Possible move to Perth

Hi all

i'm quite new to this blogging thing. My husband has been offered a job in Malaga, City of Swan, Perth. We have 2 children of 4 and 8 and would like to know a little bit about living in Perth as a family. Honesty is most welcome! Also i plan to stay home for the first year. Is 65 000 annually enough for a family of four to live comfortably on?

Hi Ves,

Welcome to Expat.com! :)

thank you!:)

Hi there,

I am not sure to be honest, we are looking at moving in Sept.  I have been told you would need more than that amount though... around 85k for a family of 4 as the cost of living is so high.

Good Luck!

Hi Ves,

We are a family of 5, we have 3 kids aged 8, 10 and 14, my husband and I are both working in Malaga as well. You can live on 65 000 a year in Perth, but you have to be careful with you spending. I also depends if you are placing your kids in public schools or private schools. We are living in Ellenbrook, we are still renting we are waiting for our permanent visum to be approved. The rents are quite high, on average you will pay
$ 340 - $ 380 per week. Your grocery shopping is also expensive in Perth, at least it is compare to Europe. Our average grocery bill per week is easily $ 200 - $ 250. It is absolute possible there are a lot of families here who earn less than $ 65 000 a year. To be honest, we are both working and my husband earns already more than 65 000 a year. I am always will to send you a cost of living for the Malaga area. If you need more information please let me know.

Mirelle ;)

Thank you so much for this.... that is really helpful.

I have 2 interviews this week so will hopefully know soon if we are moving and we should be there by October.

It sounds like everything is going well for you and your family... :)))

Hello,
Perth is a lovely place to live with kids with parks nearby and the beach. If you love camping, fishing, sailing, the beach it's great.
However, it's REALLY expensive. Food 250-270$ and week, the rental market is really difficult for tenants at the moment you have 20, 30, 40 people visiting one rental property so you will probably be paying 400/500$ a week min.. Hotels, air fares, restaurants, cinema, theatre are all much more expensive than Europe. I'd say you'd struggle to support 4 people here on 65000AUS$!
Really do your homework on what you'll pay in taxes, healthcare, insurance etc..before you come. Good luck.

I am planning to relocate to Perth. I am from Malaysia. Will I be able to use my valid Malaysian Driving License. I could also get an International Driving license before leaving Malaysia. Will that do? I don't want to get into any trouble with the traffic cops. Or are they strict about getting a WA driving license before you start driving?