Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a yr?
#46
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,374
Re: Any families in Australia living on a combined income of less than $100,000 a yea
not tough, homesick more like (and melbourne aint cheap to live in) plus we need an accountant to live with us,.......... god knows wot we do with our money
Last edited by Margaret3; Jan 26th 2012 at 5:37 am.
#47
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Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Epsom
Posts: 1,705
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
Maybe not really underpaid. Australians are overpaid, by quite some margin in many areas. Tradies, miners, truckies, waiting staff etc are all on some pretty good packages over here compared to anywhere in the world.
#48
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
It's very refreshing to read a thread about people enjoying life on a 'normal' budget. I guess a lot of people emigrate to Australia in the hopes that their salaries will be increased, they will buy a bigger better home and have enough spare cash to satisfy their social habits, whether that be booze, holidays, theme parks etc, etc. And these things definitely cost a lot of money and are relatively more expensive than in the UK.
So I guess the meaning of getting by varies from one family to another, and it seems for a lot of British expats 'getting by' equates to life at the luxurious end of the scale for those who are used to coping on a pretty tight budget. Some contributors to this forum are only to happy to point out how vast their incomes are, and how you couldn't possibly cope with a normal salary; strangely some are also at pains to express their dissatisfaction with life down under despite their whopping pay packets. I often feel we're satisfying the narcissist within when discouraging others from exploring emigration as some members are unable to see the point if you can't send the kids to private school, visit England every year or two, or live in the thick of it close to the CBD of a major city.
Yeah raising a family on less than $100,000 a year is going to be tight, but the 'average' Australian salary is around $72k so plenty of locals must manage. Yeah you're not going to live next door to the CBD, you won't have the most expensive car, you won't by flying the family back to England every other year but that doesn't necessarily mean life is of a poorer quality for you, depends how you get by in the UK. There have been threads before of people getting by on a more modest budget, and finding Australia favourable for them due to spending more time out doors, at the parks with the kids etc.
So I guess the meaning of getting by varies from one family to another, and it seems for a lot of British expats 'getting by' equates to life at the luxurious end of the scale for those who are used to coping on a pretty tight budget. Some contributors to this forum are only to happy to point out how vast their incomes are, and how you couldn't possibly cope with a normal salary; strangely some are also at pains to express their dissatisfaction with life down under despite their whopping pay packets. I often feel we're satisfying the narcissist within when discouraging others from exploring emigration as some members are unable to see the point if you can't send the kids to private school, visit England every year or two, or live in the thick of it close to the CBD of a major city.
Yeah raising a family on less than $100,000 a year is going to be tight, but the 'average' Australian salary is around $72k so plenty of locals must manage. Yeah you're not going to live next door to the CBD, you won't have the most expensive car, you won't by flying the family back to England every other year but that doesn't necessarily mean life is of a poorer quality for you, depends how you get by in the UK. There have been threads before of people getting by on a more modest budget, and finding Australia favourable for them due to spending more time out doors, at the parks with the kids etc.
#49
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
It's patronising when you state that people don't consider that. Yes it needs considering when you're deciding how much you need to earn but both you and Quoll stated that you can't believe people don't think about it. You don't know what people do or do not consider when they're weighing up the pros and cons. It's a matter of wording.
#50
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
It is a lot easier for those who came a fair while ago as they benefited from a very favourable exchange rate and housing costs were significantly lower. Most we able to come and put down a huge deposit, which means in todays terms they have a tiny mortgage
Today, a lot come with enough to tide them over and have to rent and then will be faced with a large mortgage.
It also depends on lifestyle and what someone considers ok. That will vary for everyone. We (me and wife with no kids) certainly could not get by on less than $120k. I am very fotunate that my income is a fair bit higher than that and although we never struggle, i wouldnt say we were living in luxury.
The average house in Perth now costs over $450k. Even with a $50k deposit it means you need a salary of $130k to be able to service the mortgage.
I dont understand anyone comming if they are going to be worse off. No good saying money isnt everything, because it is 99% of everything. If you are going to have a crappier house in a crappier area, not being able to afford the same social life, not being able to go on the same holidays and everything else then the money in your pocket is everything.
Today, a lot come with enough to tide them over and have to rent and then will be faced with a large mortgage.
It also depends on lifestyle and what someone considers ok. That will vary for everyone. We (me and wife with no kids) certainly could not get by on less than $120k. I am very fotunate that my income is a fair bit higher than that and although we never struggle, i wouldnt say we were living in luxury.
The average house in Perth now costs over $450k. Even with a $50k deposit it means you need a salary of $130k to be able to service the mortgage.
