Candshow Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 Hi all.... Me again, with more questions.... My husband is having an interview with the "big boss" this coming week with a view to us making a final decision regarding Oz or UK. Obviously part of this would be whether or not the salary offered is a good one....my husband is a project manager specializing in industrial concrete flooring. He is currently earning 3,800 pounds a month - which if converted to AUD is about AUD7,000 - is that a livable salary? It would be just 3 of us (and 3 dogs). I understand it would depend on lifestyle etc - we would be looking to live in Point Cook, Melbourne. I have sent out my CV but have had NO feedback at all 😞 I am starting to panic that it might not be so easy for me to find work - or maybe it is easier when you are physically there....I am a specialized attorney - practicing in intellectual property law. I see the jobs on SEEK so hopefully that is a good thing. I have been only consulting though for the past five years.... I sent my CV to a recruiter in the UK & she had 4 interviews lined up for me within a week - eek!!! Are Australians just really laid back? We would be going over on a 482 visa - sponsored by the company - so I believe this means we would need to pay school fees & have our own medical aid? Does anyone know what costs to expect in this regard? I am so worried that moving to Oz will crush us financially 😞 I have heard horror stories where a well respected lecturer in Sydney who has lived in Oz for 14 years still cannot afford their own property - that freaks me out! Also if on a 482 visa, could you purchase property? Sorry for the arb questions.....the final decision must be made soon - just scared we make the wrong one....but I know either way we need to leave SA.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frosty Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 I believe it job hunting will become a bit easier once you actually have a Visa in hand. Australia is very strict with regards to having the right to work, thus unless you actually have work rights many employers will no consider an application. With regards to struggling financially, it is a difficult question to answer, it really depends on many factors. Just remember, there are +-25 million people living in Australia, most of whom are living a very descent life. If they can make it work, Im sure so can you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) Hi, a couple of things that should help: (I run a business here so do recruiting myself) If you have a really rare skillet then the below will change, but the below is the norm, also remember that pretty much anyone that wants can get a degree in Auz so they are not as rare as they would be in countries where most people don't get to go to uni Nobody will consider you without a work rights visa as mentioned above, also even once you get a visa it will be hard until you are physically in the country as they don't want the drama of you not arriving because of x problem, don't stop trying but expect to need to be in the country to get it done. Recruiters don't work here like they do in RSA, here they are not interested in looking for a job for you, the probably wont look at your CV unless you are applying for a specific job, most wont even talk to you except to say you should send in your cv, and check seek.com.au for available jobs, they get enough applications that they tend to be a sorting agency rather than what RSA considers a recruiter Find companies that might use your skills and contact them direct as a lot of jobs don't get advertised, don't do it until you have a visa in hand and a flight date though, as if they have a spot and you don't have a date of departure you will just annoy them Yes you can manage on that salary, we did just fine less when we were in Melbourne, but it does depend on what you consider to be "enough" 3 Dogs will make it tougher to find a rental, plan on taking longer to find a place once you arrive I expect a recession in the UK due to BREXIT, move there with caution As an extra, few people can afford houses here, they are stupidly overpriced, there is however a price correction / crash busy happening (It has been coming for a long time), house prices have fallen by about 10% so far and i guess there is another 20% to go (In Syd/Mel), with that said it will still be stupidly expensive, not sure if it will ever by as i think houses are just overpriced, if it is that important to you it is do-able once you are both working Edited January 27, 2019 by Nev 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FromDurbs Posted January 28, 2019 Report Share Posted January 28, 2019 My answer to liveable salaries is to find the median salary for your city. It means that half the people live on less than that salary. If they can do it you can do it. Echo about recruiters and having to be local to get a job. Currently I do not think you pay school fees on a 482 visa in Victoria. In some other states you do. But I believe it will come. You would need medical aid, but I found it very cheap if you take the no frills medical aid. Property is terribly expensive. But many people rent long term and are just fine. You can purchase property on a 482 visa, but would pay extra taxes (a lot) and might struggle to get finance for longer than your visa is valid - and can you pay off a house in 4 years? I have met many South Africans who tried both the UK and Oz and preferred Oz. I have never met one who tried both and hated Oz more than they hated the UK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfieLuca Posted January 29, 2019 Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Hi, My husband and I are here on a 482 visa. We are in Sydney (where I understand rental to be more than Melbourne) and the two of us have been surviving quite comfortably on just his salary of just under AUD7000 a month. I emphasize we are only two, so no school fees or day care costs at this stage, but if your rental comes in lower than ours (ours is just over 1/3 of my husbands salary - two bedroom flat) then you should be able to manage on a salary around that amount. We have medical cover from Bupa (it is a requirement of the 482 to have private medical cover) and it is R1000 less than what we were paying Discovery. In terms of monthly expenses, we are currently just using public transport - so no car payments, insurance or any associated expenses. That means our months