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Budget for Brisbane


TamTam

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I have seen some useful budgets posted for Sydney and Melbourne (thanks @Mara and @Nev)

However are there any recent ones for Brisbane, including costs for daycare if possible, @ChrisH; @SurferMan

 

My husband creates very fancy budgets on excel however I am the enforcer (I am regularly accused of being a squirrel when it comes to money).

 

Thanks all

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Daycare will be between $90 - $100 a day.

I'd say average rent is about $500/week, closer to the CBD gets way more expensive for less space.

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I am in Brisbane at the moment delivering training, and with this being on my mind and having students in front of me we ended up discussing it,

 

What i am paying now seems to be their feeling as about average if you are looking to live within a budget, Train fare is cheaper, as a housing example the North Lakes area is really big with south Africans and you can get a 3 bed place there for 380-410 so a bit cheaper for a nicer area, and not nearly as far from the city.

 

Food is also a bit cheaper especially fruit and veggies, lots of markets available with good deals.

 

So if you are looking to live with low costs my budget could be beaten by about 10% in a nicer area, and closer to the city

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Thanks for this @Nev however considering that my husband is either going to be working near the airport or by Milton (depends which office he is told he needs to go to) I think the North Lakes may be a bit far. If possible we want to try avoid lengthy commutes. I am told Grange is quite a nice area to live - granted I have not yet investigated rental costs.

 

@ChrisH you mentioned previously that your long commute was becoming a problem - that poses a question for me - what is a lengthy commute by Brissie standards? I suppose it also depends on the flow of traffic. I would however consider 25km + a lengthy commute.

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11 hours ago, TamTam said:

@ChrisH you mentioned previously that your long commute was becoming a problem - that poses a question for me - what is a lengthy commute by Brissie standards? I suppose it also depends on the flow of traffic. I would however consider 25km + a lengthy commute.

 

Yeah we're up north in Mango Hill, right next to North Lakes.  It's about an hour into work and an hour back.  When our lease is up we're definitely looking at moving closer to the CBD.  In Brisbane it is way more affordable to be closer to the CBD compared to Melbourne and Sydney.

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Mango Hill - that's a very cool name for a suburb...

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  • 2 weeks later...

@timtam do you have kids or just the two of you to consider? There is quite a distance between Milton and the airport, so you really want to know this before you pick an area to live in. Around the airport is less expensive than Milton. But Mlton is more vibey and quite upmarket. It all depends on your wants and needs. Personally I see no reason to commute more than half an hour (maximum) in Brisbane and I wouldn't commute any longer than that myself!

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Question of whether you want to be on public transport or not.  If you want public transport then Milton very accessible, but you can also look at Nundah, Hendra and Eagle Farm - easier access to the airport, but still on a rail line.

 

Cost of rental really depends on what type of house you want.  Granted you can get a new house up in North Lakes for the $450 mark, which will only get you an older house with a not so nice kitchen and bathrooms closer to the CBD, unless you are prepared to go into an apartment or townhouse.  Nundah is marked to be up and coming with new restaurants and coffee shops popping up, and it has generally been more affordable than some of the more well known suburbs.

 

Train costs about $8 a day (depending on how many zones you travel through it goes up), with free rides once you have taken 9 rides in a week.  Cost of food, electricity and water all comparable to Melbourne - the fresh produce markets are slightly cheaper and the quality is way better than Coles or Woolworths.  Rego is  $720 per annum in Queensland, but you can pay six monthly if you prefer. 

 

Disclaimer - I don't live in any of the areas I've mentioned, but I spent a lot of time looking for a decent rental when we moved from Melbourne.  It was a nightmare - landlords seem to think that they don't need to fix and maintain their properties.

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1 hour ago, Bonny said:

@timtam do you have kids or just the two of you to consider? There is quite a distance between Milton and the airport, so you really want to know this before you pick an area to live in. Around the airport is less expensive than Milton. But Mlton is more vibey and quite upmarket. It all depends on your wants and needs. Personally I see no reason to commute more than half an hour (maximum) in Brisbane and I wouldn't commute any longer than that myself!

