northlondoner

Hi,

I am moving to Oz in the next few months (Sydney) and wanted to get peoples' views on how much I should save not in terms of currency, but in terms of months.

In other words, how many months shall I make sure I have enough to survive on for before I find a job?

I just graduated from uni and have some work experience but will be willing to take up any work when I get to Oz to support myself until I find a better job.

My original plan was to make sure I have enough for six months but I'm itching to move to Australia and I have to work and save up the money and it would be better if I could work for a shorter period of time/save less before making the move.

Do you reckon having enough for 3 months to live on would be OK? I plan on applying for jobs as soon as I move over there. I have family here in the UK that could wire me money if I run out of money but I don't want it to get to that.

In short: as a young graduate moving to Australia alone, is preparing for having 3 months worth of funds to support myself in Oz enough in your valued opinions? thanks

Also, what would you recommend in terms of accommodation when I first make the move?

Beoz

What I spend in a month will far outstrip you. You need to clarify how much you want to spend in a month.

verystormy

It depends on lifestyle.

I am guessing you are coming on a working holiday visa?

teza

Nope, looks like a citizen from previous posts

xizzles

Hi there northlondoner. It's kinda hard for another person to adequately gauge what you'll need to bring over in terms of savings, as your spending habits, expenses, lifestyle, needs etc may differ from mine or anybody else's (for example, Beoz's ) - it'll be asking the proverbial "how long is a piece of string long enough?"

Having said that, I reckon I could at least offer you some insight into the accommodation rental bit of your question. My property (a small apartment) in Sydney (Lower North Shore) is currently being rented out (via an agency, and after deductions) for about $2,000/month. That works out to about $500/week - and that includes the water but not the heating bill (which the tenant takes care of himself/herself).

A fair estimate would be the tenant paying about $550 - $600/week, and 3 months of that will equate approximately $7,500 in savings to bring over: and that's just for accommodation.

I can offer you some first hand experience about my previous stay in Sydney (I was previously on a Skilled Independent Visa Subclass 175 and I spent quite a bit of time in Sydney - though sadly, not enough to get a 5-year renewal of the RRV):

Eating out would be expensive in Sydney - but if you have time to cook your own meals, I reckon shopping at Flemington market or Paddy's or the ubiquitous Coles or Woolies would definitely be cheaper and a fair estimate would be say $200 - $250/week (3 square meals, simple stuff, maybe a good steak or two once a fortnight or month). A conservative number to plan your budget would be to the tune of $3000 for about 3 months' worth of eating simply, with just the occasional meal at a restaurant. The above doesn't take into account any affinity for the Australian ambrosia - wife and I are teetotallers.

Transport can be had for a reasonable price - taxis are obviously expensive (as they are in London as well, and I'm pretty sure they don't have Delta available in Sydney, although Uber is everywhere now). I had/still have my own car in Sydney (severely underutilized) so I'm sorry I can't help you out with the average transportation costs on public travel. Are you looking to buy your own car, or go with bus/rail for the foreseeable future?

From the simple example above, I'd say a kitty of about $10,000 - $15,000 should be sufficient for 3 months' worth of survivalist existence in Sydney. Obviously, the more you bring over, the better. Your mileage may vary though - these are numbers that we worked out on a "most extreme case scenario" back in 2007 - i.e. we planned it such that we couldn't find jobs in Sydney for 6 months, and had only outgoings & no income whatsoever (it was obviously not the case, but it served our planing purpose well).

Good luck!

JoeBloggs80

3 months would be fine I reckon, so long as you get on your bike for finding work and are not too fussy about what you do.

When I 1st came to Aus on a working holiday visa in 2001 I only had a grand (GBP) saved and survived.

spouse of scouse

This may assist The Cost of Living in Sydney - Sydney Moving Guide

Your biggest expense will be set up and ongoing costs for accommodation - if you plan to rent a flat/house, you'll need to pay a bond which is usually the equivalent of 4 weeks rent, and also 2 weeks in advance. If the place isn't furnished, you'll also need to buy the basics at least (fridge, bed, sofa etc) and equipment such as pots, pans, dinner set etc.

Factor in internet set up and ongoing costs, mobile phone and utility bills, grocery, household and personal shopping, transport costs, and ordinary things like haircuts.

I know you're asking about months, not dollars, but it's important for you to know that a lot of your budgeted money may be spent very early on. There are some ideas in the article I've linked to for cheaper accommodations options, such as shares, and how to find them.

northlondoner

Thank you everyone for your replies and thanks spouseofscouse for that website link

After factoring in everything including a bond for a flat, rental costs, transport, bills, Internet, a prepaid SIM card andan extra $80 a week for extras/entertainment/precautionary measures, I've come to the figure of £4500 to last me for three months (I'll be living quite modestly in something small such as a studio flat for around $300 per weekfor those first few months while I get my feet on the ground/job hunt and it seems there are a fair few that come furnished)

This means I'll be ready to fly to Sydney around October time

The only downside is I'll have 5 months left on my phone contract with EE which it looks like I'll still have to pay which is a ***** but my fault for taking out a 24 month contract.

Very impatient about waiting until October and wish I could fly over next month but the upside is summer will just be finishing here then I'll hop on a plane and it will be (a much hotter) summer again!

Btw does anyone have any advice on cheap plane ticket websites? The cheapest one way tickets I can find are for £560...any cheaper and apparently the journey takes 36 hours with 2 changes which I won't be able to handle. Philippines airlines shows 26 hour flights for just £380 but apparently they aren't safe and the service is appalling, so is the leg room amount for those flying economy.

JuneSpring

For cheap tickets, I genuinely just try to access all the different sites: direct from the airline, then the different search sites including Orbitz etc.

denzil73

12 months minimum. Job market is flooded with high skilled people with far more experience than you. The Aussie job market is pretty horrible for engineers and many other high end positions. If you don't mind cleaning loo's then you're laughing.