JamRich87

Can anyone recommend the best places to live for young families. My kids are all school age.

We like Melbourne but the prices are very high, Any nice suburbs?

Cheers

Pollyana

Melbourne is huge! Where are you likely to be working?

quoll

Start at the beginning - where will you be working? What is your budget likely to be? What else do you want from a suburb? Families with kids live all over Melbourne quite successfully (I assume you have the visa sorted?)

Dorothy

I'm looking at moving to Europe. I like Paris but it's expensive. Where's the best place for me and my family?

carcajou

JamRich87, what visa do you have?

the troubadour

Definition of 'nice' might help. Of course 'nice' may come with a very hefty price tag, very hefty indeed. You would need to provide far more information with regards to employment location and desirability. I mean near to water/shops/public transport access/private schools/public schools.


Australia is a very expensive country, Melbourne has been inflating in regards to housing prices, rather substantially in recent times and few can just walk in and decide on location without a lot of ground work.

Pollyana

He doesn't yet - see his other threads, Seems to be something called a Buildings Commissioning Engineer

JamRich87

Sorry for the rather vague post, I forget that Australia is equal in size to a massive chunk of Europe! my apologies.

I don't have my visa yet but my current job role is in high demand all over Australia so it should allow me to live pretty much anywhere. I am in talks with a few companies in Melbourne at the moment. Work locations would be varied, Hospitals, Schools, Offices. I commission and service HVAC Plant/Control systems.

I have heard many good things about Melbourne, A lot of friends have been and recommended it. Ultimately if I'm being honest I just want somewhere where my kids will be happy and have a good quality of life.

Me and my wife's combined salary will be around $155k to start so initially we could afford around $3000 per month rent and then when we buy a home we would be looking around $750k.

I know things are a lot more expensive in Oz, I believe after tax our combined monthly take home pay would be around $9600, Is this enough to live a comfortable life? I hope so!

Schools are a priority for us, our kids are all in Primary school at the moment.

Any advice would be great!

Thanks in advance

spouse of scouse

Here's a good way to get a sense of the scale of Australia

JamRich87

quoll

Don’t worry, there are schools all over Victoria.

Sounds like you expect to get by on two average salaries - that’ll be ok if your wife gets her half, otherwise you could struggle.

Will you have PR or a temporary visa? That’s (a temp visa) a bit of a potential stumbling block in some states as they charge quite significant school fees and, also, dependents of temporary visa holders don’t pick up work so well, especially not career related.

Dorothy

Get a visa first (whether your job is in high demand all across Australia or not is irrelevant if it's not on a list of eligible skills) then worry about things like which suburb, etc.

the troubadour

Although Australia is indeed as massive country in size, most immigrants by far land up in Sydney and Melbourne. So in one sense it is not 'so' big when it comes to immigration options. Brisbane being the main 'other' option, as Perth has declined rapidly in people coming in, post boom.


Hence focusing on two cities, rather makes for a competitive environment. Until a contract is signed and sealed, I'd be wary of the ease of getting into the desired position and the pay quoted is certainly not high for Aussie standards. The cost of living is very high. Of course a lot will depend on how much you repatriate to OZ that will enable you a easier start. In the past UK migrants could buy outright a property in Australia. Those days are rather distant but a hefty deposit would certainly help things alone. But as others have mentioned the work front will be the critical area.

Dorothy

More critical is whether the OP can get a visa.

ianandhelena

Ullapool.