elice_in_oz

The way I see it, it really depends on what kind of lifestyle you have/want anyway... We're a family of 4 (2 young children), have just bought our 1st home (3 beds on 680sqm in good condition) only 20 km from Melbourne CBD and on a direct trainline, only have one car (old reliable CRV) and we live comfortably on $150k (single income). Obviously, we don't go out to posh restaurants or have expensive holidays (we used to, pre-kids ) but we have a very comfortable lifestyle, one that we are very happy with.

In England (albeit 7 years ago, so probably a lifetime in terms of cost of living), we used to live on way more than what we have now (over GBP100k) with no children. Our life was not better though, although it was very good. We had to have 2 cars, one of us used to commute to London from the Midlands for work, we lived in a 3 bedroom flat with no outdoor space and we spent loads more going out because it all had to be indoors !

Here, we go to the park, have barbies with friends, and just live a simpler life. We would not change it for anything... I reckon you have to decide what you want to keep from your current lifestyle, and what you are expecting from an Aussie lifestyle, and then decide if you could compromise on some things that you might not be able to find/afford on a lower salary. Jobs paying over $100k are usually highly skilled jobs and a lot of people live on combined incomes of under $100k and are happy that way.

We're amongst the lucky ones...

jimbo_d

If you are still converting from pounds to dollars you have already failed. The pound is worth so little to what it was 3 years ago the conversion is completely distorted and not in the slightest bit accurate as to a comparison of what you can buy for your money.

elice_in_oz

I was in no way speaking in conversion terms. I am well aware that the value of the pound has dropped. Which makes my point even more relevant since GBP100k got you a lot more 7 years ago. We took a big drop in income when we came here, but our lifestyle did not change much. And yes, life was cheaper in Oz then than it is now. I still think $150k is very comfortable to live on here right now. But then again, everybody's idea of what they want in life is different.

BTW, I stopped converting AU$ into GBP a long time ago. So maybe I am a bit out of touch with the cost of living in the UK, although when we visited in 2008, it still felt more expensive than Oz. I must admit that converting can be useful to a degree but it seems that some people just get very hung up about the price/cost differences between Oz and the UK. Some things are cheaper, some things are more expensive. Learn to live with it!

Rod-Helen-Poppy

cards on the table time lol.

i earn the quivalent of approx $64k over her with my wifes wage too we earn the equivalent of approx $86k at todays exchange rates.

i have accepted a job offer for $145kpa + super. i have managed to convince myself that i think we should be able to have a better lifestyle in oz; eg slightly more disposable but be able to enjoy ourselves more - that doesnt necessarily mean spending money enjoying, but days out on beaches, zoo's etc etc with our daughter.

we have a nice 4 bed detached house over here, but the we do live 'up north' so these thinga are more affordable.

am i living in cloud cuckoo land?

elice_in_oz

I think $145k + super is a good salary. It depends where you're heading, if you are in a position to buy a house or will need to rent and whether you will send your daughter to state or private school (if she's of school age).

Rod-Helen-Poppy

i'll be in sydney for a month then down to a project in wollongong - so be living around that area for a while.

intend to rent for a while until we find somewhere we like, plus once this project is doen chances are i may end up back in head office in sydney.

school wise - depends on what reviews the schools get as to where we will send our kid(s)

we are not hugely extravagant but i do enjoy nice things from time to time. we will have some savings when our house(s) eventually sell and would save to put as big a deposit down as possible when we come to buy. and we wont be mortgaging ourselves up to the hilt neither lol.

pomtastic

I'd say your lifestyle has done a complete 180 degree turn, elice_in_oz.

Anyway, a $150K family income is excellent in Aus, you should be very comfortable unless you have a big mortgage or kids to go exxie private school. Bear in mind the average wage is around $70K.

coolshadows

$145kpa is a good salary. From my calculations your household income is roughly £66k (which in itself is a good income for the North-West - I think the average is around £26k), so $145k is roughly 2.2x which I think is an acceptable comparison.

That said, I think you should research it more as to where you will be living, your housing expectations, schooling needs, health insurance requirements etc... as it would be easy to feel worst off coming here.

elice_in_oz

I guess you could say that . We came here at a very different stage in our life... We were young

My thinking exactly!

Rod-Helen-Poppy

we want to put a ceiling of say max $500 week for a rental, and have a car ready to order on a novated lease - again nothing too flash.

we have looked at housing and their seems to be plenty of nice one's in and around the whole wollongong area for around that price so

hopefully we'll be able to save some money too.

Gibbo

Along with the high salaries you are telling people they need to get when they arrive here, it might also be useful to them to suggest what type of employment they would require to get these salaries and where to find it.

elice_in_oz

Not sure about Wollongong, but I'd say $500/week should get you something pretty good. We used to pay under $500 for a 3 bedroom townhouse (small courtyard though) in one of the most desirable suburbs in Melbourne only 6 kms from the CBD and close to transport. We could never have afforded to buy there though, hence the move 20 kms out

coolshadows

$145k income should earn you about $2000 per week after tax.

elice_in_oz

I agree with you there. My DH works in a niche area of IT, hence the $150kpa salary. And that's for a permanent job. He could get more contracting.

By contrast, I used to be an executive assistant to the MD of a large public transport company and I earned $55kpa... Probably would be on $60k now if I had stayed.
Not all jobs carry the hefty monies

elice_in_oz

I'd say it's a little less than that. We get about $1,800/week after tax on I think $146k. There is a yearly bonus though, which gets us over the dreaded $150k of means tested family and childcare benefits