To live in, any decent trails?

Any recession woes in australia at the moment?

Haven’t we done this before?…… ah, there ya go…..

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/so-looks-like-im-going-to-work-in-western-australia-perth-or-broome

I was talking to my work’s australia hr manny and he said it is just beginning to slow down over there, not as many opportunities as there were.

Sunny, sandy, expensive.

Recession-wise, Australia is by far the best placed of all the major Western economies but I’m sure it depends where you are and what you do.

Wow who would have thought a simlar question would have been asked a month ago… I’d be office based in perth so I little different to the other chaps middle of nowhere scary job….

Might look into it some more then

We’re forming a plan to more there in the next 5 years.

Went there on holiday once, loved it. Have mates who moved there to work and love it also.

wifes best friend went in january M& F plus two primary school kids.. wife and hubby got as many jobs as they applied for too much work. ( accountant and panel beater) kids luv the schools all like the weather but there coming home as mrs friend is missing her mates..

It’s fantastic – but … shhh … don’t tell anyone, or they’ll all want to move over here.

Depends which industry you work in….if you can get involved with natural resources then you’ll be laughing.

My old crew mate is a Paramedic with an agency that supplies staff to the mining sector….as quickly as they can get anything out of the ground China and India want to buy it….he’s on $1000 per day, 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off.

i live in Sydney, Perth is very isolated……trails are ok but do not really compare to east coast. Trail comparison to Uk would not even be worth it – quality, accessibility of trails in UK is fantastic.

Australia was not hit hard by recession and WA even less so, it is the engine room of the economy and driven entirely by export of resources to China – if you are planning on working in resources sector (or related field) you should not have any issues finding well paid work, however, it may not be based in Perth but a camp or port in a rural part of WA. Trail riding in rural WA will not be a popular pastime!!

Thanks for the responses, my field isn’t mining, I would be office based in Perth itself (it/banking)

Hell of a lot to research….

Perth is very expensive, Sydney and Melbourne aren’t cheap either. Clothes expensive, cars expensive, petrol not cheap. Racial injustice particularly pronounced in WA. Got kids? Education for middle 80% isn’t too bad but the top decile and bottom decile get screwed.

USD-denominated mining economy is doing well…so long as China keeps consuming everything. Anything that can feed off the mine earnings is doing OK for the morning. High AUD is punishing exporters and domestic manufacturers though e.g. steel. http://www.smh.com.au/national/industry-poised-for-huge-job-cuts-20110821-1j4sr.html

But the east coast is lovely and I don’t want to leave. Fingers crossed if there’s a downturn I’ll still have a job because I am cheap. I’ve been predicting a collapse in the Australian professional services market for a couple of years now – but everyone else disagrees with me.

From the four days I spent in Perth before heading to the desert I can safely say it is VERY expensive. $9 a pint. $3.99 for 6 breadrolls spring to mind was about £12 for some milk, ceral and sandwich material that would have cost <£5 in the uk. Fortunately im now in a serviced camp 500km from anywhere so I can’t spend any money!

hmmm. But surely the salaries match the cost of living out there so it is all relative?

(have heard the expensive / isolated comments on a number of sites now_)

You been out on the bike yet OHH ? Or seen any nasty creepy crawlies?

yes my wage is about three times that of it in the uk but so is the cost of living.

I did have a quick blast around the hills east of perth and its a bit different to uk trail riding.

Seen a few snakes and saw my first Huntsman spider today.

A lot less worried about the bitey things now i’ve lived in the desert for two weeks. Esp. as the first week the toilet facilities were ‘take a shovel and head in to the bush’

But surely the salaries match the cost of living out there so it is all relative?

No, not really. But quality of life, vacation time, working hours, benefits, parks/pools/beaches, aggro/crime factors are all much better – in the Eastern States at least. In my (desk jockey) job I could probably earn a little more in London and non-rent living expenses would be cheaper – but it wouldn’t be worth it.

The animals/insects/whatever thing is totally overblown.

FYI, sandgropers (Western Australians) regard people from the eastern states as stuck-up, cut-off, effete subsidy junkies. People from the eastern states regard Westralians as orange-skinned, jetski-purchasing, minority-bashing, uncouth nouveau riche types.

