restrictions and our flights are booked. When we visited because we have no ties, no friends as such ( although we met some lovely very helpful peeps) no family there we had a clean slate. We all liked it. But is like enough. I wish now we had visited another state for comparissions.

 

Would you know if its easier to find work out there (Perth) as work is everyones worry. We have definetely establish its not what you know but who you know with a dash of persistance in Adelaide. I know Paula has tried to compare Utilities etc Thanks Paula:wubclub:

 

very interested in your thoughts

 

Kimberley xx

[Guest paula]

Interesting to hear your thoughts on Perth. Boxing Day was very hot 44.2c. It was the start of a heat wave which lasted a few weeks. Seemed longer because our air/con packed up & not enough air/con repair guys to repair it. Gave up finding one & flew to Adelaide for a month. Thought it wonderful to get away from the heat - - then Adelaide got a heat wave which went on at least as long as Perth's. But without the afternoon "Freemantle Doctor" (as it is called) which is a sea breeze that makes it more comfortable. I'm sure the heat follows us around!

We are retired, so not in the work force. However, when I see pages of employment available here I regret we were born too early. I feel confident in saying that there is plenty of work available in every field. Especially air/con repair men!!

Personally i would not want to live in the sterile new northern suberbs. I think there is more character in the Southern seaside towns ie. Rockingham. Or Mandurah (the Gold Coast of the West). Bunbury if you like a busy town/city on the coast a few hours drive from Perth. And Albany (400klms South) if you like a cooler climate. There seems to be plenty of employment in these places.

I do agree that Perth feels isolated but it IS closer to England! Joking aside - - when we lived in Adelaide we only visited Melbourne. So it's probably all in the mind.

Re. house prices - - Perth prices were half the cost of Adelaide houses 20yrs ago. Things change. They may be more comparable now. Or going that way.

Looking forward to our annual visit to Adelaide next month to see our new Grand daughter. Also, 5dollar 'all you can eat' Chinese at the Central market. Paula x

[The Monaghans]

Unfortunately we just didn't have time to visit the south at all, nor could we squeeze in a trip to Freo which I'm told is lovely. In case anybody is thinking it, I wouldn't dream of telling anyone that Perth is better than Adelaide or vice versa, everyone needs to form their own opinions. I'm just saying that if ever we decide to up sticks from Adelaide, then Perth would be a definite contender for us (well me anyway, you'd best ask himself where he wants to live!!). I do know that wages are slightly higher in WA but then property is more expensive as well so it's swings and roundabouts really.

[Angela]

Hi Liz & Family

Welcome back, all refreshed . I have to say Ash is 'very' keen to have a nosey around Perth its on the 'to do' list.

I am pleased you enjoyed time with your family & poor Richie, I bet he is still gutted about not having his photo taken .

Must catch up soon, take care

All of us xx

[Guest theforrests]

Thanks for your post. Our visa only gave us the choice of Adelaide - its interesting to hear other people's opinions about the other states.