My first month

[candivw]

The government do not refund at tax time. If you choose that option yes. We simply pay reduced daycare fees and they pay a tax benefit and rent assist into my account every 2 weeks. I am getting my first payment on monday. $600. Heeeehaaaa. I have never got so much money for nothing in my entire life!

Do all daycares work that way?

I am glad you are finding it so easy here, some of us had it tough when we landed, nice to hear that some people dont battle financially at all when they first land.

[Jordy]

We simply pay reduced daycare fees and they pay a tax benefit and rent assist into my account every 2 weeks. I am getting my first payment on monday. $600. Heeeehaaaa. I have never got so much money for nothing in my entire life!

If you follow this route of getting payment every two weeks, just make very very very sure you have a correct estimate of your income loaded on centrelink. if your income changes at all during the year, notify them quickly so that their payments to you can be reduced. We learnt the hard way and had to repay $3000 in one hit last tax year which they said we were overpaid. The reason we were overpaid was because my wife earned South African income. The exchange rate we used to calculate our estimated income was different to the one the government said we had to use, and so we theoretically earned more than we said. (They publish the rate they accept and it is based on the 30th June rate). Basically in June 2008 we estimated our income for 2009 for Centrelink at an exchange rate of R6.80. It just so happened that the actual exchange rate for income tax purposes on 30 June 2009 was something like R6.23). this of course resulted in us theoretically earning more dollars than we estimated and landed up refunding Family assist. This same scenerio will be for those who receive rent income from property in RSA

Do all daycares work that way?

Yes the government pays 89% of our daycare fees directly to the daycare centre and we pay in the difference - about $35 a week.

[Johan du Toit]

Do all daycares work that way?

I am glad you are finding it so easy here, some of us had it tough when we landed, nice to hear that some people dont battle financially at all when they first land.

Most of them do.

I guess I found it easier, since I have spent the remaining 50% of my pension. That is 1/2 of 12 years work's savings in 1.5 months. Gonna have to stay healthy to work till I am 80...

The other 50% was spent to get here.

Did you not touch the pension? I would definitely not have made it without it. I just thought that I'll rather be poor here at an old age than rich in South Africa.

[Ajay]

Vets are also really pricey here, I never walk out under $400 and in RSA when we went to the vet i never paid more then R500 for a consultation and some meds......

Find a new vet - that's ludicrous! I have 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 lovebirds (Noah's Ark in the making ) and I've never paid more than $120 for consult plus treatment / meds! The consultation on it's own is around $70 I think?

[candivw]

Most of them do.

I guess I found it easier, since I have spent the remaining 50% of my pension. That is 1/2 of 12 years work's savings in 1.5 months. Gonna have to stay healthy to work till I am 80...

The other 50% was spent to get here.

Did you not touch the pension? I would definitely not have made it without it. I just thought that I'll rather be poor here at an old age than rich in South Africa.

We used our whole pension get over and set up, we did not own property in RSA so had no money from that to bring over.

[Johan du Toit]

If you follow this route of getting payment every two weeks, just make very very very sure you have a correct estimate of your income loaded on centrelink. if your income changes at all during the year, notify them quickly so that their payments to you can be reduced. We learnt the hard way and had to repay $3000 in one hit last tax year which they said we were overpaid. The reason we were overpaid was because my wife earned South African income. The exchange rate we used to calculate our estimated income was different to the one the government said we had to use, and so we theoretically earned more than we said. (They publish the rate they accept and it is based on the 30th June rate). Basically in June 2008 we estimated our income for 2009 for Centrelink at an exchange rate of R6.80. It just so happened that the actual exchange rate for income tax purposes on 30 June 2009 was something like R6.23). this of course resulted in us theoretically earning more dollars than we estimated and landed up refunding Family assist. This same scenerio will be for those who receive rent income from property in RSA

Yes the government pays 89% of our daycare fees directly to the daycare centre and we pay in the difference - about $35 a week.

Yeah... yeah... I am a detail freak. All sorted. Everything updated and checked on a weekly basis...

[candivw]

Find a new vet - that's ludicrous! I have 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 lovebirds (Noah's Ark in the making ) and I've never paid more than $120 for consult plus treatment / meds! The consultation on it's own is around $70 I think?

Been to 3 vets, think my dog is just a "special case" the cats visits were not bad but the dogs ones always cost a bomb. Lucky we got smart and took insurance. Sorry to Johan, this is a bit off topic now.

