Hi,
I am one of the contributors of this blog but I rarely post anything. So let me introduce myself once again for the benefit of the new people here. I'm asingaporeanson and I blog at asingaporeanson.blogspot.com. One reason that I don't contribute much in this blog is that I am (considered) new to Australia. As this is a informative blog, it doesn't make sense for me to post inaccurate data to confused, or worse, mislead innocent Singaporeans.
The second reason being I am slow to warm up to people. I am never one who makes the first move. Yes, even on the internet.
Albeit my limited knowledge of Australia, I could offer something by talking about the place I am living, more specifically, why I chose Perth as my migration destination. I hope this will not spark a pointless argument with you justifying why your state is better than others, which is probably true. But to you, not to the others obviously. Thus, pointless.
I'm not going to tell anyone why Perth is the best place to be in. For starters, I have not even been to any other states outside Western Australia so I don't want to pretend that I've seen the world. Neither should anyone else, in my opinion.
So why Perth?
Weather
I am not sure what kind of weather people in other states are experiencing. Everyone has different preferences and measure the quality of weather their own yardstick. How I measure good weather is the number of days I can go around in T-shirt and shorts. That's the kind of wear I like to be in and that's why I came to Australia. Not that I can't wear T-shirt and shorts in Singapore but I feel better doing that in Australia because everyone does the same thing, be it in the suburbs or the city, at least where Perth is concerned. You could probably do the same in Singapore a decade ago but these days if you do that in Orchard Road you might get dirty looks, if you know what I mean.
In Perth, I clad in this mode during all of Summer (obviously), Spring and Autumn. I have not experienced my first Winter since I came. I'll tell you if I could do that. To me, not having to go stark naked or add layers for most of the year, that is good weather.
Geographical Position
To date, my sister has visited me once. Another 4 friends are thinking of doing the same. My safe assumption would be they would consider twice if I were to live in the eastern cities. Higher air fares and longer flight hours, though not really significant, acts as a psychological factor to dissuade potential visitors coming over for a 'quickie'.
This may not be important to earlier migrants but it is helpful for a new migrant who came over without a single kin or friend. Moreover, the feeling of being 4.5 hours away from home makes feel a bit less daunting. I am after all but a normal insecure human being.
Cost
I measure it by Days-I-Could-Survive-Without-A-Job. Obviously, coming over without a job has its risks. That's probably the sole reason why people read my blog. To find out if I am dead, or still alive for those who care. With my capital as the fixed variable, apparently Perth offered me more Days-I-Could-Survive-Without-A-Job than the eastern cities. More Days, the higher of my chance of finding a job, any job, and kick off my new life in Australia.
I supposed there aren't many who can argue against money. As unimportant as it is, it still hold a considerable power over one's life. In this case, it decided where I go.
Misc advantages
It's easy to spell and pronounce. I'm the lazy kind of people and I dislike correcting others - unless they start to correct me first. Perth is Perth. People don't get it wrong and start spelling it as Melburn or Sdyney. Very cool.
There are less people here. A key reason I left Singapore was the high population density. The last thing I want is to experience that all over again. I don't get high being trapped in traffic jams either. It's alright here. Population density is more important that anyone cares to rate it. In a congested place, people get tense. When things go wrong, the chances of people going over the top are higher. Many times, tension is mistaken as racial disharmony or what nots. In reality, people are just getting annoyed with too many people around, most of the time they are not even conscious of it. Imagine being trapped on an island, you'll tend to be happy to see a newcomer - regardless of his/her skin colour. Unless he is gay or something.
There are less Singaporeans here. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Singaporeans. But there ARE some kind of Singaporeans that you, and everyone, hate. Those are the kind that you wish to avoid anywhere in the world. The less likely I will meet some of these morons in Perth.
I could go on but it's time for work. So byebye and enjoy your holidays.
