xavito

Hi everyone,
first of all, appologies for not being British but allowed myself to sneak into a British Expat Forum. The reason is that I was looking for useful information about a possibility to move to Oz and always ended up with this valuable paltform
I am living in Dresden, Germany and have a job opportunity to come to Sydney. Sydney, from what I have heard, read and learned from friends living there is very expensive (in fact Ranked #14 worldwide in Mercers Cost of living report 2011, way before Paris, NYC or Londond). And this is what frigthens me a little bit : the high cost of living/ very expensive housing and some other factors like the abolishment of LAFHA in June 2012, etc.
I have been offered 125k AUS $ + car allowance and some relocation expenses. I am seriously wondering, if this is enough, considering that my partner will give up her job here and we will be only on one salary for a while. I have also some financial liabilities that I have to take care of in Germany, so I would appreciate if you could tell me, if today this would let us live a nice and decent lifestyle in Sydney without having to worry financially.
Thanks so much!
Xavito

commonwealth

I think your salary package is fine. Just be prudent in your finances and don't eat out too often!

You could benefit from the high AUD vs EUR exchange rate too.

Bermudashorts

It's ok, nothing flash. But it makes more sense to compare it to your current earnings than asking randoms what they think because we are all different and have different expectations and hopes.

xavito

Nothin flash meaning it's not a lot? My salary here is just below that but I don't want to move over to end up living in a small appartment in the suburbs, because my finances are not right (while here I can live in a 3-bedroom appt., go out often, ect...)

commonwealth

have u done your financial modeling?

there are lots of free outdoor activities in syd if thats what ur after.

isgraham

If your salary is similar and cost of living in Germany is similar or lower than London then you will be worse off on Sydney. That said it is a nice place to live but very expensive. You certainly won't be living the high life on that salary but neither will you be broke.

killerhales

In GBP, I think it's about right that you need around 2.2 times your GBP salary to have similar spending power in Sydney as you do in the UK.

If you convert your euro salary into GBP and then multiply by 2.2 then this will give you a feel for what you would need here to maintain your current purchasing power.

The last poster has it about right "not broke, but no high life". Do you think your partner will be able to get work; then you'll be fine?

commonwealth

pull out a spreadsheet, try forecasting your cash inflows and outflows under 2 scenarios (aud vs eur salaries) and use some sensitivity/scenario analysis.

don't base your decision on funky ratios or generalisations. you need to analyse very carefully.

also note sydney and other australian cities have higher quality of life than london paris or new york as per various international rankings.

commonwealth

And a decent lifestyle in Sydney usually revolves around free outdoorsy stuff.

KJCherokee

I don't know how big Dresden is, but Sydney is a large city (biggest in Australia) and far more spread out than a European city of similar population, and living within 15-30 minutes of the CBD is very expensive - but there is a good suburban train service from most directions into the city and the vast majority live some way out and commute every day.

Is your job in the CBD or one of the suburbs - and if so, which one?

chris955

Just do the 2.2 ratio comparison, if it works our favorably then you will be OK. As everyone has said Sydney is very expensive and some free outdoor activities are only good to a point and wont help your finances.

commonwealth

What a lazy irresponsible method.

chris955

Yeah whatever.

commonwealth

Ask someone who lives/lived in Sydney.

commonwealth

xavito, how long do you intend to live in sydney?