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Hubby has the chance of applying for a job in Busselton WA at the moment and I was wondering whether anyone might have a bit more info about the area.
I have done a little research online already, the town is small but the area looks beautiful, Perth is about 2/3 hrs drive away so would be our main city. Prices for houses are reasonable compared to the UK ( you get more for your money though no houses with any character it seems which I would miss), restaurant prices also seem comparable to the UK. How about daily costs like petrol , supermarket shopping, furniture, cars , utilities etc...
We live in a small town at the moment but have a very active cultural life as Oxford is nearby and I realise this would go the way of the Dodo whilst we were living in WA but we need a change and are prepared for less culture and more scenic beauty and proximity to the Ocean !
Hubby has little chance of getting the job anyway as I suspect Australians will be considered first but any info would be useful.
The salary is $ AU 140,000 plus relocation package, is this reasonably generous for what is considered an expensive area ?
Busselton seems from reasearch to be poised for great growth due to increase in tourism and I was wondering whether we might enjoy the ride of something completely different !
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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My former boss actually used to work for the Shire of Busselton, and lived there. That's when I lived in another town in the Southwest, Bridgetown, which actually had a fair number of English people living there, most of them great!
Anyway Busselton or 'Busso' as the locals call it is a pretty pleasant beach town. The beach is nice, it's still pretty laid back although there's been a big influx of people from Perth, so-called 'sea-changers' which has changed the demographics a bit. I think it's still relatively friendly but not as 'small town' as it once was. It has grown lots in the past 15 years or so, with a lot of new development. Real estate prices really boomed and are unfortunately now comparable to Perth.
Costs in the Southwest do tend to be a bit dearer than Perth. I know from experience. Petrol, food.etc is always a bit more expensive. Perth isn't too far away, nor is Bunbury, which has grown rapidly, so other stuff isn't really that much more expensive.
$140,000 should be plenty...especially if it's just the two of you. I'm not sure if you'll like it, you'll have to go and see first, it's a pretty typical 'seaside experience' in Australia.
My former boss actually used to work for the Shire of Busselton, and lived there. That's when I lived in another town in the Southwest, Bridgetown, which actually had a fair number of English people living there, most of them great!
Anyway Busselton or 'Busso' as the locals call it is a pretty pleasant beach town. The beach is nice, it's still pretty laid back although there's been a big influx of people from Perth, so-called 'sea-changers' which has changed the demographics a bit. I think it's still relatively friendly but not as 'small town' as it once was. It has grown lots in the past 15 years or so, with a lot of new development. Real estate prices really boomed and are unfortunately now comparable to Perth.
Costs in the Southwest do tend to be a bit dearer than Perth. I know from experience. Petrol, food.etc is always a bit more expensive. Perth isn't too far away, nor is Bunbury, which has grown rapidly, so other stuff isn't really that much more expensive.
$140,000 should be plenty...especially if it's just the two of you. I'm not sure if you'll like it, you'll have to go and see first, it's a pretty typical 'seaside experience' in Australia.
Thanks ! It's always better to get personal opinions rather than just plain "internet facts". Hubby is going to apply with virtually no chance of selection ( the job comes with a work visa but I suspect it will be easier for them to pick an Australian over a Brit). As someone who has a pretty active cultural life ( theatre, art galleries, opera, concerts , museums etc...) it would be such a radical change but I am always willing to give most things a go... for a while anyway ! I was reading about two shark attacks resulting in deaths in one year and it made me wonder what the beach life is like if people are afraid to swim though ! I am a natural water-baby and adore the ocean. I have swam with basking sharks before and smaller sharks but I can't say Great Whites appeal to me that much as a swimmer !!
Regarding fauna, what nasty beasties are we talking about in that part of WA by the way? I am an arachnophobe supreme but am pretty good at supressing my girly squeals of terror !
Other insects and creepy crawlies don't worry me too much. Am I right in assuming that Croc Country is much further North West towards Darwin and Kimberley ? These are probably stupid questions but as a sissy European I would prefer not to ever come face to face with a Saltie ! Snakes don't really bother me. If they leave me alone I have no issue with them being around.
To be honest it is just fun finding out about somewhere I know so little about. As a reasonably well travelled person Australia still remains on my list of "must see at some point" ! And the West Coast has always appealed to me more, I don't know why , maybe because it seems more remote perhaps.
Hubby has the chance of applying for a job in Busselton WA at the moment and I was wondering whether anyone might have a bit more info about the area.
I have done a little research online already, the town is small but the area looks beautiful, Perth is about 2/3 hrs drive away so would be our main city. Prices for houses are reasonable compared to the UK ( you get more for your money though no houses with any character it seems which I would miss), restaurant prices also seem comparable to the UK. How about daily costs like petrol , supermarket shopping, furniture, cars , utilities etc...
We live in a small town at the moment but have a very active cultural life as Oxford is nearby and I realise this would go the way of the Dodo whilst we were living in WA but we need a change and are prepared for less culture and more scenic beauty and proximity to the Ocean !
