Preparing for an Australian winter

When you've lived over 35 years in 2 of the coldest cities on the planet the idea of feeling cold in Perth seems mad.  Outdoors is never an issue...it never goes below zero celsius and most days will still reach a high in the teens.  That said, after 2 winters here and approaching a third I have never felt so cold inside a house as I have in Perth.

The majority of houses here are built with an extremely simple form of insulation: air.  Houses have two layers of brick with an air gap in between.  Unless the house was build in the last 5 or so years it will have no insulation in the attic.  Regardless of build date it will have single pane / glazed windows.  This makes for a structure that gets cold fast and stays cold without significant heat input.

Heat can be provided in a number of ways:  

1) Centrally via either natural gas (I've never actually seen a house with this but I'm told it exists) or reverse cycle air conditioning (electricity).  Vents tend only to be in major areas.  You don't see them in bathrooms, closets or laundry rooms typically.  Ducted reverse cycle is the most comfortable year round solution in Australia.

2) Split unit reverse cycle air conditioners (electrically run) which will only heat or cool in the room their in.  If sized properly these work well and make for one of the most energy efficient solutions as the idea is you only turn them on when needed.
 

3) A gas point is provided in multiple places in the house for you to connect a gas heater which can be purchased for 900 to 1200 dollars each new.  A note of caution, these units are self contained and have no mechanism to exhaust gases such as carbon monoxide.  Houses are never equipped with carbon monoxide sensors.  I'm told that state governments have run campaigns in the past to try to get people to get rid of their old dangerous gas heaters in exchange for newer safer ones.   It is suggested when running these units that you have windows or doors open a bit to ensure ventilation.  One could suggest that the less than modern aussie construction techniques leave houses so loose in terms of air movement that this isn't a real problem.

4) A wood burning stove (Jarrah hard wood seems to be the fuel of choice and number of companies offer bulk home delivery starting around $150 per 1/2 tonne).  The heat is uber nice but of course you have very little control and they are not exactly low maintenance.

5) Bathrooms often have heat lamps which feel nice and would keep a roast turkey warm in a pinch.

I should mention that thermostats are also very rudimentary when compared to North America.  Those used to smart thermostats that set the temperature based on when you're home or awake might be disappointed. By contrast, split units allow you to set the temperature of the air coming out, and have timers.  Central ducted units allow you to set the room temperature and have timers.  Many systems are purely on or off.

So that all said, this year we've got a combination of available heat.  One split unit in the master bedroom.  A wood stove in the living room.  A gas point in the same room, and a gas point in the main kitchen / living area.  Kids rooms have...well...blankets.

I've ordered 500 kg of jarrah which showed up next day.  A lot of it is little tiny pieces so I'm not sure how long it'll last but it's dry and it definitely burns.  The reverse cycle in the master works really well.  I'm thinking we may add a gas heater to the house as a last resort if we get to a point that we can't get the majority of the house above 17 C. 

   

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The australian public school vs private school dillema

I can't name a private school in Edmonton.  If we still lived there today Olivia would be in a public school and it's very likely that we would rave about it as we did the program she was in run by the Edmonton Catholic School board before we left.

Schooling in Australia is very different.  You have 4 (that I know of there might be more) types of schools.  Private, Catholic Private, Independant Public and Public schools.  Mention to the right person an intention of sending your kids to public school and you will get a gasp akin to the announcement that you have decided to have your children raised by wolves.

So my question became:  Is this reaction valid?  Are the public schools that bad?  Is it really necessary to spend 14 - 25K per child per year for private school?

Our first decision was made easier by the fact that the company that brought us to Perth would pay the cost of Private School.  Why take the risk?  We had a suspect discussion at a public school where we were living and were able to find a spot at the closest private school: Wesley College.  Wesley is an old boys school that have begun introducing girls.  A family one time initiation fee of around 6K plus 13K in annual dues would get Olivia into the kindy program (4-5 years of age). 

A mural displayed at Wesley College in South Perth

This year things are different.  We do not have the warm cotton blanket expat package to fall back on. Olivia would cost 14-15K and Owen would start pre-kindy at 7-9K.  Take into account the Australian taxes and I have to earn nearly 40K just for their private schooling and this number would rise quickly as they grow up.

And so after much debate (Angie is a teacher by profession), research, reading, discussion with other parents we decided to try public schools.  Two months ago Olivia started at a Independant public school in the area we're living in.

I plan to continue to update my observations on this little experiment but here are my initial observations:

Facilities:  The facilities at Wesley and many of the expensive private schools are over the top impressive.  They are in pristine condition, contantly being added to, well landscaped and remind me of small universities or Harry Potter's Hogwarts rather than children's schools.  The public school we have Olivia at has seen better days in terms of condition.  Maybe much better days.  That's not to say that it is a dump, it just has a need for maintenance in certain areas and is not nearly as grand.  

