ManhattenProject

Hi all

I have been offered a sponsorship on a 457 visa for my wife and I. Under the sponsorship we will be Bunbury for 18 months then moving on to melbourne for 18-24 months then finally on to Sydney.
In the UK i currently earn £37000 ($5300) and my wife £1200 ($174.000) now i appreciate the exchange rate is not the thing to gauge this on but i thought i'd give us some numbers to go on.
From what i gather WA is more expensive so moving east is going to leave us better off. I must plan for the worst case scenario that my wife can't find work and we are going to have to survive on minimum $80k. We are trying for kids so the possibility of my wife getting pregnant in the very near future must be considered.
My biggest fear is leaving a comfortable life in the UK to one which we are just surviving in Australia. We have never considered emigrating but this oppurtunity has come out of the blue and we must consider it.
We have no capital/saving to bring with us and this too is a worry to me.
What i'm looking for is a warts and all story from anyone. Please don't hold back and please don't sugar coat this up to be 'living the dream' i burn very easily and this is something that is top of my 'cons' list.
Something which i feel we may miss in the UK is all the free help. Now don't get me wrong i'm not a scounger and we have never claimed benefits and we don't intend to but it is reassuring to know that they are here in the UK if we need then.

Kiwikaye

Hi and welcome to the forum. I assume your figures above should read GBP37,000 = $53,000 (not $5300) and GBP12,000 (not 1200) = 17,400.

You then go on to state that you would be suriving on min. $80,000 - is this your salary? I have to say that, in Melbourne, that would be just "surviving". ATM I am the one working full time and OH is home with the kids (x2) and we're on less than that but we're citizens now so get some family benefits, rent assistance, etc. and could not survive without it.

We made a conscious decision for OH to stay home and we're not on the breadline, but nor are we living the high life. We only run one car and I take public transport to work - OH shops around for groceries, etc. and generally buys what's on special so we keep the food bills reasonably low. It is do-able but its not easy.

Only you can judge what you want out of this move and you have to work out what you'd get out of it versus what you'd be giving up in terms of "the devil you know", and family support, etc. especially if you are planning on starting a family. We had no family in Oz when the kids were born, but we had been living here for a few years by then and it wasn't easy.

As far as the East Coast being more affordable than the Perth, I wouldn't assume that. I've only lived in Melbourne but from what I've read and heard, Sydney is more expensive than Perth and Melbourne overall is probably about the same as Perth (I'm sure those who know more about it will comment).

We currently pay $400 per week rent and that's at the low end for Melbourne for something liveable in a decent suburb with good schools.

Anyway, hope some of that helps - if you want any more info feel free to ask. Good luck with the decision-making.

the troubadour

I wouldn't be leaving a comfortable life in UK to come to WA to live on that amount.
Also you are bound to the employer coming on a 457 for the early years, which is far from ideal if it doesn't work out.

All Australia is expensive,just that WA has maxed out in costs in the past several years. Bunbury is smallish,while ok nothing very special.
Don't expect the East Coast to to much cheaper than WA.

I'd think very carefully if the move is the right one.

Amazulu

Your proposed salary is okay and doable but you may have to sacrifice to a degree. WA can be a bit more expensive than the East Coast but not by much. Also some things in Bunbury will be more expensive than Perth. I'm not a big fan of the town but many like it and it is on the doorstep of SW WA, parts of which are fantastic.

I personally wouldn't come out on a 457 for that money but we're all different

Good luck

Bermudashorts

It is difficult to understand your numbers, but I will presume your current joint income is £49k and you are moving for $80k? If so this will certainly leaving you feeling worse off, so unless coming to Australia is something you have always wanted to do no matter what, this certainly doesn't make much financial sense.

I also agree with the earlier comments on east versus west coast. It could be that a cup of coffee costs more in Perth, but the cost for housing (renting or buying) is significantly higher in Sydney for sure. I would bet it is higher in Melbourne too. Brisbane and Adelaide might be cheaper than Perth however.

eddie007

No mention of leaving family/friends, do you have any?

And the massive culture shock....

They may look like "us", they may talk like "us" but it IS a different culture...

Have you considered these aspects?

verystormy

You have a total income of £157k. Being in WA or even the east coast on $80 will feel very tight. It would be like staying in the UK and dropping your salary down to about £35k. To live in a bit of a pokey small town in the middle of nowhere.

daunted

I live and work in Bunbury. I earn approx $65k a year. I have two teenage kids, a mortgage, dog and cat. We don't have fancy holidays and we are careful at the supermarket but we're doing just fine thanks, much better than in the UK that's for sure!

Depends how much you want it!

ManhattenProject

Off to a flying start there then eh? KiwiKaye's post shows my numbers as they should be, sorry for the confusion.
Thank you for the speedy replies.
How many of you have kids as we are interest on how this impacts on your finances?
It appears my information about WA being a lot more expensive than the East is way off.
One of my biggest concerns next the financial side is the heat. I'm Scottish and skin like a new born baby. I burn very easily. In fact it gets too hot for me during the summer where i live in the South East of England. I expect the heat will cripple me out there. Any input on this?

eddie007

It's a "different" kind of heat... In the uk I ceased to function at 24 degrees C, here I am in jeans and wooly pulley at 24....

And don't be fooled into thinking you're sun safe when it feels cool and is cloudy, you can still burn... You learn to manage it.

keel

Mrs Project

Get your self over here. It's not only about money.

For the majority of poms coming over for the last 60 odd years it's been a drop in the standard of living but about 10 years ago the planets aligned and people came over here with a 3 to 1 exchange rate. This meant somebody could sell their 3 bed ex council house in London for half a million and semi retire over here. Those days have long gone.

Surely most poms (even Jock one's) think of the lifestyle rather than money when they picture life down under.

keel

Bermudashorts

If you really really do not like the heat, then I would have to question the wisdom of moving to Australia. You would acclimatise to a degree and it is easy to avoid burning, factor 30 does wonders for me. But as I say, if this is a huge problem for you, I would not dismiss it lightly. I cannot relate to the "different kind of heat" comment at all. Well other than it is a hotter, muggier and more uncomfortable kind of heat than I ever experienced in the north of England.

Dorothy

I agree. While Bunbury on $80k is doable for a lot of people I wouldn't leave a comfortable life somewhere for it. Especially on a 457.

eddie007

Australia has different sublimates... Perth region tends to be more mediteranian... and it's not too often we get days that are overly muggy and humid... Not like other parts of Australia

Kiwikaye

I agree about the heat. I've got used to it, but we had my mum over to stay for a few weeks in February/March (from NZ) and she really struggled in Melbourne this summer. I burn easily too but seem to have acclimatised after 14 or so years living here. Just don't fall asleep on a St Kilda beach in January like I did in our first year here!

We have two kids and still manage to survive in Melbourne on one wage. Its not easy but it is doable.