Goodbye Sydney, Hello Perth

By June Ramli

Perth, Jan 2: After 11 years of living in Sydney, I finally made the decision to move to Western Australia on December 15 last year.
The move happened barely a month after returning from the Middle East.
I flew with Jetstar and, even though I paid for 40kg of check-in luggage plus 14kg of carry-on, I still ended up paying an extra $300 when a few items tipped me over the limit.
The decision to relocate across the country did not come easily.
While I won’t dwell on the personal reasons behind the move, I will say this — purchasing a property here was a major factor, and I’d like to share some practical steps and lessons from relocating from one side of Australia to the other.
As a first-home buyer, I am required under the First Home Owner Grant rules to live in the property for six continuous months.
That meant actually making the move to Perth and not simply owning a place here on paper.

I chose Perth because the unit I purchased was a newly completed development built by an ASX-listed developer.
It had been finished for over a year and ticked many boxes for me.
This was not my first attempt to buy in Perth.
I had tried twice before and both times it fell through at the last minute, which was heartbreaking.
This time, the purchase happened entirely through WhatsApp video calls and messages.
Ordinarily, I would never buy a property sight unseen, but I felt confident due to the professionalism of everyone involved and the systems in place.
This isn’t my first time living in WA either.
Back in late 2013, I spent three months here working as a growth organiser for the National Tertiary Education Union, visiting universities and signing up members.
It was casual work, but it paid well — $45 an hour — and came with generous hours and travel opportunities. That role eventually led to my move to Sydney in 2014, where I remained until late last year.
So Perth isn’t unfamiliar to me — but coming back to build a life here feels different.

Downsizing: brutal but necessary

If you’re planning an interstate move, my first piece of advice is this: get rid of 70–80 per cent of your belongings if not all of it.
Once I decided to leave in August of last year, I began downsizing aggressively via Facebook Marketplace.
It was emotionally and physically exhausting but essential.
Marketplace can be hit-and-miss, and descriptions matter — otherwise buyers show up and walk away.
eBay works for clothes and books, but can also come with disputes and returns, so I preferred dealing locally.
Be ruthless.
Every box you move costs time, money and energy.
I engaged a removalist, but if I could do it again, I would sell or donate almost everything instead of transporting it.
We ended up moving about 20 boxes and many are still sitting unpacked.
Decision fatigue is real, and I brought things I simply didn’t need.
To manage the overwhelm, I used my garage as a staging area, sorting everything into piles to keep, sell, donate or discard.
The Pomodoro technique helped — 25 minutes of focused work followed by a break.
Don’t attempt it all in one day.
Another reason why I decided to move away from my Lilyfield apartment were these staircase picture below here.
The 42 steps became too hard to handle because daily life started to revolve around them — carrying groceries, luggage, and laundry up and down, sometimes multiple times a day.
What was once just “good exercise” slowly turned into physical strain, especially when tired, stressed, or not feeling well.
On some days when I was carrying heavy boxes, the stairs felt endless.
Over time, the constant climbing became impractical and exhausting rather than charming, and it was one of the key factors that pushed my decision to move.

The practical side of starting again

Like many people, I purchased most furniture online from IKEA and Kmart and hired Airtasker workers to assemble it.
Airtasker experiences vary — some workers are excellent, others not so much — so it can be trial and error.
Utilities were straightforward to set up, although this is my first time being billed separately for water usage.
The summer heat in Perth has taken some adjusting, and I’m still waiting for my car to arrive by ship, so I’ve mostly been staying indoors and exploring on foot when I can.
I now live near the Swan River.
It’s not the Bay Run, and the water is murkier than Sydney’s sparkling coastline, but it has a charm of its own — peaceful and calm in a different way.
Strangely, Sydney already feels distant and hazy, even though I only left recently.
I don’t know when I’ll next be back; flights and accommodation from Perth to Sydney are expensive, so it may be some time.

A new home, a new base

This move has reinforced one lesson: I’m committed to minimalism from now on.
Packing up 11 years of life convinced me that I don’t ever again want to accumulate so many possessions.
For now, my focus is on settling in, completing my studies, building routine and making this space feel like home.
To my colleagues and PR friends:

• Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne publicists: I will no longer be able to attend in-person events, but I continue to review products. If you are happy to ship to WA, I would love to keep working together.
• WA publicists: I am now Perth-based and keen to connect. I’m especially interested in local founders, products, stories and events to feature on DailyStraits.com.

You can reach me at editor@dailystraits.com. Here’s to new beginnings in the west and Happy New Year folks!