Brisbane

Old Sep 12th 2016, 5:44 pm
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Default Brisbane

Hi Everyone,

This is my first thread, so hello!

I have been offered a wonderful job opportunity in Brisbane which I have gratefully accepted and we fly out next February (2017). I have a lovely wife and a 3 year old daughter who will be coming with me. It's early days yet so we're in the midst of the sponsored visa process and putting the house up for rent etc.

Any advice I can get right now would be welcome.

My salary will be 125,000 per annum net of any bonus I may earn and I've been reassured that whilst the cost of living in Australia is much more than the UK, we should be able to live reasonably comfortably off the one wage. My partner is a teacher and will work eventually, but not until we're used to the new way of life and find pre-schools we like etc. So we will save on childcare initially.

Questions I have in particular are just common questions really: how medicare works in practice, hidden costs in renting properties, how expensive home and car insurance is, general stuff really.

If any of you lovely people can help it'd be appreciated and please, ANY information is good information!

Last edited by Twinny2014; Sep 12th 2016 at 5:48 pm.
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Old Sep 12th 2016, 10:41 pm
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Default Re: Brisbane

Congrats on the job offer.

The salary is very good and will go far in the Brisbane area for properties. Check out domain.com.au to get a rough idea.

Your wife may finder it harder than she hopes finding a job, since the market is pretty swamped with teachers. Check out some other threads on this topic. Others will be able to provide more feedback.
Another thing I have read on this forum and other expat forums is how expensive child care is.

You do not mention what country you are coming from, but say you are coming from the UK, there is a reciprocal agreement in place.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/cus...are-agreements

You register with Medicare after you arrive. When booking to see a Doctor, some bulk bill ie cover the majority of the payment and you pay a gap fee others do not so you pay the whole fee and submit a claim to Medicare.

Dental treatment is not covered, so you want to investigate private healthcare to cover this. Not sure if this applies to your daughter.

The only real hidden costs I see in renting is they do not come with white goods ie washing machine and fridge/freezer. Plus unlike the UK you will not pay council tax, the equivalent is covered by the landlord.
For renting, best to bring a credit check, details of your mortgage, the details of renting your property out. A little overkill but will help with your application as you will not have any history here.

Car insurance I think is generally more expensive here, but it was a while since I last had car insurance in the UK to buying a car here. I read lately that car insurance costs have jumped in the UK, so it still may similar. Remember to bring details of your no claims bonus as it is recognised here.
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Old Sep 12th 2016, 11:43 pm
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Twinny2014
My salary will be 125,000 per annum net of any bonus I may earn and I've been reassured that whilst the cost of living in Australia is much more than the UK, we should be able to live reasonably comfortably off the one wage.
........ and how do you come to that conclusion?
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 3:21 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Twinny2014
Hi Everyone,

This is my first thread, so hello!

I have been offered a wonderful job opportunity in Brisbane which I have gratefully accepted and we fly out next February (2017). I have a lovely wife and a 3 year old daughter who will be coming with me. It's early days yet so we're in the midst of the sponsored visa process and putting the house up for rent etc.

Any advice I can get right now would be welcome.

My salary will be 125,000 per annum net of any bonus I may earn and I've been reassured that whilst the cost of living in Australia is much more than the UK, we should be able to live reasonably comfortably off the one wage. My partner is a teacher and will work eventually, but not until we're used to the new way of life and find pre-schools we like etc. So we will save on childcare initially.

Questions I have in particular are just common questions really: how medicare works in practice, hidden costs in renting properties, how expensive home and car insurance is, general stuff really.

If any of you lovely people can help it'd be appreciated and please, ANY information is good information!
I wouldn't have really thought that the cost of living in Brisbane would be particularly higher than UK. We found housing in Sydney expensive, other than that it is swings and roundabouts and best not to constantly compare everything.

I don't think anybody should tell you whether you can live comfortably on a particular salary as we all have different ideas on comfort. Best to compare it to your current position, if you think say £60k in the UK is comfortable then you should be fine on this. Note that teacher jobs in Brisbane are going to be VERY difficult to come by.

We found cost of insurance very high in Australiia as there is less competition in the market versus UK, but it is one of those swings and roundabout things and I really wouldn't be focusing on this one expense. I don't know what you mean by "hidden costs" of renting, they told me what my rent would be and that is what it was.

