hello there.
figure this would be a good place to ask a few questions about work and the kite scene in perth.
myself (a carpenter/joiner) and my wife a (dental nurse) are thinking of making the move out to Oz along with our 1 yr old son from Ireland.
from what ive heard perth is a nice city? with wind 300 +days a yr?
and that OZ is crying out for skilled workers?
ive 15 yrs experience in my trade and at 1 time or another have done everything from foundation work to making stairs to roofing to high end bar and shop fitting.
my wife has 12 yrs experence as a qualified dental nurse and has excellent referrences from all her past employers.
so on this basis would it be easy to just arrive and get a job?
is it east to get rental accomadation?
what are the wages like?
quite a few questions I know but im just fishing for any info at all or to get info from like minded people
how strong is the wind usually?
does it start light and build or does it just honk?
I like butter flat water in 20 -25 on a 9m or 1m waves with good spaces for ramping off . havent done much surfing
not to fond of the sharks or killer jellyfish
kite wise im still liking the C's keepin them low , powered and unhooked for the most.
cheers in advance
ian
iansycool@yahooDOTcom
"hello there."
Hello
"figure this would be a good place to ask a few questions about work and the kite scene in perth."
It is sometimes.
"myself (a carpenter/joiner) and my wife a (dental nurse) are thinking of making the move out to Oz along with our 1 yr old son from Ireland."
Good on you.
"from what ive heard perth is a nice city? with wind 300 +days a yr?"
Perth is good for some things not all things. Sun 300+ days a year. Only windy for 3 months (Nov Dec Jan) + frontal winds occasionally in winter (June July August)
"and that OZ is crying out for skilled workers?"
Yes
"ive 15 yrs experience in my trade and at 1 time or another have done everything from foundation work to making stairs to roofing to high end bar and shop fitting.
my wife has 12 yrs experence as a qualified dental nurse and has excellent referrences from all her past employers."
You'd probably both get work - she certainly would.
"so on this basis would it be easy to just arrive and get a job?"
No - it never is.
"is it east to get rental accomadation?"
No - (economic boom = expensive. Think Celtic Tiger)
"what are the wages like?"
as above
"quite a few questions I know but im just fishing for any info at all or to get info from like minded people"
No worries
"how strong is the wind usually?"
Seabreeze in summer (Nov Dec Jan) generally between 15 and 25 kts from 2.00 pm until 6.00 or 7.00 pm
"does it start light and build or does it just honk?"
Go North and it honks. In Perth it varies - but often comes in pretty rapidly - you can sometimes see it comes across the glistening ocean.
"I like butter flat water in 20 -25 on a 9m or 1m waves with good spaces for ramping off . haven't done much surfing"
There is flat water and some waves. Perth itself has waves mainly in water - but there are better waves up and down the 10,000 km of beach in WA.
"not to fond of the sharks or killer jellyfish"
No jellies in perth. Been a couple of deaths from Sharks - swimmers - over the past 70 years. More likely to die driving to the beach. Get over it.
"kite wise i'm still liking the C's keepin them low , powered and unhooked for the most."
IMHO C's work for the C breeze - but very few use them in the strong frontal winds.
"cheers in advance
ian"
see you out there.
To clarify a bit of Andris response, I would say the season is a bit longer than 3 months. February is generally pretty good too, with seabreezes going into March and sometimes starting in October.
I'm not sure what he means by wages are 'as above'. Wages in Western Australia are now the highest in Australia on average. I heard a statistic recently that the average wage in WA was 66k, as oppose to 55k Australia wide. Some things do cost more, especially rent due to a shortage of rental properties and high property prices. The property market seems to be going through an adjustment at the moment though, it looks to my unqualified opinion that it may relax a little over the next six to twelve months. You should be able to get something without too much drama and afford it as a carpenter and dental nurse. May not be in the trendiest suburbs, but people in those ones aren't all that friendly anyway. Check out www.realestate.com.au, that seems to be the most poplular property website over here.
Getting into Australia requires a reasonably in depth visa application. You should both qualify for a 175 visa, details are here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/175/index.htm and it has a list of skills which qualify, which includes carpenter and dental technician. I don't know how long it takes to get though, there may be faster options.
Perth has plenty of waves for ramping off and plenty of flat water too. Unfortunately the spacing between the waves isn't ideal, a tad short in most places to line them up properly in my opinion, but you know what they say about opinions.
Find an employer that wants to sponsor you to work here - that wouldnt be hard with both your qualifications on a 457 visa or 451 (cant remember) - and it can be as quick as 4-8 weeks and you are here.
You will kilte and surf a lot enjoy the warm weather, melt in the hot and generally appreciate the space.
My wifes family is from Ireland and we have rellies out here all the time and they love it.
Good luck
thanks for the great info.
I thought 300 days of wind sounded alittle to good to be true/
after the frontal wind in the winter, is it completley dead everywhere for 7ish mths? or is there wind to be found within a reasonable driving distance from the city.
I dont know if I could last that long without getting out for a kite
thanks again
Ian
"reasonable driving distance"... here's the thing about Perth; Lanno is a day trip, especially a downwinder from Ledge to lanno [a nice ride out in the middle of nowhere but really you can get it in Perth], it's a 400km round trip. one end of perth is over 90minutes drive from the other. ect, you will probably be 5 minutes drive from a closest kitebeach. There are not many flat water spots in perth unfortunately.
generally the dead period is around now.. its been dead and inconsistant for ever 
but i cant remember it being too bad just before summer?
The winter frontal season is not at all dead, the North Westers can come in up to once or twice a week with 20-30 knots. If you're a competent kiter and comfortable in those conditions they can be quite enjoyable. Some of us actually hang out for the winter conditions as the wind is a bit stronger, there are less people at the beach and the different angle of attack at the waves is a nice change.
As for moving to Perth to work, the local newspaper is running a blog at the moment about that very subject. There's a lot of rubbish on there and it seems everyone has an opinion, it's the general public there though and they don't seem to be considering the kiteboarding conditions. That was a big drawcard for me when I decided to leave my extended family behind on the East Coast and move here. Between kiteboarding and the fact that I'm a mining professional Perth is so perfect for me that I really can't imagine living anywhere else.
One thing a lot of people mention and I have noticed too is that Perth can be quite cliquey. It has been suggested that because it is so isolated from the rest of the world that Perth locals are an isolated sort of people, they don't seem to want to become friends with new people once they establish a network through school and family. Again this is the general public and does not take into account the kiteboarding factor. There's a decent group of kiters here who are reasonably sociable and in fact I feel more a part of a community here than I have in a lot of the places I've lived since I left my home town.
Anyway the blog is here: thewest.com.au/ if you've got the time and interest to read it. Remember what they say about opinions though...
