Within the next week I have been invited to Collie for an job interview. This will be a big move for me from Townsville and my home state of Queensland. From what I can find on the net, it deffinitely looks like the better part of WA and I remember Franz mentioning a race track at Collie, although I will most likely live at Bunbury or Australind. Can I have some views on what else that part of the West has to offer, especially related to activities with the Zed. I would like to get into Drag Racing more but if Kwinana is the closest strip, the frequency will have to reduce greatly since the current track I race at is only 5 minutes from my house. At the moment I only see the bad side is missing out on ZedFest, oh and I have been told it gets really freakin cold!!!
wa is a great place to live... however i'd rather be living in the perth metro area... no offence to the bunbury people, but it sucks!
i love w.a. i don't know about cold, i mean, yes its definitely colder than queensland but its not freezing or anything. its winter and i'm just wearing shorts and a hooded jumper kinda thing. i think in terms of weather the biggest thing you'll notice is that its dry, in queensland you've got a high humidity, in w.a. its a very dry climate. in terms of racing etc., its good over here, i think some of the other zed guys would have to give you more info on that one though. busselton is a nice area, its a lot bigger than people think it is, i prefer the metro area but have lived there all my life. there's a lot more in terms of servicing, parts etc. in the metro, but it wouldn't really stop you a whole heap. a lot of people who move down south stay there though, its very relaxed, not too hustle and bustle etc. hope this helps in some form. hopefully more w.a. people will be able to give you some input. its hard to tell you what's good though as we will have a natural bias to loving it, the same as i've been to sydney and can't understand why you'd ever want to live there. to me perth is so chilled out etc. but each to their own cheers.
Just some interesting bits.... From bumbury, perth is about 2 1/2 hours drive, so thats not really all that far. 1d say the motorplex will be about 1 1/2 hrs away (its about 30mins for me!) Bunbury has a ll the mod cons you will need, but its not that amazing as far as a city goes. quite a few nice restaurants and bars, but not great night life. The beaches are good and as Jaybo said, busselton is not far and a bit past bussleton you have good surf. Lots of wineries down there, and some good countryside. from nov-april is real nice and the winter is not too bad. a bit drizzly but reasonable. Collie itself doesnt have all that much to offer, but if your just working there, it doesnt matter. For the Zed, there are lots of open roads, but lots of open road coppers too. The motorplex is the nearest place to go. that i know of. Good luck. I love that part of the country. Cant really say id want to live there for ever, but for a few years, it would be great. If you buy a house in that neck of the woods, it would be worth it cos the property values are booming.
Wow only 3 replies, I would have thought WA would have been better represented? So what is fuel worth and rego? Do you have to get your car roadworthied every year?
since I lived in QLD as well as WA let me see.. first in answer to those Q's, fuel was $1.40 last time I filled up on premium. Not sure about rego in comparison to QLD but probably not much in it, you don't need roadworthy every year nor do you need it on transfer of registration but stamp duty is higher, some people buying cars over $50k will buy from over east to save some $ and the stamp duty on houses is also higher. I prefer QLD weather but seems not many like humidity like I do.. there seems to be a smaller period when it's not too hot or cold here. They really aren't all that different but since you're looking at living around Bunbury, it seems to be an area on the way up with many new residential developments and I believe they're building an international raceway there. It's also big enough that you won't have to make the trip to Perth often.
I grew up in Collie So tell us what your into and I'l let you know whats around. Also age etc would help. I found it all too quiet and boring for my liking but depends what you like doing, if you have family, kids etc.
Here's the specs on the driver of 90TTZ Let me see, I'm 29, Married, Two kids 4&18 months. I love to work on the Zed as much as I enjoy driving it but from a family point of view we just like going places that are different but when you have two kids as young as ours it's hard to do things by ourselves like eating out etc. Basically anything you can do with the kids is what we are limited to these days. Probably the biggest things I am trying to weigh up is, do I want to spend a short or a long time (5 years +) in WA. I am making travel arrangements tomorrow for a visit to site in Collie for second stage interview and a tour of site and I suppose it will be up to me to check out the surrounding area. Sometimes I wish they would take the decision out of my hands and give the job to someone else :wacko: The only thing that is really making me consider the move is the extra $15K in my account every year.