 

I live 10km from the city, if I take the train to the CBD (which I do most days) it is a 20 to 25 minute commute to my desk from when I arrive at the station.  If I drive in, it is at least a 30 to 40 minute commute - unless there is no traffic (which is not often).  Parking is very pricey - much like everywhere in Australia - so you only wanting to be driving to work if you get free parking or if you need your car for your job.  However, Brisbane is much like South Africa with a bit of a driving culture - quite different to Sydney and Melbourne where public transport is used as much as possible.

 

 

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8 hours ago, Bonny said:

@timtam do you have kids or just the two of you to consider? There is quite a distance between Milton and the airport, so you really want to know this before you pick an area to live in. Around the airport is less expensive than Milton. But Mlton is more vibey and quite upmarket. It all depends on your wants and needs. Personally I see no reason to commute more than half an hour (maximum) in Brisbane and I wouldn't commute any longer than that myself!

Hi Bonny (Ps you sent the message to someone else I'm TamTam not TimTam ;))

 

I have a little boy who will be 2 by the time we move so I will look for work myself as well and once I find something I will send him to daycare. We will only pick our area once hubby knows where he's going to be working. There is a slight chance of me getting work with one of my former employers who incidentally are also in Milton (fingers crossed, I would really love to work for this company again).

 

We definitely want to avoid long commutes!

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@Sunnyskies that' a good point about using public transport or not. I think a lot of our decisions will be moved along once we know which office my husband will be based out of. Furthermore I want to have a car if I am going to be at home with my little boy so that we can explore together. So in that case it would be helpful if hubby can use public transport and I keep the car B) I am pretty excited to own a car again and to drive on the left side of the road again!! :cowboy:

 

In terms of housing I can honestly say my first point of call is a single level place. I have spent the past four years living on three levels or more (and you must know stairs in The Netherlands are STEEP). I would prefer something with a garden if possible but let's be honest the budget will dictate this all. What are the typical timeframes for rental leases?

 

Ps I grew up in Emmarentia :)

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@TamTam

You can do a rental for 6 months to 2 years.  Landlords will say what they are looking for.  Be very careful of short term (ie 3 months) as it often means that the landlord is waiting for approval to make renovations to the house and so is using you as a stocking filler before you need to get out and they start demolition.

If you take a longer term lease you can usually organise a better rental amount, but be careful of going too long as it is hard to break a lease - they are entitled to claim the entire rental period from you.

 

Gardens in Milton are fairly scarce or quite small, and there are a number of hills for you to walk up and down.  So if you want to avoid multi levels, Milton and Paddington may not be for you.  A number of houses have 3 levels in those areas.  Also then avoid Bardon.  PM me if you want more info on areas.

 

Yes, loved Emmarentia.  You will be very happy in Brisbane with mountain biking - there is a strong mountain biking community and a good number of women participate (I prefer road bikes, but I have some friends that are always trying to get me to MTB with them).  Yoga not quite as plentiful as in Melbourne, but there are a number of studios around, running also a favourite passion of many in Brisbane.  

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@Sunnyskies I think your inbox is full.

 

We are SO excited to get on our MTBs again. Between my hubby and I we have 3 mtb, 2 road bikes and 2 city bikes (upright commuter bikes). The MTB are convinced we don't love them anymore. MTB here is almost non-existent - it's too flat. We are used to doing our weekend rides at Groenkloof or Rietvlei and then of course the awesome races in Sabi and my favourite Forest to Falls. Don't get me wrong, I am an eager mountain biker but not necessarily a good one :lol:

 

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@TamTam sorry about getting your name wrong. I don't think you will have many problems finding something you like. Units are less expensive than houses, of course. If you haven't done so already, download the app for realestate dot com dot au and put in your rental criteria. You can also search for key words like 'garden' and look at properties on a map view instead of only a list. That gives you surrounding suburbs too. Be aware that the places often look better online than real

life. Also, imho an aircon is an absolute must. It's 37 degrees here today and so humid. I am literally sitting under the aircon 24/7!

