nolan8

wow, all the responses on prev threads, blimey i am shocked.....
we have a great chance to move to australia..... here we live on a small salary in a rough area, kids school is 6 miles away.
The average house price to rent in our town is 4.1 around $1800 per month, gas and electric cost over $200 pm food for the average family is $200 per month, our school fees are over $150 per year, that does not incl uniforms, trips, etc etc. Fuel is crazy our local garage is now up to 1.6 per litre and we run two cars
So youall think we are crazy for moving to australia, on what will be a small salary.
maybe we are, however after much long searching we have found rentals cheaper than we have here (detached and in a much nicer area) I can walk kids to school, we can shop the way we shop here (have done online virtual shops each week)
So yep ship our stuff come over with jobs, and bring 15,0000 with us...... or should i listen to all on previous threads and wait till we secure jobs for over 100k and not move unless we have 100k to bring with us... I am amazed that this is the position that all expats have been in

nolan8

yes we may not have a financially better life, but sitting here on our time off and school holidays, looking out the window at the pouring rain is depressing, the weather is by no way the only reason for the move, there are many... we know medicare is expensive, however so is all care in the uk (dentist, prescripts etc etc) childcare here will take up to 15000 out of a salary a year. I have spent many long hours discussing with all my family in Aus who are all in different living situations, and all dont think we will have a prob at all, i asked on this site to get a different opinion and not one based on the fact my family want us back in australia. My family have agreed when over here last year all shocked on the increase of living in the uk, and how salarys are a joke (bills gone up 15% hubby salary just dropped 13%) I am amazed at the negativity from you all that have done the move..... if sooooo bad why do you stay???? are you that unhappy in australia????? do you really think things are cheaper here??? its all relative world over, you live within your means, and make the best of what you have

jad n rich

Not one person has been negative, they are being honest.

Weather here can be harsh as hell and keep you inside far more than any drizzly day in the UK.

Many things are cheaper in the UK, USA, Canada and Asia. Not everything but even the most patriotic aussie will tell you that now.

2 retailers own most of the shopping kingdom, even a qantas airfare can be double what it will cost out of aus than out of the Uk.

Plus the govt targets families who do OK with a raft of taxes and levies to keep the country afloat after the ballsup Rudd made.

Our private health cover will go to $500 a month in july. Thats on top of the medicare levy as well, But we will still pay a huge gap on every surgery, prescription, docs visit, dentist trip. And if we gave up the private health cover they just slap you with another tax penalty.

moneypenny20

It's not a case of being negative, of hating it, of it being bad or wanting to leave. Most of us have been here a fair while and so maybe arrived when the exchange rate was in our favour, property wasn't so high, jobs were easier to find etc etc etc.

It's a case of being honest. People in the past have assumed (and at times were right) that Aus was the land of milk and honey, that they could move over, live like kings on the beach and have a wonderful life. Those days are long gone but occasionally the myth continues. Australia is a frst world country, just as the UK is, therefore we have the same problems, issues, irritants that occur in the UK.

No one wants anyone to move over thinking things will be easier than they will be, that's all. Move over, find the right life for you and you'll be great.

There are also people on here who are miserable, who do want to move back but for various reasons; financial, family etc can't. They make do as best they can but BE is a perfect outlet for them to let off steam without hurting family and friends and getting sick from bottling their problems up.

chris955

Some interesting points you make. You certainly don't have to move to the other side of the world to be closer to your kids school, do you imagine everyone here lives within walking distance ? It just wouldn't be possible.
An average house is 1800 a month, not sure what exchange rate you are using. We have looked at really nice rentals in the SW of England, plenty available for about £500 a month in nice areas. Gas and electric sounds about right, your food bill is certainly cheap compared to here. I wish we only paid 150 a year in school fees, wow. Fuel, can't argue with that.
You are not crazy at all for wanting to come here, for many it works,others struggle.
As as been said the weather here can keep you inside just as much as in the UK. People are just being honest with you, this country isn't what it was even 10 years ago, it has the same issues as anywhere else.

Dorothy

It's not negative, it's honest.