I dont understand anyone comming if they are going to be worse off. No good saying money isnt everything, because it is 99% of everything. If you are going to have a crappier house in a crappier area, not being able to afford the same social life, not being able to go on the same holidays and everything else then the money in your pocket is everything.
#51
Re: Any families in Australia living on a combined income of less than $100,000 a yea
I think people forget that they need to look towards their retirement and that they arent going to get terribly far even with the soon to be 12% unless they have put it away for their entire working life and added a significant amount of their own money into their super pots as well. I will say that salary sacrificing and paying well more than the basic 9% was the best thing we ever did but we were, even back in the day, earning more than $100k between us.
Personally I dont know how some of you guys manage with what you have reported on here - it cant be a very comfortable lifestyle to have to be scrimping and saving all the time.
Personally I dont know how some of you guys manage with what you have reported on here - it cant be a very comfortable lifestyle to have to be scrimping and saving all the time.
#52
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Joined: Sep 2004
Location: London - but only until I can afford to move back to Sydney
Posts: 938
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
Notwithstanding the high cost of living in Australia, $100k is a lot of money. The people who say it's chickenfeed are the same folks who complain about trying to find a good butler in Toorak.
We're living on a lot less than the average national wage, though we do have a very low mortgage (~$156k).
It's not easy, but it is possible and in our case it's only short term while I'm studying. We were sitting pretty when I had a full time job and a company car.
We're living on a lot less than the average national wage, though we do have a very low mortgage (~$156k).
It's not easy, but it is possible and in our case it's only short term while I'm studying. We were sitting pretty when I had a full time job and a company car.
#55
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
If I was looking to move to UK based on my current OZ salary (and current exchange rates) I should get X, when the reality is I would think myself fortunate to get X/3 or X/3.5.
When I left Germany nearly 8 years ago I was earning a reasonable salary and my first job in OZ was a big pay decrease. I took it cos I had no OZ experience and I thought it was the perfect job for my skill set, but the reality was the job sucked (I was sold a lemon). But it gave me that valuable OZ experience and just over a year later I moved companies and got a big increase in salary. Then a few years later I moved companies again and got another big increase in salary. Nearly 8 years later I'm on a brilliant rate by anybody's standards and I'm doing a role that I would never have thought about back then but am absolutely loving.
I'm paid a fair rate (according to WA market) but if I had to translate that back to an equivalent UK job ..... it wouldnt be pretty for my current lifestyle I'm gonna be riding the OZ gravy train for all its worth and for as long as I can
#56
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
$100k is a lot of money anywhere in Australia. How you spend it is up to you. Can't afford to buy? Rent instead. Your $100k will go a lot further, even in Sydney.
Ooh, we have a salary diva! So how much money do you get out of bed for?
and frankly I wouldn't get out of bed for that kind of money.
#57
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 14,188
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
#58
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 283
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
It is a lot easier for those who came a fair while ago as they benefited from a very favourable exchange rate and housing costs were significantly lower. Most we able to come and put down a huge deposit, which means in todays terms they have a tiny mortgage
Today, a lot come with enough to tide them over and have to rent and then will be faced with a large mortgage.
It also depends on lifestyle and what someone considers ok. That will vary for everyone. We (me and wife with no kids) certainly could not get by on less than $120k. I am very fotunate that my income is a fair bit higher than that and although we never struggle, i wouldnt say we were living in luxury.
The average house in Perth now costs over $450k. Even with a $50k deposit it means you need a salary of $130k to be able to service the mortgage.
I dont understand anyone comming if they are going to be worse off. No good saying money isnt everything, because it is 99% of everything. If you are going to have a crappier house in a crappier area, not being able to afford the same social life, not being able to go on the same holidays and everything else then the money in your pocket is everything.
Today, a lot come with enough to tide them over and have to rent and then will be faced with a large mortgage.
It also depends on lifestyle and what someone considers ok. That will vary for everyone. We (me and wife with no kids) certainly could not get by on less than $120k. I am very fotunate that my income is a fair bit higher than that and although we never struggle, i wouldnt say we were living in luxury.
The average house in Perth now costs over $450k. Even with a $50k deposit it means you need a salary of $130k to be able to service the mortgage.
I dont understand anyone comming if they are going to be worse off. No good saying money isnt everything, because it is 99% of everything. If you are going to have a crappier house in a crappier area, not being able to afford the same social life, not being able to go on the same holidays and everything else then the money in your pocket is everything.
#59
Re: Any families in Australia living on combined gross income of less than $100,000 a
Not too great for long term though is it. You dont want to have rent or a mortgage once retired.