It’s been a while since I’ve complained about the weather and as I’m an Englishman wishing to retain at least a small portion of my Englishness I thought today was as good a day as any.

Back in the UK, the English summer is in full swing. From what I’ve heard from the friends and family back in the UK; it’s been a pretty good one to with UK residents receiving more than two whole days of sunshine!

Season wise Australia is exactly six months in front of the UK so here in Australia, Winter is in full swing.

This will be the third winter we’ve experienced since being down under and I don’t know if it’s simply because we’re becoming acclimatised to the weather (or I may be just going soft) but this feels like some of the coldest winter weather I’ve experienced since moving to Australia.

We’ve had some very heavy rain today and whilst I was out and about in the Perth CBD this lunchtime the rain turned into hail. Now hail is just hail but to Aussies, it’s like some strange mythical beast has just come down from the sky.

Much delight seemed to be being had as snow balls (or more accurately) hail balls were made and thrown.

Not something I ever imagined seeing down under I must say, it’s not quite snow but near enough I reckon. I even had to capture a picture for prosperity.

Something to consider when it’s about 100 degree’s in the shade in approximately three months time

Brrrrrrrr, where’s the central heating when you need it

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Your reasons for choosing to emigrate to Australia will be varied. For us, as adults we saw the local parks and playing fields we used to play on as kids, turned into graffiti and syringe strewn scrap heaps.

Australia presented us with the opportunity for a better life for our kids. The affordable housing, wide open spaces and beautiful weather were just the icing on the cake.

As a ‘Pom’ it was relatively easy for us to accept the ‘better life’ we now have down under. Comparitivly speaking, it wasn’t that different from the life we left behind. For families from other countries though, life in Australia is a VERY different life indeed!

One example would be good friends of ours who migrated to Australia from South Africa. The barbecues have been great, the summer evenings have been warm and yet the stories they have shared with us have at times, been quite chilling!

For starters, life in South Africa meant that keeping a loaded gun (for protection) in the house was a way of life. Each night the dad of the family had to load a gun which he then kept at the side of the bed in case someone broke into their home!

The family of four (2 adults and 2 great kids) lived in a quite affluent area. One night their dogs were poisoned, the thief’s (with loaded weapons) climbed the 6 foot high fence surrounding their property and broke into their home whilst the kids slept inside! Terrifying…!

Life in Iran

I guess one of the things that has prompted me to write todays post is the recent events in Iran.

Now I’m not going to get all political on you but over the past few months I’ve been communicating with a friendly Iranian chap by the name of Hooman.

Hooman and his wife are looking to start a new life in Melbourne. He’s still going through the visa process but his recent emails made me realise how much we take our new life in Australia for granted.

A new Life in Australia for Hooman wouldn’t be about sunny weather and nice beaches, its about something that many of us take for granted. A small something called ‘freedom’!

I asked Hooman if he’d mind writing a short article for Getting Down Under to help our readers understand what life is currentlly like in Iran.

This story made me shudder to and is certainly food for thought! The full article is posted below.

Born to be Free

Our Life is sum of all the moments we have chosen and all the moments we have missed. The combination of wanted and unwanted desires will create a path which we later call FATE.

My name is Hooman, I am 31, from IRAN and it’s been 5 years since I have been married to my beautiful wife Maryam. This is a short story of my life in the past two months:

When you’ve lived in a country like Iran long enough, you will understand the taste of words. Some words are bitter like revenge, but some are mild sour and makes a wave inside your stomach when you think about them, one of these words is “illegal”.

In this country drinking alcohol, having girlfriend, showing up without scarf in public (for women), listen to loud music, throwing a party, having high heels and wearing short jeans (for women again) and so many other natural habits are illegal.

Illegal in Iran means if they find out about one of the mentioned charges, and you get caught; they can arrest you and drag you to a court where you will see a single man acting as judge, jury, defending attorney and the rest of the cure. He is the only one who can free you, put you in jail, lash you or fine you for your behavior.

The strange part about it is you can have all the above inside your homes (they call it underground life) and that’s when the mild sour taste of the word illegal comes into play. All Iranians have all sorts of freedom in their personal lives but they always have the shadow of punishment by a dictator upon them.

