Murray family

Hi there,

Would really appreciate anyone who could list the avarage bills (Elecric, gas, water, phone, TV ect) and extra's like primary school costs ect. Trying to work out cost of living for a family 2 adults and 2 kids 9 & 4 years. So we know how much we can afford for rental property. Hope to be out there around March time. It's like a minefield on the internet !

Kind regards,

Lisa

Bermudashorts

Whilst a mathematical average could always be calculated, most of us only know what we spend and it is irrelevant to anyone else.

Do you know what you will be earning? How does it compare to what you earn now? That is the only comparison that is of any value, not what other people spend.

rinkerdink

^ true.

I've found that halving the $ cost of stuff kind of gives me the approximate £ value of stuff. So by the rinkerdink system if your $ salary isn't equal to or greater than your £ salary ( in pure numbers) you'll feel it. The rinkerdink system should work for most household bills too. I'm northern suburbs Brisbane so fairly local

pome bstrd

family of 4 rental with pool.
rent $ 400
elec $45
water $22
rates $25
one child private school at 15 yrs $115
food on a really big week shop $250
fuel Suzuki swift 1 week $50 local travel
buss fares $20
mobile phone $10 week
foxtel $153 MONTHLY(sky)
toll roads $20

this is all before you go for a pint mind!!!! or anything else. I suggest you both work .... makes life easier

Red_V_Roger

Just to note to original poster...these are all weekly costs!

spouse of scouse

Hi Murray family

As others have suggested, cost of living is very individual according to spending patterns, lifestyle etc. As an example, some ways you could bring the above budget down

• You don't usually pay Council rates in a rental, the owner does that.
• You can send your kids to a state primary school, rather than a private one. Before you rent in any particular area you can check out the primary schools and ask opinions.
• Lots of ways to save on groceries - buy specials, only buy fresh produce that's in season, therefore plentiful and cheaper, buy bulk, be organized and plan the weekly meals, and only buy stuff on that list
• Foxtel is a choice, you don't have to have it
• Check out if you're eligible for a family assistance payment through Department of Human Services
• Check with your/your partner's company to see if they have any salary packaging options, such as novated leases, computers, mobiles.

Just a few ideas. Sorry I can't help with rental costs or particular suburbs, as I live on the other side of Oz

Murray family

Thank you everyone for your comments. I've looked into it a bit more now and the $1.83 to the £1 at the moment has helped me calculate what our cost is going to be around x.

Bermudashorts

How so? The current GBP exchange rate has no bearing on what you will spend on utilities..?

kevinbloomfield

We just had 3 weeks in the UK and it's a lot cheaper to live there than it is in Australia. However, the quality of life in Australia feels a lot better.
The wages in Australia seem a lot higher so the higher cost of living seems to balance out.

Clothes, running a car, groceries and eating out are all cheaper in the UK (by lots). The car especially so, petrol may be a bit cheaper in Australia but everything else is more expensive.

Believe me Australia is an expensive place to live but I wouldn't swap it for the UK

chris955

I definitely agree with your comment about many things being much cheaper here and agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence

Murray family

The exchange rate let's me know how much money I can bring with me to set up, and what rental property I can afford in the first instance. Everything is higher over there, expenses but also wages. The Lifestyle is priceless

kevinbloomfield

I think it balances out after you take into account wages. Personally we are better off here than we were in the UK and talking to friends in the UK (we were there over christmas) we seem to be better off than they are.
The UK is cheap but it feels that way as well, to me it felt like a 3rd world or eastern bloc country compared to Australia.
Thank god we are now back in the warmth and I can wear shorts and tshirts everyday rather than wrapping up in jumpers, coats, long trousers :-)

Mike at Taree

He means that he has been able to convert to units that he is familiar with. For example if you were moving to Waziristan you'd need to convert prices from the Waziristan Dirham to the Aus Dollar to get a handle on what prices are compared to here. Prices such as WZD 3,600,150 for a lamb dopiaza wouldn't convey much information about whether that was good value or not.

cresta57

Yep we just had 7 weeks back in the U.K & I found it extremely cheap by comparison. 10 years ago Australia was a cheap[er] and more viable option. No longer the case in my opinion.
The Sunny Coast is one of those places that are great for a holiday but difficult to find continuous employment. Long term youth unemployment is over 18%, probably because if your going to be out of work you may as well be out of work on the coast as out in the bush. Figures for school leavers are a staggering 44% unable to find work.
Since the end of the housing boom a couple of years ago things have been tougher for tradies. Now they are beginning to talk down the mining boom & here in QLD I know several guys that cannot find employment in the mines any longer. A big shock to be back on their original tradie wages after several years of big mining bucks.
I guess we're lucky to have a mort of < 100k so don't need to earn big bucks. I'm happy to fish & dive here in the sun & wouldn't swap it for the U.K. Besides my kids are in relationships & both have children of their own so we kind of missed the going back boat a few years ago [had we even wanted to] lol.

jane_cornell

That sounds like the average living cost for most families.

I just wanted to clarify that private school at $115/week is at the low-medium end. If you want to send your kids to good private schools, it will cost at least $15,000-$20,000/year.