Ph-UK-Au

Hi, I am a newbie here. We are a family of 4, (kids 9yo,6yo, me a stay at home mum, and hubby. He's a Sr. Management Consultant earning £81,000K + benefits (co. car, phone, flexben etc) in London and is being offered a job under visa subclass457 to WA. He is being offered AUD130K + 9% LAFHA- that's it. They will shoulder the airfare, shipping, and the first 4 weeks of car rental and accommodation but other than that no other regular perks. Doing the maths we find it as a paycut. But we are not so sure on how to really look at it- as there's some differences between the cost of living here and WA(somehow heard there's no diff, but not too sure), the tax deduction would be 3% lower in there compared to here, right? But before we either bite the bullet or dismiss it completely, we would really like to know if such an offer would be liveable in there. If we do move we see it as no turning back, as that would mean he would have a gap in his UK experience which wouldn't make it a good bargaining point.

We hinted that we prefer an ENS visa but as I've been reading about it, companies and the applicant have to pass through a convoluted process and most companies really sponsor via 457 since it's the quickest way to go. We have already been asked when is the earliest time we could come over and cautiously said if this pushes through it would be around end July when the kids' school year is completed. I've called up AU Medicare and they say as there is reciprocity agreement we will have limited access to benefits (but no free meds to the kids- just the basic scheme that they offer). I've called up the department of educ of WA and he says kids need not pay international fees just the regular miscellaneous fees (books, uniform, etc).

Please, we want to know if the £130K is enough for us to have a good comfortable life (while renting for awhile, since we don't want to sell property in UK- everyone knows it's not the best of times to sell) with some possible savings still? We don't really know what other benefits AU offers nor fees we have to pay as a non-PR, can someone please advise us on that? How will the superannuation affect the gross income?

Thanks. This forum is of big help and giving us a crush course on Migration to AU101.
Cheers,
Ph-UK-Au

deb68

Depends on your lifestyle choices in the future?
Might be a pay cut, but do you have wall to wall beaches and a sky that only god painted?
I earrn a lot less than that and we are very happy, one thing this country is not, and that is london
Sounds to me that it's the money thats more important and not the life style which you create wether you have squidzillions falling out your pockets or just a smile and a full belly

Lois1

since we don't want to sell property in UK- everyone knows it's not the best of times to sell
Hi, i'm afraid i cant really help you on many points, sure there will someone along later who can tho.

We have recently got your visa and although we dont intend to go until next year, we spoke with estate agent regarding putting the property on the market now or later. Although no-one has a crystal ball, he felt that we would get more for it now than in 2 years time! He said they have had a good start to the year, better than expected and that he forsees prices dropping off again quiet a bit towards the end of this year. I trust this guys judgement, we have had alot of dealing with him over the past 10 years or so, and although i wouldnt but him in the "friend" bracket, its is certainly not such strict business/client relationship. Of course, i don know where in the UK you are from and if its a different situation where you live. But it might be worth speaking with a couple of local agents to get their views. Would you rent it out here otherwise?

I guess if your unsure, its handy to keep it, but if you want to commit to the move 100% and say you dont plan to go back, then it might give you the extra capital you want/need?

Vegemite Kids

Sorry to be the one to tell you but $130k +9% LAFHA is in no way comparable to GBP81K +benefits and Perth is expensive to live. If you want the same standard of living and disposable income in Perth as you have in the UK you wont get it on that deal.

He would need at least $200k in my opinion for it to be a comparable deal. Management consultants generally dont get paid that highly here in Perth. Sorry.

ETA: thats not to say you can't have a good life here in Perth on $130k (or even on less) cos you can and the majority do, but if you're used to a UK standard of GBP81k +benefits then OZ wont feel as good. Hope that makes sense.

Ph-UK-Au

Thanks for the replies and insights. They are much valued. As mentioned, we know that there's a discrepancy on the two salaries, but as you guys did say it's doable and we'll be ok- the option then is still open. We are on the stage of weighing things out as the offer is already in black and white- so it awaits hubby's John Hancock on it. We honestly need info on how to compute for the take home after all deductions, w/c we have no idea to work out at this time- from there we'd be able to compute and adjust the other expenses and see if there would indeed be any savings.

We are considering to let the house in East Anglia for the meantime. Lois1, we are hoping that after 2-3 years, the UK economy had turned itself around and be a better market to sell. And by that time we could apply for ENS in-country and then get our own place in there. We want to save the property as an investment for the time being and a source for downpayment eventually.

Deb68, I am sure that if someone who is up for money read what I wrote, he/s might think we are bonkers to even consider- but as he earns that from London, the pay off is, he stays in hotel Mon-Fri and I'm left with the kiddos. Really want a work-life balance and hopefully have him home every night (while the sun is still out and enjoy the wall-to-wall beaches and its white sands. Such a set-up could also possibly start me back to work (sorry, that's quite a sob story).