WA is a great place to live, but I think there is a lot more to do in QLD I moved here around 22 months ago from NOOSA QLD and im now finding I really miss the East Coast as there is just so much more to do. I have found it to be a lot more costly for everyday items in WA(not rent)I love WA but miss QLD even more, one really good thing in WA is that people are a lot more helpfull and friendly :thumbsup:
There's an ad on TV now about tourism in WA... Sure does make it look enticing..! Wouldn't mind going there for a holiday myself.. Will
Yeah, good place for a family I guess If you live in Bunbury, then its a small city/ large town. Pop about 50,000 I think. Right on the ocean, so you have all your beach activities. Beach is nice but often get those little stinging jellyfish depending where you are. Pritty much any watersport/fishing activity you can name. Weather not bad, summer gets quite warm, winter can get fairly cold, although its colder over the hill in collie. Crime isnt too bad, but plenty of bogans. Fair bit of pot growing goes on in the surrounding countryside so there is a bit of a bikie presence in bunbury also but no biggie. Plenty of places to dine etc, similar to the variety you'd get over a few suburbs. All in all a fairly good place to raise kids I would think. Further than that, busselton is about 45 mins drive or so. Quite a nice little place right on the beach that most people make for holidays. Got a 1 mile jetty there thats good for fishing and a great dive spot. Another 45 mins or so further south is Margaret river. Quite well known for its extensive wineries. Makes some quality stuff. Also very popular for the surfing. Perth from Bunbury is only 2 hours drive. Nice road, for the most part its a dual lane carriageway with maybe 40km or so single lane. Gotta watch it for kangaroos at night though. Collie itself, well its got the track that just had a lot of money pumped into it. Should be good fun. Not a whole lot else to do there though. Plenty of pubs
My opinion... ...if the money is worth it then do it! Cost of living is less in WA than in QLD. The Collie Motorplex is now up and running and has a track, 1/8mile drag strip, burnout pad and hillclimb course is on its way. Events will pretty much be on every weekend for a very long time! Bunbury a mere 40kms or so away from Collie is a minor city and motorsport wise boasts an international level speedway track. There are alot of car nuts down there! Perth is 1 1/2 hours away. Busselton is around an hour away, then theres Dunsborough, Margaret River etc just a lil bit further on! For the right money, I'd live in Collie/Bunbury/Australind!
Thanks Nathan and Franz Your input has definitely given me a warmer feeling about that side of the country. Gee I never realised Collie had a 'Motorplex' as such and with all the different events, I think I could be content to participate there and the odd trip to Kwinana. I was talking to EvZ on the phone a few hours ago and he had some good stuff to say about that end of WA. You all have pretty much convinced me though that Collie would be great for work and play, but I think to sleep, Bunbury or round abouts would be the choice. Was a little confused by Mr.TT's comment of it being more expensive than QLD. It does not suprise me he misses QLD, coming for Noosa of all places, don't get much better than the good old Sunshine Coast. Hey I would love to live on the Sunshine Coast too but there aint no jobs within my trade there. My flight has been booked for the 13th with site interview the following day. If i'm moving over to WA, I'll be in touch. If there are any other person's willing to sell me WA, please post em here!! Cheers:thumbsup:
before you go I should also warn you that QLD girls are better looking than the ones you'll find here.
Rent and rego is cheaper but I have found all food and everyday items to be quite a bit higher in price.Thats all I was saying. Its a beautiful place and yes your right in saying there is no work on the sunny coast ,there is bucket loads over in WA and the people are great :thumbsup:
WTF - WA has some of the best females anywhere in the world. I don't even need to mention the proportion of WA women to all other states combined in Ralph and/or FHM!
