Anna Moran
When you move from the UK to Australia, there's always a few things that really stand out.
Natalie Jowett
Everywhere seems really clean. You walk down the street, people say hi to you. It's lovely. It's really refreshing
Hi, my name's Natalie and I've recently moved to Perth from Milton Keynes in the UK and I'm a new Britstralian.
Anna Moran
Natalie and her fiance, who's from Scotland, had only been in Australia for two weeks. At the time of recording this podcast
Natalie Jowett
Actually moved over here with my partner Rob and my little daughter Alessia.
Anna Moran
And Alessia was only six months old when the family moved down under. I've forgotten what it's like to be new in Australia because you're quite fresh here. What stands out to you? What are the things that you've really noticed? I know one thing you said is that the streets are cleaner.
Natalie Jowett
Oh, yes, that's, that's probably one of the first things I noticed, and it is noticeable if you've come over from the UK. The other thing I've noticed is that people are really friendly here.
It could be to do with the weather, who knows? Everywhere we've been, service has been amazing. The staff are friendly. Everyone just seems in a good mood, which is really, really nice, so I'd say that really stood out. The other thing I've noticed people very helpful as well. People want to help you. Well, they want to tell you about Perth.
They're interested in where you've come from. Anytime I speak to someone in Perth, they're so proud of where they live then I think that's just so nice. So I'd say that's quite noticeable coming here as well.
Anna Moran
Wow.
Natalie Jowett
Yeah. Having even like the dog parks and they have all the little bags for tidying up after your dog, they just have rolls of them there, so they make it easy to keep the place tidy.
It's quite striking.
Anna Moran
I'm so pleased that you've had such a nice first impression of Perth and Australia. It's really nice to hear that.
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, it's been wonderful. So many ex-pats here. It's really like a home-from-home as well.
Anna Moran
Have you made some friends yet?
Yeah, we have. We've made a few friends since we've been here and my uncle actually lives in Perth as well, so yeah, it's been lovely.
Anna Moran
Did you choose Perth because you had family here already?
Natalie Jowett
No, we didn't actually. It came about because my partner Rob, was actually offered a job in Perth and it's not something we'd actually necessarily considered before. He does have family in Australia. They live in Tasmania, but Tasmania is no way near Perth.
So it's not something we sort of sought out to, we must go and move to Perth, but when the opportunity came, it was just too good to turn down and, and we thought we just have to grab the chance.
Anna Moran
So you said, Rob, your partner's family are over here. Who's he got over?
Natalie Jowett
Well, um, until a couple of years ago, it was his sister and her husband, and then about a year and a half ago, his parents immigrated as well.
So, yeah, he's got his mom, dad, sister. He's actually got quite a lot of family here cause that's his immediate direct family. But he's also got cousins who live here.
Anna Moran
Wow. Are they spread out over Australia or any in Perth?
Natalie Jowett
They're all in Tasmania. All of those. It's a Scottish invasion of Tasmania. Yeah, they're all in Tasmania. They don't live too far from each other.
Anna Moran
Would you consider moving over that way?
Natalie Jowett
I have been to Tasmania only once. I've only seen a small part of it and it is a beautiful area of the world, but for me, I think I'd want somewhere with a little bit more going on, so I think Perth really ticks that box.
Anna Moran
And do you feel that way in Perth? Do you feel that it's got enough going on here for you?
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, I mean, early days for me, it seems like it strikes a really good balance between a nice laid-back lifestyle, but with enough going on. So I used to work in central London. I like the kind of busy nature of the city, but I would never want to live there.
So somewhere like Sydney or Melbourne, I'd probably like enjoy going to, but I wouldn't want to live there. And again, on the opposite end of the spectrum, some small sort of towns within Tasmania would be far too quiet for me. So I feel like Perth is a perfect mix but with the laid-back vibe as well.
Anna Moran
And you don't feel too isolated here? Well, I guess you're quite new here, but we are in they say it's the most isolated city in the world.
Natalie Jowett
I actually hadn't grasped the concept of the fact that Perth is closer to Asia than it is to certain other parts of Australia. So actually be quicker for me to fly to Bali than it would be for me to fly and visit Rob's family in Tasmania, which is just mind-blowing.
So yes, it is isolated.
Anna Moran
And have you found Australia expensive?
Natalie Jowett
Yes, it's very expensive compared to the UK I would say it's very noticeable in terms of doing a food shop well. Even things like fruits and vegetables. I mean, yeah, red and yellow peppers extremely expensive here.