Private schools are marketing machines catering to parents emotions:  Every piece of literature, every communication at Wesley was "prettied up", had gone through a marketing agency, was printed on thick paper stock and drove the message that you were in an elite, storied place that created elite leaders of tomorrow.  You feel special there.  You get to say "My kids go to Wesley"  You rub elbows with other elite parents (doctors, lawyers, bank executives etc).  They send countless e-mails, massive newsletters printed like high end annual reports from forture 500 companies reinforcing the greatness that is the Wesley experience.

Private schools are never done asking for money:  You've paid nearly 20K for tuition, so you're done right?  Yeah, right!  Fund raising events at 50-100 bucks a head, emails asking for donations to keep the storied history alive, 400 / term for violin lessons, mandated uniforms double the price of public school uniforms the same quality.  It never stops.

Public schools are for students:  You will not get big fancy propoganda books.  I haven't been invited for a champagne charity event overlooking the city.  We have however already had an assessment of Olivia's reading skills and the areas the teacher will be focused on.  Want to send the teacher an e-mail.  You can but she only reads them once per week.  She'll be happy to talk to you when you come in though.  So far I see a focus on the accademics that I didn't see at Wesley.  (Keep in mind Olivia is very young.)

The base curriculum is the same:  I think this often gets lost.  Private schools like public schools are bound by Australian laws as to what they must teach.  They can add, but they can't subtract.  Private schools and independant schools appear to have some flexibility in how they present certain materials vs the pure public schools.  For example the pure public schools are still teaching the font, Victorian modern cursive which I'm not sure I had even seen before.  I'm sure as we get on there will be elements of the Aussie curriculum that will drive us crazy but nothing that we can't top up at home.

Teachers appear more strict at the public schools:  This is an observation shared by other friends of mine in discussion.  The private school would have us believe their more carefree approach is their method of driving leadership characteristics.  Time will tell....I think Olivia can use a little more authority as seen in her new school.

Either way, good teachers matter:  I liked Olivia's teacher at Wesley.  She was relatively new to teaching but had a gentle way about her and I think Olivia learned some life skills from her.  Her new public school teacher is clearly experienced and very strong.  Watching her assess students is quite impressive.  She is a no nosense, get the job done kind of person that I think we will reflect on fondly in years to come.    

We're two months in and only comparing one young student across two schools.  I'm going to continue to share my observations on this as we're talking about the two most prized things in Angie and my life: Olivia and Owen.    

My friend Alan said something that has stuck with me:  "No matter what school you put your child in, one thing remains true.  The bright ones always rise to the top."

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Cricket...hot dog with potato salad....sure!

My buddy and all around good dude Alpesh asked me if I wanted to join him for the Twenty20 cricket match last night at the wacker.  I've never been and really don't understand the game but near the end was getting the jist of it.

Twenty20's are nice because they're 3 hours long rather than the standard decade long butt destroying cricket test.

And take a look at the sausage with potato salad on it.  It was seriously good and quite unlike the normally plain jane food I'd expect at such a venue.

I'm pretty impressed with the images as shot from my Samsung Note 2....there were some pretty funky skies going on and those light stands are really imposing.

The Perth Scorchers finished off the Hobart Hurricanes (just barely) in what was a pretty exciting game for a guy who didn't understand the game at the start.  

Wow the grammar in this post is shocking... Enjoy the pics! 

Beautiful evening at the wacker complete with ufo flash

That's a serious sausage complete with potato salad

Starting out

That sky was pretty epic.  If you look closely we're winning.

The wacker lights are cool

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Learning Aussie Rules football

One of the true surprises of the journey abroad has been how much I've enjoyed Australian Rules Football or Footy as it's affectionately known.  Footy is like a religion here and as soon as you can talk the game, striking a conversation with men (and often women) gets a whole lot easier.

NAB Bank was playing the below commercials this year which I love.  In very simple terms, it explains the game.  I think it's pretty cute.

Scoring:
There are 4 posts.  Kick it through the middle two posts:  A goal - 6 Points.  Kick it between the outside posts: A behind: 1 Point  Hit one of the two middle posts:  A behind - 1 Point.  Hit an outside post - No points  Ok now you know how to score....got that?

Marks:
Then you've got the mark.  Kick the ball at least 10 meters and if a player catches it he is awarded a mark.  A mark is basically a free kick that the opposing team cannot go beyond where the mark was taken.

There are lots of other rules...but if you can get the scoring and the mark, then you can watch and enjoy quite easily.

When moving to Perth, there will be charlatans who will try to convince you to cheer for the West Coast Eagles.  Don't fall for this nonsense.  When in Perth, cheer for the Fremantle Dockers and all will be well with the world.  (No bias to see here folks - move along)

Joking aside, we have two teams in WA, West Coast and Fremantle.  The rivalry is not as strong as hockey's Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers that I grew up with, but it does show up.  West Coast has won grand finals and has overshadowed Fremantle for a long time.  That is, until this year.  This year Fremantle was a dominating team and went to the Grand Final only to beaten by the very strong Hawthorn Hawks.

