What do you think about Perth?

[luis_ss]

Hi there,

We are a gay couple currently living in grey and depressing London and planning to move to wonderful and sunny Australia by the end of the year.

After much discussion and research, we chose Perth as our ideal destination, for a number of reasons, mainly the weather (it seems so much drier and sunnier over there), size (it is not too small or too big/over populated with traffic jams everywhere), lots of national parks, deserted beaches, coral reefs and remote landscapes (we are big outdoors lovers), good employment potential for both of us and really far from everywhere.

I know that no place is perfect and I don’t expect Perth to be. It seems to be very quiet over there without much going on, a bit expensive, too much family-oriented (ideal for couples raising their children which is not our case), a bit backwater (no offense intended here, that is just what I was told) and really far from everywhere.

Are we doing the right thing? I have posted a similar message in Perth’s forum and got just two replies, one of them from a lovely girl planning to leave Perth for Sydney (that should tell me something shouldn’t it) so I decided to post it here also.

I would love to hear what you think about Perth, the good and the bad, what you think about our decision, and if you agree/disagree with anything I said...

Any advice/comments welcome!

Luis

[andrewc]

Perth is a lovely city. I have a number of friends that live there and love it! Very few people have a bad word to say about it. Your concerns about it being backward, are valid. But most Australian cities are backward in their attitudes in different parts.

Perth seems to me to be made up of a lot of little towns very close together. I.e. there is a different feel to each part, and they aren't close together.

It also appears to be a very active city, with lots of outdoor stuff going on all the time, and lots of exercise related things, probably about the same as Sydney or Melbourne, which given it's relative size is pretty good!

I don't think I could live there (I like humidity), but as pbj said, it's a great place to visit.

[Totka]

Heya fellas. Perth is a beautiful place. Its very much an outdoors lifestyle. It is all the things you've mentioned. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. If its a party town you're after then you may be dissappointed. There are a couple of bars/clubs, one in fact (Connections) is the oldest continuously run gay club in the Southern Hemisphere. The worst thing about Perth is that it is so far away from any other major Australian city, so if you want a change it requires some extra effort. As an alternative check our Brisbane. Its only an hour flight from Sydney, similar in size to Perth and its gay community is much more active and diverse.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

[luis_ss]

Hi guys, many thanks for your replies!

Perth seems quite nice really, the only thing that makes me a bit uneasy about it is its remoteness and the lack of a more active social/scene life. You cannot have everything I guess...

Totka, thanks for suggesting Brisbane. I would love to live in QUEENSLAND, however I did some research on it and it seems to be really wet and humid (at least recently) and decent beaches seem to be too far away from the city... In that sense Perth seems good also, there are nice beaches just 20 min from the city centre.

Luis

[shazzboy]

Hi guys, many thanks for your replies!

Perth seems quite nice really, the only thing that makes me a bit uneasy about it is its remoteness and the lack of a more active social/scene life. You cannot have everything I guess...

Totka, thanks for suggesting Brisbane. I would love to live in QUEENSLAND, however I did some research on it and it seems to be really wet and humid (at least recently) and decent beaches seem to be too far away from the city... In that sense Perth seems good also, there are nice beaches just 20 min from the city centre.

Luis

Perth is the most expensive major city in Australia, no more decently priced holidays, luxury goods and property is extortionate for the city size.

A good website to get lots of British opinions is the following website:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=54

Perth seems to attract lots of UKers, but a high number of them end up hating the place - especially if you dont have kids and still want to jet set around the world.

[luis_ss]

Thanks Shazzboy for your message, and that website you suggested is really great. Lots of useful information there!

However I found mixed views in there about Perth...

I agree that Perth seems quite expensive, but the same can be said of Sydney specially if you want to live near the city centre I guess.

[bascia2]

What is it about Perth that attracts you specifically (the items in your first post leave a lot of possibilities)? We could possibly offer more alternatives with similar attractions for you to compare.

[luis_ss]

Hi Mark

Thanks for getting back to me!

What is it about Perth that attracts you specifically (the items in your first post leave a lot of possibilities)? We could possibly offer more alternatives with similar attractions for you to compare.

I have two main concerns really. One is the weather; the east coast seems to be quite wet and humid compared to the east coast (based on statistical data). Of course it rains in Perth but it seems to be concentrated during the winter months, the weather being mostly fine the rest of the year. In the east coast rain is more evenly spread during the year (which can be a good or bad thing). The weather is the main reason we are moving half way across the world and we expect it to be second to none!

In second place is quality of living especially in terms of transport (commuting to work during the week, going to beaches and other places during the weekend). Perth seems to be very good in that sense also, wherever you are you are never too far from decent beaches and commuting to and from the city centre by car or train seems not to be a problem at all.

I wouldn’t mind and would even enjoy living in a small town but as we both work in IT it is more likely for us to find work in a big city. And so far Perth is the one that ticks most boxes…

What do you think, am I in the right track? I see that you live near Brisbane, how is life there? I have considered Brisbane but after reading a bit about it I wasn’t too sure (as per my criteria above)…

Cheers,
Luis

[shazzboy]

Hi Mark

Thanks for getting back to me!