Last month, the competition leading up to a national election started in this country, there is a group called Shora e Negahban (Community of the guardians) in Iran, they have chosen four among themselves, so our options were choosing between the stupid or the idiot, after all four of them was chosen among the ones who have been trusted more.

Many people like me started to think the other way, for the last thirty years after every election, we all saw supreme leader on national TV telling the big lie that all the people who vote, voted to the republic.

This time however we wanted to be different, this time the mission was different, we wanted to choose some one other than a little dictator whose name was Ahmadi Nejad so our new generation tried to convince the older generation to vote after 30 years, just to at least get rid of the most stupid and to have an easier life.

We voted. We knew we would win, the smile on our faces on voting lines showed we all decided the same thing without consulting each other, there were dancing in the streets, we were happy and we sang “Ahmadi bye bye!” (Goodbye Ahmadi Nejad) song in the streets and government soldiers were just watching us with a smile, after all they were all been paid to be a soldier but they are part of our family except a very little group among them who are savages.

On the day that the voting took place, I had two very strange calls, one was from a colleague who told me I have been checked by the Australian Embassy for the job I used to have almost three years ago! I was worried about this as I hoped that the company I used to work for would still had all the documents.

The second call was from my attorney, he was surprised that after 22 months of lodging and sending all the documents including my insurances (which was a huge mission gathering all those papers from the old governmental offices) my employer references were still being checked. His voice was cold and the words were sour when he said that because of global financial crisis, our case might be delayed and we should probably wait another 6 months!

The next day at 6am, I turned on the TV before going to work. I was not sure if I was having a bad dream or was I really awake! … The TV was showing the little dictator had 68% and our chosen one only 30% and the rest of the votes have been split between the two other candidates!

We have been easily cheated, and the big lie was there on TV. On the evening we were all so angry. Maryam (my wife) suggested we go somewhere to condemn this fraud, it was almost 7pm, I was with my wife, my mom and my younger brother in a street near one of the universities which were surrounded by 100 guards.

When you can't tell they are with you or against you, military in civilian clothes!

I remember the other forces that didn’t had military clothes, they all had long sticks, they started to run toward us, they waved their sticks in the air when approaching us, and we as defenseless civilians started to run the other way.

When I started to run, I was thinking about my dreams for immigrating to Australia, to a free world, thinking about my wife who couldn’t run very fast, thinking about my Mom who was getting to old for these stupid shows, thinking about my young brother. I even thought about the implications on my job if I got caught, how I could definitely lose my job which is half governmental. They were trained army solders and most of them were in civilian clothes. We were ordinary people trying to make extraordinary changes.

This story is now continuing in the streets, but yesterday the stupid supreme leader declared a total war to civilians, and now it’s our choice for a full life, or to die and try to move a mountain alone!

Deep in my heart, I know there is going to be a better place, I have no doubt in my mind that I can find a job in Melbourne and will save my family and create a better life for all of them soon. After all I will choose “FREEDOM and HAPPINESS” and these words taste Sweet!

Our Life is sum of all the moments we have chosen and all the moments we have missed, you could chose to stay at home or you could choose to come into the streets and get shot, now I know why my friend who has a 2 year old daughter didn’t choose to come to our sad street parade and I remember the taste of his words when he talked sadly!

Soon there will no sounds from us, they are trying to make us silent, it’s a possibility they can win, some of us might be lucky to immigrate to a better place like Australia, a place that can offer us a good life in freedom. Some will be killed in the street and some will drag themselves through the remains of their days in this country … but this article is here to stay.

Thank you mark … I hope the taste of the words will always be sweet for you.

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5. Making the decision and where to start

As the British economy hits rock bottom, thousands of skilled workers are looking abroad to start up a brighter, more stable life in a different economy.  

Traditionally, Australia and New Zealand have been a favourite destination for British skilled migrants, but it seems now their economies are also feeling the rippling effects of the American and British recessions.  

There has been much debate as to whether Senator Chris Evans (Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) would lower the record rates of immigration to Australia in the 2009-10 Budget in response to his country’s prospective financial troubles.  

Evans has decided to keep this year’s record 133,000 skilled visas as a ceiling until the Government assesses the country’s economic situation in time for the mid-year Budget.