Anna Moran
Yeah, they are a lot more expensive than home.
Natalie Jowett
Exactly. So that's just one example. I mean, there's lots of other things that are more expensive in general.
Anna Moran
So how much more expensive is a red pepper here than it is in the UK?
Natalie Jowett
Oh my goodness. I would say it's over double, maybe even three times more expensive.
Anna Moran
Wow. What about things that you need to buy for a baby? Like nappies?
Natalie Jowett
I think nappies, wipes, all those kind of baby paraphernalia, all more expensive. Everything is just more expensive.
Anna Moran
Over here, the salaries are a bit higher than in the UK. Do you think that the salary will cover your living expenses?
Natalie Jowett
You are compensated for the fact it is more expensive to live here.
So yes, your salary will be higher. It's easy to get carried away and look at your salary, look at how it compares with what you are earning in the UK, and think, wow, I'm gonna have a lot of disposable income. But you have to factor in the cost of living is expensive.
Anna Moran
Are you concerned about your little girl missing out on time with your family?
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, I've been trying to FaceTime them pretty much every day or every other day. I mean, she's at that age where she is young enough where she will not really miss her friends and family because she's so young. She's not really aware of it. And I think, again, that's why we sort of use calls over WhatsApp or FaceTime just so she can see them, and so she remembers them and then when they come and visit, she's not going to necessarily think, who are these strangers?
Same with Rob's parents. Even though they're in the same country, they're still a long way away. So we've always FaceTimed them as well and put her on so she can see them. So.
Anna Moran
What visa have you come out on?
Natalie Jowett
So it's um, it's a working visa, so. Rob and I actually have the same visa, even though he's the one who's got the job.
So it's quite handy for me because it means when I find something I can start working as well, which is great. Great. Yeah. And yeah, with his job as well, it's a permanent job. It's not sort of a case of two years or anything like that. It's, it's really great.
Anna Moran
So what did you bring with you to Australia?
Natalie Jowett
We really debated about what to bring and then we decided we are just going to bring the bare minimum and try and get away with just packing our stuff into suitcases because it's so difficult.
I mean, how do you pack up your whole life into a suitcase? That's hard enough when you're a couple, let alone when you have a baby to pack for as well. So we bought a suitcase each bought the car seat and we bought her buggy and that was it.
Anna Moran
Wow. And how are you coping with that?
Natalie Jowett
Do you know what? It's actually okay.
I think the hardest part was the packing. It was just trying to decide what in your house to take and what to leave. It was really difficult. So I'd say the packing element was actually harder than getting here with minimal amount of things because. Again, when you're moving to a different country, the climate's different.
You don't really need all the things that you thought you needed back in the UK and for me, a self-confessed shopaholic, I realised I didn't need to pack 40 pairs of high heels with me. You know what? We've been fine and there's nothing that we've left that you couldn't buy here as well. Yes, clothes are a little bit more expensive, but such a little bit easier to have minimal. It means you're not carting stuff around everywhere.
Anna Moran
So what have you done with all of the things that you didn't bring with you? Like all of those pairs of shoes, what have you done with them?
Natalie Jowett
Oh, I think about the shoes so much. They're, they're stored at my parent's house. Along with some sort of winter clothes as well.
The other things we just had to try and sell. It was just a mad rush.
Anna Moran
Can I ask you a little bit more about your flight from Heathrow to Perth?
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, of course, you can. So, we actually decided to do the direct flight. The flight is 16 and three-quarter hours. It was quite a nice flight because we took off at midday and we landed at midday the next day.
Don't have to worry about, you know, layovers or your baggage being lost when you, you know, you're transferring to another flight. I was apprehensive about traveling with a baby, but we were very lucky. She was so, so good on the flight. She didn't really cry that much. So yeah, it went a hundred times better than I could have imagined.
Anna Moran
Have you adjusted to Australia time yet, or are you still kind of jet-lagged?
Natalie Jowett
I don't even recall feeling any jet lag. I know that sounds strange, but when you are a parent of a young baby, it's very difficult to differentiate jet lag from general parental tiredness. For the first couple of days, I think I'd sometimes wake up sort of one or two in the morning and be ready to wake up.
Again, having a baby with you. She was waking up then anyway. I think both myself and Rob adjusted quite quickly too.
