Well, as some of you may know my wife grew up in Perth, WA. I was recently contacted by an aquaintence who offered me a job there. I'm currently in a position that I don't particularly enjoy, but the money and the people have been good.
So, we have a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old, and it seems like this would be a great time in our life to relocate. We'd be close to Stacey's family (the main motivator), enjoy a nicer climate and a more 'outdoor' culture. We're thinking of making a 3-5 year commitment, and keeping our house here in Hamilton, ON.
We can easily get enough rent money to pay the mortgage and taxes, and have a few hundred a month left over, which would accrue in a Canadian account to cover miscellaneous repairs - but the house is in great shape with no foreseeable major repairs.
Has anyone rented 'long-distance'? I'd be renting only to people I know or close friends of people I know. We love the house and location, and would want to move back to THIS house if we move back. Of course, if we sell it we could have a lot more in our pockets to cover various costs (190k vs 30k)
I'm thinking about taking the 964 with us and importing it, selling the Miata and Van - has anyone gone through this? I know we have some Aussies in our midst. What's the GRM scene like? I've always been impressed with the family oriented nature of our local auto-x scene - is there some thing similar in Western Australia? I looked up auto-x, but it's much closer to what we would call rally-x.... Is there another term they might use?
Anyone have any thoughts?
Finally, what JDM/ADM car should we buy. :) I've been looking hard at Evolution 6.5's....
Also, any tips on getting a 20' container arranged from Toronto, ON to Perth or Fremantle? Online pricing varies tremendously....
That sounds awesome!
Good luck with everything. The only advice I could give is I'm not particularly big on being a long distance land lord. Especially being one on the other side of the world.
Fortunately (and I should have mentioned this), my BIL is a very capable general contractor, and is willing to take care of the place for a modest fee.
We're pretty excited - I'm looking forward to moving to a less populated part of the world!
You will love it, keep in mind Perth is over 1000 miles from the next real city, separated by a desert from the rest of Oz.
There is a lot of motorsport, 12 months a year, we race in winter, summer, everything.
Rally is big at the club level. Motorkhana is an autocross on grass, Sprints are similar to HPDE.
V8Supercars is a must and the Formula 1 race in Melbourne is a huge party, check out Bell's Bar in South Melbourne, near the track if you go.
Forget taking the 964, they are available downunder, take something American and interesting, you will be able to sell it for a profit. 25 years old and the steering doesn't need to be swapped. Remember GTR's are very available there.
Perth is fantastic, weather is amazing, beautiful beaches, surf, women, great restaurants and an outdoor lifestyle.
I have a good mate who organizes national level off road events if you have an interest.
Thanks Aussiesmg, I was hoping you'd put your .02 in. The 964 is available, but stupidly expensive compared to here, and I can get it in on 'personal importation' - so no need to swap the steering. That said, it appears that it could be $6k to get the car into the country, between all the various fees. Ouch!
That said, I just found out that the older stuff can come in on an specialty vehicle exception. Something to look into.
I've definitely been looking at GTR's. 
In reply to aussiesmg:
Damn it Aussie! Now I want to move to Perth!
My cousin moved to Perth for her boyfriend, then fiancee, now husband. She loves it!
I know there are some things that rediculously more expensive there for no apparent reason (e.g. Software), so you might want to look into that or see if there is anything else you can stock up on.
I would not bother importing the 964. Some of the horror stories I have heard of personally imported vehicles will curl your hair.
One of them involved a fiat spider. Said spider needed all the chrome around the windshield blacked out, the wipers painted black, and chrome removed from around the gages as they "might blind the driver" on that same note, the sun visors needed to be removed as they had wire in them and could hurt somebody in an accident.
Luke
UberDork
8/27/13 12:13 a.m.
I live in Perth 
Be prepared for a much higher overall cost of living. Do you intend to buy a place here, or rent? (Got a suburb in mind?) Unfortunately either option is hideously expensive, (with inflated pricing thanks to our mining boom; more on that here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23791120 ). In my personal opinion, this city is about the worst place in the world to buy real estate at the moment, on a value-for-money basis.
That said, it is a lovely place to live. Great beaches, fantastic weather, nice people for the most part, many great travel destinations a day to a few days drive either north or south of the city. Perth itself is often described as a big city with a small-town feel, which I think is apt, however doesn't suit everyone.