This means that Australia still has plenty of places for skilled workers to move to Australia, and you could be joining the thirty-odd thousand other Britons moving to Australia permanently every year through the Australian migration program.  

Now we all know Australia has a better climate, nicer beaches, and the promise of a more comfortable, outdoor lifestyle than the UK, but, in this economic climate would skilled workers actually be better off by moving from the UK to Australia?

How much money can you earn in Australia compared to the UK

The following is a comparative table showing the median salaries for selected jobs in Australia and the UK, sourced from payscale.com (updated February 2009).   The results are based on the person having 10-19 years experience in that job, and the Australian salaries have been converted using the curencyconverter.com tool.    

A quick look at the table suggests the trend for higher salaries in Australia for skilled positions is evident, excluding the rather major difference for solicitors.  

Cost of living in Australia versus the cost of living in the uk

A higher salary doesn’t mean much if you are paying higher prices for the everyday basics.   The following table shows the cost of basics as supplied by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) for December 2008.

The table shows Australia is not the winner in every case, and in fact, the UK is the cheapest place in the world to buy bread.   Yet, although the overall picture gives the impression that the cost of living in Australia and the UK is vacillating, a closer look shows that the expensive staple items are considerably cheaper in Australia than in the UK, which would keep your wallet plumper for longer.  

For example, a family of four that consumes 2kgs of beef a week could save up to £303 after migrating to Australia from the UK, and a person filling up a car with 30L of petrol every week could save up to £280 per year.   These are substantial savings.

Whereas milk, bread and flour may be cheaper to buy in the UK, the items that you need to outlay more cash on a weekly basis (such as meat and petrol) are cheaper in Australia.

The Economist’s Big Mac index makes things loud and clear to understand.   The famous index compares the cost of a Big Mac in hundreds of countries as a way of comparing the cost of living around the world.   During February 2009, the index showed that a Big Mac was cheaper to buy in Australia than in the UK.

A cheaper cost of living coupled with a higher chance of getting a better salary in Australia means that you would have more spending power and an increased cash flow.

Australia property prices compared to the UK

In most countries, an increased cash flow means a higher standard of living and the opportunity of living in a nicer home.  

Property prices across Australia have a huge variance, particularly because there is a massive difference between rural, coastal and city houses.   The same can be said for the UK, where just in the city of London, house prices can be almost triple the cost of similar types of houses elsewhere in the UK.    

As a result, it becomes difficult to compare accurately house prices from specific regions in Australia with regions in the UK.   Yet the Reserve Bank of Australia has released a report that shows the trend in housing prices and affordability, called “Some Observations on the Cost of Housing in Australia”, written by the Head of Economic Analysis Department Anthony Richards.  

The following table is extracted from this report, which shows that Australia has been better off internationally than its major competitors in terms of income and relative house prices, despite there being a low level of housing accessibility and persistently high level of average housing prices.  

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) confirmed in December 2008 that the Australian average median house price reached $447,659 (£203,660) in the September quarter – a decrease of $459,795 from the June quarter – with only Sydney having a median house price above $450,000.   In the Department for Communities and Local Government live tables, the average median house price in the September quarter for 2008 was sitting at £233,459.  

This difference in average house prices and the trend to have better income ratios in Australia and the UK means you would have a great chance of a better lifestyle in Australia, living in a nicer home with an increased cash flow.

The Australian weather compared to the UK

It will come as no surprise that Australia gets far more sun than the UK.   In fact, Australia gets around 300 days of sunshine annually, which is 70% of the year.   Moreover, when the rains come rolling in from the ocean or across the desert plains, it is not something the locals complain about; the tropical storms can give hours of entertainment and can be a quick relief for stifling heat.  

See below for a breakdown of how averages of temperature (degrees) compare in UK and Australian cities:

How many public holidays do you get in Australia compared to the UK?

In Australia, be prepared to put your feet up for longer.   In the UK, along with the standard annual leave provided by employers, the Government provides workers eight annual public holidays.   In Australia, most workplaces give the same leave entitlements as UK companies, but the Australian Government has been slightly more generous.   Each state or territory has a different amount of public holidays, but all have at least 10 days off or more.   For example, in Tasmania you’ll be given 21 days off every year, plus your 4 weeks annual leave.    

