Perth is one of the most isolated major cities on Earth: Adelaide, the nearest city over 100,000 people, is 2,100km away, and Perth sits closer to Jakarta and Dili than to Sydney. Founded in 1829 as the administrative seat of the Swan River Colony, it is Western Australia's capital and, at roughly 2.3 million people, Australia's fourth-largest city. Its hot-summer Mediterranean climate gives it more sunshine than any other Australian capital, and its mining-driven economy supports a large fly-in-fly-out workforce. Perth's AWST time zone (UTC+8) gives it two to three hours of overlap with a European working day, against about one for Sydney.
Nights sit around 10°C and afternoons around 21°C, though some nights drop to 5°C.
The year in Perth moves gently: summer afternoons sit around 32°C, winter ones around 19°C.
Some summer days reach 38°C, and some winter nights drop to 4°C.
Most of the rain falls in winter, least in summer. In July it rains about 15 days in 30; in December, 1.
Wind is rarely an issue; most months sit between calm and a light breeze. The air stays clean through the year.
Days stretch to about 14.1 hours of light in December and shrink to 9.9 in June — something to weigh if you work to a fixed timezone.
For what you're after, the best months in Perth are December – March. Expect fast internet (242 Mbps) and a high cost of living (about €2700 a month).
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