pusky123

Dear All,

One of the main reasons for myself and my wife wishing to emigrate was the hope of being able to purchase a house (with a mortgage), and start a family.

In the UK house prices have got so ridiculous that even though I pay 40% tax we cant afford to buy a house in greater london, or pretty much the south east. (We can just about afford a flat).

However, from watching A Place in the Sun last week (Sydney) house prices down under seem pretty pricey too.

So, given that we dont have huge savings or equity to cash in, is our quest for a better quality of life in Oz just a pipedream? (I'm an accountant by the way).

Thanks for your thoughts.

ShozInOz

If you are considering Sydney, then you would be little or no better off, or maybe worse off. Sydney is divided into City, Eastern suburbs, South, North, Inner West, and West.
- City and Eastern Suburbs (Beach Suburbs) are no-go for houses (unless you had a lot of money). You would be looking at $1.2 million to get anything.
- South (Sutherland Shire, near Royal National Park, near Cronulla Beach) is more affordable and very suburban. There are trains to the city, but to get to Eastern Suburbs to work is not possible by train. Here the cheapest 3 bed housing is $500K (look around Miranda, Janalli), or average about $600K in most areas of South.
- North (leafy, salubrious, e.g. Chatsood) is very expensive. You would have to travel quite a way north (say Hornsy, about 50 mins on train) to get a house for $600K minimum.
- Inner West (bit trendy, very urban, bit scruffy, bit of crime, e.g. Glebe) is a bit less expensive, but still about $600K for a 3 bed townhouse (terrace). Most houses around here are townhouses
- West (least desirable, most crime, soul-less atmosphere - e.g. Campbelltown) is cheapest. But I can't see any reason why anyone would emigrate and live there).

You can survey some prioces on www.domain.com.au

You could try another city - but Melbourne and Brisbane are also expensive now. Aledaide has gone up a lot mor erecently. Perth is still cheaper, and smaller towns outside the cities of course.

Another issue for you here is that they prefer Australian accountants due to differences in practice here. Also, pay in australia is less on average than UK. Have you considered relocating in the UK?

Think very hard before taking the plunge - I'm sure you will anyway. Due to wage differential here comapred to UK (I work as a university lecturer), we cannot afford to buy a house in a place we would live here.

NickyC

Depends where you are going to in the Eastern Suburbs.
The Illawarra line from Sutherland goes into the city and continues on to Bondi Junction, so you don't even have to change.

To the OP, Sydney house prices are not reflective of Australia as a whole. Melbourne is more affordable, and Brisbane/Adelaide/Perth are positively cheap compared to here.

bondipom

Ashame cityrail is now unreliable.

ShozInOz

Very true re: Bondi Jct - I live in Coogee too! And work in Randwick (UNSW). Public transport involves train to city, then bus back out to Randwick. Real need for a tube out here!

ABCDiamond

Have you considered Brisbane ?

Median House prices from yesterdays paper show Brisbane at $352,000 at Dec 2004.
However, this varied between suburbs from $225,000 to $937,500. And that does not include the slightly outer Brisbane suburbs of Logan ($170k to $341k), Ipswich ($141k to $307k) etc.

wombat42

Many people would'nt want to live in Sydney even if the housing was cheap, there are many other places in OZ to live where you can find employment as an accountant, where the housing is affordable, that are just as good a place to live or much better then Sydney. Travel around OZ looking at other cities.

worzel

Hi. I am an accountant too. I wouldn't dream of going to Sydney because I found it far to busy and house prices are so high. I thought of Melbourne where there are still lots of jobs but house prices are still high and you may face a long commute to work each day. But after months of thinking we have decided to head for one of the other capital cities where we can be almost mortgage free and have a much more comfortable pace of life. We favour Perth partly because it has a slightly better job market than Brisbane or Adelaide at the moment. I may not earn so much and it might be a little harder to land the right job imediately but I am now confident we are doing the right thing.

pusky123

Dear All,

Thanks for all your replies.

I think we would consider looking at Adelaide / Perth / Brisbane, and are off for a visa validation trip in a couple of months time, which will give us an opportunity to assess the situation.

We had considered relocating in the UK, but the problem with moving further north in the UK is that athough properties are cheaper, wages are a lot lower than London, so I'm not sure we'd be any beter off, in terms of property purchasing power.

We were attracted to Oz by the climate and the relative sizes of houses, which seem to be a bit bigger. Our dream was (is) a little detached house. Here in Britain the best we can seem to aspire to is trading up to a flat with a spare room!

Cheers,

Pusky

renth

Come to Perth, get a nice place with a few acres in the Hills, commute to the City, you'll love it.

MarkMyWords

As anywhere, prices in Melbourne vary tremendously. The same house can cost twice as much in one area as in another, and while the high price is obviously driven by demand, it's equally obviously not necessarily the right area for everyone, as requirements vary a great deal.

But I think your original question is a little, shall I say, blinkered. A better quality of life is far more complex than simply being able to afford a nice house. The important thing is "lifestyle", often elusive, sometimes chimaerical.

MarkMyWords

Just be sure you realise what the climate is really like. It's not just a question of its being a bit sunnier or a bit more predictable. Consider whether you really want to be forced to stay indoors when it hits 40 and stays there. I'll let those who suffer this opine on what day-to-day life is really like in those places, but put it this way: would you consider (on grounds of climate) emigrating to Egypt?

ABCDiamond

It's too hot in Egypt

Koza

You should be able to by a small cute house under 250K on a 600m2 block, within 30 km radius of Adelaide of Brisbane, at least. Loan repayments on such house are close to rent.

Bordy

Wish we were all as clever as you.