[Bok]

Hi Johan,

Welcome to Perth. It is a great place to live and I am sure you and your family will enjoy it here. I totally agree with Feetjie and Cadivw, WA is not a cheap place to live and it might be that you are in a honeymoon period. I am concerned that people who are still living in South Africa might get the wrong idea regarding living expenses. It is not as cheap as you make out.

Like Candivw mention food, clothes, childcare and any every day living expenses is not cheap (compared to other first world countries Australia is relatively expensive!) Wait until the bills start flowing in gas, electricity, foxtel, car insurrance, car rego, private healthcare (I am not sure of the amount but I think it is about $73000. If you earn more than that per year, I would recommend you get private healthcare otherwise you might get an unwanted suprise come tax time)

The CV format is important, I agree with you. But the cover letter is just as important. Recruiter and HR proffesionals (I am saying PROFESSIONALS with a reason, as many wannabe HR people don't know how to recruit!!!), will first look at your cover letter and then your CV. Cover letters is there for a reason, and many professionals first look at the cover letter before scanning through a CV. I can write a novel about this topic but frankly don't have the time. All people need to know is that cover letters is the first thing a recruiter read and there is an old expression about .......first impressions??

Another point that needs to be corrected is that $3000 is not the minimum wage, if it is the net salary, it's closer to the average income of Australians. Having said that, $3000 is a very good second income!

I write this not to attact you but rather to give a true picture to people living in South Africa, planning to come Australia.

I truely hope you enjoy Perth

All the best

Bok

[Johan du Toit]

Hi Johan,

Welcome to Perth. It is a great place to live and I am sure you and your family will enjoy it here. I totally agree with Feetjie and Cadivw, WA is not a cheap place to live and it might be that you are in a honeymoon period. I am concerned that people who are still living in South Africa might get the wrong idea regarding living expenses. It is not as cheap as you make out.

Like Candivw mention food, clothes, childcare and any every day living expenses is not cheap (compared to other first world countries Australia is relatively expensive!) Wait until the bills start flowing in gas, electricity, foxtel, car insurrance, car rego, private healthcare (I am not sure of the amount but I think it is about $73000. If you earn more than that per year, I would recommend you get private healthcare otherwise you might get an unwanted suprise come tax time)

The CV format is important, I agree with you. But the cover letter is just as important. Recruiter and HR proffesionals (I am saying PROFESSIONALS with a reason, as many wannabe HR people don't know how to recruit!!!), will first look at your cover letter and then your CV. Cover letters is there for a reason, and many professionals first look at the cover letter before scanning through a CV. I can write a novel about this topic but frankly don't have the time. All people need to know is that cover letters is the first thing a recruiter read and there is an old expression about .......first impressions??

Another point that needs to be corrected is that $3000 is not the minimum wage, if it is the net salary, it's closer to the average income of Australians. Having said that, $3000 is a very good second income!

I write this not to attact you but rather to give a true picture to people living in South Africa, planning to come Australia.

I truely hope you enjoy Perth

All the best

Bok

I still say that if you compare the big picture with what life in SA would have cost, then Aus is very cheap. Let me name another scenario. I would have spent how much money to get my boy through school and uni in SA. Here it will be much much cheaper, so although I spent my life savings to get here, It was actually an investment. Daily expenses (which I still say is much cheaper here) is a very small part of the argument. Time will tell I suppose.

[Johan du Toit]

It might be obvious, but when you compare living expenses, you have to look at each item as a percentage of your disposable income. I did exactly that and Aus is much cheaper. When I have a few months of actual data, I'll post it here. I am not the type who thinks finances is supposed to be personal, so everyone can look forward to detailed living expenses from me as time passes.

[Serendipity]

It might be obvious, but when you compare living expenses, you have to look at each item as a percentage of your disposable income. I did exactly that and Aus is much cheaper. When I have a few months of actual data, I'll post it here. I am not the type who thinks finances is supposed to be personal, so everyone can look forward to detailed living expenses from me as time passes.

We are finding OZ cheaper than we expected and for once can buy the "wants" instead of only looking at what we need.

Look forward to seeing your data "goodonya mate"

[Bok]

I can see this is one of those situations where the rookie thinks he knows everything........good for you and I sincerely hope it stays that way. I am not talking about freedom and things like that....just cost of living. Having lived and worked in a few first world countries, Australia is not cheap!!! After a year I hope you will be able to see the big picture and we can continue this conversations then.

