Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 02:17
Rents is a killer if you don't have your accoms provided.
The beachfront house we had in Pt samson used to rent out for $2K a week.
Karratha prices aren't much better.
Karratha has OK shopping and Hospitals etc.
Works easy to find - when we were there within the last 12 months, EVERY business in the LIA had "staff wanted" signs posted out front.
Heres the problem
Even if you made sandwiches at the lunch
shop in the LIA and they paid you 2K a week(which they won't/can't), your rent on a grass square in the Cvan
park to put up a tent was about $600 a week. Add in fuel near 2 ucks a liter and food at 2 times the cost of
Perth supermarkets and you couldn;t afford to live.
Same with a tradesman
Say he needs to make, $1K a week to provide / run his work ute and
tools and maintenance etc, then he needs say $1500 a week for a SMALL 3drm house....thats $2.5 K a week before he gets any takehome pay - as an employer you HAVE to pay $4 or $5 a week to be able to get anyone to work and stay!
Theres heaps and heaos of work - its just that unless you have a prent that owns a house there and cheap rent - you can't make any cash there....
Some of the businesses have houses they bought 20 years ago that they use as part of the job package to be able to attract tradesmen at a wage they can afford.
Anyone like refrigeration mechanics and diesel fitters etc - can find MORE work than you can poke a stick at - its just that unless you charge out at $1K a DAY - you can't survive up there, because things are so expensive. Which employers gonna pay you $5K a week (250K a year) to work up there?
NONE!
Thats why EVERY business in the LIA has staff wanted signs and can't get or keep staff!
Thats WHY all the mining cos prefer to fly their workers in out rather than accomodate them.
Staff are so short, the mining cos are chartering jets from the airport to
Brisbane abd back once a week on tuesdays to try and get workers outta queensland - the sparky who rewired our fuse board, was from
Brisbane I kid you not.
2 days work $5K
The mining cos charter jets to fly Port Headland to
Karratha and back every day so their staff can get the few available accoms in Pt Headland and work in
Karratha, its cheaper than building staff accoms in
Karratha.
A plumbing job that cost me $270 in parts and took me 2 hours was quoted at $2.7K by the local plumbers.
NOTHING in
Karratha involving a tradesman costs under a grand - in fact unless you pay em a grand they won't even come and quote - thats what their time is worth to them.
We waited over 3 months for a refrigeration guy to come back and finnish a air con job - and he never showed, in the end I bought a part myseelf off the internet had it posted and fixed it myself.
There simply are very very few eligible
young women in the
Karratha area, compared to the numbers of randy
young fly in fly out guys and permanenet workers.
Those that are there get hasselled so much its a REAL problem in the community.
Sand flies are the killer in the heat & 44 is a good day, 48 is HOT!
The heat takes it's toll - lots of the big supply wholesale businesses are in big warehouses (steel) with limited if any air con...
In summer - the staff when you walk in for service have that dehydrated / disinterested / don't want to be here/ don't want to service you, look on their face and you can hardly blame them, it is oppressive humid heat in the mnsoon season is the ONLY way to describe it.
Quite simply if you don't have job on offer paying at least 300 - 350 K a year - then your wasting your time even thinking about going there.
Karratha is not all it is cracked up to be if you don't have high wage fly in fly out company accoms etc.
Look at all the Shire of Robourne (
Karratha Offices) vacancies advertised in every Satdays west! They offer salaries packages around 100K including state govt housing - and can't get or keep staff!
Thats just my and my familys opinion tho - we still have some close friends who live there, and have for years and love it.
It depends a LOT on what you expect and want outta the place.
Cheers
AnswerID:
351956
Follow Up By: j9 - Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 08:56
Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 08:56
Hey Flywest, thank you so much for all the info, very helpful and has given me alot to think about!!! As you say, gotta think carefully about what you want and or what you are willing to put up with ;) I knew the living expenses were high but had not even thought about what the hell to do when the air con breaks wow!! Once again thanks and if you have any further advice or hints, give me a shout.
FollowupID:
620154
Follow Up By: Flywest - Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 15:46
Tuesday, Mar 03, 2009 at 15:46
Your Welcome,
Mate a
mine used to manage 3 hospitals up there (Wickham
Karratha and Roebourne) from memory, and had REAl problems retaining nursing staff.
1. There was a LOT of constant pressure on them from the all male
population, which they soon tired of.
2. The provided state govt housing is VERY old and poor condition - ceiling fans instead of air conditioners etc.
3. The wages are same as
Perth plus the small tax break above the 26th parallel. Theres a REAL dichotomy between the stage govt service provision staff condirtions of living and the
mine people in terms of wages and accoms.
4. The dichotomy, creates social problems (Class differentiation)....you might be a Hospital manager in a sun standard house and low wage compared to your neighbour in a new mining co house, next door with all the air con etc etc
Add to that the manual labourer at the
mine is on 2 or 3 times the salary.
5. The differentiation - means that theres a class distinction between the haves and have nots...the miners all have a pool, boat, 4wd, jetskis, motor bikes - i.e. all the toys - because their wage affords it - and their hiouse has al the new furniture etc etc
The neighbouring state govt service employee has huge responsibility, crappy wage and a derelect house and no toys coz the wage wont allow it.
6. Try explaing to the kids - why your the big head honcho of a whole medical system in the
Pilbara - always on call and long hours - no time for your kids or wife etc and you live like paupers, and the neghbours kids who's dad isa dump truck driver for the
mine - have ALL the mod cons and toys etc - it's a cause of REAL friction with the kids at school, & in sporting clubs etc.
7. Public servants in the
Pilbara are a lower socio economic demograph due to the high wages and conditions on offer to the
mine workers, whch makes for division in the comunities...
Its not long before your missus under all the constant attention / pressure from the mining co dudes iseventually bangin the dump truck driver next door, because he can offer her and your kids, a better quality of life than you can, on a low paid govt wage and a hugely responsible job that affords your wife and kids hardly any of your time.
8. The govt positions in the
Pilbara are like a huge revolving door they are ALWAYS advertised in the papers because no one will stay - LOTS of the govt husing available is in
places like Roebourne which has a predominantly first nations
population....
Unless you've visited Roebourne you wouldn't understand what I mean - but for example - the Hotel is closed in town permanently - too many riots every day for local Police to be able to contend with.
Karratha's a nice place to visit and fish - but you'd wanna think twice about living there long term, it is VERY hard on kids.....my own two teenage boys reckoned the seagulls were looking sweet after 9 months up there, without seeing many if any
young gals their own age the whole time we were there.
I can tel you they are MUCH happeir down here in
Perth with their jobs and girlfriends, nightlife etc
Cheers.
FollowupID:
620204