Slagheap

Our daughter is hoping for us to emigrate to Oz. We are just a bit worried if we can manage on our pensions. Anyone can give us some ideas about monthly outgoings. The area we are hoping to go is gold coast, we are planning to buy 2 bedroom small house. Would be grateful for any info.

quoll

I guess it all depends on how big your pensions are - just UK gov pensions then I think you will be struggling as they wont be indexed here just frozen at the rate at which you take them.

We have a combined income of just over $65k from our super and are mortgage free and that is about OK although with rising interest rates and prices I am still not confident that our indexed super will keep us on track. I do go home every year for a month or so and that is a drain on our income so we would certainly be more comfortable if I stayed here but I would be in the mad house so maybe not.

Canberra is pretty expensive so rates around $2k pa, power, water and sewage about 2k (we have solar hot water and wood heating so would be more with aircon/heating/water), groceries around 200 pw (organic and not hunting for bargains), mobile phone for the two of us 80 per month, broadband/tv/landline phone 80 pm, health insurance 250 pm, internet 35 pm, petrol/parking about 30 pw (we dont use the cars much at the mo) rego 650 pa, car insurances 500 pa, home and contents insurance about 900 pa Prescriptions about 60 pm and occasional doctors about 100 a year, dentist about 300 pa (and that is with private health).

Slagheap

Thank you quoll for your info,still trying to find someone from Gold coast to give us better idea, Canberra seems definitely too expensive for us. Thanks again.

quoll

I doubt the Gold Coast would be terribly much cheaper actually - it is the retirement cum tourist village of Australia and things such as power, phones and other utilities are going to be much of a muchness. Rates might be a bit lower and of course you can reduce your food bill with some judicious purchasing and home growing but other things are going to be much the same I'm afraid. It's the cost of housing which makes Canberra so expensive - rents are through the roof here but if you can buy a place then you dont have to worry about that so much.

Good luck with it, Australia is, in general quite an expensive place to be these days especially if you have an income in UK pounds - the currency rate may well change in your favour though, this is an all time high for the dollar against the pound.

ABCDiamond

A large number of Parent Contributory Visa applications are being cancelled, by the applicant, at the moment. Presumably due to the poor exchange rate, and the financial worry of living of a fixed UK income.

If you can afford it now, with todays rates, then, in theory, it can only get better...