Littlebit

Hi

I know this is a wide question but I am desperately trying to figure out how much money I will need to "start off" with when we move to Sydney - we are hoping to love on the central coast and I am looking for the following info:

Rent- I think this any where from $250 to $450 depending on what you want
Water
Electric
Gas
Contents Ins
Health Ins
Food - family of 4
Transport
Council rates

And anything else I have missed....

Would really appreiciate alittle guidance!

Thanks
Sabrina

martin1978

I work in Gosford. Theres some really nice areas up there. Very general rule - if you want nice neighbors avoid 3km of a railway station.

Rent is pretty much what you said. I've seen 4 bed houses for $300. Usually A bit more in Gosford and terrigal.
Water. Free if you live in .sn apartment. $500 or so annually for A house.
Electric $a lot. Ours was $300 last quater . 2 bed apt.
Gas. If you're lucky enough to have it about $400 a year.
Contents ins. $50 a month. Shop around.
Health ins. No idea as I don't deem it necessary.
Food $200 a week minimum.
Transport - varied. You need a car if you live on the CC. Fuel cheaper than UK but everything else is double. Transport pass about $60 a week.
Council rates. Free if you're renting.

Littlebit

Thanks Martin, its around what I thought it would be...did I miss anything? If you dont mind me asking what other bills do you have?

martin1978

No worries.

Unlimited Internet with compulsory phone line rental $50 a month.
Foxtel(sky equivalent. I don't have it as I just use the internet for everything) about $100 a month.
Eating out. Average pub meal is about $25. Drink about $5 for 440ml central coast prices. Can be more though depending on the time of day and week.
I can't think of anything else off the top of my head though I'm sure there's something or I'd have much more disposable income.

Littlebit

Thanks again, I had forgotten about internet usage....wont be able to sykpe without it!

Keep your fingers crossed for me....I want to be there before Christmas!

Bermudashorts

Dont confuse Sydney and the Central Coast, they are not the same thing and whilst the odd person does it, most would not contemplate a commute of this size.

chris955

When we were down that way we stayed on the central coast and went into Sydney a few times but no way would I want to commute that distance, it isn't just the distance but the traffic.

martin1978

I travel from Meadowbank to Somersby 4 days a week driving. I start at 4pm, it takes 55 minutes and is exactly 61km. Travelling home at midnight takes exactly 45 minutes so it really depends on your circumstances. Most people I know who live and work in Sydney have an equally as long commute. And Bermudashorts, given that the F3 is quite busy and the 10 trains between 6-8 are completely full i'd say that there was more than just a few doing it. The benefit is that you can buy a 4 bedroom house with a pool for $300,000

Zen10

I was going to say that - Even Woy Woy to Sydney CBD is only 50 miles. Central Coast is just north of Sydney in Australian terms. My brother commutes longer than this but it really depends on the job/remuneration I suppose. While they are separate places for administrative purposes it's misleading to suggest it's "one or the other" for work/home. Personally I would not commute that as my commuting days are over, but if someone else wants to do it and the pay is right that distance is perfectly possible.

martin1978

I don't actually like the commute much but is a necessary evil at the moment. I went for an interview the other week just 15km away from home in Wetherill Park. It took me over an hour to get there and the same to get back and cost me $10 in tolls for the privelage.

RedT

We're currently thinking about moving to the Shire as the 30 minute train journey from (say) Jannali to Town Hall won't take any longer than we're spending in traffic on the bus back to Glebe! Traffic on the Paramatta Road is insane...

Littlebit

We really want to live on the central coast - if working in Sydney CBD where in the middle would you suggest we look for rental properties that are not too pricy and have good schools as I have a 5 year old?

Bermudashorts

I guess if your working day is 4pm to midnight it helps as you are not going with the traffic. But for the average office / retail / service industry worker, I think it would be very different. If OP is working unsociable hours then I would duly retract my statement.

I have looked into living on Central Coast quite seriously myself during my first year here. The cost of petrol, parking and the journey time in more normal wokring hours, which I believe would be easily double your midnight run, put me off driving.

And the journey to the station, parking up, train journey and then from train station to office at the other end, could easily make this two hours each way door to door depending upon specifics.

So for those reasons I ruled it out. Perhaps the people on the full trains don't do it every day or wish they don't. I don't think full trains would convince me that this is what I want for myself.

Perfectionist

Moving to Sydney from UK family of 3. Our daugter is 5y.o. have been checking the rental properties out online and the prices look insane. We could not see anything decent for less than 800 per week....and we are only looking at 2 bedrooms. not sure where to search for a short term option. Could someone share how you found your short term rental to live somewhere when you first arrived in Sydney and while you were looking for a long-term rental? thank you

carolinephillips

Rental prices over here are high. You would have to move out to the fringes to get lower prices. When we first arrived we had a week in the Travelodge to get paperwork/banks sorted, then moved out to Manly in a holiday let for a month while we hunted for a rental. Decent ones go incredibly quickly and are as rare as hen's teeth under 800 bucks. You have only 15-30 minutes to inspect, and everyone comes at once, so you don't get areal feel for what it is like.
Go with all your documents prepared- proof of income/available funds is good to have, as you won't have a credit rating here to start with. We took a letter from our estate agent to say that we had maintained our property and had paid him promptly, as we had not been renting in the UK. We also took character references, including one from our minister, to show that we were decent, trustworthy folk.
After all that, we still ended up in a rental that was far from ideal, so bought our own house after 6 months as for us, it was cheaper to pay off a mortgage than renting!!

Good luck.