emigrating « Rachel Henwood – Freelance writer, copywriter, published author, marketing and sales literature, web content, web design, Norwich, Norfolk, East Anglia, England, UK,

Diary of a Pom in Western Australia

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Rachel

August 31 – Just got transferred with work from Leeds UK to our new home in Karratha, Western Australia. Now this is a town that knows how to live!
Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.

Filed under: funny stuff, pictures & video clips, living life DOWN UNDER, passports & past times, the funny side of life, what's going on in the world | Tagged: australia, diary, emigrating, England, English, expat, flies, funny, heat, melbourne, moving down Under, oz, perth, Pom, reality, relocating, summer, sydney, weather, Western Australia, what's life in Perth like | 2 Comments »

‘Courtesy’ my arse

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Rachel

The last time I looked in a dictionary, the word ‘courtesy’ meant to provide something out of generosity – a polite gesture. Preferably free of charge. The word doesn’t mean to fleece a stranded customer and then, to add insult to injury, try to charge them $13 more than the local car rental company would.

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER, what's going on in the world, why is that? | Tagged: antibiotics, apple pie, assistant, attitude, australia, bad customer service, being careful what you eat, bigpond, bills, brakes, breaking down, broken, burnt throat, car, cars, cheap, companies, cost, courier, courtesy car, customer, customer service, damage, dangerous, dealership, DHL, dictionary, Dinky toys, Doctors, East coast, eating hot food, emigrating, engine, fault, feedback, fix, food, free of charge, garage, gear box, gear stick, gears, health, hospital, hot spots, jobs, Kia, Kia Rio, knocking noise, laid back, law suit, living Down Under, living in perth, living without a car, manager, Manufacturer, meaning, mechanic, medical, microwave, mother nature, moving, oesophagus, parts, perth, plane, polite, problems, quality, recommendations, reheating food, repairs, restaurants, Rio, road worthy, safe, service, shops, sue, telephone, telstra, train, vodaphone, WA, wait awhile, Wangara, warranty, Western Australia, what it's like, which car, worth the money | 2 Comments »

There’s no such place as perfection

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Rachel

Lots of people want to know, what’s life in Perth really like? Is it all blue skies, suntan cream and sandy beaches? Is everyone as ‘happy as Bruce’ and do the kangaroos all smile and wave you on your way as you speed off to work your 5 hour day? In a word, and a very short one at that, NO.

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER | Tagged: 40%, animals, australia, babies, bbq, bringing up children in Perth, Brisbane, camping, children, cleaning, climate, cold, cooking, Down Under, drinking beer, easy, Education, emigrating, England, Expats, families, fish and chips, fishing, go home, happy, hiking, Hillarys, housework, hype, jobs, Kangaroos, kids, kings Park, life in, lifestyle, lifestyle laidback, living in, melbourne, migrants, misconception, moving, moving to, new life, novelty, outdoors, parks, perth, Perth Zoo, POMS, rain, reality, return, rose tinted glasses, safe, schools, shopping, sun, sunnies, surfing, sydney, Tellytubies, travelling, UK, visa, weather, what to expect, what's life in Perth like, winter, working day | 29 Comments »

Another Shark Attack in Perth

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Rachel

On Saturday (9th May) a 35 year-old man had a very lucky escape when he came nose to nose with a 4.5 m pointer (great white), and survived to live another day.

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER | Tagged: 2.7-metre bull shark, 2009, 60 Minutes, 9th may, alive, amputate, attack, attacked, australia, baby steps, beady., boat, celebrity, circling, clearance, competition, confronting, determined, Diver, diving, Doctors, Down Under, driving high performance cars, emigrating, escape, examining, experience, facts, fears, February, fishing, future, Garden Island, Garden Island docks, graphic, great white, grey, hand, Harbour, head-on, headlines, hospital, Jaws, killed, leg, life jacket, living in perth, lost, lucky, man eating, Manly's Oceanarium., mauled, mauling, McCleans, medical, Mr de Gelder, museum, Naval Base, navy, Navy clearance diver, nerve-wracking, news, nine network, panic mode, Paul de Gelder, peacekeeping mission in East Timor, perth, phobia, photographs, physically, point peron, pointer, predators, prosthetic leg, rescused, Rockingham, Rockingham Sea Rescue, RSR, scare, scene, sea, seven, shark, shark attack, sharks, surfing, survive, survived, swim, swimming, sydney, toothy, vivid, walking, white | Leave a Comment »

Playtime

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Rachel

An Aussie influenced playground.. Posted From My iPhone

Filed under: all under one roof | Tagged: australia, children, Down Under, emigrating, expat, family, growing up, kids, living in Australia, living in perth, moving to Perth, nothern suburbs, parent, parenthood, perth, photo, picture, suburbia, what's it like | 2 Comments »

Hunting Skippy

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Rachel

One of the things that Australia is best known for, (apart from killer spiders) is its lean, mean hopping machine. AKA the kangaroo….

