Dudlg0

Guys I currently live in Edinburgh and love the place. It has a good quality of life, and beautiful countryside etc. However, im looking for my next move, ideally somewhere warmer with a comparable, if not better standard of living! Hence applying for a job in Sydney:

Salary
My current Edinburgh wage is £53k. It goes pretty far and allows me to have a good standard of living.

How does the following compare:

$120 - $126K p.a. (which includes a base salary of $101,444 - $107,039 p.a., leave loading and up to 17% employer’s contribution to superannuation).

I'm assuming my take home is the base salary divided by 12 after tax, which is a net monthly income of about $6.5k?

Cost of living

I know it depends on what you are eating/drinking and where you are going, but on average, how does it compare?

Location, location!

Where are the good neineighborhoods Sydney, which are in close reach of the university medical school and parks/beaches/nightlife?

Integration
How easy is it to integrate and meet new people? Im 36, I like outdoors activities and socialising etc. I know its a stupid question, but Im assuming the new expat arrivals are of pretty mixed age groups? As all levels of skills are required to support the growing economy.

If i don't make the jump now, I don't think I ever will!

isgraham

Well first off I wouldn't move from Edinburgh to Sydney for that salary it would barely be equal to a London salary at the same level given that Edinburgh is cheaper than London I reckon you will fong yourself quite a lot worse off.

Basically Sydney is far far more expensive than Edinburgh is. You don't need to worry about good neighborhoods because you won't be living in one on that salary although you may be within 10-15 minutes drive of one.

Kiwi-Irish

Hi,
well I have just moved to Sydney from London (which is more expensive I'm sure than Edinburgh), and I was on £52,250. I am earning $75,000 here and that is on a contract, so no holiday pay etc or benefits. So its much less than the double you are expecting. Saying that, its fine, I'm only one person and it is easily affordable for me and in six months I expect to move positions or be promoted, they already said there was scope for that. Most people I have spoken to have had to drop especially when they have got here as you don't have any relevant Australian experience. Don't even expect $120,000+ because it just won't happen.

Saying that, I would never move back now. Living in Australia is worth so much more than the extra money. The lifestyle and weather makes it an incredible place to live. And my money 'will' go up over time, I just have to put up with this initially.

EVERYONE rents here. I know quite a lot of high achievers/good earners and they are all renting. Only the Australians that have grown up here seem to own.

You can live in a good area I am sure, a lot of areas are good. I am in Neutral Bay which is full of yummy mummies and uber middle class, but around the city there are a lot of options.

I wouldn't be put off by negative opinions, I think its great here. You just have to 'go with the flow' and not get too hung-up on money just yet, that will come in time.

You can always go back to Edinburgh if you don't like it. In my opinion? I would say MOVE HERE!

Dudlg0

Thanks for the positive message! You are right, it isn't about the money. The irony is that the position they are offering me is a step up from my current role. Hopefully, the decrease in the disposable income will be made up by the quality of life!

Couple of questions, how much on average are your fixed monthly outgoings? Such as rent, mobile, utilities, rates or council tax etc. Also, how did you find settling into Sydney life, did you just plug into the local expat community?

KJCherokee

just bear in mind that when people say "Sydney" they may include anywhere out to Penrith (50km), Liverpool (30km) or Hornsby (20km) - and those are long distances in peak hour travel!

isgraham

If you enjoy doing outdoor things that don't cost or are after a fantastic life experience then Sydney is fantastic, financially however it sucks. Settling in for me was simple and still have a lot of friends over there that I keep in touch with, funnily enough many are loosing or have lost their jobs and quite a few are moving on either to the US or back to the UK. I guess you could view that as making space for new entrants.

bcworld

I don't think this is good advice...plenty of people achieve 2.5ish (or more) salary multiples in their first Australian jobs. There's no reason not to strive for that if negotiation is an option.

I'm guessing from the OP's post that the position is in the public sector or in a job covered by an EBA...in that case there may not be any wriggle room over the top of the range.

Bermudashorts

Second that. There is always a lot of talk about having to take a step back and salary cuts upon moving and it really isn't a given that everyone has to do that.

OP re the salary on offer, yes you are going to feel noticeably worse off financially in Sydney. But it is a liveable salary for a single person and for the life experience, it may very well be a reasonable trade off for you to make.

Kiwi-Irish

I've not heard of anyone I know getting the equivalent in Sydney in their first job, but good luck to him/her if they can get $120,000. If so, I suggest they get on the first plane out!

And that salary is very high for one person, so they would be considered doing very well.

Kiwi-Irish

I think if you are getting that salary then that's great, especially if its a step-up in your career as well. Awesome. You will love it here, you will have enough money and all will be well. I'm staying with a friend at the moment, so unfortunately can't advise you on living costs. But they are not cheap. I will look for a two-bed to rent in the new year as they work out more economical than a one-bed, and rent the other room out.

Bermudashorts

Hello I am Bermudashorts and my first job in Australia was an increased role and the salary was about 2.5-2.6 times UK equivalent.

Would be considered by who, you surely cannot speak for everyone? This is just your opinion. In my opinion, it is not high but it is liveable. In reality there is no point OP taking any notice of you or me, OP needs to compare to their own current situation and expectations.

Kiwi-Irish

Well I'm from this side of the world originally so have a lot of old school friends, relatives, people in the work place and over 100 is a lot for one person. But yes, its subjective. Depends who you are supporting. I'm only supporting myself

Kiwi-Irish

I met with the agency Robert Walters and had this precise conversation with the head of their department. He actually had to think himself what it should be, but he thought it equivalent to 1.7x, but everyone has a different opinion. There doesn't seem to be any consensus on it anywhere. If the head of RW doesn't know then who does

My friend I'm staying with has been here three years. She said salaries were higher 2-3 years ago, but have dropped lately, I guess maybe due to the GFC.

So I'm clearly getting underpaid, but anyway, for six months it will do then I can find something else or move up in the company.

Bermudashorts

What do you do?

Kiwi-Irish

Project Management support in finance/banking