Hubby has little chance of getting the job anyway as I suspect Australians will be considered first but any info would be useful.
The salary is $ AU 140,000 plus relocation package, is this reasonably generous for what is considered an expensive area ?
Busselton seems from reasearch to be poised for great growth due to increase in tourism and I was wondering whether we might enjoy the ride of something completely different !
I have not been to WA and the Southwest since the late 90's, and am not surprised by what Trimac has described.
There are no cheap real estate values anywhere in Australia now, especially coastal so-called ""sea- change"" towns.
Baby boomers retiring have forced up the prices, because generally the income earning potential in most small coastal communities is woeful.
I speak from real experience having lived on the NSW North Coast.
But since you are earning the sort of money you are on, go onto any Australian Banks web-site and check out their Loan Calculators - ie "How much can I borrow? "", and you will get an idea.
On your income ($140K) that should be over $500K - enough to get you a decent house, though probably not with with water or ocean views, all you need is a 5% deposit.
Generally other expenses such as petrol and grocery bills are quite high compared with overseas, but not prohibitive. You don't have to live lavishly.
By the way the creep-crawly problem in Australia is way over-rated. There are not many dangerous creatures, especially in built up areas, the only problem is the odd snake but that's only in fringe or outer urban developments, ie semi-rural areas.
Good luck.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,054,732 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooseketeer
Thanks ! It's always better to get personal opinions rather than just plain "internet facts". Hubby is going to apply with virtually no chance of selection ( the job comes with a work visa but I suspect it will be easier for them to pick an Australian over a Brit). As someone who has a pretty active cultural life ( theatre, art galleries, opera, concerts , museums etc...) it would be such a radical change but I am always willing to give most things a go... for a while anyway ! I was reading about two shark attacks resulting in deaths in one year and it made me wonder what the beach life is like if people are afraid to swim though ! I am a natural water-baby and adore the ocean. I have swam with basking sharks before and smaller sharks but I can't say Great Whites appeal to me that much as a swimmer !!
Regarding fauna, what nasty beasties are we talking about in that part of WA by the way? I am an arachnophobe supreme but am pretty good at supressing my girly squeals of terror !
Other insects and creepy crawlies don't worry me too much. Am I right in assuming that Croc Country is much further North West towards Darwin and Kimberley ? These are probably stupid questions but as a sissy European I would prefer not to ever come face to face with a Saltie ! Snakes don't really bother me. If they leave me alone I have no issue with them being around.
To be honest it is just fun finding out about somewhere I know so little about. As a reasonably well travelled person Australia still remains on my list of "must see at some point" ! And the West Coast has always appealed to me more, I don't know why , maybe because it seems more remote perhaps.
I wouldn't let the sharks worry you. Sure there have been fatal attacks, but the risk is very low. As the old cliche goes you're way more likely to get killed in a traffic accident. Millions of Australians have swum in the beach hundreds of times and none of them have been attacked, eaten or even seen a shark so that should tell you something. There is risk in everything in life, so you have to keep it in perspective. Last year when a friend and I were body-boarding in the Southwest, he was nearly dashed onto the rocks so there are more dangerous things like rip-tides or jellyfish that I'm sure you're aware of.
I wouldn't worry about creepy crawlies. They can be annoying, but we don't really have any super-venomous spiders or scorpions or anything. The worst is something like a red-back spider. Snakes tend to avoid people and it's unlikely you'll see one in the bush or anything like that.
Definitely, WA has a lot to offer: it's extremely remote, 2.5 million square kilometres, the vast majority of which is empty. Most of the state's 2 million inhabitants are crammed into the Southwest corner so you get an idea of how big and remote we are. I think we're almost 5 times the size of Texas.
Funny to see this thread as I am watching the Quit Forest Rally right now which is part of the Australian Rally Championship. The main service and special stage is in Busselton. Looks like a lot of pine plantations around there and Busselton looks like a nice town. It looks more hilly than I would expect around there.
Thanks to everyone. Not that worried about sharks or creepie crawlies, just needed reassuring that it was as I thought not really a problem ! Spiders is my big phobia but like everything else in life you learn to deal with things if you have to !
Moneywise if Hubby did get the job ( highly unlikely) we would probably be selling our house here ,which is worth about $ AU 450,000 so looking at real estate sites prices are similar and as we have almost paid off our mortgage over here I suspect our new mortgage would be pretty low.
Thanks for all the info anyway, really useful and much appreciated !
I would wait before selling your house in Oxford,if you do indeed come over to live in Busselton and see if you like it first. Busselton is okay if small and a bit limited.
Prices in WA are very high,more than Oxford for most things, but outside of beach and better weather nothing like the diversity of things to do.
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I was reading about two shark attacks resulting in deaths in one year and it made me wonder what the beach life is like if people are afraid to swim though ! I am a natural water-baby and adore the ocean. I have swam with basking sharks before and smaller sharks but I can't say Great Whites appeal to me that much as a swimmer !! 