Showing Dockers pride during the finals

Angie and I got to go to a game in a company box which was a truly awesome experience.  The field is massive, different at each stadium, and holds a huge number of people.  The Subiaco Oval, where Fremantle and West Coast play, holds 43,500.  The MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds) where the Grand Final is played each year holds 100,018 (yes, 100,018)

Our first game at the Subiaco Oval - Fremantle Won!

Every regular season game (1 per week as a general rule, played Friday, Saturday or Sunday) for both Fremantle and West Coast is on Freeview television. (it's normally got a minor time delay, which you can avoid by lining Rupert Murdoch's pockets with money and getting Foxtel)  I've added a few good videos below for your viewing pleasure.

I've you've made the journey to Australia, or are intending to and enjoy sports, I highly suggest giving the game a shot.

Best goals and marks of the year

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Coffee Culture in Australia

I love my coffee.  See my ever evolving latte art above.  Regardless of the region and the way the local culture drinks their coffee, I get engaged and enjoy it.  One of my favourite experiences is breakfast while staying in Italian hotels.  Not because of what I traditionally think of breakfast, but because of the cappuccino and espresso that is served with near perfect consistency, and all included in the ridiculously low room rate.  Even outside the hotels that perfect coffee is just 1 euro.

Cappuccino and Brioche on one of my trips to Milan

Fast forward to Perth, and we are fully enveloped by a coffee culture with it's own lingo that will certainly trip up those new to it.

Epic Espresso in West Perth - My personal favourite cafe

Perth, like Italy is an espresso based coffee culture.  Drip coffee is nearly unheard of though you are starting to see some shops serve a "pour over" like it is some sort of special alchemy to be tried by true coffee aficionados.  Coffee here is also often very milk based.

If you order a coffee in North America you will receive a drip coffee and usually the standard "Do you take cream or sugar?".

In Italy the simple "un cafe per favor" will garner you one shot of espresso.

In Australia...."coffee please" will likely get you a blank stare followed by "so....Flat White?"

Ok lets go through the options and what they mean:

Short Black = 1 shot of espresso.  You certainly can ask for a double short black as well.  It should be served in a small ceramic cup and drank immediately.

Long Black = An americano.  Take a shot of espresso and add boiling water.  Generally 1/3 coffee to 2/3 water.

Flat White = It's supposed to be a stronger version of a latte where the milk is not as frothed.  In my experience it is just a latte with less foam but some may disagree.

Latte = Latte  I think we're ok here.  The only difference in Australia is it's often served in a clear picardie glass.

Cappuccino = No real change here.  It's often served with chocolate powder on top and I find them to be much less strong than what I would get in Italy.

Short Macchiatto - If you frequent Starbucks, forget what Starbucks told the world a macchiatto was.  A proper macchiatto is a shot of espresso with small "stain" of steamed milk foam.

Long Macchiatto (usually topped up) - Bring on the marching angry barrista's.  This is consistently made differently so you are best to tell someone how you want it made if you are going to order it but generally it is 2 shots of espresso with steamed milk topped up to an 8 oz glass.  Often if served to "dine in" it comes in a clear glass.  Many barristas will argue that this is a piccolo latte.  The problem I have with this is that ordering a piccolo latte often gets me a stare, follow by "Flat white-then?".

One of my frustrations with many coffee shops is that they offer different sizes and if you go for a larger size you get more milk.  I'm told there are barristas that know better but I've yet to find them.  My solution: order a small only.  This has the benefit of keeping the Italian coffee gods happy as well.  This is of course assuming you don't order a milk based drink like a cappuccino after 11am.

I should mention to be prepared to pay for that coffee.  Perth ranks as having the most expensive cup of coffee in Australia with an average price above 4 dollars.

Love coffee....please share...How do you take it?

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I wish you an aussie Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Perth...


This is our second Christmas away from our extended families and can always bring a few sombre moments where you begin to realize some of the things you gave up as an expat.  Last year we spent the day with our wonderful friends from Italy and Greece who landed in Perth around the same time we did.

This year we got a true Aussie Christmas.  My friend Steve and his amazing family (all born and raised in Western Australia) opened their home to us for a beautiful meal, great conversation and plenty for the kids to do.

I will honestly never get used to Christmas without snow.  It simply does not compute in my brain.  For well over 30 years I've been programmed to bundle up to go shopping for presents.  There are lights on all of the houses and everything outside is covered in Snow.  The closest thing in Perth is the picture below taken on a day that was well above 30 Celsius.