The following shows the amount of public annual holidays in the UK and each Australian state or territory:

Sound appetising?   It’s advised that you beat the Budget and submit your application before the Australian Government considers restricting its migration program, and before you know it you’ll be enjoying a beer on the beach and soaking up the Australian sun!

About this Article Produced exclusively for Getting Down Under by the  guys over at Australian Visa Bureau.     Australian Visa Bureau is an independent immigration advisory service providing advice, information and case management to individuals, families and businesses.

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Bruces Barbecue gets a little out of control

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I wrote about the recent hot weather we were experiencing here in Perth.

We were hitting temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius and I have to say it was pretty warm. We were grateful for the air-con that’s for sure.

Now pop a few thousand miles South East of here to good old South Australia and Victoria and the guys over there are having a seriously hard time of it.

Adelaide has had a 15 day string of temperatures in excess of 35 degrees C which is a one in 3000 year event apparently.

Meanwhile, In Victoria, bush fires have destroyed at least 10 homes with nearly 500,000 people in the state losing power (and the all important air conditioning) following severe pressure on the electricity grid.

I know I’ve Blogged in the past about people who whinge about the hot weather (Aussies can be worse than the Poms sometimes), but I think with a string of hot weather like that you’d have a reason to complain, expecially without any Electricity to power the air-conditioning or even more importantly, keep the beers cold!

Adelaide’s 15-day heatwave surpassed the previous capital city heatwave record of Perth, which experienced 10 days over 35 degrees in February 1988.

The all-time national heatwave record was set in Marble Bar in northern Western Australia, which had 160 consecutive days at or above 37.8 degrees celsius (or 100 degrees fahrenheit) in the summer of 1923-24.

Now that is a scorcher!

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It’s only been a few days since I last blogged about the weather but thought todays forecast would be worth a mention.

All I can say is ‘Hot!’

Last night was hot to. I had to get up during the night to put the air conditioning on and at 2am the temperature was 86 degrees farenheight (32 C)

I love it though. Today the forecast is in the 100’s (40’s C) and I just feel like ‘bring it on’! (click the map for todays forecast)

It’s very easy to winge about the weather but back in the UK days like the days we’ve had pretty much all month so far would make headline news, Just as they did when I wrote this entry whilst still living in the UK.

Logging onto the social networking site; Facebook last night, I see so many status updates from friends in the UK complaining about the cold weather, or having the flu, or the lack of sunshine!

Here in Australia, warm sunny days are a given, a fact of life. I can’t remember the last time I woke up and the sun wasn’t shining!

There no need to sit here wondering when the next time will be that we can dust down the barbecue for it’s annual outing. I’d put money on the weather, 6 weeks on Saturday being a good day for a barbie!

Despite the loveliness of the sunshine, there are still people that moan though and there’s nothing worst then a wingeing Pom! Having said that, the Aussies give it a good go to.

I guess if you were born and bred in Australia one hot day after the other could get a little tiresome. I’m happy to sweat it out for now though!

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In an effort to enjoy some fresh air whilst trying to remain cool in the 33 degrees heat, I decided to walk down to the Swan River this lunchtime to enjoy a sandwich.

One of the great things about working in a CBD the size of Perth’s is that the river is less than a 10 minutes walk from most office buildings and the cool breeze provided by the fremantle doctor was especially welcoming today.

My normally uneventful trip from our offices down to the foreshore was made a little less so when I caught site of a 60-metre high Ferris wheel that has been erected right next to the Bell Tower. It must have been put up pretty quickly to as there was nothing there but grass less than a couple of weeks ago.

I’d heard about the wheel on the radio a few weeks ago. Apparently it was 10 meters shorter than expected and I was surprised by the laid back attitude of the counsellor being interviewed. It was only 10 meters shorter than expected after all.

Back at the office I thought I’d utilise my time doing a little ‘Googling’ and have since found out a few additioanl facts about the wheel.

The “Wheel of Perth” consists of 42 gondolas which take paying passengers around once every 12 minutes.

