fnord

Is it just me or are these COL indicators that I see showing how much more expensive London is compared to cities in Oz and NZ just a waste of time?

They all seem to use US$ and so don't take account of earnings relative to expenses at all.

This site seems to have the right idea as it uses PPP to compare:
http://www.yourcalculators.com.au/v1...D/compcost.htm

Its only by country, unfortunately, but seems more accurate to me based on the small amount of research I've done.

Basically it means you need to multiple your UK wage (after tax) by about 1.7 to get how much you should earn in Oz dollars (after tax) to have the same standard of living.

I would be nice to see world rankings based on this sort of data...

sackofspuds

This looks interesting. If you earn £40k here in the UK you need just shy of £30k equivalent in Oz. Even at 2.40 exchange rate that's $72k.

Another interesting index is the Big Mac index - see:
http://www.economist.com/markets/big...ory_id=4065603

The Big Mac index, which we have compiled since 1986, is based on the notion that a currency's price should reflect its purchasing power. According to the late, great economist Rudiger Dornbusch, this idea can be traced back to the Salamanca school in 16th-century Spain. Since then, he wrote, the doctrine of purchasing-power parity (PPP) has been variously seen as a “truism, an empirical regularity or a grossly misleading simplification.�

mightyquinn

Nice post and possibly really encouraging.
mq

Grayling

Encouraging

£40K is not unusual in the UK.

$72K is quite unusual in Australia.

G

NKSK

It's unusual for me

CORKER

If I earned 40k I'd work three days a week...

CORKER

sackofspuds

Yup, all potential migrants really do need to check their potential earning power in Oz very carefully. From the site the OP gave, you'd need to earn in dollars roughly 1.75 times the sterling value.

I have come across too many jobs where the rate was roughly equivalent in sterling and dollars.

All well and good, perhaps, if you're going to Australia to downshift etc and have little or no mortgage, but as I've said before, I'd worry about my kids (to which the answer comes back that they'd have to come back to the UK for x number of years).

micky

And for us

Wife - Registered General Nurse (for 20 years) - 25,000 GBP p.a.
Hubby - Firefighter (3 years) - 22,000 GBP p.a.

wmoore

Depends what you do. I've seen plenty of IT jobs advertised at that kind of level. And seeing as I earn nowhere near £40k here, that could be a huge pay rise for me. Realistically I'd be happy with quite a bit less than that though.

micky

Me, wifey, part time so dont get anywhere near the 25,000 p.a.
Hubby - net pay - 550 GBP fer fortnight - absolute p*sh IMHO.

Sorry folks, no pound sign on ma computer

TTFN Shona x

MrsDagboy

Yeah, but not for someone doing the same job G.

Grayling

You may be right but, from what I have seen, there does not seem to be any logical direct comparison.

ie jobs do not seem to valued the same in both countries it obviously depends on personal circumstances.

I was making a statement about what are often portrayed as the usual wages.

G

MrsDagboy

I think that like for like ie the same job at the same level in both countries, the salaries are often comparable. I think sometimes that the differences lie in people either doing a different job or taking a more junior role when they get here so as to get aussie experience.

Obviously its not always the same, there are hundreds of varaibles, but I do think that in many instances that its the case.

Wasnt there a poll last week or the week before comparing aussie & UK wages for those that have already moved? Did anyone notice the end result of that?

ABCDiamond

The replies to two polls on wages are:

View Poll Results: As a percentage, what is your Oz salary compared to UK? (rate of £1=AUS$2.5)
2 - 7.7% - less than 50%
0 - 0.0% - 50% - 69%
11 - 42.3% - 70% - 89%
8 - 30.8% - 90% - 109%
4 - 15.4% - 110% -130%
1 - 3.9% - more than 130%
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2501617


View Poll Results: Are you happy with wage and lifestyle0 - 0.0% - Main wage is less than $500 pw and we are OK or happy with living standard
0 - 0.0% - Main wage is less than $500 pw and we are Unhappy with living standard
2 - 6.1% - Main wage is $501 to $750 pw and we are OK or happy with living standard
1 - 3.0% - Main wage is $501 to $750 pw and we are Unhappy with living standard
4 - 12.1% - Main wage is $751 to $1000 pw and we are OK or happy with living standard
2 - 6.1% - Main wage is $751 to $1000 pw and we are Unhappy with living standard
6 - 18.2% - Main wage is $1001 to $1250 pw and we are OK or happy with living standard
0 - 0.0% - Main wage is $1001 to $1250 pw and we are Unhappy with living standard
15 - 45.5% - Main wage is over $1250 pw and we are OK or happy with living standard
3 - 9.1% - Main wage is over $1250 pw and we are Unhappy with living standard
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1600450

MartinLuther

Only for Tom Jones