Anna Moran
That's great. Oh, that's really good. And you've got a house in the UK. You've kept
your house, haven't you?
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, we've kept our house, so we are renting that out. So again, what have we got to lose if we end up coming back?
Nothing's gonna have changed properly. Our friends will still be there, our family will be there. I think had we sold the house, it would've felt like a much more permanent thing. Yeah. It just seemed crazy to not try it really.
Anna Moran
You said if you return to the UK for a holiday, does that mean that you are thinking of staying here forever? Long term.
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, I mean, never say never in terms of going back in its early days. So hard to tell. But it would be nice to sort of put some roots down here. Um, so far. We're really enjoying being in Perth. Obviously, we miss our friends and our family desperately, but at the end of the day, they're one flight away.
A long flight, albeit, but one flight away. So yes, of course, we do plan to return and see friends and family, but for the, I mean for the long term, we are thinking of staying here.
Anna Moran
Wow. So big life-changing decision isn't. And you used a relocation agent to move out to Australia. Can you tell us how that works and what do they help you out with?
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, it's been great because when you move to another country, you don't really have an idea about the different areas. You can look on a map and think, oh, that looks quite handy. That's close to the beach, or This one's close to work. But it's hard to really understand what an area's like. We've basically used them for particularly house hunting. And they also helped put us in our temporary accommodation as well, cuz we are staying in some service departments in the center of Perth.
Anna Moran
And what are you looking for in terms of a home? What are the top things that are important to you?
Natalie Jowett
Ideally, we are looking for a property, three to four bedrooms, couple of bathrooms.
And we thought we'd like a swimming pool ideally. I mean, this is probably such a such a British thing to say, you moved to Australia, we've got to have a pool.
Anna Moran
Oh, let's see. But why would you not?
Natalie Jowett
Obviously, it is not essential to have a pool, and it is not essential to have a walking wardrobe, but they're just nice to have.
But I think the most important thing is finding an area that we feel comfortable. Ideally not too far from the beach. I mean, yeah, just somewhere, some space and ideally a, a good size garden as well. Or if not a garden somewhere close to some parks or somewhere like that.
Anna Moran
It's probably a little bit early to be asking you this, but what about raising a child in Australia?
Can you see that differences already there would be.
Natalie Jowett
Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's just very much more about that kind of outdoor lifestyle and it seems just so family oriented. I mean, we love the fact that you can just pitch up to the park and they have the barbecues there already. Even something simple like that is just so lovely.
We were, actually went for a walk this morning and we saw family just doing their breakfast on one of the barbecues in the park, and we thought, how lovely is this? You would never get this in the UK, obviously. Partly the weather, it's not ideal, but just secondly, I think a lot of people seem to do a lot with family, which is really nice.
A lot of the restaurants. Very family-friendly. A lot of the parks. That's when we noticed very family friendly.
Anna Moran
Were you looking to come to Australia or did the opportunity just present?
Natalie Jowett
No, we were never looking to come to Australia. It just came outta the blue. It really did. We never talked about living in another country, let alone Australia.
It all really boiled down to the fact that we thought, if we don't take it now or at least try, no matter what happens, we will always look back and wonder, what if. If worse comes to worse, we can always come back. We just have to try it and I'm really glad we did. Having my friends and family was the hardest thing to leave them. And that was the one thing that would've stopped me doing it.
But we had to think long term for our little girl. We want her to have the best quality of life and give her the opportunity to come and live in Perth. And like I said, even if for whatever reason it didn't work out, supposing, Rob didn't like his job so much, or we were just missing home too much, I would never have any regrets having done it.
Because if we ended up coming back, we'd have good stories to tell, we'd have nice photos to share, we'd tell our little girl about it when she was older. Remember the time we just took off and moved to another country? so no, I wouldn't have any regrets. Life's too short to regret things like you always regret the things you don't do, rather than things you do and nothing's permanent.
And I think that's the thing I had to keep telling myself. You can always go back. You're not stuck in one place. So, but no, no regrets so far.
Anna Moran
Good. Ah, Natalie. Well, I wish you and your little family the very best of luck wherever this journey takes you.
We asked our Britstralian community on Facebook where they refer to as home, even though they live in Australia, according to Apple, more than 60% of the group still call Britain home. If you are a Britstralian or you're looking to make the move, come and join us on Facebook and Instagram and I look forward to seeing you on there.
All the links are in the description wherever you are listening to this podcast.