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER, my family & other animals | Tagged: australia, Baileys, balls, blog, bloody clot, bored, bubble bath, bumper, card, christmas, connolly drive, cows, culling, dangerous, daughter, dead, dog, dog food, Down Under, drink, driving, emergency, emigrating, enclosure, expat, family, fences, funny, hedgehogs, hopsital, hunting, image, imagination, Joondalup, journey, kangaroo, kicking, lakeside drive, life, living in perth, mailbox, mob, moving to Perth, nails, nature, Norah Jones, nothern suburbs, parent, parenthood, PE, photo, picture, poo, pooh, questions, rigamortis, roo, santa, seat belt, seeing them, signs, skippy, son, spiders, Spoodle, spotting, story, suburbia, supermarket, trip, watching, what's it like, where can you see them, whiteman park, wildlife, Yanchep National Park | 2 Comments »

Bring on the Spring

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Rachel

Yeah, the cold weather is finally on the way out. After a chilly and incredibly wet winter (we were on the brink of building an ark in the garage) Spring is finally making it’s way around to Perth. After months of huddling around the fire and looking pale and pasty, the sun is trying to make a come back and I can already feel my blood slowly starting to defrost.
Click header to read the rest

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER | Tagged: Adams family, australia, bikes, burning, children, clothes, complexion, crocs, danger, diet, dogs, Down Under, emigrating, factor 30, fire, flamaying, garden, gardening, getting git, gym, health, healthy lifestyle, heat, houses, jeans, laptopn, life in Perth, living in Australia, losing weight, moving, parents, perth, playing, Pom, protection, rain, rainall, safety, sausage, shoes, skin cancer, spring, summer, sun, sunbathing, suncream, sunshine, tan, tanning, temperature, UGGs, weather, wet, what's it like, winter, Working from home, writer, Writing, Yeti | 1 Comment »

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Rachel

You could be forgiven for thinking that buying a car is a simple 3 step process – you choose your make and model, you get offered a fabulous deal and you drive away – with free floor mats, a tank of fuel and a hamper of unedible food. Sadly this is not so. It’s not even close… (click header to read the rest)

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER, why is that? | Tagged: 4WD, advert, advertising, Audi, australia, bargain, BMW, buying cars, campaign, Chrysler, Citroen, colour, con, cost, customer, Daewoo, deal, dealers, dealerships, Diahatsu, Down Under, emigrating, expensive, Ford, hard sell, Holden, Honda, how to buy a car, Hyundai, Internet, Jeep, Kia, Land Drover, life in australia, living in perth, lowest price, make, Mazda, Mercedes, mitsubishi, models, motor industry, moving, negotiating, new cars, Nissan, off road, package, perth, price, Proton, registration, salesmen, saloon, second hand, small car, sports, Suzuki, Toyota, tricks, used cars, vehicles, volkswagen, Volvo, warranty, website, what it's like, what to expect, year, zoom | 2 Comments »

Winter blues

Posted on July 3, 2008 by Rachel

The one thing that surprised me the most about Perth is that the winters here can get cold. Very cold. When I arrived in June last year, I was completely unprepared for what the following months would be like…. (click header to read the rest)

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER, my family & other animals | Tagged: 3 little pigs, Africa, australia, boots, building a house, clothes, cold, container, Down Under, Ebay, emigrating, fire, gas heaters, heating, houses, jumpers, life, living in perth, moving to, perth, pool, slippers, summer, temperatures, UGGs, weather, Western Australia, what it's like, what to bring, what to expect, winter | 5 Comments »

Ho Ho Ho

Posted on July 3, 2008 by Rachel

Christmas came early to sunny Perth today. Well when I say Christmas, I should probably clarify. After all, it is only July and many of us are still trying to shed the weight gained from the last time we dived head first into the festive trough….. (click header to read the rest)

Filed under: all under one roof, living life DOWN UNDER, my family & other animals | Tagged: advertising, australia, babies, children, christmas, emigrating, hives, kids, kmart, layby, life in Perth, living, marketing, moving, parents, presents, sales, shopping, stress, winter | 2 Comments »

Rachel Henwood – Freelance writer, copywriter, published author, marketing and sales literature, web content, web design, Norwich, Norfolk, East Anglia, England, UK,

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