Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

Hi,
Is the cost of living really that cheap in Australia at the moment? Let's use Sydney and the surrounding areas (Manly?) as an example?
I'm keen to find out whether things are that much cheaper than in the UK, does anyone have any up-to-date figures ?

Also, in view of the above, what would be considered a decent salary in order to have a fairly comfortable lifestyle?

I'm considering moving in the next couple of years, depending on whether it will be financially a good move or not. Obviously the lifestyle is the main reason for moving but I plan to do plenty of research on the numbers beforehand..

I'm working in an accountancy -type role at the moment although i'm not qualified, but earn a reasonable salary of £26K pa.

My wife and I are expecting our 1st child next year so we will be surviving on 1 salary. This will be the same scenario if we moved to Australia.

Cheers!

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

Simple answer - no. You would need rather more than $52k to have a comfortable lifestyle in Manly. Sydney is horribly expensive. You could start by checking out rentals

Qualifications are key around here too so you may need to look into getting some pieces of paper to your name

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

Sydney metro is very expensive. A modern 2 bed apartment at $650 (325GBP) a week. Same sort of price for Manly apartments. Obviously there are cheap apartments but they wouldn't be modern and probably in need of redecorating. Or a modern 1 bed/ studio would be about $400.
Depends where you end up working really. If it's not in the city you can live further out of town and closer to work and get a house for $500. I wouldn't commute to fair to the city though, theres about 3 million people trying to get in there at 8am in the mornings.

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

Hi there

If you are looking at the Northern Beaches then you might just about get a decent 2 bed apartment for $450 a week in rent. To buy the same apartment you'd need at least $500k - these are minimums as I've been looking up there for years!

You'd probably have to live around Dee Why or on the outskirts of Manly to get something a bit larger if you want to be on the coast which would involve a bus down to Manly to catch the ferry or a bus across to Chatswood to get the train in.

If you are renting you won't have to pay rates or strata fees - just gas, electricity, water etc.

Public transport is fairly cheap and you can buy a weekly ticket which covers you for ferry, train and bus for around $47.

As Quoll said you would need to be qualified to apply for a visa and keep checking the Immigration site as they keep changing the rules and as I understand it you now have to be on the critical skills list to stand any chance of getting one - or you could come over if you find someone to sponsor you. Sorry to be a bit down on this one but it would seem it's getting even harder to get into this place now!

Sydney can be expensive especially in the touristy areas. However, I've found that if you don't go to a cafe on the seafront in Manly and go around the corner your coffee is 50c cheaper. They charge 10% extra on a Sunday which really bugs me though! Once you are out of the touristy areas and a bit futher up the coast then normal prices kick in.

Good luck!

KK

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

To compare your wages to an equivalent in Australia, you appear to be very close to the average UK wage, so to maintain a similar level, you would need to earn about $66,000 per year in Australia.

Most 'average' Australians, however, do not live in the better areas.

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

ABC, in my opinion, your approach is one of possible. It's fair enough to talk about expectations of average salary and base decisions on that. It's just one metric.

My view is that looking at average incomes assumes that lifestyles are comparable and the cost of living is the same. I'm not teaching granny to suck eggs when I say it's actually hard to quantify.

My approach, which can be used with your approach, is just to work out salary bands in the person's area of expertise, and secondary areas - and then to work out what proportion of income is needed to buy certain goods or services compared to salary bands in the UK. (It might well be that the person in the UK is underpaid and knows that, or is on the edge of an anticipated increase).

I reckon people should use as many metrics and measures as they can get their hands on!

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

If you earn an average wage and want to live in Manly, Eastern suburbs or North Shore, be prepared to live in a below average house.
I haven't found anything in my time here which is comparatively cheaper than in the UK.
I suppose it's the price you pay for having that dream of a better lifestyle??!!

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

I agree with that.


Nothing at all ? That does surprise me.

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

Some fruit is possibly cheaper and fuel. Nothing much else cheaper in Perth I don't think.

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

Amazing. $400-600 a week for a two bed apartment ?

I used to rent a real nice 3 bedroom town house just outside Noosa for $220 a week and a four bedder in the Redlands for $250-300 a week. All I can say is I'm glad I don't have to work in Sydney :thumbup:

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

I apologise! Yes, Fruit in some place is cheaper and better quality and of course fuel although this does vary depending on day of week sometimes by 20 cents. Eating out is comparable in price but generally higher standard.

Re: Cost of Living and Decent Salary
 

I had to pay $720pw for a Manly 2 bed apartment five years ago. Nice unit, but Manly is a no-go area at night.

The cost of living can only be evaluated with reference to your income *here* - the exchange rate isn't relevant to most people. (It *is* to me - my pension payments have gone down by 23% since October last year :thumbdown:).

I think you might be quite surprised at the cost of living here if you have been used to thinking of Australia as being a cheap place to live, but of course it all depends on your individual lifestyle.