Have you looked at the areas where the rents are cheap? If you look at the REIWA site or Domain www.reiwa.com.au or www.domain.com.au you can look at suburb profiles and see a little of what you're looking into moving into. In Perth rents are cheap in some suburbs for a reason. Believe me, there are some very dodgy areas where you would not want to raise children - you don't even want to be in some of those areas after dark, never mind live there.

And no, personally speaking I am not unhappy in Australia. I have a very good life here, but I make $60k and am married to an engineer who makes double my salary. We live quite comfortably in a house that we own. Our children pay their own ways and are not dependant on us for the most part. And yes, I do think things are cheaper (generally) in the UK.

However, you are determined to come, so I have to ask why you asked for opinions. Were you simply looking for validation for your plan to come here? You did after all ask if people already living here thought you were mad. All we did was give you honest opinions from those of us who actually live here day to day. None of us has any stake in your coming (or not), and frankly, I don't think any of us care all that much whether you come or not.

Like I said in your other thread...Good luck if you do decide to move. You're going to need it.

Beaverstate

There is no such thing as easy street, anywhere.

Penny45

As the others have said, you are just hearing realism from people who are already here. We have an above average salary here but still struggle sometimes. Yes, you can do things for free like beach/parks but do you want to spend every day of the 7 week summer holiday making a picnic and sitting on a beach/going to a national park? My under 16s went to Taronga zoo yesterday - $50 for entry including ferry (and that's with a discount coupon!).
We have top level medical cover but still had to pay $5,000 towards two lots of braces. They showed on a news programme people having to pull their own teeth out as couldn't afford to go to the dentist - not homeless people as you would imagine!
Then there's their friends' parties - $15 absolute minimum for a gift, the list is endless.
It's important to be realistic when you talk about cost of living - it's not all in a little box of rent/car/electric/groceries. There are a lot of middle class people suffering here and putting all those extra things on credit cards (most of my aussie friends actually)
Good luck whatever you decide.

jad n rich

Oh yeah! I can remember with the kids after a couple of years going stark raving mad at the thought of a n o t h e r weekend of BBQ, beach, walk.

I dont even go to BBQ's now, frankly if I never see another cooked snag as long as I live it will be too soon

BadgeIsBack

So...yet another thread where people are off the boil.....and not talking about the land of milk and honey..

I say to newbies on this forum...you should have seen what it was like 10-5 years ago...that might have been the time to do it...

it's still doable....

BBQs. Jad the model around here is that people cook dinner for their friends. Not a paper plate in sight. If it is a BBQ - it's a small gathering and the meat might be done outside and you might sit outside but there is wine and good yakka - you get the picture...

Pollyana

Ah the old question with a million answers! Many of us cannot afford to go back - no savings, no house to sell, if I went back I would have no job, no home, nothing to live on - and unlike some professions I would struggle to find a job- start again at my time? No thanks! Its a case of making the best of it Others would be splitting families up...... Its not as easy as it sounds!

Bermudashorts

You said you had a good life in UK and asked were you mad to move over for $60k salary, with four kids and leaving all your stuff behind. I think people were just commenting on that. It sounds a touch mad to me too at face value, but it is no reflection on how happy I am in Australia or otherwise, mainly because I did not move for $60k with four children in tow.

If you manage on a similar income now, are keen to make the move and all your family are here then just do it. Why did you ask what anyone else thought anyway.

The weather, well I am probably over sensitive as Sydney has had awful weather since just about the day I landed, but I swear the weather here has rendered me a prisoner indoors far more often than it ever did in the UK.

quoll

People couldnt give a toss whether you move or not, that's your gamble to take. If you genuinely believe your lives will be better in Aus then do it but be prepared and take into account all the advice you have received thus far - you will struggle on the amount you have mentioned, it wont be milk and honey and the jury is out about whether it is a "better lifestyle for the kids" - for every one who says it is, there is another who says it is not inherently better. Sure, it would be better if you were comparing with sub Saharan Africa but one first world country is pretty much like any other. Aus has very high levels of youth suicide and youth mental health issues, bullying is rife in schools at all levels so I dont think it is particularly advantageous to grow up in Aus compared with UK, Canada, US or any other first world country - neither, I must add, is it disadvantageous.