On a 457 visa you won't get full medicare but you get basic reciprocal cover. You will be asked to take out private medical insurance as part of the visa process for that reason, but you don't have to maintain it if you don't want to.
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 5:18 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Beoz
........ and how do you come to that conclusion?
It is just what I have read on other forums really. I have no personal experience of it myself. Having looked at property rental prices they would appear similar to London, although you get a lot more house for your money.
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 8:27 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by evets
The only real hidden costs I see in renting is they do not come with white goods ie washing machine and fridge/freezer.
Yeah, unfurnished in Australia means no fridge or washing machine. But it does include... a dryer!
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 8:57 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Twinny2014
It is just what I have read on other forums really. I have no personal experience of it myself. Having looked at property rental prices they would appear similar to London, although you get a lot more house for your money.
Not really. You haven't factores in a London salary and Brisbane salary.

Throw that exchange rate rubbish out the door.
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 9:15 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Beoz
Not really. You haven't factores in a London salary and Brisbane salary.

Throw that exchange rate rubbish out the door.
I haven't factored in an exchange rate? That would be pointless because all the money I earn will be spent in Australia, so the exchange rate is irrelevant.

What I was drawing a comparison to was the cost of living and renting property in London vs. The cost of living and renting property in Brisbane, which I thought was a sensible thing to do.

If the standard of living isn't going to be better then there isn't much point is there?
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 9:20 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Twinny2014
I haven't factored in an exchange rate? That would be pointless because all the money I earn will be spent in Australia, so the exchange rate is irrelevant.

What I was drawing a comparison to was the cost of living and renting property in London vs. The cost of living and renting property in Brisbane, which I thought was a sensible thing to do.

If the standard of living isn't going to be better then there isn't much point is there?
But how are you making that comparison? The rent is a proportion of your London salary v Brisbane Salary.

If you compare rent on pounds v dollars you will send yourself in the wrong direction.
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 10:32 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Beoz
But how are you making that comparison? The rent is a proportion of your London salary v Brisbane Salary.

If you compare rent on pounds v dollars you will send yourself in the wrong direction.
The way I've done it is how much do I pay for rent from my London salary and how much is left. And then I do the same again for my Brisbane salary. I don't directly compare dollars to pounds, just what is left in each country based on that country's salary.
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 10:33 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Twinny2014
The way I've done it is how much do I pay for rent from my London salary and how much is left. And then I do the same again for my Brisbane salary. I don't directly compare dollars to pounds, just what is left in each country based on that country's salary.
Perfect. That's the way it should be done.
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 10:44 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by astera
Yeah, unfurnished in Australia means no fridge or washing machine. But it does include... a dryer!
Not always! I'd love a dryer. My unfurnished includes a broken cooker (which is currently being debated with the landlord) and nothing else. Previous rental had just a cooker and a dishwasher.
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Old Sep 13th 2016, 11:17 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Beoz
Perfect. That's the way it should be done.
Thanks :-)

From early estimates I do think we'd be a lot better off and you do get more for your money in Brisbane than you do in London. No question!
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Old Sep 14th 2016, 7:28 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Originally Posted by Twinny2014
I haven't factored in an exchange rate? That would be pointless because all the money I earn will be spent in Australia, so the exchange rate is irrelevant.
It could work in your favour. Pump all extra savings into USD and wait until the next market meltdown on Wall Street. US Dollar will get even stronger, Aussie Dollar will go into freefall like a base jumper, and that dream property will be that much more affordable.
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Old Sep 15th 2016, 1:17 am
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Default Re: Brisbane

Twinny, you do not mention if you get Super on top on your salary or if it is inclusive? What about benefits ie healthcare, life assurance, disability, mobile etc? These can work out an expensive add on.

As for lifestyle, you will more than likely get more bang for your buck in property in Brisbane verses London, but COL I would say overall is generally higher, lack of competition and even buying goods online comes with a delivery charge, where as the UK much is free delivery. There is a bill going through to add GST to online goods under $1000 bought online which is not good for online shopping and will add to costs.

Even during my last few trips back to the UK, the choice and costs at supermarkets and retail stores appeared to be cheaper than Australia. Sites like Numbeo do offer comparisons on COL, but I think you need to take them with a pinch of salt.

Public transport will not be as good as London and will suspect you will need to drive more.

Overall I suspect your standard of living will be better, but if your wife struggles to find work then she may not be happy especially if she wants to work in her career choice.

Also you should factor in the costs of getting back to the UK and the time it takes, around 36+ hours door to door for me. This is a bit of a killer and means very few trips back and also can be hard if an emergency crops up.
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