Moving to Perth with young family.

DannyLK

Hi all, just looking for as much information as possible, my girlfriend and i are really considering moving from Limerick to Perth. We have 2 boys aged 4 and 2. I'v lived in Australia before but never in perth and that was before i had kids. Any info on schools and pre schools and people's experiences having done the same would be much appreciated. Thanks

Peregrinus

Perth is a great place to raise kids - green, spacious, relaxed, river, parks, beaches. When they get to be teenagers they’ll think that Perth is a bit quiet and they’ll wish you’d settled in Sydney, but a few years later when they have kids of their own they’ll be in a Perth time of life again. It’s the way of things.

I moved to Perth when my daughter was 3. She is now 17. The schools are generally pretty good but, as everywhere, some are better than others, and a few do have significant problems. Admission to popular schools is by catchment area, so this is a factor you will want to bear in mind when deciding where to live. Note that in this regard you need to be thinking about secondary schools as well as primary schools. In terms of assessing schools there’s no substitute for talking to parents of children in the schools, but I appreciate that while you’re in Limerick that’s a bit tricky. When you arrive in Perth you’ll want to rent a house, which will involve a 6 or 12 month commitment to a particular area. You can use that time to think about/research where you want to settle more permanently. (Obviously there’ll be other factors at work in making that choice, like where you end up getting jobs.) But the bottom line is that there are lots of schools and the standard is generally fairly good, so you will have lots of choices.

The government schools are free; the Catholic schools charge fees but, especially at the primary level, these are fairly modest. About 30% of primary school kids go to Catholic schools, so there’s a good network. You don’t have to be Catholic to attend but it helps, especially if the demand for a particular school is high. Almost certainly wherever you live in Perth you’ll be in the catchment area for at least one government school, sometimes two (catchment areas overlap sometimes) plus you’ll have access to at least one Catholic school. There’s a handful of other private schools, e.g. Montessori schools, Steiner schools.

School entry age: you can go to a government school in the calendar year in which you turn four-and-a-half. (Schooling isn’t mandatory until the following year, though). Most of the church/private schools follow the same rule.

If your kids are under school age but you need child care because you both work, that can be trickier. Or, for older children, you may need after-school care. Child care places can be hard to get, and can be expensive (though there is a government subsidy.) They are all privately provided, some by profit-making businesses and some by non-profit organisations. They are all inspected and licensed but, anecdotally, quality does vary quite a bit. Ask around but, because supplies are short, you may have to take what you can get. It’s many years, obviously, since I was in the this market, so others may have better information than me.

pete4130

Have you looked into what visa you'll require to make a permanent move to Australia? If you aren't married there are probably a few more steps involved in proving your de facto relationship for your partner to be included on your visa or you to be included on hers.

Wanderer78

It does seem like Australia is in a massive housing bubble at the moment and will probably burst in the near future, so that maybe something to consider. I do believe it is extremely expensive to live there at the moment, but the sun is Damn nice to wake to. Best of luck

DannyLK

I think i am going to try get a 189 PR visa because i'v seen that if i was on a 457 visa again that it would cost us $4000 a year to send the kids to a public school. I should have a good chance with my application as im a Fitter/welder by trade and I'm sure i'v 60 points . It's going to be around $7400 for our application and $3000 for an agents professional fee's (is that expensive or reasonable?) And then i'v to be skill assessed with is another $2500 iv been told. It's just the cost of living compared to what i will make a week i will have to work out. She dosent want me doing FIFO as she dosent want to be on her own with the kids in a new city which is understandable. Just have to make sure i make enough in perth to be sure. Then i'v to add up set up costs like rent and furnishing a place and a car and a ute etc.

DannyLK

I was thinking the very same when i was in Queensland in 2011 and a few Irish lads i was working with where buying houses there. We where lucky enough when i came home as houses where still cheap enough after the recession when we bought our house in Limerick. The house prices here are gon mad again and rent is threw the roof. Ireland will never learn. I was looking at new homes in perth built by compete homes for $300,000 which i thought was fairly reasonable. I'd be renting for awhile over there thought if we go just to make sure everyone settles

DannyLK

Thanks for all the info on schools ðŸ‘

amtc

I'm just back from the airport after despatching my mam off to perth. I have six aunts and uncles over there and numerous cousins

One has his own fitting and welding company and can't get staff...can send details. It's in Perth as he just had his first baby and so won't travel too far

Location wise I know north of the river better...hilarys, padbury, don't go as far as clarkson. Basically any of the suburbs around whitfords are very irish.

DannyLK

amtc wrote: »

I'm just back from the airport after despatching my mam off to perth. I have six aunts and uncles over there and numerous cousins

One has his own fitting and welding company and can't get staff...can send details. It's in Perth as he just had his first baby and so won't travel too far

Location wise I know north of the river better...hilarys, padbury, don't go as far as clarkson. Basically any of the suburbs around whitfords are very irish.

Ya thanks that would be great. I'm new to this boards.ie but think you can send his details in private mail. Defiantly be worth chatting to him by email.

pete4130

You don't need to use an agent. They just know the process to get things done. They don't increase your chances of getting the visa. They fill in the forms for you and thats it.

I did my temporary partner and permanent visa all without using an agent.

amtc

Sent you two pms

Mackman

pete4130 wrote: »

You don't need to use an agent. They just know the process to get things done. They don't increase your chances of getting the visa. They fill in the forms for you and thats it.

I did my temporary partner and permanent visa all without using an agent.

This, migration agents take advantage of people's lack of knowledge of the system. Everything you need to know is on the immigration website. I've applied for a bunch of visas including my PR one while in Ireland. It was a pain collating all the information, but with an agent you need to do this anyway. All they do is fill out the form, and send it in.

An expensive middle man, don't bother with them. If you have any sort of head for forms and stuff you will be fine, and if they need anything else they will ask.

Raising a family here is pretty great, there are a massive amount of sports, activities, and hobbies that the kids can get into. They cost money though, it's not like the GAA where its practically free. To join a club to play football, soccer, rugby or something like that can cost $1000 a year per child. My daughter does dancing and it costs around $1200 a year all up, and swimming lessons about $80 a month.

Schools are generally pretty good, but as the previous poster said, do your research of the are first. Some schools excel in certain areas, some might be sports, some might be academics, some might be the arts. Maybe something to look into for the future.

There are still so many things that you can do that don't cost anything (of very little), the beach, camping, hiking, bike riding, there are parks with playgrounds everywhere, there are usually free events on throughout the year in the city and in local towns.

Good Luck!

Morshlac

Mackman wrote: »

There are still so many things that you can do that don't cost anything (of very little), the beach, camping, hiking, bike riding, there are parks with playgrounds everywhere, there are usually free events on throughout the year in the city and in local towns.

So true! me and my wife are always saying this.
She's from Perth and we're moving back there in April permanently after a few years in Limerick OP.  We have 2 boys similar ages....no doubts at all about the decision best of luck with it