Carbery

I think most people probably spend more in the first 18 - 24 months. When first arriving things have to be bought - car, house furnishings, maybe rental until buying. But these are not replaced annually and after these expenses income can be saved more.

BadgeIsBack

We are better off financially. The salary I earn is not the stellar one you might get in London with all the stresses but still stellar for a young family.

I'd gladly take a 20pc cut in real terms yet have more to show for it. If that's the case, it's almost a non brainer.

Amazulu

Better off financially here.
GBP50-60k in the UK with a mortgage.
$200k (GBP87k at today's XR) here with no mortgage.
45hrs/wk in UK.
45-55hrs/wk here.

Lifestyle for us is better here although I do miss the travel opp's of the UK.

Vim Fuego

Position - IT Geeky Development Type Stuff
Experience - 14 years industry & a HND (like a degree but you had to work for it in the middle year)
Financially - Better off by about 15% in raw salary terms .... probably ...

But it's not about the cash for me, I could have worked in London and raked in the dosh and then I'd be posting 'Worse Off' here, similarly I could work in Sydney here and it would all be relative.

As far a reward/quality of life balance goes this beats the bollocks off of living in Kent and trying to find a job with a reasonable commute.

And here I am married, and have a child ... it's all swings and roundabouts but I can honestly say I have never considered my "before and after" in financial terms. Can't say I make comparisons at all on a regular basis in fact ... the here and now is where it's at, I better make the most of it because it's not coming around again ...

bridie

hours wise better off here too:

UK 60hrs week
Aus 40hrs week

and still brings home more due to higher hourly rate

bridie

very true...

rabsody

Good post and a bloody good way of looking at things - something I'm trying to grasp (particularly when homesick).

Wendy

I'm not worse off here, I'm not exactly rich either. But then money isn't everything to me, maybe because I've never had any - I don't know.

I do know though, that I'm happy here - just like I was happy in the UK. For me life isn't about how much cash you have, or how much you can make, it's not even about where you live.

I'm happy with who I am, I'm happy with what I am, and most importantly I'm happy with what I've got.

Vim Fuego

I lapse into introspection sometimes but I usually too rushed off my damned feet to wallow in whatever negative thoughts come along ...

I try to 'hear' the bad feelings, put them away and then move on ... you can even try actually saying a word when you do it, like 'acknowledge'.

Did this sound wierd? Ah well, whatever works ...

I don't find I get as down as I did in the UK but that probably has little to do with Oz/UK difference and more to do with other factors. Having said that a sunny day is always preferable to a grey one ...

chris and farideh

Well said Wendy,

Timber Floor Au

How do you define better off?

Financially or Emotionally..

Cos its not that clear cut.

If we all yearned for being financially better off, we would all drive beamers, wear gucci, and shit on gilt rose toilet rolls.

In australia, my own experience, is wealth isnt a thing I aspire to.
The class distinction here isnt as prevalent as within the uk, so to be fair, no one really gives a shite if you have a big house, small house, fast car or a crap car..

Socially I mix with all sorts, lol, and a few jaffas, and fig-rolls.. ( mincepies)

Never occurs to me, on who has more money or has a better standard of living, but then i dont sit there like some sad git comparing all the time...

Life in oz, is pure indulgence, self indulgence at that, it takes tenacity, drive, commitment, and a willingness to re learn everything you had ever learned badly, only to realise it wasnt bad or wrong just different..

Australia, isnt an answer it is a result.

It isnt a garden of eden, nor a yellow brick road..

And conversely uk isnt really a shit hole ( actually i lied there ) hush now.. but by making a positive incites a negative.. and its not that easy..

However, what is a fact, surely is living the dream, enjoying what you have got, and getting on with it.

Leaving the UK for us, was the first time in our lives we had been selfish, a trait i detest, and yanno... i really look back and think, slefishness is and was the right choice given the time and place we were in..

Its about YOU.. not anyone else, not listening to some old fart, harping on about he has this and has got that, and goes here and has been there...

its all about you.. so be selfish, for good or bad.. make a decision, and stand by it

rabsody

Nah, not weird at all, makes total sense ... maybe we're both bonkers!! Seriously though, when you listen to your "self talk" it can be quite frightening to actually hear what you are saying to yourself a lot of the time.

And I totally agree about the sunshine, fairly sure I had some form of SAD when in UK as the weather made me feel very flat. Notice it here if we have even a few days concurrently overcast too which thankfully isn't often.

Dorothy

We both make a better wage here and work fewer hours. OH used to work 40 hours at the office, 20 at home and commute 2-3 hours each way to work. Now he leaves at 8:30, after the kids go to school and is home by 5:30. His wage has gone up by about $30k.

I used to work 40 hours for a creiten and a crap wage and now make about 30% more working flex hours with a great bunch of people.

Can't really say we're better off here financially, though. We owned our own home before we emigrated but with the OH being out of work for so long we spent most of our savings on living expenses and buying things we couldn't bring with us. The rest went on moving interstate when he was transferred. Oh well, we live in a great rental with fabby landlord and intend to buy this place if he ever wants to sell. We also have at the moment some disposable income so have done some of the things we were never able to do before.

coriuk

Longer hours as a nurse in Aus? Nurses here commonly do 12 hour shifts, and the extra perks for unsocial hours is next to nothing i have heard/

coriuk

I am interested in the finacial aspects alone. I know australia is not really all its made out to be, why do you think I have been living in the UK for so many years. But things have changed back home, and I wondered by how much.