I was in perth for 7 mths with 2 kids (then 4 and 1.5 yrs) last year. My husband was studying. We stayed in an apartment in claremount (facing the swan river), cos it was near his uni. Saved us the trouble of maintaining a huge house and a garden! Just to share with you...first the downside. Food - if you are used to getting nice fish to cook porridge, you'll be stuck, cos everything in a supermkt is fillet and for me, I had a problem, cos I was used to the market names, not the ang mo names. Suprisingly, Perth has more limited seafood than Spore and its more costly, like salmon is more expensive than Spore. We couldn't find cod fish easily, but there's an alternative called Toothfish (i think). We used to travel to William St to get fish for the kids. William St is where you can also get your chinese groceries (you can find everything and more!). We get pork from vietnamese butchers, cos it doesn't hv that porky smell. Chinese veges are limited. Kids there don't seem to drink powdered milk, so you sure won't be able to find the likes of Pediasure etc. My older kid drank the no-frills full-cream powdered milk, for the younger one, there was S26, but much dearer then in Spore. Things like baby-wipes, diapers (esp the pull-up types) are dearer. We did get it shipped over, cos we worked out the cost, and we did save a bit and we had our favourite brands. But when the sun is out, it can get really scorching as gingerale said. Upside - weather is generally great, unlike Spore which gets so mucky by the time its 10am, you can bring your kid for walks or to the playground anytime of the day and its nice and cool....we joined the local playgroup and the kids got to mix with the ozzies, while i got to chat with the mums there. There's a book, you can get from newsstands called, Kidding Around in Perth (abt A$25) - gives you a whole list of places of interest to visit and addresses of all the playgrounds and parks....I went to almost all that was listed, and some of the playgrounds there are just fantastic, compared to Spore's. Meals at home are simple affairs, cos eating out can get costly, gone are the days, when one food court meal can feed 2 mouths, the portions seemed to have shrunk. So we had loads of sandwiches, sausages (fantastic!), breads. Diary products, fruits and vege is fresh....lots of things to do in the day, bring them to the library, beach, many many playgrounds all over the suburbs even by the beach, go to the supermarkets, everyone goes for picnics, esp weekends. When you are there long enough and get to know more of the Asian community, you will find lobang of where to get homemade curry puffs, kueh, they will also be very helpful in giving you tips where to find hard to find cooking ingredients. Come nights, then it gets boring, TV is so-so. Cinemas are expensive - other than the tuesdays. we brought our own vcds for the kids, borrowed dvds or got the free dvds from the library. Overall a great experience, you shouldn't miss, cos I really enjoyed being with the kids. Being able to earn money is one thing, but the joy of being with your kid and also the quality of life, is an opp you shouldn't miss....it is a hard life looking after the kids (harder than office work), esp when you have not much support other than your hubby and until the time you make more friends