[candivw]

I tend to agree that oz is not a cheap place to live, affordable? well thats another story. Food to me is a shocker, we pay around $350 to $400 a fortnight for groceries, thats everything from food to toiletries and if you look at an average fortnightly salary thats a huge portion, rent costs us $760 fortnightly which I also think is expensive and we have one of the cheaper rentals in Perth, in fact at the moment I dont think I know of anyone paying less rent than we do. Eating out is also hugely expensive ( i am not talking about a Mcdonalds or HUngry Jacks here) restaurants where they actually bring the food to your table cost around $150-$200 a couple for a decent meal.

Some things I find affordable, I bought myself a good pair of trail running shoes this week for $120 in RSA i could not afford to spend the R800 it would have cost me there, I would have had to buy them on account but I had the money to pay cash here, athough saying that I hardly ever spend $120 on something for myself as we dont always have the money.

[Michele R]

I completely agree, Aus is not cheap by a long shot. Sure we can afford to buy the odd 'toy' now and then, but housing is very expensive, and so is food. I think something to take into account is a lot of people arrive with every last cent spent on the move and no financial buffer. That makes a huge difference and I think you realise then from the get go that this is not a cheap country to live in.

I have lived in the USA and briefly in Switzerland, and can say that Aus is not the cheapest place on my list. Lots of people also don't qualify for Centrelink and other benefits, so I think whether you find Aus cheap is not something that you can apply to everyone. I'm glad that Johan is settling in nicely and loving Aus, but I do agree with the others, I think it might be a bit of a honeymoon period. Once bills start to come in and you're settled into a routine then you'll be able to see how far your money stretches.

[Feetjie]

I agree with Bok completely, people back in SA who still wants to come over are totally getting the wrong idea here - and thats why we are speaking up Johan - hope you can understand that. I just think that one should settle first before making statements like this. Having said that - I think 'cheap' was the wrong word to use - Thailand is 'cheap' More affordable with an Aus salary is prob more the right thing to say - never ever try to convert back to Rand and compare that ...... thats the mistake alot of Saffers make when they first arrive .... but we all learn the hard way

[Johan du Toit]

Let me use the example of housing:

In South Africa I earned R350000 per year.

I spent R8000 per month on house in security estate.

That means I spent 27% of my gross salary on rental.

In Aus I should earn $120000 for the same job. (Product Manager in Telecomms company)

I will spend $1690 per month on rent for a similar size and quality.

That means I spent 17% of my gross salary on rental.

That means housing is 1.6 times cheaper than in SA.

There is are thing that make it seem expensive now, but they cannot be used to distort the argument.

1) I only earn $55000 now, because I simply had to take a temporary step down and also did not want to live in Sydney.

2) You tend to live in much better housing here than what you would ever be able to afford in SA, because you would probably still spend 27% of your income on rental.

[Johan du Toit]

Let me use the example of a cheap camping chear:

In South Africa I earned R350000 per year.

Chair cost R90

That means I spent 0.03% of my gross salary on the chair.

In Aus I should earn $120000 for the same job. (Product Manager in Telecomms company)

Chair cost $6 (same size, same quality)

That means I spent 0.005% of my gross salary on the chair.

That means chair is 6 times cheaper than in SA.

This is the only type of calculation that seems logical to me when trying to work out if one country is cheaper than the other.

[Johan du Toit]

Let me use the example of a bread:

In South Africa I earned R350000 per year.

bread cost R5

That means I spent 0.0014% of my gross salary on the chair.

In Aus I should earn $120000 for the same job. (Product Manager in Telecomms company)

bread cost $2 (same size, same quality)

That means I spent 0.0017% of my gross salary on the bread.

Now you might all say.... aha!.... food is more expensive.... NoNo!

I have not even considered the fact that my wife earned R84000 in SA. That is 24% of my salary.

Here she earns $60000 which is 50% of my salary. Same job.

That means bread will also be cheaper for us.

Now I can go on and on about much lower school expenses and medical.

I can also go on about how I have not even worked in the super for both of us, but at some point I hope I am getting trough to someone.

To say that we should not give our follow South Africans the wrong perception is just not right. It was based on such calculations that I made the move. I am now already living it. I already know exactly what every thing cost from pills to health insurance and I can say with confidence that I was right.

