Perth, Australia

[Anonymous]

Has anyone been there? How about for an extended stay -- for example a 2-3 year job transfer?

What's it like? Are people accepting of Americans? How are the schools (elementary/middle school age)?

We're just starting to research, so please chime in with anything we should consider.

[Anonymous]

I have only visited there for vacation. Perth felt like a small Californian city. Margaret River wine region near Perth was nice. Food was very expensive. Far away from the rest of Australia - I think a 4 hour flight to Sydney? Singapore is a 5 hour flight away.

[Anonymous]

Perth has a wonderful climate and a reputation for a high quality of life. Lots of outdoor activities. The city itself is smaller than Sydney or Melbourne and there's not much in the way of "culture" (it's no European city) but everyone we know who lived in Perth enjoyed it. It is very family oriented while singles would likely prefer Sydney or Melbourne.

But it is isolated from the rest of Australia and due to its proximity to Australia's minerals / mining industries, quite expensive.

Schools are likely no better or worse than in Sydney or Melbourne. Range of both state and independent options. Americans are treated just fine and dandy, if anything, Australians and Americans are probably the two most similar cultures on the planet (yes, even more than the US-Canada). The two countries are not the same, and there are enough differences to keep things interesting, but there's certainly no need to fear being ostracised or badly treated because of an American nationality.

I'd definitely take a 2-3 year gig. Perth is also nicely located for vacations into SE Asia (cheap flights and not too far away).

[Anonymous]

I am from Perth.

In terms of climate/geography, I've heard it compared to San Diego. It's warm and dry, hot in summer, and definitely a coastal town.

There's a lot of sprawl -- houses are far apart and it's definitely car-oriented and hard to live there without a car.

Schools are excellent. There's some disparity by geographical region but nothing at all like the disparities in the US. Expect school uniforms in public schools (and for elementary kids, "no hat no play" -- kids are required to wear hats for sun protection when they play outside). Schools have a lot more break time than in the US -- expect at least 3 free play periods per day.

Workplace culture is much more laid back, too. People take coffee breaks. And vacations.

PP mentioned Margaret River -- the entire SW corner is really beautiful and worth exploring. Wineries, virgin forest, white-sand beaches, all within a few hours' drive.

To orient yourself to the city, think of it as divided north/south by the river. Downtown is on the north side, right on the river; just north of that is Northbridge, which is the nightclub district. Fremantle is at the river mouth, mostly on the south side. It's the port. If you have any idea of where you'll be working, I can recommend some neighborhoods to look at schools/housing.

[Anonymous]

My cousin lives in Perth with his wife and kids. From what I hear, it is a lovely place to raise a family. Very friendly, great weather and beaches, good food. The only downside is the isolation compared to the rest of the world (or even the rest of Australia). But if you are OK with that, I would definitely consider it.

[Anonymous]

I have (non-Australian) relatives who live there. They're very happy and have had no problem finding a community.

[Anonymous]

Thanks all.

How about politics? We'd actually prefer to be somewhere quite different from DC for the next 2-5 years. Somewhere not caught up in the larger geopolitical conversations (Brexit/Trump, terrorism, balance of power between US/Europe/China/Russia etc.) Are we right to assume Perth is pretty removed from all that?

On a related note, any sense of how diverse and inclusive Perth is? How tolerant re differences in race, religion, sexual orientation? We're guessing the university presence might signal some of that. True?

[Anonymous]

PP from Perth again.

Perth has its own geopolitical conversations, but they are different ones ... China, US bases, the Australian offshore detention centers.

wrt tolerance -- just like the US, you need to know your neighborhoods a little. There are plenty of parts of Perth that are very socially progressive; there are other places where folks are more mixed. It's less ethnically/racially diverse than the US, probably less religiously diverse (although there are fewer folks who are religious). I think it unlikely that you will have concerns if you are a gay couple with kids, but I can give more specific info if that's a concern for you.

[Anonymous]

Bogans, as far as the eye can see. Lots of "Fuck off, we're full" stickers. Very little culture. It's all mining wealth, and associated financial services etc. But beautiful and great standard of living, if you don't mind the above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP from Perth again.

Perth has its own geopolitical conversations, but they are different ones ... China, US bases, the Australian offshore detention centers.

wrt tolerance -- just like the US, you need to know your neighborhoods a little. There are plenty of parts of Perth that are very socially progressive; there are other places where folks are more mixed. It's less ethnically/racially diverse than the US, probably less religiously diverse (although there are fewer folks who are religious). I think it unlikely that you will have concerns if you are a gay couple with kids, but I can give more specific info if that's a concern for you.

Thanks. This is helpful.

