Cost of Living in different states
 

We are considering sponsorship from the following - South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales or ACT.

I have looked through previous threads but couldn't find any top line costs ie rent, utility bills, rates etc for each state (2 adults, 2 children).

We are assuming an income of $100k (or $120k in Sydney). According to tax calculators this would give $5,300 - $5,600 a month to live on. Is this correct?

I have noticed 3 bed house rentals in Adelaide start from $400 a week. Is this reasonable or would we need to pay more for a decent place?

Re: Cost of Living in different states
 

Hi HPJ and welcome to the site. I would suggest the very first thing you do is look at the availability of jobs in your field(s) in these states as even if you are state sponsored the chances of getting work will be very varied. For instance Victoria is very good for IT, comms and banking jobs, NSW would be also good for IT and banking as well as financial services, ACT would be best for government jobs although many of these are restricted to Australian citizens. SA would have a much smaller job market in most things due to population size.

Very much a piece of string question. Very roughly, it is fair to assume that rates and bills will be similar across the eastern states, with housing being more expensive in urban VIC and NSW.

Again, depends. Is this a single income or joint? If single then your figures are probably about $1000 per month too low. Plus you say you have kids which depending on their ages might give you further financial breaks.

Don't know about Adelaide but this would get you a decent 3 bed house in many areas of suburban Melbourne.

BB

Re: Cost of Living in different states
 

It's possible to get a decent 3 bed house in SA from $300 per week. Depends which area's you are looking for really

Rates will vary by suburb, but if you search for rentals on domain.com.au it will tell you the approximate yearly rates.

Gas/Electric/phone etc will depend on size of house and usage. Mine are approx $450 electric - $150 Gas - $90 Phone/internet - $49 for mobile (part needed for work so some is tax deductible, otherwise I would have gone for a $29 contract instead). I also spend about $300 per year on firewood for the woodburner.

Re: Cost of Living in different states
 

No rates when renting. The Landlord pays those.

Re: Cost of Living in different states
 

Good point!! I am so used to paying them, I forgot :lol:

Re: Cost of Living in different states
 

Thanks for the replies

The $100k is a single income, yes we have 2 children. What should the monthly take home pay be?

Re: Cost of Living in different states
 

$6,129.17 per month
http://www.taxcalc.com.au/
That's without superannuation. You should make sure that it's $100k + super and not $100k including super. Superannuation (pension fund) contribution is compulsory and paid by the employer. It's a minimum of 9% of your annual salary.

You should be entitled to Family Tax Benefit Part B - about $3,500/year. Maybe also FTB Part A but not much on that income.

Re: Cost of Living in different states
 

I agree that you should check out where the available jobs are and what the salary for that job is in that state. My hubby is in IT and received one job offer in Adelaide for 65k and, a few weeks later, several offers in Melbourne for 100+k. Even though Adelaide's housing is cheaper than Melbourne, we would have been significantly worse off had he accepted the first offer based on Adelaides some what cheaper cost of living