Lots of people want to know, what’s life in Perth really like? Is it all blue skies, suntan cream and sandy beaches? Is everyone as ‘happy as Bruce’ and do the kangaroos all smile and wave you on your way as you speed off to work your 5 hour day?
In a word, and a very short one at that, NO.
Despite popular misconception, it does get cold here – Perth has long winters with not much sun and alot of rain. Everyone isn’t happy all of the time, and kangaroos don’t really smile. I’d say if anything it’s more of a smirk.
Some people, understandably, given how many burning hoops they have to leap through to get a visa, want to believe that Perth is the answer to all problems on earth – and the very opposite of evil old England. Yes it’s a nice and place to live and the lifestyle is so laid back that many have trouble getting upright again, but like every country, it’s far from perfect and therefore might not be the answer to all of your prayers.
Some migrants, fresh from the plane and still marveling at the vastness of the sky, the millions of stars on view at night and the wide open beaches will tell you that ‘Perth is as good as it gets’. And that, I think, can be very misleading to those trying to decide whether to make the move over. Why? Well firstly because the reality of life overseas (once the initial excitement has worn off, whether that takes a week, a month or ever a year) can sometimes be a disappointment. And secondly because one persons idea of ‘as good as it gets’ can be completely opposite to another’s.
A massive 40% of those who move over from the UK go back again. That’s an awful lot of people making an extremely costly and difficult decision to return – a decision no one would ever take lightly, or do without good reason. Moving your life around the world is a big enough upheaval in the first place, moving back and starting again is an even bigger one.
Perhaps these 40% who returned just didn’t want to spend their weekends surfing, hiking, fishing, camping and drinking beer around a BBQ. Or maybe once they’d had a year of cooking sausages in Kings Park, eating fish & chips at Hillarys and trying to spot animals at Perth Zoo the novelty of it all simply wore off. Who knows, maybe the reality of life here simply never lived up to the hype.
So if you’re heading south in search of perfection, then it might be quite a good idea to remove any rose tinted sunnies before your feet touch down on the dusty ground. This way you won’t ever be surprised, disappointed or disillusioned by what you find. Maybe instead you’ll be ready to start your new life Down Under, will love it all and never look back.
To quickly go back to the original question of what’s it like to live in Perth, here’s my answer:
Today I got woken up early by the radio. It was grey, wet and cold outside and drone of the irritating DJ’s put me back to sleep – until the dog barked mere millimetres away from my ear. I dragged two children from their beds and fed them breakfast. I made my own breakfast and then watched it conceal into concrete as I hunted for last nights homework sheet. I stepped on the dogs tail as he rushed past me to the backdoor. It was still pouring with rain, so as the school bell goes in the distance I throw the kids into the car.
I returned from the school run, cleared up breakfast, emptied the dishwasher, put on the washing machine, swept half the garden off the kitchen floor. I then rounded up my son, his water cup and his potty and headed out to the supermarket. We navigated the aisles with a renegade trolley while I fed him pancakes to keep him quiet and contained. I loaded the car, filled up with petrol and unloaded the car – all in the rain.
Next came lunch, as requested by my son. I watched him push it around his plate so I gave up, ate it myself and cleared up. He got all his toys out just to see what would take his fancy. We played with Lego, blocks and trains. The school bell sounded, so we set off with dog in tow. We ran to the park so dog can have a run, and then stood under a tree in the downpour. I supervised homework, cleared up the house, cooked dinner for kids and remembered the washing in the machine from this morning. Shoved it all in the tumble drier as it was still raining.
Fed both kids their dinner – felt my blood pressure rise. Cleared up the mess. Supervised their bath time – felt my blood pressure rise further. Overcame a toddler meltdown when Tellytubbies said ‘Goodbye’. Shoehorned two kids into bed and then cleared up the house. Again. Started dinner. Again. Husband arrived home. We both collapsed infront of TV – exhausted. The dog barked at next doors cat and woke me up at 1am. I lay there staring at the clock and waiting to go back to sleep again. I started to panic when I couldn’t fall asleep. Then I suddenly remembered I’d forgotten to turn the tumble drier on. I went to sleep convinced I could already smell the washing going mouldy.
I got woken up early by the radio….
Point made? Living in Perth is like living anywhere – 5% sunshine and light, 95% reality of your day-to-day life.
No comments:
Post a Comment