ldticp

Hi all, I have been offered a transfer with my current company to Brisbane, they're still working out what they are gonna offer me to go just have a few of questions wonder if some of you would be kind enough to offer some advice.

Realistically from people living down there how much is minimum to live on for a family of 4?

I work in IT, obviously with exchange rates salaries are vastly different but for someone on £30k in Britain what do you think would be a fair offer to work in IT support Brisbane?

Last question any advice on a decent part of the city to live with 2 young kids (3 and 1 years) working in the CBD.

Buzzy--Bee

If you want an equivalent lifestyle to what 30K gets you in the UK you'll need to earn $75K here.

BB

chris955

Yes I was going to say 80k.

PunkDebutante

Hi! My husband works in IT in the CBD Brisbane. We are looking at the suburbs of Red Hill, Fig Tree Pocket, Graceville, Toowong, Indooroopilly, Chapel Hill, The Gap, Ashgrove, Bardon, Kenmore, Taringa, Chelmer and St Lucia. These were chosen based on their commute times into CBD and distance from the schools we want our three girls to attend. There seem to be numerous fantastic suburbs in Brisbane. My husband has been out there for nearly 2 months and absolutely loves it.

bingobob777

No doubt someone will disagree with me but.......

I would rule out Fig Tree Pocket, Chapel Hill and Kenmore if commute to CBD is important. Western Motorway is basically a queue every morning the whole way in, I always laugh when I drive by the "Rocket" bus sitting stationary

PunkDebutante

That it actually quite helpful. My husband has been staying quite central to the CBD and hasn't seen what the commutes are actually like.

odyssey

Chapel Hill is ok? if you leave before 7? I stay there a lot - used to live at Brookfield and drive every day but I used to leave at 10 to 7 then be in work early in the city. I would arrive around 7.30, park the car, in work for 8.

If I left at 7 I would be lucky to get there for 9

fish.01

I also think it depends which city in the uk you have been living in. 30k in a small town up north obviously makes you feel more comfortable than 30k in London for example.

fish.01

The bus commute for my wife from ashgrove varies from 20-30 mins in peak hour depending on which bus number she catches. The other bonus is many different routes converge at the ashgrove village shops so she never bothers with timetables or waits very long which saves a lot more time.

fish.01

IMO you have picked a great set of suburbs to explore. Not just saying that cause mine is on the list...ok, maybe a little

I agree that we hear a few complaints on here from people who live down kenmore way as that end of moggil rd can be bad. I have found in the past that the section of moggil rd I used to use from Indooroopilly to Toowong was usually ok.

ldticp

I'm from Leeds Northern England so yeah the money goes a bit further than London though not as much as you might think.

Thanks for the replies some great info here and very helpful. Basically I have a meeting to discuss the details tomorrow and would rather be armed with the facts.

Though they are helping me fulfill my dream of moving to Australia they are getting a great deal out of me moving also and I want to make sure I get a decent pay off without seeming greedy. The last thing I want is to move there and effectively not have enough money to live on long term, they are asking for a 2 year lock in so I won't leave which I'm fine with but not if they aren't willing to pay me enough to live on.

I am aware that the last people who did a similar job were on $60k but I will be providing much more than they did in terms of experience, training of new staff and getting them out of shit creek on short notice so really hoping for a good bump.

ldticp

Since you mention Toowong, seems quite a reasonable place rent wise and decent houses. Is it reasonable to walk into the CBD from there or would you say bus would be better?

paddyo

Walk? WALK???? Jeez....no one walks in Australia~!! Well, apart from the obvious cultures!

Are you coming as Temp Resident on a 457 Sponsorship or as a Perm Resident? That can affect your take home pay as if you are on a 457 you can ask for LAFHA which gives a Temp Resident more money in their pocket.

JAJ

Read this before you accept any offer:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Corpor...tion-Australia

paddyo

Definitely support the page what JAJ suggests, so much there that I wish I had known about or thought of when I was offered a global position.
It is more suited to a high end position but there are still some aspects that a mid level employee can think about and ask for. They can only say no...right?