I feel like Perth exists in a little alternate universe of its own. It's a city of approx 1.6 million, bigger than Phoenix or Philadelphia, with Western Austral

I feel like Perth exists in a little alternate universe of its own. It's a city of approx 1.6 million, bigger than Phoenix or Philadelphia, with Western Australia having a state GDP-per-capita 10% higher than the US. Property is also 15% cheaper than the South-East England (excluding London) region. Median house price is US$396000 / AUD$615000 and there is a very long list of skills shortages for immigration to fill. The property boom in Sydney just passed Perth by, and it's now significantly cheaper. Vacancy rates are at their lowest in years, and rents have risen recently, but that's off the back of eleven years of zero nominal house price growth 2011-2021. We are only now getting 10-15% above 2011 levels in nominal terms. I'm not saying people can uproot their established lives in Melbourne/Sydney, especially when the main industries are quite different in Perth, but I really don't understand why Perth is not a more popular destination for immigration from around the world. As a British economic migrant to Australia myself I'm just surprised there isn't more of a stampede. My 2023 Perth salary is 3.5 times higher than my UK 2010 salary, and the quality of life in Perth is far higher than the UK. My house is 4 bed 2 bath on a 4300 ft2 block 2.5 miles (9 minutes on the bus) from the city centre and it is 3.8 times my salary as an engineer (my wife is unable to work so we are single income)