We want to go, but how will we live?

[RCM]

First , jacobus, in answer to onr of your previous posts, thanks, we will definately make use of your help and advice!

Hi

Nie om die bubble te bars nie maar die dokumentasie, veral die van binne landse sake af, vat baie lank.

"Un abridged" trou en geboorte sertifikate vir almal was vir al 'n pyn vir ons. Begin maar so gou moontlik om daarvoor aansoek te doen.

Ons het 4 maande vir al die goed gewag......miskien is julle meer gelukkig

Laat maar weet as jy meer hulp nodig het.

Koebaai

One of the things on my list of "Things to investigate before making the big move..." was, what is the cost of living in Australia and, based on the expected average salary that I will be earning, will we live from hand-to-mouth, comfortably , or like kings? The latter is probably not likely, at least not for the first few years untill we have settled in. In my searching the web I came across a nice website created by a British immigrant family now living in Perth. The link is :aussiemove.com.

Here he discusses many things that relate to an immigrant, such as setting up bank accounts, tax implications, where to live, etc. and also the cost of living. I won't go into the details here, but want to post a summary and get some comment from you folks already there, keeping in mind that they live in Perth, which I believe is a LOT cheaper than Sydney when in comes to housing and generally the cost of living. They seem to be a pretty standard family, two kids in school, one or two pets, standard house with two cars etc. He has posted their weekly budget which can be summarised as follows (enclosed in []):

The weekly "fixed" household spending for our family is:

Mortgage $245

Other housing costs $116

Schooling $86

Cars $120

Food & Drink $180

Sport & Recreation $40

Total $787

That's $40,924 pa, which requires a gross salary of approx $54,000 (one earner) or $25,000 each (two earners) to provide.

Remember this is just an example for our family - in some areas your own costs will be similar - eg rates and utility bills probably don't vary that much between families and groceries won't be hugely different, unless you have very expensive tastes. You can estimate the size of mortgage you will have and calculate your repayments.

But the other categories can be very different depending on how many cars you run and their age and model, whether your kids go to state or private school, and so on.

Of course, that's just the fixed costs each week, there are plenty of other expenses, some are luxuries and they will vary enormously according to your income and tastes, so we haven't tried to quantify their dollar value:

Clothes

Eating out

Holidays

New furniture

Electrical goods

Home Improvements

Is this an accurate estimation? We are a fairly young family (i'm turning 30 this year), with 3 kiddies, one almost going to high school and the other two not yet school-going age. My daughter is currently in an ACE private christian school and we will aim to continue her in an ACE school there to minimise the adjustment, but it is not final yet. We are aiming for Melbourne, but might go a bit further north to Sydney or beyond. I know the parameters for a question like this is very broad, but I would appreciate some comment and, if it is not too private, some examples of what you are experiencing.

Thanks!

[Yvonne]

House prices have risen considerably and the average house price in Perth is about $370 000 at the moment if I'm not mistaken. Depending on your deposit it will be a lot more than $245/ week. There has been a property boom here in the last few years. If you are into mining or gas and oil you have the potential to earn a big salary. But many of us are pretty ordinary earners and are having a challenging time finding and affording a property.

[Annette]

I would say that's a bit low. Everyone can of course cut their cloth accordingly and if you really want, you can survive on surprisingly little money. But, for $245 a week you're not going to find anything decent to rent and a mortgage for the average house, even here in Adelaide, where the cost of living is much lower, will be around double that. You have to remember that most Brits who come over bring vast amounts of cash through having huge amounts of equity in their houses and because of the strong pound, usually have quite small mortgages. I would say that $900 - $1000 a week is probably more realistic, but still certainly not a luxurious life. As the kids get older, they start costing even more than adults, in my experience. In my own personal opinion, we as a family of 4 would need a joint salary of about $75 000 a year to live comfortably (bearing in mind we need a HUGE mortgage because we have absolutely not a cent in our name... )

[Riekie]

When last were those figures updated?? (Maybe Email the website owner and ask...)