The closest thing we get to snow....foam bubbles at London Court,  Perth CBD

Last year it hit 39.6 Celsius on Christmas day.  Thankfully this year it was a much more respectable 29 which was to be perfect to be out (under cover of course).  The kids had a bouncy house complete with mini water slide.

Aussie Toboggoning

So back to the meal:
Ham
Chicken
Natural Oysters (Southern Australia)
Prawns - massive massive prawns
A selection of salads including a killer asparagus one
Enough deserts to require a prescription for Lipitor
A giant esky (cooler) of Beer and ice

The meal was awesome.

That said though I think it's just a tribute to the Australian way.  Steve's family, most of whom had never met us, opened up their home to us and treated us like we were family.  I have to say, that is my experience since being in Perth...Australians are just SO welcoming of anyone into their homes.

Thanks to Steve and his family for a wonderful time and making us forget for a short time just how far away our family is.

If you're an expat how do you spend the holidays when far from family?

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How to set up an Australian Bank Account in Perth / Western Australia

Once we accepted the expat role in Perth....one of the very first things to set up was Banking.  I'm happy to report that Aussie banks make this easy...as least they did for us (more on that later).

For starters I suggest one of the big Aussie banks....they are:

- Westpac  http://movingtoaustralia.westpac.com.au/

- ANZ  http://www.movingtoaustralia.anz.com/english/

- Commonwealth Bank (known as CommBank)  https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/can/moving-to-australia.html

- National Bank of Australia (NAL)  http://www.nab.com.au/personal/help-and-guidance/moving-to-australia

** Some of the world banks also operate here such as HSBC and Citi.  I don't deal with them at home so I didn't see the point but some expats speak highly of them.

All of these banks operate sites for people moving to Australia.  I will speak to the Westpac experience as based on some very basic and hardly scientific analysis I chose Westpac.

I was able to, in probably 15 minutes online, open what is called a "Choice" account with Westpac.  This is the equivalent to a checking account back home.  It pays no interest and allows me to move money in and out, pay bills just as I could with my Canadian account.

The things you need to know:

- You can open the account online from home country and will receive an e-mail shortly after stating your account has been opened.

- I could almost immediately transfer money INTO the account.

- Westpac actually called me in Canada to welcome me and helped set up the online access to the account.  A nice touch.

- Internet banking is excellent in Australia.
- Joint accounts are accepted...hence we created just one account

- I was required to do a identification check before any money could be taken out of the account.  This can be done via mail from the home country or simply by showing up at a branch with the necessary id  as described.  We chose the in branch method and Angela was able to do the id check for both of us which surprised me.

- I could not apply for a credit card from Canada, this had to be done once we were in Australia.

- We moved 10K into the account before going to Australia....I think this helped avoid some issues that some of our expat friends had.

- The West Perth branch had no problems issuing us credit cards and did set them up for Angela and I on her first visit. ***

*** Many of our expat friends have been unsucessful to get credit cards and credit on arrival despite letters from their companies and having high paying jobs / expat packages.  I have further heard this complaint from others who moved from Perth over the years.  I can say only this....we moved 10K AUD into the account about a month before we moved.  We did the request IN BRANCH...branches apparently have much more flexibility than the call centre folks.  Angela brought the kids with her to the branch and treated them with absolute respect.

If I've missed something don't hesitate to ask... how was your experience setting up banking? 

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Should I move to Perth?

I personally think Perth has got to be one of the ultimate expat destinations.  Angela and I often discuss that it will be hard to top Perth with the next assignment.  I can tell you for certain we don't regret the decision for a second.

The family on the South Perth Foreshore

The upsides are:

• Weather - I challenge you to find a place with better overall weather
• It's safe
• People are friendly
• Good health care
• It's an outdoor city - Bike, Run, Swim, Sail all year round
• You are maximum 40 minutes to an endless coastline of beaches.
• Language - If you're coming from an english speaking country....Aussie's speak English even though sometime it doesn't seem like it.
• Good schooling is available
• There are tonnes of expats that are in the same boat as you.  They are coming in and out just like you in large number.

Cottesloe Beach - 25 minutes from the Perth CBD

The downsides are:

• It's far from everything.  Perth is one of the most remote cities in the world.
• Cost of living.  Perth is poke a stick in your eye expensive.  It's drop f bombs, swear out loud in the middle of the restaurant expensive.
• The sun is vicious.  2 out of 3 people in Australia will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer.  
• It's not a cultural mecca.  I often hear Perth called boring.  I disagree but it is not London, New York, or even Edmonton when it comes to cultural goings on.

A great place to raise kids

So when making the decision the major thing to consider is:  What standard of living will you have in Perth?

If you're coming on an expat / foreign service package that includes housing etc. which is common among the Energy and Mining expats then you're all set.  On the other hand...if you need to cover all of your costs, I highly suggest you do research on the costs of living.

What have I missed?

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