I have two main concerns really. One is the weather; the east coast seems to be quite wet and humid compared to the east coast (based on statistical data). Of course it rains in Perth but it seems to be concentrated during the winter months, the weather being mostly fine the rest of the year. In the east coast rain is more evenly spread during the year (which can be a good or bad thing). The weather is the main reason we are moving half way across the world and we expect it to be second to none!

In second place is quality of living especially in terms of transport (commuting to work during the week, going to beaches and other places during the weekend). Perth seems to be very good in that sense also, wherever you are you are never too far from decent beaches and commuting to and from the city centre by car or train seems not to be a problem at all.

I wouldn’t mind and would even enjoy living in a small town but as we both work in IT it is more likely for us to find work in a big city. And so far Perth is the one that ticks most boxes…

What do you think, am I in the right track? I see that you live near Brisbane, how is life there? I have considered Brisbane but after reading a bit about it I wasn’t too sure (as per my criteria above)…

Cheers,
Luis

I think after a while you will prefer humidity to cancer risk dryness. I don't know if you have experienced the Australian sun before, but during summer especially in the Perth region the sun is so hot and with the hole in the ozone layer extraordinarily dangerous. You are looking at lots and lots of 40C days, and several that reach up to 45c. You can not go out and do things in that heat. The tar on the road literally melts.

As for a beach style lifestyle you need to live directly on the beach and commuting in any Australian city is not easy. Public transport is a joke and car costs are extortionate.

Also if you are working in IT you expect to work both saturdays AND sundays. Australia does not have as strong labour protection laws as the UK/EU and you cant really refuse to work if its in your contract and for IT pretty much its a 7 day work possibility. Your looking at probably 45hrs a week in work.


Sorry, I just have had a lot of discussions with Professionals from various parts of Europe and they say they are treated like junior kick boys when they work in Australia. All of them eventually leave in disgust.

[barabin]

My partner and I have also just moved from London to Aus. We chose Cairns in North Queensland as we wanted to escape it all and have a bit of a designer guest house.

Try www.pomsinoz.com. They have a great forum with a lot of people like yourself on there. Lot's of tips on Visas too as Australia is a nightmare to get into (legally anyway).

Good luck !!
x

[luis_ss]

My partner and I have also just moved from London to Aus. We chose Cairns in North Queensland as we wanted to escape it all and have a bit of a designer guest house.

Try www.pomsinoz.com. They have a great forum with a lot of people like yourself on there. Lot's of tips on Visas too as Australia is a nightmare to get into (legally anyway).

Good luck !!
x

Hi barabin

Thanks for the message, in fact I have used pomsinoz before when I was applying for our visas (we've got full PR visas now :) )

The thing about such forums is that they are very "family-oriented", as I mentioned most people there are married with children. I posted my question here because I wanted to have some views from gay people with a similar lifestyle to us.

I find it fantastic that you are moving to Cairns, that is a place where I would not mind living... the problem being it is not easy to get a job there, except of course if you open your own business like it seems you are doing (guesthouse?)

But how long have you been there? Are you openly a gay couple to everyone, how people are accepting it? I always wondered would it be like to be gay in a small town in Australia...

Good luck for you both too!
Luis

[local_warming]

perth is awesome - i love it there in summer.
eternally clear skies, awesome dry baking heat day in day out, beaches that streach right along the coast, lovely warm ocean water(they dont net for sharks though like the east coast beaches do) very backpacker feel to it in summer to. rotnest island is kickarse too - amazing beaches there, plus they have these WWII navel guns on the island, that you can go down into their underneath bunkers.
i found perth friendly to go out drinking in as well.
only thing is the supermarkets close too early at night over there, and no sunday retail trading which is weird(although premier barnett is currently seeking to legislate to allow sunday trading)

[barabin]

Hi barabin

Thanks for the message, in fact I have used pomsinoz before when I was applying for our visas (we've got full PR visas now :) )

The thing about such forums is that they are very "family-oriented", as I mentioned most people there are married with children. I posted my question here because I wanted to have some views from gay people with a similar lifestyle to us.

I find it fantastic that you are moving to Cairns, that is a place where I would not mind living... the problem being it is not easy to get a job there, except of course if you open your own business like it seems you are doing (guesthouse?)

But how long have you been there? Are you openly a gay couple to everyone, how people are accepting it? I always wondered would it be like to be gay in a small town in Australia...

Good luck for you both too!
Luis

We have been in cairns for three weeks now and are absolutely loving it.

You are right about the jobs though, Cairns is very tourism orientated so unless you are looking for a complete lifestyle change then I would not say go with it.

Yes we are openly gay but that does not mean we hold hands down the street (not that I'm into that anyway). Acceptance is OK however if you venture to even smaller towns then you may have a bit of a problem.

It's the same everywhere, it's definitely not as accepting as London but it does not mean that you will feel too out of place so you have nothing to worry about.

Keep us updated!!

[bascia2]

From your description you are probably right to pick Perth. On the east coast the only possibility to match your criteria would be Newcastle but I don't know what the IT job market is like there. Newcastle is right on the beaches and is not humid like Queensland and only a short train ride to Sydney if you get bored of Newcastle. It is hot and dry in summer with a good sea breeze and can get to 40-42C. There are also nice alternatives nearby like Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens.

Perth sounds like the go for you though.