I would rather guesstimate:

Sydney 80 000

Melbourne & Perth 70 000

Adelaide, Brisbane & Cairns 60 000 .......

[DesertDaisy]

I'm a little surprised at the "new" figures. I was under the impression that we would be "just" comfortable on much less. By "just" I mean budgeting well and no frivolous expenses.

We have two kids, ages 3 and 6 and are used to budgeting, though admittedly here in the ME it is easier to "do" luxuries like takeaways once a week etc. Back home in SA, our luxuries were smaller (Nando's on payday for eg), no internet, etc etc.

Realistically, we are aware that my dh's salary will NOT be huge. We've done the research, and its the nature of the beast (being a paramedic will not make you rich).

We are also aware that I will have to work, but was hoping to get away with a half day job.

[RCM]

We are also aware that I will have to work, but was hoping to get away with a half day job.

Generally speaking, how easy will it be to get a half day job? I know in SA they are hard to come by, is it the same in Aus?

[Mara]

Here are some estimates for Melbourne - please remember that it is just a generalisation.

Most SA's live in the Doncaster, Doncaster East, or Templestowe area, as I am told there are some really good government schools in these areas. I did a search for 4 bedroomed homes for rent, this is what I found on www.realestate.com.au

Upto $300 in Doncaster - Nil

Upto $300 in Doncaster East - Two

Upto $300 in Templestowe - One

$301 to $450 in Doncaster - Three

$301 to $450 in Doncaster East - Five

$301 to $450 in Templestowe - Nine

$451 to $600 in Doncaster - One

$451 to $600 in Doncaster East - Four

$451 to $600 in Templestowe - Six

4 bedroom homes to buy in the same areas

Doncaster $400,000 plus

Doncaster East $385,000 plus

Templestowe $445,000 plus

If you wish to compare the outskirts of Melbourne try doing a search for the following suburbs

Lilydale - East

Sunbury - North West

You will be amazed how different the prices become.

Electricity $100 per month (a little higher in summer if airconditioning is used)

Gas $100 per month (a little higher in winter for central heating)

Water $80 twice a year

Fuel $1,40 per litre (depends on what vehicle you use, and km's)

Groceries - unknown - check out www.coles.com.au and do a shopping basket to give you an idea. If you need an area code, use 3043 for Tullamarine

Building Insurance $55 per month ($500,000) You can get online quotes from www.racv.com.au

Contents Insurance $45 per month ($100,000) You can get online quotes from www.racv.com.au

Vehicle Insurance $60 per month x 2 for 2 vehicles (model dependent) You can get online quotes from www.racv.com.au

The figures would vary somewhat for different homes and different configurations. We actually pay $100 per month for electricity as everything in our home is electric, including the cooktop and water heating. In summer that goes up a bit as we have three air conditioners in the house. In summer we pay nothing for gas, but in the winter months we pay around $100 per month for the central heating. We live on the outskirts of Melbourne and have a 18,000 litre water tank which we use for our garden, brings down the cost of purchased water. Most homes have gas water heaters and gas cooktops as well as gas central heating. Electricity is used for lights, oven and air conditioning.

If you do not have to consider schools, you have a far wider choice, and if you are willing to live on the outskirts of Melbourne, you will have bigger blocks, more spacious homes, better value for money etc. Also, it is often easier access for work, especially if you do not work in the central city.

With regard to part time work, there is lots of this, it just depends on what you wish to do.

Hope this has helped.

Mara

[Queensland Girl]

It is reasonably easy to find part-time employment in the retail sector.

In Queensland most employers use the State Award system;

retail assistant: $ 14.30 per hour weekdays

$ 17.87 per hour Saturdays

$21.45 per hour on a Sunday

[Riekie]

People ARE getting by on $50 000 p.a. - but it really depends on your priorities & standard of living. A good figure to work on for all expenses would be $1000 per week. This is another example of a monthly budget, which adds up to $51 012 p.a...... (Hope this helps).