We're not a gay family. We're Jewish, aand we want to be aware of the overall climate of tolerance and diversity, in part because of our religion and in part because it's just the type of community where we'd feel most at home. From what I can tell on-line, there's a decent size jewish community in Perth and not a lot of antisemitism. But again, we're conscious of the rising hostility towards immigrants and muslims in Europe and the US. Want to understand if/how that's playing out in Western Australia, too.

With all that in mind, if you have recommendations about neighborhoods, that would be great. Looks like the synagogue we might be interested in is in Mount Lawley, and the JCC is in Yokine. Thoughts about either area or others?

Meanwhile, what do you think about the comments from the PP between us? How real is that POV/mindset, in your experience?

[Anonymous]

Yes, there are people who are politically intolerant. But that's true here too. And to say there's "very little culture" suggests that the person hasn't looked very hard.

I'll say that the Jewish community is probably going to be smaller than you are used to and Jewishness more invisible than it is in the US. Separation of church and state is much less enforced, and schools are likely to have official celebrations and cultural observances of Christian holidays. I wouldn't expect prayer in school, but I'd definitely expect Santa. I'd also not expect the same level of familiarity with Jewish traditions and Jewish life that you'd find in the US -- while I'd expect people to be open minded and welcoming, I wouldn't, for instance, expect your kid's teacher to be aware of Jewish holidays.

Mt Lawley is a sweet neighborhood, not too far out. I'd say that you'd be perfectly comfortable in that broad north of the river swathe from, say, Maylands/Inglewood to the east, Wembley/Floreat to the west, north into Osbourne Park/Tuart Hill, Yokine. The beachside neighborhoods are also very nice but get pricier the closer you get to the ocean. The neighborhoods around UWA are also lovely -- also, the closer to the water, the more expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there are people who are politically intolerant. But that's true here too. And to say there's "very little culture" suggests that the person hasn't looked very hard.

I'll say that the Jewish community is probably going to be smaller than you are used to and Jewishness more invisible than it is in the US. Separation of church and state is much less enforced, and schools are likely to have official celebrations and cultural observances of Christian holidays. I wouldn't expect prayer in school, but I'd definitely expect Santa. I'd also not expect the same level of familiarity with Jewish traditions and Jewish life that you'd find in the US -- while I'd expect people to be open minded and welcoming, I wouldn't, for instance, expect your kid's teacher to be aware of Jewish holidays.

Mt Lawley is a sweet neighborhood, not too far out. I'd say that you'd be perfectly comfortable in that broad north of the river swathe from, say, Maylands/Inglewood to the east, Wembley/Floreat to the west, north into Osbourne Park/Tuart Hill, Yokine. The beachside neighborhoods are also very nice but get pricier the closer you get to the ocean. The neighborhoods around UWA are also lovely -- also, the closer to the water, the more expensive.

Thank you! This is very helpful!

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to point out that the antisemitism issue in Europe is primarily due to a combination of ancient institutional antisemitism (which, ironically enough, is mostly found among the liberal European left these days, partly because of the Israel/Palestine issue) and the growing Muslim population.

It's far less of an issue in Australia, being an Anglo country, as well as a country as far away from Israel/Palestine as you can get.

Australia is one of the most "secular" countries with one of the lowest churchgoing attendance rates in the world. But Australia does not have a strict separation of church and state, for the state does fund religious schools (almost always of traditional Anglican/Presbyterian/Catholic backgrounds). But these schools aren't evangelical for so few Australians are. And secular state schools will often still celebrate Christian holidays like Christmas with pageants and local councils will fund parades and festivals that are clearly labelled as "Christmas" festivals. But, as you may infer, they will be very secularized celebrations and hardly religious as so few Australians are active Christians beyond a nominally cultural label.

I would not worry about being a Jewish family in Perth. The worst that can happen will be running into the odd person or Muslim immigrant angry about the Israel/Palestine situation. You will be exposed to the Christian holidays in schools and in public, but that's about it. We have Jewish friends in Australia and they partake in the Christmas lunches and Christmas parties without any issues (one of our friends even described it as more like American Thanksgiving - a general season of cheer and fellowship rather than religion).

[Anonymous]

Love Perth!!

I studied abroad at Notre Dame in Fremantle. Wonderful place! So many great memories (Cottesloe beach, Rottnest Island, Margaret River, King's Park), I'd love to go back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love Perth!!

I studied abroad at Notre Dame in Fremantle. Wonderful place! So many great memories (Cottesloe beach, Rottnest Island, Margaret River, King's Park), I'd love to go back.

Ages and ages ago my best friend was studying at Notre Dame in Fremantle and I went to visit her for a week. What a fun time! Granted, it was probably because I was a college kid abroad, but Perth was awesome. (Once I finally landed... my what a long trip for a week vacation....)