gidxg03

Firstly let me apologize in advance for posting yet another one of the these lifestyle expectancy questions.

Were in the process of applying for the 136 visa. Hope to hear sometime in the summer now our skills assessment is passed and were about to front end the medicals and police checks. We have considered salary's, cost of living etc during the course of our application (spent hours and hours on the real estate websites too) but we are now looking deeper into this and I'm wondering if anyone can shed some light on whether our pre-conceived thoughts are about right, or way off....

Having looked at jobs and salaries we would be hoping to earn about $50KASD each (I work as a Training Specialist and my wife is a software developer), so we would hope to bring home about $100K per year. Added to which we hope to bring about $200K equity. Were thinking of spending between $300K to $600K for a home and are leaning towards self build as thats what we have done before (at home). We have 1 child who is 7 so we will have to organize schooling (probably Catholic private/public) and some after school care depending on work situation. Were hoping to buy 1 car if public transport will allow the other to travel to and from work.

So with the above figures in mind do you think we be able to afford a decent lifestyle in Melbourne? Were giving up an awful lot to go (as I know most of you are) with good/secure jobs, family etc. But we are hoping for a new life and are willing to give up everything we currently have (at home) to get it.

seanandmaria

I think a similar question to this was aked recently and if i remember rightly 80k was qoated as being the medium amount people needed to live comfortably. I read somewhere recentmy that for every 100k you borrow you pay back around 700 a month, not entirely sure if thats right or not though, of course what you get for your money depends on where/ what you chose to buy.
There seem to be a number of catholic private schools, more in some areas than in others, but i dont think it'd be a problem.
You may find you need 2 cars, though it depends on how far you are from public transport: bus stops/train stations,
Not sure if this helps, good luck

gidxg03

Thanks for the reply. Will have a look to see if I can find that thread. Were hoping to buy/build/rent close to public transport to eliminately the need for 2 cars (hopefully).

Anyone from Melbourne on roughly the same salary willing to offer feedback on lifestyle for a real world prospective?

Thanks again.
David.

OzTennis

Yeah, given that you expect a joint income of roughly $100K can I just say that is approximately 1.5 to 2 teachers salaries so there must be lots of teachers with 1 income supporting a family on less than your projected salaries. So, obviously I reckon it is easily 'do-able'. Public transport is widely available in Melbourne with many train lines, quite a few inner suburbs with tram lines as well and bus services available as well. Living close to a station, tram or bus stop still gives plenty of properties for sale options.

Someone else posted a good Melbourne public transport map, and 2 other maps in this BritVics thread just in case you don't have such maps:

http://z7.invisionfree.com/BritVics/...showtopic=2982

OzTennis

gidxg03

Thanks Oztennis. Always on hand to give good advice on Melbourne

stuckinblighty

im off to melb too .. hopefully

alexleeson

Hi,

My salary is just over $100k and it affords a very nice lifestyle - something I could never have in the UK. My wife doesn't work (and doesn't need to at all). Your joint income will be about the same as this. You may earn more then $50k - but don't forget 9% immediately goes to your superanuations.

I also had about $200k from the sale of home. I spent $30k on getting my household effects here, and setting up our life (including deposit for anew car).

I am in the middle of constructing a large house on a large plot (about 45 minute commute from Melbourne in Bacchus Marsh - lovely place to live with good schools!). The total cost (including add-ons, extras etc) is $475k. But it is a large house with special features - something I could never do in the UK and probably not something you can do in the suburbs in Melbourne. You can get land and home for about $350k - we just went a bit overboard.... :-)

You will need two cars, the average person would take the car and park it
at the station. Don't even think about not having two cars - especially if you both work. The suburbs are big, so you could be any number of km from the nearest public transport.

Living in Australia should be more about work/life balance. I have a senior management role and have hardly done any overtime in my two years here. Hopefully you would be able to work in such a way, you can be home for your child after school. Try get a job with a local company rather than a US one - it makes the world of difference in work culture.

gidxg03

Thanks for that post. That was exactly the information I was looking for. Best of luck with the house build

David.