Rossi7

We are planning on going out on a Student Visa to study Horticulture on the GoldCoast, at LoganLea and Alexandra Hills in Jan 09 ( if we can sell the house!) We know about the cost of courses , schooling medicare etc.

Reason for the post is , could anybody give us an idea of day to day costs in the area ? We have looked at rent around the Upper Coomera, Coomera and Helensvale area and the cheapest is around $300 per week.

What other day to day costs should we budget for , is there anything that we would pay for in Oz that we wouldn't pay for here . Also things like Car insurance , is it on a par with here , do you pay car tax etc ? any advice would be great Thanks

Ste

goldchoccycoin

Ok, I pay costs for myself only (no kids) and my budget includes;

1. Car Insurance $450 per year (payable monthly $42 per month roughly) Car is worth about $5K - don't see the point in having expensive car
2. Car Registration $550 per year (payable either 6 months in advance or 12 months in advance)
3. Fuel - about 400 km per fortnight - usually about $75 per fortnight in fuel
4. Health Insurance $100 per month (single policy - family or couples is about double - this is for top cover)
5. Groceries - I spend about $100 per week tops - includes meat and shampoo and stuff like that.
6. Contents Insurance (I rent and pay for renters insurance which is just for my stuff) $145 per year (www.aami.com.au)
7. RACQ cover (Like AA or RAC breakdown cover) I pay for ultra care which is about $160 per year
8. Gas Bill - Hot water and cooking - $100 per quarter for a 2 bed unit with 2 people
9. Electricity - everything else - $150 per quarter for same
10. Car Servicing - twice a year at about $200 per service ($400)
11. Phone and Internet - I have broadband (2GB per month) and a mobile phone package ($550 worth of calls including international) for $80 per month.
12. I also put money aside to cover the extras for dentist, prescriptions and hairdresser etc.

Hope that helps a bit. I expect Kkds cost a fair bit more!

Rossi7

Thanks for taking the time to give me an idea what to expect

Thanks
Ste