avi

Here in the uk hubby is paid £60pw and I gross £24k pa without overtime with overtime I gross around £28k-£30k pa and we have a car mortgage etc but no loans credit cards etc.

Beedubya

I can't remember if it was 2006 or 2007 I was renting in Gymea, I paid $240.00 per week rent for above flat, that same flat was up for rent in July of this year for $380.00 per week.

goldchoccycoin

Recent Brisbane costs for single person in Brisbane;

Rent - 2 bed apartment (2 bath, garage) nice neighbourhood - $280 pw
Utilities - Gas (Hot Water and Cooking) & Electric - $25 pw
Phone/Internet - $25 pw unlimited and inc international calls
Car Costs - Fuel (short commute 30km per day) Insurance, Rego etc. - $55 pw
Groceries $125 pw (inc. toiletries/cleaning)

Total - $485 pw

So everything else is 'living expenses' which is obviously very individual.

At the moment I am saving hard for a house deposit (so I'm not spending on meals out, holidays etc.) and save more than 50% of my take home. I also get mileage allowance for work which is quite generous.

I think $50K for a single person is do-able - not very comfortable for a couple and even with family allowances - very tight if you have kids. I probably wouldn't be looking to live in Brisbane for less than $65K - and that's for renting only - if you want a mortgage I would look for $85K plus on a single wage.

Just my opinion!

ponyrama

Ahhh but you'll have as much moral support as you can take from us lot on here. Its not easy, and not everyone makes it, but its a damn fine adventure and if you find your pot of gold it will be bloody worth it! Good Luck!

Grayling

A lot of the nurses I work with also do casual work in other hospitals. Some have the equivalent of two full time jobs.

Penalty rates can be good.....Sundays pay time and three quarters (in Queensland) so there will probably be opportunities for you to earn a fair bit if you are willing to do the hours and work casually as well as your full time job.

avi

Thanks greyling

I have no problems doing that I do that now at the moment I do my full time job do overtime and also work for Apex an nursing agency so at the moment each week I have 1 early or late shift off so I am absolutly hmmmm tired lol
But it will be worth it especially after this week cos I am doing a course in BSL so I will be able to communicate in sign a lttle which means I will have more skills and be more saleable lol you never know .
So I am not afraid of hard work or long hours just take plenty of ginsing etc every spare penny is saved hehehe I am like a little mizer.

Thanks for all your support and dont worry I will be on when we land cos you are all like new friends and dear old friends who have supported me gotta go now to work hehehe.
Thnaks avril

pomtastic

Mining can be very lucrative but it has it's downsides.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-...ence-epidemic/

Grayling

Casual work also pays around 17% above normal rates......it can be easy to get depending on where you live.

The trick is to get yourself known and be willing to take any casual offer until you can afford to be selective.......the downside is that you will have a lot less time for your family but it can be done. Some of the people I know do a full time shift at one hospital and then another full time shift elsewhere on the same day.

But make no mistake it can be very expensive living herre.

Good luck

pomtastic

Absolutely, add Perth to that list. Australia has changed considerably over the last couple of years. Potential migrants will shun this place unless cashed up already. People who are cashed in UK will probably stay there and will have no reason to come to Aus, they'd be sorted and have the luxury of family and friends surrounding them.

Vash the Stampede

Well said.

The days of cheap housing and favourable exchange rates are long gone. Australia is not an easy ride anymore. Anyone who didn't get onto the Australian property ladder 10 years ago will find it very difficult without huge wads of cash, unless they're prepared to live in one of the smaller capitals.

pomtastic

I have 'huge wads of cash', thanks to buying 8 years ago and nothing clever on my behalf, but can now see it for what it is. Happily renting thanks and no interest in buying here in Perth for the next couple of years at least.

I'll have no problems changing my view if a massive shift happens re interest rates, inflation, migration. For now, I'm on the money and want to share my observations with potential migrants to Perth, just so they have a view of both sides of the coin. It's all too easy finding the property die hards out there.

chocciecake

what are FTB payments???

Beedubya

Family Tax Benefit?

chocciecake

ah ha! yes, i googled it, and realised we may just be in fr a windfall!
dh earns his income in pounds, which has tanked ,so his wage now looks less grand than it once did, and we have claimed nothing from centrelink at all, didn't even think of it, and we have been back in the country for 18mths...
does anyone know how long it takes from lodging a claim, to having it come thru?
we are going to leave the country again in march.would we have enough time to back claim before we leave

ABCDiamond

I agree, but then, when you buy a new one, and come to sell it secondhand, the price isn't a shock, it is a pleasure

it's swings and roundabouts