Thus- we are considering. But if the package they are offering isn't doable and not to give us room for savings for the rainy day--- then that's when we could say probably it's not for us.

Thanks again, and I really hope to read more insights and assistance on getting the ballpark figure on take home (not necessarily the hair-splitting details, just the major deductibles and other considerations please).

Best regards,
Ph-UK-Au

Satch_Boogie

This seems to be a good website for determining take home wages. http://www.paycalculator.com.au/

Ph-UK-Au

Satch_Boogie,

Thanks, that's a pretty straightforward calculator. Quick question, for subclass 457 is medical levy and super calculated exactly that way? According to Medicare, which I called up this morning, we will enjoy "limited" health services under RHC- would that "limited" clause change as we would be paying the levy? The super is our state pension here right?

Thanks. Happy weekend.

Ph-UK-Au

Satch_Boogie

Not sure about your healthcare question. I believe that you have to have private medical care on a 457. But the super is compulsory and is the state pension.

HelenTD

There are several threads on here about the cost of living and Perth is acknowledged to be more expensive than other capital cities. Other posters have talked about using a 2.2 to 2.4 factor in calculating comparable salaries. Other migrants have posted about their UK employer offering them a position in their Australian office where the employer has just used the exchange rate to do the conversion and this just doesn't work. Renting is reasonably priced here compared to buying, but food costs are high, power costs are increasing, fuel is up, health care can use up an enormous amount of money. Private health cover here does not cover all costs, there is a gap between what many health professionals charge and the rebate you receive. For example, our son had to have an MRI scan in January - it cost $330 and there was no rebate. Our youngest child will need dental braces sometime in the next couple of years = thousands. I had a couple of test last week, one was $200, rebate $75, the other test was $300, rebate about $125. You pay for prescriptions for kids here, can be about $18 per item on the prescription.

Some medical centres offer bulk-billing, but may have no vacancies for more patients; other centres you might pay for each visit and there is a gap between the fee and your Medicare rebate (our last GP had a gap of about $65 per visit). Private health cover does not cover everything, so some medical costs get a Medicare rebate, others get a private rebate. By the way, we are on top-of-the-table private health cover (that means that we get maximum benefits). We are with HBF through my OH's work, but there are other providers who might give better cover.

About one third of WA kids go to private schools - more affordable than the UK - but another cost to consider.

Is your husband's job offer here office-based, or does it involve travel? What sort of hours would he have to work?

Lots of people on here write about how they manage on a small income, but they have to live very carefully. On incomes like $130k, some people still struggle, especially if they have a mortgage.

If you search for threads on cost of living (COL), LAFHA, rentals and costs of setting up, you could build a table estimating how much money you would need to live here, something that you can show to the company offering the position. Also look at comparable jobs on websites such as www.seek.com.au - if no salary is advertised, contact the company or agency and ask for more details. There may be much better jobs out there. Use the Coles and Woolworths online shopping to see how much a weekly shop would cost.

Perth is a very family-orientated city, with lots of parks, playgrounds, free activities and great beaches (often too hot to be down there for long, though). Just looking at the map shows you that is it isolated and it does cost a lot of money to get out of WA. Even on a reasonable salary, it can take a lot of effort and resources to save enough money to pay for a family of 4 to return to the UK to see family.

Grayling

That's because it is bonkers

Moving to a lesser paid job on a temporary visa to a place that you may not even like is bonkers in any language

Look at the reality....don't get carried away with the sunshine/beach/'relaxed lifestyle' illusion......it may look nice from a distance but the realities of everyday life may bring you down to earth with an almighty bump

h2oskineil

Agree!!!!

lancastrian48

Amazulu

I love it here and think this is one of the best places in the world to live, but based on what you have posted, I wouldn't make the move.

Vegemite Kids

If you could get that work-life balance in the UK by Hubby giving up his London job and getting one outside London that paid less but that would allow him to be home every night and you going back to work maybe part-time, would you consider it?

If you would consider it then maybe Perth is doable. If you wouldnt consider that scenario in East Anglia, why on earth are you considering it Perth? Perth is more expensive to live in, so less chance for your rainy day savings than the scenario in East Anglia.

If sunshine, heat and beaches are worth the cost then fair enough but IMO thats a high price to pay cos you would also be away from family and friends and day-to-day support. It takes times to rebuild your supportnetwork in a new location and many people find those first few months very hard.

You dont say if you've visited Perth before or are coming 'sight unseen' but Perth can get very very hot in summer and it might not be as much fun as you think during those periods?

Can I ask does the PH part of your name mean Phillipines? Is that part of the reason you are thinking of reducing your lifestyle to come to Perth?

Anyway, good luck and happiness whatever you decide.

VK

Dorothy

Couldn't agree more G. And I'm someone who's relatively content here.