Cost of living - sure you can manage on an average income, many people do, but TBH I have no idea how they do it - as an older mortgage free couple with no real expensive vices, running a couple of cars and paying everything on credit card - our cc averaged out at $5k per month (there's your $60k gone before perks like big holidays for example). If you dont have a job then be prepared to be out of work for up to 3 months (some people have been even longer out of work than that) and budget accordingly. Having recently moved to UK, to me, it certainly appears far cheaper in most respects - of course there are always the odd things that make you pause (my DH cant get over the price of turps for brush cleaning for example!!!).

I am guessing your memories are of childhood spent outdoors - not so much in the last 10 years or so - in Canberra for example, we rarely saw kids playing outside and that has changed over the past couple of decades. Nowadays the kids prefer air conditioned or centrally heated comfort, working parents would rather they knew the kids were inside somewhere safe and Aussie kids are just as obese and unfit and wedded to their wiis as in any other first world country.

This is your life and future you are gambling with, not ours. Do what you need to do and weigh up how much you are prepared to lose. Good luck with your decision and if you dont like advice or opinions given in response to your posts, then dont ask for advice/opinions in the first place I guess.

Edited to say - a lot of people would leave if they could but economically, despite this being the best time in aeons to do so, they cant afford it. I was one of the lucky escapees but couldnt have done it a few years ago, that's for sure.

BadgeIsBack

It's only an escape if you are suffering...some of us have nothing to escape from...

That is true. To be honest, I see evidence that the UK is not that cheap either.
I tend to think (now) in some areas, that housing is cheaper, interest rates are at all time low, and some groceries are cheaper and you can get NHS dentistry(if the local man is taking people on). But utils and bills and rates and a lot of other day to day things are still quite expensive and there are lots of things in Australia that are not too bad which people fail to mention. Parking/eating out/car servicing/tradesmen/public transport...its not all bad. Where do you come from, where are you going to...

What sector are you in? Are you in medical health, city/finance?

I reckon:
To migrate now you have to be top flight. Be a middle manager on AUS200k with a good package. Be a business owner. Have a lot of capital. Be able to make things work. You cannot be average. If you are average, prepare to bring over average capital and live averagely. But is average enough - does hot summers and endless BBQs really float your boat. I know a French-Swiss physicist and his wife who love it here because they have brains and lots of interests - whilst lots of Brits are assembling paper plates for BBQs and choosing splashbacks they are out birdwatching and traipsing through mud in all weather actually doing it.

I also say that people who do well are people who make the things they do in Australia work for them - or harness Australia's beaches or lifestyle. So you might be a champion lifesaver/surfer who really does prefer hot weather, short winters and sun and the feel of sand under your feet (I don't). You're a senior executive who is being offered their first step-up CIO/CEO role in Melbourne and Sydney - and boy - they're making it worth your while - I won't mention any names.

I tend to make the mistake that because I couldn't afford to come now on the resouces I had 8 years ago, it's not worth going but of course, I would be 8 years ahead down the UK too...infact, it's possible I might have done better to come now...but I can't really ascertain that.

There are people on this forum who stay because like people in the UK who 'got in early' 20-15 years ago and avoided the last recession, they DO have good lifes - even easy ones. You have to remember that some of us have no mortgages - this was often one of the deal sealers - or have small mortgages and reasonable incomes and are in good health. Some of us don't sweat the small stuff - like supermarkets or not so small stuff - mothers-in-law and what they are saying (or not saying).. we have established careers (travel, good conditions - not a trade union in sight), reasonable CVs, like-minded friends, healthy children born and raised here, links to community - firefighting, bush/mountain search and rescue, choral societies, we admire our friend's old classic cars, go to the theatre, cinema and eat out in Melbourne, cultivate our backyards...grow vines, ski...

it can happen but it all depends on you.

And of course, 2 incomes might do it. And second hand cars.

I have no doubt that people are still coming over and cracking on - but it is not a swan for many. I can't remember the last time I seriously worried about money - as in felt sick to the core - or worried about the future.

But maybe 'we were the lucky ones'. But then there is a generation in the UK who avoided the Second World War and retired on full pensions...were they luckier?

Dorothy

And some do. Just because your life is "perfect" doesn't mean everyone's is.
Part of the difference is that you're outside Melbourne and the OP wants to move to Perth. It's a whole lot more expensive to live on this side than over in Melbourne.