Rent 1665

Electricity 80

Water 12

Gym 132

School & Activities 95

Allowances Kids 240

Groceries 1350

Petrol 200

Toll 182

Medical 60

Prepaid Mobile 30

Telephone 70

Broadband 59

Cable TV 64

Bank Fees 12

TOTAL MONTHLY 4251.00

[JJV]

I suppose it is stating the obvious that "getting by with A$ 50 000 pa" implies salary after tax.

[Cindylou]

Hi all

A HUGE thank you for these posts, (specially Mara, Riekie and QG) its amazing how much info there is on them.

I'm always stunned when I see how much effort people go to in providing such valuable information.

Great work

Cindylou

[RCM]

Hi all

A HUGE thank you for these posts, (specially Mara, Riekie and QG) its amazing how much info there is on them.

I'm always stunned when I see how much effort people go to in providing such valuable information.

Great work

Cindylou

I want to echo this post! Thanks so much for all the inputs! Much appreciated!

[Hendie]

Riekie, wat's "Toll" ?

Hendie

[woodag]

Riekie, wat's "Toll" ?

Hendie

If you drive in Sydney at least you may find it hard to avoid roads/bridges where you have to pay.

[Riekie]

Riekie, wat's "Toll" ? Hendie

Dit is die keiser se skuilnaam......

Hier is vreeslik baie tolpaaie - veral in Sydney. Om bv stad toe te ry met die snelweg kos $3.80 (one way) en om die stad in te gaan $3.00 (one way - jy betaal nie as jy uitgaan nie) - so as jy heen en weer ry is dit $10.60. Dan moet jy parkering ook betaal - as dit op 'n naweek is, kan jy heeldag parkeer vir $20, maar in die week betaal jy per uur en dit is absoluut belaglike bedrae! (Bv. $6 per uur). 'n Saterdag "outing" stad toe kan jou dus $30.60 kos dan het jy nog nie eers 'n glasie wyn gehad of iets gekoop nie!!!

Mens kan 'n E-Tag koop wat jy in joukar sit en dan vul hulle net die bedrag uit jou kr kaart aan - dit werk baie goed, want daar is deurry bane vir die tags - jy stop nie by 'n "booth" nie.

[g26130]

Hi,

I contract in and around Sydney. My tolls usually come to $70 per month. Parking is usually another $300 per month. The company pays for these expenses and doesn't bother me.

When I'm going to the city to party or something, I prefer to use the train. It's $5.00 for a return ticket and I don't have to worry about parking or drunk driving. (Aussies are very strict when it comes to drink driving!)

Most I ever paid for parking was $52 for 4 hours.

In some places, especially in Chinatown, you can park all day on weekends for $12 a day.

Hope this helps.

[Cindylou]

There's a huge outcry here in Gauteng - they're proposing charging tolls on most of the highways around the CBD and Sandton (the new CBD). (Although the proposal includes a reduction if you have three or more passengers - very clever electronics involved there!)

I'm quite happy to pay a toll on condition that the funds raised are spent entirely on improving the Public Transport - yeah right!

Sorry - don't mean to hijack the thread

C'Lou

[Tim & Abby]

There's a huge outcry here in Gauteng - they're proposing charging tolls on most of the highways around the CBD and Sandton (the new CBD). (Although the proposal includes a reduction if you have three or more passengers - very clever electronics involved there!)

I'm quite happy to pay a toll on condition that the funds raised are spent entirely on improving the Public Transport - yeah right!

Sorry - don't mean to hijack the thread

C'Lou

Down here in the Western Cape, they're just adding 10c - 50c to every litre of petrol purchased, to go towards 'infrastructure'! However, with 2010 just four years away, we need every cent!

Abby (& Tim)