Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Ok this is my situation at the moment. Currently waiting for an offer for sponsorship to OZ. Had telephone Interviews and all going well. If I get an offer I will have to be working out of sydney and wages will be 65K Aus dollars. I will ask to get a PR visa because of the schooling fees (4.5k each a year in NSW only). I have 3 children ages 1, 5 & 7. My wife will stay at home.

Can we live on this sort of money.?? I would love to live near to the coast (collaroy, Manly etc area) and commute to work, meaning I wouldn't need to get a car straight away or should I look to go more inland for cheaper rent and get a car with the money I save on rent.

If anyone currently has a life similar to this in OZ can they let me know their thoughts. :cool::cool:

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

From my very limited experience :

The Northern Beaches area of Sydney is one of the most expensive places to live.
$63K wont get you very far if you have to pay for schooling
PR may be different, but again living north of the River and on the coast may be out of your budget.

Look at those areas at www.realestate.com.au and you'll see what i mean

Good Luck

Stu

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Can you live in the uk easily on 30K which is the equivalent?. Personally I think you would struggle in Sydney itself, they say the cost of living is in relation with the uk, cheaper for some things, dearer for others. Obviously Sidney is going to be most expensive compared to other parts of OZ.

Do you have to go to Sydney? or could you go to brisbane which would be cheaper.

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

That will be excuriatingly tight on the Northern Beaches with a wife and 3 kids... Rent for a 3 bed semi will be $30k ish pa after tax... :eek:

Think you need to go inland some way... or go somewhere other than Sydney on that money... Central coast is great and a lot more bang for your bucks as far as homes go...

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Hello there. I am afraid I would have to say that the money is not enough. I have now been hear 3 weeks. My husband has been transferred out here on $185K pa, and even on that, I think we will struggle to have a house as nice as we did in the UK. Also, we have no children to provide for. It is not cheap. We have secured a 3 bed semi detached house for $750 per week in the suburb of North Ryde. From what I have seen of the food shopping, I would say it is more expensive than the UK. Also, I have yet to find cheap clothes shops, the likes of Matalan and Primark (they could still exist, maybe I have not found them yet!). Good luck with what you decide

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Hi

Just to add that even on a PR visa there are still costs for school to be considered, our term bill usually hits around $200 and our annual contribution to materials was $330 this year, so with 4 terms and two children of school age you are going to have to factor in those costs too. State subsidised pre school is around $50 a day, day care around $80.

Other things to bare in mind is that nappies and formula are more expensive here, clothes are also more expensive and food is certainly not as cheap in some places.

I live in the northern beaches and rents are higher here but so is the demand, so there is less to choose from.

Don't be too discouraged though, if you look to the west or north western suburbs you might find somewhere more affordable, but if you are keen on the North of Sydney then I would try and get a clear of idea of your costs so there are no shocks in store.

Good luck

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Income of $185,000 pa and you will struggle as a couple??? :blink:

Tell me this was a typo??! :rofl:


To the OP - $65k may well be a bit unrealistic if you want to live close to where you work (assuming this is near the CBD) with a family of 5.
Check the housing websites www.domain.com.au etc as well as www.131500.info for public transport options to/from possible locations.

Good luck
Steve

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

$65K is on the low side for sure...but two people not being able to live on $185K ... I think your taking the mick, or your finger slipped on the '1'

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

I don't usually talk about money but I'm going to jump to Helen's defence here.

If you don't have a huge wad to put down on a property (as we don't) and if you need to be in one of the big cities for work (as we do), it is easy to see where that amount of money will go. I've done calculations galore and our life will have to change quite drastically. I'm not talking of having 5 holidays a year instead of 6, either. :lol:

One of our reasons for moving from our current location is to be able to buy something we'd like to live in, rather than a shoebox where we are now, and we think we'd need a mortgage of at least a grand a week.

Because of this we very nearly turned down the offer, which is similar to Helen's, but WTF, maybe it's time I got back to work too. :)

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Agreed - Having had a nice small mortgage in the UK that we never worried about even when interest rates changd, the thought of the small deposit we have against what the weekly payments on a mortgage in Sydney will be is pretty worrying - but at least its not dead money like the rent we pay now.

We'll certainly have to adjust a bit when we buy instead of rent.

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Actually I disagree, I think $185k is plenty for a decent lifestyle in Sydney. I am coming over on a $120k 457 visa and even with financial obligations in UK to keep up I have worked out a decent lifestyle can be had on the Northern Beaches. Yes I will have LAFHA to reduce my tax bill but as a one child family we will def have a good standard of living. For a couple with no kids on $185 they will have a good standard of living, and anyway, who shops at Matalan and Primark through choice?? :sneaky:

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

I'm just in the interview process for a job in Sydney and am interested in what people are saying on this thread. What do people think would buy a nice lifestyle in a good area of north/west Sydney? I have one child (aged 12) and a wife with intentions of becoming a woman of leaisure to support.
The job would be in CBD so I'd have to factor travel costs into the equation too.

Also what is LAFHA?

Karl

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

You're welcome to disagree, Paddyo, but you're not there yet.

I know a couple that moved to Sydney from Singapore a couple of years ago (he is a Melbourne Aussie) and they were shocked at how little they could save. They were planning a family and ended up coming back as soon as they could.

We are going on a 457 for speed but will go for PR asap so lose the LAFHA. We figure it's worth it. We are hoping the salary sacrificing helps a little, especially with a car.

I'd be happy to share my calcs with you if you PM me.

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Karl, it's a Living Away From Home Allowance; you can claim it if you are on a temporary business visa. It helps reduce your tax burden. You should find more info if you search the forum.

Re: Cost of living in Sydney.??
 

Whether you agree with it or not, living in Sydney CAN be very expensive - it all depends on the sort of lifestyle you expect and or want to put up with with. I am not talking here about SURVIVING I am talking about enjoying a nice lifestyle, for example:


1. Want to live a reasonable commuting distance from the city? But also reasonable distance to the beaches? Then you are looking at $1 million plus for a decent house (i.e. one that doesn't need a mountain or work), assuming a 30% deposit (i.e. an $700k mortgage) then you are looking at mortgage payments of around $60k per annum. Sure you can pay a lot less for a house BUT you lose the "lifestyle".

2. Want to send you children to private school? That $20k per child straight away. Now there are some very good public schools but the private schools are a cut above.

3. Cars, shopping entertainment etc. $3k per month?


How does $185k gross sound now?