kips

I ask this question after reading some threads on BE and feeling like a distinct underachiever.

One poster, single bloke with no partner and kids, asked if he could live on $170,000 a year in Sydney, if he moved from London to Oz.

I was surprised by the number of posters who said it wasn't a lot of money !!! To me it's a king's ransom.

The more I read the thread the more depressed I got so gave up I think the replies were all from high fliers on mega bucks.

In another thread this week a poster commented earning $150,000 a year wasn't much. I would be jumping for joy if I earned half this.

My husband and I have been here 9 years and we have never earned anywhere near $170,000 a year between us, both working full-time.

I think the nearest we got was $140,000 one year and only because my husband did lots of extra shifts. He paid a huge amount in tax.

Despite all this I think we live a very comfortable life and that's with only my husband working at present. I'm looking for work. We have one child, aged 9.

We have always lived in a big new house (better than anything we could afford in the UK), have 2 cars, all the mod cons we need, eat out, go on holidays and every 2 years have been visiting family in the UK. However, I must admit the latter is getting increasing difficult because of the cost of living.

However, we've never lived in a city, only close to one as we cannot afford to, don't own credit cards, don't have private health insurance, or pay private school fees or own designer stuff.

So it got me thinking are there many families out there with 2, 3 or 4 kids surviving on less than $100,000 a year but still consider they have a good standard of living ? Or is this only possible with the help of the Family Tax Benefit system, especially if you live in a city like Perth or Sydney ?

Wendy

I only have one child, and live in Adelaide but manage on $48k a year. I do have two adults living with me as well though - neither have a job right now so aren't contributing anything to the house! I am struggling with that.

Ideally, I too would like to have to 'struggle' on $100k a year...

Grayling

I wouldn't want to live here on less than that

Maybe a lot of people can manage but I would feel too restricted.

DeadVim

Our combined full-time income would be around $160,000 which provides a very comfortable life for us (1 kid, dog and 3 fat goldfish, 2 cars).

Our mortgage was $250,000 5 years ago on an acreage property bought for $310,000.

Sure, the commute to the CBD is a compromise (over an hour peak) but we like our space.

At the moment our income is around $75,000 and this, to be honest, is a bit tighter than we would like but we live quite comfortably even sacrificing a few things (trips to the UK for one significant thing).

$100,000 would do just fine for us I reckon. At the moment I am looking to trade $ for time job-wise so $125,000 is the goal so we can save a bit more and pay off the home loan quicker.

As ever it all depends on your expectations and lifestyle.

chris955

I think you will find that the majority of households manage on less than 100k, bear in mind that the average 'battler' family is struggling with ever increasing prices. We manage on less than that but we have a tiny mortgage, no car payments etc.

Beoz

And there is your answer. As most Australians to live in cities, most require a larger income to pay, largely for cost of housing. We (couple) couldn't survive on anything less than $120,000 per year living in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, though that is our choice, it seems to be the choice of many others as demand is high - hence pushing up the price.

Grayling

I really don't understand why people would want to move over here to be worse off

You need a good salary or income in order to have a reasonable lifestyle given the horrendous cost of living over here.

Wendy

Worse off is subjective.

I could only earn $16k in the UK maximum, so I'd be no better off there and I'd rather be skint here anyway

Of course when I arrived I was married, and he was earning $75k so I didn't move here worse off anyway (he only earnt 22k pounds in the UK at that time)

Time to find me a fella

Grayling

I'm taken....and too old!

Wendy

so!!

Grayling

Dorothy

Want mine? He's on a decent salary, and recently won a celebrity look alike contest. I won't say who he looks like, though.

Bermudashorts

If you are happy then that is all that matters because we are all different. I remember a thread recently about the single bloke and $170k, it might not be the same thread, but as I recall pretty much everyone said that this was a very comfortable salary for a single person. I think the debate was about whether it was comparable to £100k in London, which is another matter entirely.

I also think that something needs to be factored into this wider debate is that people that moved say 5+ years ago might have been able to bring over a little nest egg to help them on their way, whereas today the £ savings or equity is not going as far.

Wendy

Erm, I already know who he looks like

Dorothy

So that's a no then?