Been here 3 days and the bikes will be another several weeks, so can’t comment on the riding.

So far so good, all looks very clean, people are very friendly and extrenely patient (they must be used to explaining everything to expats!)It does look expensive when compared to the UK, expecially when converting at the current exchange rate but when you think in terms of percentage income then it’s about the, but as the salaries are higher you have the potential to save a lot more up than you can in the UK at the moment.

If you’re the kind of person who worries about “boozed-up Britain” or social disharmony, you won’t get much relief in Perth. Police and media (in Eastern States too) are twenty years behind the UK; high level of corruption in local government, police, unions, politics (compared to Nthn Europe anyway).

IMHO, many Australians are neophobic/xenophobic – not necessarily in the sense of hating foreigners but just in the literal sense of being scared/deeply sceptical of anything new or strange.

This story is a few years old but it’s emblematic of some of the problems faced in Perth: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/04/1057179157225.html

Having said all that – one could quite happily live in Perth and never bump into any of those problems.

konabunny are u in Syd? I am on Northern Beaches.

Yeah, Sydney. Love it. Not riding much though – busy with work. 🙁

Spent 7 weeks there back in 1990 and I’d like to think things have moved on.

It is the @rse end of nowhere to get to – 5 hour internal flight from Sydney / 3 day train trip.

The main paper for approx 800,00 folk (The Western Australian???) published what garages were open for fuel over the weekend!!! Like I said, I’m sure things have improved since then.

I’ve also seen references as it’s a great place to retire to and die in.

Were it me, I’d look at the east coast, at least there’s more places to go to!

Changed a bit since then!

Petrol station thing was probably linked into Sunday trading/union laws which have been much liberalised in Australia in recent years.

Perth Airport has flights all over the place so it’s easy to fly everywhere. Unfortunately, you have to fly to get anywhere else…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Airport

The riding is underrated and improving all the time. There is nothing in the city as it is flat and built on sand. A car is necessary if you are going to be working in the CBD (the city sprawls – a lot).

The Perth hills are 25km to the east of the city are an absolute gem. Approx 100km of primo singletrack. There are access issues but this is improving all the time. Some of the purpose built trails that are under construction are superb.

Yes it is too hot to ride and the trails get a bit loose for a few weeks in the summer, but it is never too cold, wet, muddy or snowy. Winter here is fantastic.

Click here for some WA freeride

And this is what I did last weekend.

[video]http://www.vimeo.com/28049833[/video]

Yes it is expensive for visitors due to the strength of the AUD and it is parochial, but Aussies are still more pleasant and friendly than most. Not that it matters as the place is full of poms.

Other than riding, the beaches aren’t too shabby, the wind surfing, kite boarding and sailing are world class; as is the surf down south (not in Perth though). The beer is shlt.

Nicely said farm-boy! I just don’t recognise the Perth I live in from some of the descriptions above. And, as someone who spent a few hours on the trails this weekend – kudos to you for the trailbuilding. The Kalamunda circuit will be awesome when its finished!

The crucial question, of course, is where the OP is coming from.

Aussies are still more pleasant and friendly than most

True and a good thing about Perth.

Not that it matters as the place is full of poms

True and a bad thing about Perth!

The beer is shlt.

no way ….Little creatures is from Freo…best beer avaialble

konabunny – if you’re keen, when work eases off, i’d be happy to meet up for a ride? I usually get out of town to ourimbah, appin or similar. let me know

no way ….Little creatures is from Freo…best beer avaialble

Hardly! But it’s far from $hit either…

The cost of living can be quite high compared to the UK, but even in a job such as mine, which seems to be fast approaching requiring more hours than there are in a day, I still seem much more relaxed than I was back in Blighty!

easygroove – sounds good, buddy. I’m looking at February being my next “quiet time”, though, so I’ll have to check back in with you then! 😯

Went there this year, s’alright. My sister summed it up quite well though, she liken’d it to “The Truman Show”.

Bl00dy hell Kona …i thought i was busy at work but you must be really busy!! Are you part of Barry O’F new state govt or something?

I work in the city at wynyard and live in freshwater.

post when you up for a ride, mini stw expat blast of the dam!!