On cars, I see quite a few LHD 911s about, and bringing yours over is definitely the cheaper option than buying one here, but keep in mind you also have your pick of a myriad of JDM imports and domestic options.
Feel free to message me (or post here) with any specific queries, or if ya need anything scoped out before arrival.
Stacey's family (and my job) are in Armadale - we've been looking at Baldivas, Secret Harbour etc. So far, living costs seem to be 'not that different' than the greater Toronto area here in Ontario. Houses are more expensive (but at least that's 'investment' money), property taxes in Perth are less than half what we pay now, car insurance is MUCH cheaper, gas is a bit more, food is double, eating out is much more expensive. We're going to rent for the first while (3months to a year?) while we develop a better feel for the area/what suburb we want to live in/how long we'll stay.
Used cars are stupidly expensive, compared to here. I'll do some more research on the personal import. My dilemna is:
1) The car isn't ready to sell yet, even if I want to. I'd be much further ahead to fix a broken head stud and sell it in 'great' condition instead of a project. I don't have time to do that here, but I could pick it up in WA. If I sell now: $15-16, and I'd be in a bit of a hurry to sell.
2)Importation seems to be about $6k including duty. The car is easily a $30k+ car in WA. (A similar car to mine with RHD is $45-60k) I could then choose to keep fixing it up and driving it, or sell it at a nominal profit.
I've spent about 3 weeks in the Perth Area, and loved it! In that time, we had an opportunity to visit Albany (beautiful) and drive to Sydney (great experience!). There's no doubt it's a beautiful country!
DrBoost
PowerDork
8/27/13 7:58 a.m.
Perth sounds great. The only downside? The aussies seem to like cars that are also trucks. Kinda like how some people from Canada put gravy on fries. It doesn't make them bad people, just odd 
What a great opportunity. Grab it with both hands....
Don't forget about Australia's massive import duties on car stuff and just about everything else, if you're expecting a similar standard of living on similar money, they'll slam the brakes on all of your hobbies.
GameboyRMH wrote:
Don't forget about Australia's massive import duties on car stuff and just about everything else, if you're expecting a similar standard of living on similar money, they'll slam the brakes on all of your hobbies.
It varies - but yes, importation is expensive. Car duty is 5%, GST is 10% (less than Canada). Honestly, while Aus is very expensive to what you'd pay for stuff in much of the USA...it's not THAT different than this part of Canada. Also, Stace and I have worked hard to live well within our means - cheapskates with few monthly committments and pre-paying the mortgage like crazy. We'd be able to purchase a house for roughly the same monthly payment we have now, car ownership would be about the same - but we'd now have the addition of a family company paid vehicle. Private school payments would be 1/4 of what we'd be looking at , etc.
I've learned that I'm not any happier driving a Porsche 964 vs a clean Miata - despite the difference in ownership costs. I'd likely tone down the automotive part of my hobby for a few years (have one nice/sporty DD) and focus on some of the outdoors stuff: snorkelling, camping, biking and dirt biking. Eventually, I'd build a mild trail rig and take the family way up north on some of the tracks.
I can't decide if I love or hate the Aussie Utes. If I wanted a fast car, I'd get a fast car. If I wanted utility, I'd have 4WD. The ute's are neither....and both.
Just thought of it now - anyone in Aus get The Magazine?
I used to read it before I came over here.
Bit sure what Gameboy was on about, there are plenty of hobbies you can do and I had loads of cars downunder. Loads of races and amateur events every weekend. Even the engineering cert needed for an engine swap just means it is done right and no redneck engineering should be on the road.
The costs are higher because 22 million people are paying for a country the size of the US, so building roads and maintenance is spread around less people.
Not sure on the cost of living now, but food was much cheaper, small electrical appliances were much more expensive.
Remember all electrics are 240v and are not compatible with US spec items. I found that out in an interesting manner, flames out of the speakers..
My brother in law spent most of his life there, moved from the UK at age 10 until his later 20's when he moved here to NY and met my sister/married. My family has visited his countless times and everybody only has great things to say about the city and the people there. Outside of the great things my family and his family say about it, that's all I can offer, as I am literally the only person in my family that has yet to be able to go over there due to a crazy work schedule.
Pretty sure a few Aussies out of Perth who race mercedes r107, one guy races a r107 560sl with an chevy LS engine and the car actually wins races believe it or not.
