Expert: Frank Denison - 11/9/2006

Question
Hi Frank and thank you for your answer.
in regards to my question about wether I meant more in the lines of hurricanes and earth quakes, thunderstorms and tsunamis. :o) and as for poisons critters I worry about letting the kids out in the garden to play by them selves.
I am a mum so I worry about stuff like that..
On the wether form it says that it usually never goes below 09 C in the winter.. Here it gets to be -25-30 so its not really cold for us. :o)
Does it snow in Perth?
regards
Anita
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
We live in Norway right now and are getting rather sick of the cold wether here. we are considering moving to Perth in Australia. We have a 7 year old girl and a 5 months old baby boy. The girl does not speak English save some words. What can we expect for her over there? Will she have to have home schooling to learn English first? Are the schools free over there? This is one of my greatest reservations towards moving. How is the medical system for kids over there? In Norway it is free of charge as long as they are under a certain age. So is dental stuff for kids too.
In Norway there are no poisonous snakes or bugs much to talk about, nothing that will kill you anyway. what is that like around Perth?
I have been working as a secretary for the past 15 years. will it be hard for me to find a job? and my husband has 15 years of mechanical experience and I guess he is what you would call skilled labor.
In Norway we don't have any extreme wether either. what can we expect in Perth?
Would love to hear the answer to these questions.

-----Answer-----
G'day Anita,
         I went to Perth ofr the first time in February for a holiday and enjoyed it.
Your 7 you daughter would need some assistance besides school. We have a friend who settled from China with a 5 year old and he picked up the English very well, so it can be done.

Public Schools are free, but you have to pay for books and pencils etc. Each state in Australia has different health systems. Queensland is free but New South Wales is not free. I do not know about Western Australia. Dental is not free in any state that I know of. Perth is like most parts of Australia, and has poisonious snakes and spiders.

With 15 years experience, you both would not have much trouble with getting a job, so long as you can speak English.

When we were in Perth, it was 42 degrees and very hot. My friends were there last month and were complaining about the cold. So yes, it does have extremes of weather.

I hope this helps. Contact me again if needed.

Regards,
Frank

Answer
G'day Anita,
         We dont have hurricanes and I can only remember 1 earthquake in the last 45 years. However, we do get thunderstorms.

I can understand you worry about the kids, thats what us parents do. In the back garden, they will be fine.

I am not sure about never getting below 9 C, I think it may at times. Brisbane is in a warmer climate and we get down to 1 and 2 C in winter, so Perth would get that low too at times. It does not snow in Perth. Coming from -25, you wouldnt feel the cold anyway.

Perth is a good city, the only downside is it is a big distance from the rest of Australian capital cities.  If you have no desire to travel to the east coast, then the distance is not a problem.

I hope this helps. Contact me anytime if you need any other assistance.

Regards,
Frank & Sue