Although the wheel appeared to be doing only a few test runs this lunchtime, at full capacity it’s capable of earning the owners, a London based company creatively called “World Tourist Attractions” a tidy $315 per minute! Some serious dosh in anyones books!

You may have some childhood memories of the more traditional fairground Ferris wheel however the man bringing it here, Nigel Ward, assures us it’s no simple fairground attraction.

“Our wheels are state of the art, a million miles away from the traditional fairground Ferris wheel most people might imagine. These are truly stand-alone visitor attractions [with] fully enclosed gondolas [and are] air conditioned, very graceful, multi-million dollar investments designed to fit into a wide range of environments …. Because of the location on your waterfront, you’re going to be able to see for miles and miles,” Ward promises.

“All of our market research shows that when people have friends and relatives visiting, they have a go, and a repeat visit is very common. Also, because the wheels are open normally from 10 in the morning ’til 10 in the evening, you’ve two different experiences, a daytime visit and also looking at the city at night from that height is a spectacular thing to do.”

In Perth “we have an initial three month term but, if everything goes well, we hope to be able to extend that,” he notes before adding, “we’re very excited, we think it’s a beautiful city, the views across the waterfront are spectacular and we think it’s ideal for a wheel.”

Personally, I don’t see what the hype is all about. Especially as the most spectacular views across the water can be had for free only 10 minutes away at Kings Park.

Still, it’ll have it’s place I guess and I’m sure the kids would enjoy a quick spin on the wheel during it’s initial three month stint here in Perth.

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So it’s started to get a little warm here in Western Australia and yesterday it hit 40 degrees Celsius which is the first time this summer that it’s hit this temperature.

Today the forecast is a very warm 38 C and tomorrow (new years day) we’ll be hitting the 40’s again.

Nothing for a bloke to do really other then strip off,   jump into the pool and enjoy a cold beer.

What if your a cat with a built in fur coat though?

Our cat Charlie really struggles with the hot weather. Being black doesn’t help and even the shade provided by the canopy covering our patio offers little relief.

Cats for some reason don’t quite understand the benefits of refrigerated air conditioning. In ‘Cat World’ it’s always bound to be cooler outside even though the wonders of modern air conditioning means that the difference between inside and outside temperatures could be as much as 10 – 15 degrees C.

Charlie after his brief introduction to a jug of water. I think he's plotting something

In the three years that we’ve been here we’ve tried a number of things to bring down Charlie s core body temperature during the really hot days.

As frequent visits to the vets have taught us, one of the few places where cats sweat is through their paws. They don’t have the ability to loose heat by panting like a dog or sweating like us humans do.

One thing we’ve tried was ice cubes in the water bowl. Unfortunately this approach will only work if you can convince your cat to get up from his shady corner for a drink. Yesterday this just was not going to happen and the ice cubes soon melt in this really hot weather.

What does work though is a big jug of water!

Now, I don’t mean that in the ‘chuck a jug of water over your cat’ kind of way

What we do is simply sit down next to the cat and give him a good stoke.

The sly part is between each stroke we dip our hand in the jug of water so that over a period of time we manage to give him a good soaking.

Anyone who has attempted to bath a cat will know that getting your cat wet is often not a very wise move. For Charlie though, he was either to warm to rip us to pieces with his claws or simply couldn’t be bothered. Either way he was happy to be given some relief from the heat.

Charlie has been showing an interest in the swimming pool of late. If he decides to start taking regular dips then I’ll get the clips posted up on Youtube!

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Well this is our third Christmas since we arrived down under and the family and I are really looking forward to a nice relaxing Christmas day.

The Turkey has been taken out of the freezer and the next 24 hours should hopefully provide sufficient time for the thing to be defrosted.We’ve also got some huge Tiger prawns which will be getting introduced to the barbecue in the next day or so

Junior number one is ultra excited that Santa will be visiting (probably via the air conditioning vents again due to the lack of a Chimney) and Junior number two will likely be trying her hardest to have a nice brown smelly present for Mummy and Daddy first thing tomorrow morning.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is Sunny and a balmy 31 degrees Celsius which is a stark contrast to the delights of the weather we used to enjoy back in the UK.

Speaking of weather. The cloudy sky picture to the left is a picture I took from my front garden this morning. I don’t know if it’s down to a sheer lack of ozone in Australia but the sky’s here are the most amazing vivid blues.