[Johan du Toit]

One cannot say everything is expensive because you have a crappy job for now. If that is the argument, it is because you chose to immigrate and not because Aus is more expensive than SA.

[Ajay]

Hey guys, there's no need to attack Johan for his opinion and his perceptions. It might have zero to do with the 'honeymoon perod' and actually be what he is experiencing.

I've been here 5 years and have maintained from day one that Austrlian cos of living, with the exception of housing (on purchased homes especially, but also true of rentals in Sydney) is on a par, or possibly lower than SA. you need to consider costs as a percentage of income, and notnsinpky multiply everything by the ruling exchange rate.

I completely agree that this isn't everyone's experience, but it is mine and just as I expect to be able to share it, so should Johan without being called a 'rookie' blinded by stupidity.

[candivw]

Lol you are very optimmistic Johan and I applaud you for that its a lovely way to look at life, but to say that in RSA i earned R90 000 a year and here I should earn for my profession $70 000 but I am only earning $10 000, there is no way I could say that things are cheap. Some things are way more affordable but rent and food is pricey. Bread is not too bad, you get 2 loaves for $5 at Woolies on special but I find meat ridiculous.

There was some study done last year and the results came out that WA is the most expensive place to live in oz, wish I could find that info now....

[Johan du Toit]

Let me use the example of housing:

In South Africa I earned R350000 per year.

I spent R8000 per month on house in security estate.

That means I spent 27% of my gross salary on rental.

In Aus I should earn $120000 for the same job. (Product Manager in Telecomms company)

I will spend $1690 per month on rent for a similar size and quality.

That means I spent 17% of my gross salary on rental.

That means housing is 1.6 times cheaper than in SA.

There is are thing that make it seem expensive now, but they cannot be used to distort the argument.

1) I only earn $55000 now, because I simply had to take a temporary step down and also did not want to live in Sydney.

2) You tend to live in much better housing here than what you would ever be able to afford in SA, because you would probably still spend 27% of your income on rental.

I have not even taken rent assist, tax benefit A and tax benefit B into account.

I can go on and on and on.... but I am sure you get the picture.

[Johan du Toit]

Lol you are very optimmistic Johan and I applaud you for that its a lovely way to look at life, but to say that in RSA i earned R90 000 a year and here I should earn for my profession $70 000 but I am only earning $10 000, there is no way I could say that things are cheap.

Why not? It is the absolute perfect and only way.

In your example you would call Aus expensive, but you are actually saying that emigration is expensive. Realistically I would probably end up in a higher level position here in a year or two, since I would have been held back a little in SA for being white. I would totally agree that emigration is expensive, but the state we are in is temporary. We will live here for another 60-80 years, so it is really not even worth mentioning.

I am not an optimist at all. I am usually very pessimistic. I am a hardened realist though...

[candivw]

We pay 32% of our fortnightly salary in rent ( that is the salary we are earning now now what we should be earning lol) and like our say our rent is one of the cheapest that I know of at the moment - we pay $380 a week.

Our rent in RSA was no where near 32% of our salary and I find the houses and yards way smaller here than what we were used to. I love my new small place, easy to clean etc but the yard is tiny compared to what we had before ( not that I am complaining I am happy here) and I love my neighbourhood.

[Johan du Toit]

We pay 32% of our fortnightly salary in rent ( that is the salary we are earning now now what we should be earning lol) and like our say our rent is one of the cheapest that I know of at the moment - we pay $380 a week.

Our rent in RSA was no where near 32% of our salary and I find the houses and yards way smaller here than what we were used to. I love my new small place, easy to clean etc but the yard is tiny compared to what we had before ( not that I am complaining I am happy here) and I love my neighbourhood.

Is your job level exactly the same as in SA? Is it the exact same job? If it is different, things are not expensive because Aus is more expensive than SA, but actually because you changed jobs. You would have suffered the exact consequence if you stayed in "cheap" SA.

Hope you get my point.

I say it again. Based on logical thinking and clear analytical thoughts where we compare apples with apples, Aus is more affordable than SA. Living through the consequences of emigrating has nothing to do with my original statement that things are cheap here.

I mean, I am sleeping on the floor for God sake, because I cannot afford a bed. Does that make Aus more expensive than SA? NO... NO.... NO!