expenses at this stage are rent, Bupa, internet at home and cellphone contract and Netflix. Water is included in our rent and we only pay electricity quarterly (still waiting for that first bill). If you can get here on his visa you will have full working rights which will make a huge difference in terms of finding a job - as soon as recruitment agents find out you don't need a visa, I found them much more willing to chat. I know of some people who have had luck applying from abroad but I also found I wasn't hearing anything when applying from SA - after a month and a half in Aus I had two job offers and further interviews I cancelled when I took the job I have now. My husband is in the legal profession so if you'd like some legal recruitment agents details just send me a message and I will see which of his I can get the details of. Personally I was blown away (once I was in Aus) by the recruitment agents here - in a positive way. They were consistently in touch and much more proactive than any I had experience with in SA... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candshow Posted January 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2019 Many thanks everyone for your feedback 🙂 You have all made me feel so positive about a move to Oz. Some really good advice....did a quick google search - seems the median salary is AUD5,200 which is positive. Now for the husband to chat to the boss....let's keep fingers TIGHTLY crossed it is a positive meeting!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titus Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 On 1/28/2019 at 2:00 PM, FromDurbs said: I have met many South Africans who tried both the UK and Oz and preferred Oz. I have never met one who tried both and hated Oz more than they hated the UK. I have noticed a similar sentiment, several South Africans that I have come across have spent time in either the UK, NZ or both and ultimately preferred Australia over the others..... it does leave me wondering if the ones that stayed in the UK have enjoyed the UK more than Australia though.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted February 2, 2019 Report Share Posted February 2, 2019 I think having europe on your doorstep was great and quite a few people would have gone for that, but that wont be as easy now that they are leaving the EU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted February 22, 2019 Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 My 2 cents. We lived in London for 11 years, pre kids. We travelled a lot (43 countries), partied a lot and were generally self indulgent. Time and age came, and we wanted something more "wholesome" and looked into moving to another country. Aus turned out to be the easiest at the time (2005) for obtaining working visas (for our professions) and the length you have to live here to obtain citizenship. Aus is one of the few countries where you very quickly "become" a local (officially and unofficially). We have been happily living in Sydney for the last 10 years. We have two kids now, no other pets. There are many, many RSA's in Sydney who have done a stint in the UK. All happily settled here for good. Where as we never felt the UK, as nice as it was, was a permanent address for us. My humble opinion on the "respected lecturer who is still renting after 14 years". People are all different and your profession is just one part of your tool kit. I am a hairdresser and have always been extremely money savvy. When I was a apprentice, waaaayyy back in Stellenbosch in 1994, I earned R495 a month (true story). Of which I saved R100. Anyway, I digress. People have different priorities. I am a Libra and need to live in my own home. I buy old, rundown places with potential. I pour over floor plans, googlemap satellite and walk up and down streets on Streetview. I can scrub, dig, demolish, paint, weld, do woodwork and I read a hell of a lot about property/politics/economy/location-location/global news. I am immune to the opinion of the Joneses. Who, by the way hardly exist in Aus, but is still very active in the minds of ex-South Africans. We bought an ugly 1962 house on Sydney's Northern Beaches almost 6 years ago. If we had managed to land here 14 years ago in 2004, the property market would have been much kinder to me as a buyer, so your man must have not had been looking very hard. I would ask: where are they looking to live, what is on their property wish list, what does their monthly expenses look like, how much is the family income and how much of that do they save, is there kids in expensive private schools, how many cars do they have and how often to they replace them, how many overseas trips do they take per year, etc, etc. Its a how long is a piece of string exercise and should not effect YOU as an individual and your journey. It does make for a good urban legend story, true as it may be. https://www.businessinsider.com.au/sydney-house-price-cycle-2017-11 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candshow Posted February 22, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2019 @rozellem - when I first heard that story too about him being a professor & unable to afford his own house, I also thought that he is clearly living beyond his means. Since then I have googled frantically about cost of living - yes, it is high but so is SA at the moment. The GM of the Australian offices even said to my husband cost of living is high... I know that us emigrating is going to hurt us financially but at least his company will pay our visas which is a huge plus! We just need to worry about getting our 3 dogs over, oursevles & our sentimental pieces of furniture. I do panic that we won't be able to recover - I really do but I must learn not to expect it to happen overnight - we will eventually get there.... We are like you - happy to take on a project - in fact our current house was a project - we completely gutted it & made it our own 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piet1234 Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 On 1/28/2019 at 2:00 PM, FromDurbs said: I have met many South Africans who tried both the UK and Oz and preferred Oz. I have never met one who tried both and hated Oz more than they hated the UK. Now you have met one. We had a great life in the UK and are living a great life here in Aus so far as well. Its what you make of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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