By Aussie Standards (or certainly Western Australian standards) this is a pretty cloudy day but the cloud formations looked pretty cool and I decided to get all Arty and take a picture.

The picture now acts as my desktop wallpaper. I know that many visitors to our site come from less sunny Climates (such as the UK so feel free to do the same.

To set the picture as your desktop, simply click the thumbnail for the full sized version and (in most browsers) right click with your mouse button and select ’select as desktop’ or similar.

I hope you all have a happy and peaceful Christmas and on the basis that I don’t get food poising from poorly defrosted turkey you’ll be hearing more from us very soon

Cheers

Mark

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I can’t believe that it’s nearly spring! On the basis that the Aussie season is about 6 months ahead (or behind) the UK then the 1st of September here in Western Australia makes it the equivalent of March back in old Blighty.

It’s been a pretty ‘avvo’ winter and it’s felt a little colder then I remember it last year. Having said that, statistically speaking it’s been about as cold as it was this time last year so go figure

I’ve heard that it can take a couple of years to become acclimatised to the weather here in Australia so perhaps that’s why I’ve felt the cold a bit more this year. If I think about it, that kind of makes a bit of sense as there has been occasions when it’s been nearly 70 degrees and I’ve still felt a bit of a chill when I’ve not been sat in the sunshine.

Back in Blighty at those temperatures I’d happily sit there in a T-shirt without even feeling a hint of a chill.

It’s funny as its east to forget how hot it can get here in Australia. Our winter this year has been like late spring in the UK with daily temperatures hitting the mid 60’s to mid 70 Fahrenheit. I can still remember the ridiculously hot weather of our Australian summer and I must confess, I really can’t wait for it to come back again!

Despite my best efforts at trying to adapt to the easy going Australian Lifestyle, work has been very busy in the last 6 months so I’ve been working some pretty long hours to keep on top of everything.

Quite frequently I’ve not been getting home until 8pm which means our ability to enjoy the outside lifestyle is limited to the weekends and I’m spending far to little time with Junior numbers 1 and 2.

During the summer time it is frequently over 30 degrees Celsius after 8pm so it will be nice to get home (at a more decent time) see the kids and then sit outside with the missus and enjoy a glass or two of wine. I’ve also booked nearly three weeks off over Christmas so it’ll be a great opportunity to enjoy the Australian Summer again.

Speaking of kids. Junior number 2, our first born and bred Aussie turns the grand old age of one next Saturday. Time certainly flies when you’re having fun (or just busy) but I can’t believe she’s nearly one already. It’ll be interesting to see what the next year holds for all of us.

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I’ve written before about the wonders of the Weather here in Western Australia and being someone of British decent, talking about the weather is always going to be a popular past time for me

Whilst standing in the coffee queue at work early this week however, the topic of conversation wasn’t the more traditional sunshine and rain but the wind!

I’m not talking about the flatulent variety either. I’m talking about seriously strong wind of the climatological kind so serious in fact that they even gained tornado status!

During the weekend there was a sever weather warning and we were advised to move anything ‘loose’ such as garden furniture from outside to under cover to minimise the possibility of damage.

They weren’t joking either. Around about midnight last Sunday the wind really picked up, the new plants in our garden were getting a good beating and at one point I heard one of the steel chairs from our patio furniture set getting blown from one end of the patio to the other.

Thankfully, other than a few torn branches, everything survived pretty well. Having said that we did better then the folks living south of us down in Rockingham.

Apparently the tornado reached speeds in excess of 150 kph and tore the roof of houses in the local area.

I remember a couple of years ago whilst in holiday in Sydney before we moved to Australia permanently there was news of storms in Perth which caused serious structural damage.

Thankfully on this occasion, we’ve escaped relatively damage free.

Having said that there are more storms planned for this weekend. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted another cold front will hit Perth and the South-West coast tonight and into Sunday morning, which may result in damage to homes and properties.

This is all pretty difficult to believe right now. As I type this it’s beautifully sunny outside, a very pleasant 24 degrees Celsius and hardly the hint of any breeze in the air.

If you don’t hear from me again then you’ll know why

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