Cost of living budget - Canberra

[nikkiel]

Hi all,

we are busy organizing our info for our 176 visa for Canberra (given up on the 175) and the one thing they are asking is the cost of living in Canberra. We have 2 kids age 3 and 7 and we dont have an extravagant lifestyle - no maid, dont eat out much etc. If someone who lives there could please give us an idea of what the following costs would be a month it would be a great help.

Accommodation 3 beds 2 baths

gas

electricity

food

travel costs

health care

schooling

telephone

This would also give us an idea when looking for a job as to what salary my hubby would need. I read on the forum that someone said $4000 a month would be enough, is that right?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Nicola

[CandiceM]

It's always so hard to comment on these things since we all live so differently.

For accomodation my suggestion would be to look on www.allhomes.com.au you can search by type of house, or area etc. The prices vary quite a lot, we lve in a 4 bed 3 bath house in Harrison, its a townhouse and we pay $500 a week. Most accom is priced weekly.

Travel costs would depend on where you live and where you are going, will you buy a car? will it be new or used? Fuel at the moment here is around $1.30 at the moment but it varies daily as and depending on what service station you go too, its not regulated by the gov like in SA. The only public transport available here is buses and taxis (no trains) here is the bus website for fares. http://www.action.act.gov.au/default.html

Schooling at public schools is free, Catholic schools (private) are about $100 a fortnight and private are a lot more expensive. For you three year old you would have to put them in daycare and that can cost about $60 a day, it very pricey.

You will receive medicare on a 176 visa. That amounts to 1% of your annual salary and is calculated at tax time (July) You can also opt for private health care. If you look on www.iselect.com.au you can plug in your details and it will give you costs from various healthcare providers.

Food also very subjective, we spend around $800-$1000 a month.

Hope this helps

Candice

[nikkiel]

It's always so hard to comment on these things since we all live so differently.

For accomodation my suggestion would be to look on www.allhomes.com.au you can search by type of house, or area etc. The prices vary quite a lot, we lve in a 4 bed 3 bath house in Harrison, its a townhouse and we pay $500 a week. Most accom is priced weekly.

Travel costs would depend on where you live and where you are going, will you buy a car? will it be new or used? Fuel at the moment here is around $1.30 at the moment but it varies daily as and depending on what service station you go too, its not regulated by the gov like in SA. The only public transport available here is buses and taxis (no trains) here is the bus website for fares. http://www.action.act.gov.au/default.html

Schooling at public schools is free, Catholic schools (private) are about $100 a fortnight and private are a lot more expensive. For you three year old you would have to put them in daycare and that can cost about $60 a day, it very pricey.

You will receive medicare on a 176 visa. That amounts to 1% of your annual salary and is calculated at tax time (July) You can also opt for private health care. If you look on www.iselect.com.au you can plug in your details and it will give you costs from various healthcare providers.

Food also very subjective, we spend around $800-$1000 a month.

Hope this helps

Candice

Hi Candice,

Thanks very much any information helps, do you know if on a 176 visa you qualify for a child grant from the government? How long have you been there and did it take you a long time to settle?

We are going on my husbands skills of a financial Manager, we have been looking on seek for an idea of the job market, did you guys battle to get employment?

Day care seems very expensive but hopefully my son will be turning 5 when we go and then he will go to grade 0, is that correct, I think they start a bit earlier there.

Thanks again for the information, its always good to get it from someone who actually lives there.

Nicola

[CandiceM]

Hi Nicola,

I am not a 100% but I am pretty sure that 176 qualifies for child grant. we have been in Canberra for 7 months, but in Australia for 22 months. We were in Perth first on 457, my husband was retrenched and we looked for a job and the first one we found we took in Canberra. We were looking at the height of the economic crisis, when NO ONE was hiring so its difficult to give an accurate assessment of how hard it is to get employement here. I think its picking up a lot and think with your husbands skill set you should find a job pretty quickly, just make sure you visit seek daily and that your CV is too Aus standards, do a search on the forum, there are lots of examples.

If your son is turning 5 after June he will be in what they call pre school here and the gov only pays 2 days a week. You will still have to pay for the remaining 3 days. At 5 turning 6 he will be in Kindy, which is all week and then 6 turning 7 he will go to Grade 1.

It did take me longer to settle in Canberra, as opposed to Perth. I think I settle TO WELL in Perth and actually missed it alot, much more then I misssed SA on the initial move. We moved to Canberra in Feb, and I just was not prepared for the cold to come at all. And believe me its COLD in Canberra. I have since found a church and made a lot of friends and I am settling in well now. I think at the end of the day no matter where you go in Oz, settling in becomes a matter of attitude. Things will be different and hard, and your attitude to your new life will dictate how well you settle in.

Hope this helps

candice

[Lyn]

Hi again,

Just a suggestion - you'd probably get some really good advice from Pine and Riana Pienaar on the forum - they recently did the 175 to 176 to the ACT and from what Ive read Pine (Matt) seems very well informed on the ins and outs - just send him a PM.

[nikkiel]

thanks everyone, have a better idea of whats going on now - its great how people are so willing to help.

Cheers

Nicola