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Thanks @Bonny - the other forumites have also insisted that aircon is an essential an not a nice to have!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/6/2017 at 7:46 AM, ChrisH said:

 

Yeah we're up north in Mango Hill, right next to North Lakes.  It's about an hour into work and an hour back.  When our lease is up we're definitely looking at moving closer to the CBD.  In Brisbane it is way more affordable to be closer to the CBD compared to Melbourne and Sydney.

Hey I live in North lakes and the commute is fine! :)

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  • 6 months later...

@TamTam, could you share your husband's budget excel sheet with us? We are also a family of three (my son is turning 1 in two weeks time) so I believe our budget should be similar to yours. Has your budget turned out to be realistic now that you have landed?

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I ve got job+sponsorship in Brisbane. Still waiting for the visa. We have 3 kids, aged 10, 8 , 6. My wife will look for work when we get there - dont know how much time she will have to spend helping the kids (with school, English, extramural activities). Is it easy/difficult to get a half-day job in Brisbane?

 

From this website I've got a sort of budget:

http://www.choosebrisbane.com.au/study/living-in-brisbane/money-and-budgeting?sc_lang=en-au

 

Expenses $ per month:

1 Accommodation 400 900
2 Meals 200 400
3 Transport 20 60
4 Phone 40 900
5 Internet 60 80
Total 720 2340

 

It looks as if you can easily rent a 3 bedroom house for $400-550 not too far from the CBD.

Private schools we have contacted are about $5000-9000/annum for PM and $15000-18000/annum for non-PM.

State schools about $1500/annum.

 

From our google survey it doesnt seem that meat and vegetables are much more expensive than in RSA?

 

Would be great if someone in Brisbane can give more accurate figures.....

  

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2 hours ago, forrie said:

not too far from the CBD.

What would you deem not too far from the CBD and how long are you willing to commute in the mornings? For $400/week you are unlikely to find anything decent within 10km of the city. Closer towards $600 you should find something nice with three bedrooms, 1 bathroom. The temptation is to go further from the city where the houses are bigger, often brick and not the usual Queenslander style (some South Africans find this style a little tough to get used to). However the traffic into the city is pretty bad (regardless if you're stating north or south of the city) and parking in the city is also very expensive. You can commute using public transport but just check the number of connections you need to take. The last thing you want is to move from SA to the other end of the world for the family and then not get to see them because you're stuck in traffic for 2-3 hours a day.

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Hi TamTam, thanks for sharing your experience. We solely relied on internet browsing so far. My work is going to be in South Brisbane and it looks as if there is a few places for below 550. Yes I have no feeling for the traffic and the public transport there. 

 

https://www.realestate.com.au/rent/property-house-with-3-bedrooms-between-0-550-in-brisbane+city%2c+qld+4000/map-1?maxBeds=3&channel=rent&source=location-search

 

We were surprised that the Beef is similar priced than in RSA (below at superbutcher its $69/5kg - about R 140/kg - maybe you can get cheaper here - but not much). The lamb is a bit more expensive than in RSA.

 

https://online.superbutcher.com.au/shop/beef/rump

 

 

Edited by forrie
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On 8/6/2018 at 6:22 PM, forrie said:

Expenses $ per month:

1 Accommodation 400 900
2 Meals 200 400
3 Transport 20 60
4 Phone 40 900
5 Internet 60 80
Total 720 2340

I do not really understand the two columns.  What is the second one?

And you do know that the expenses in the first column are per WEEK, not per month?  Right?  

Accommodation is advertised in price per week.  

Although I pay $40 per month for my phone.  

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This is something that is quite hard to gauge.  Start with your rental property and work from there as this will be your biggest expense. 

 

For some $200k a year wouldn't be enough but others can survive on $60k a year.

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@ChrisH makes a really good point. I would say it depends on how you spend money and how you save money. It also depends on what you’re willing or not willing to sacrifice (and sacrifice is a term I use loosely). You’re unlikely to eat out as much as in South Africa and you’re very unlikely to have as much support ito cleaning / gardening etc

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