Tashaa

Hello everyone. I would very much appreciate any information about the cost of living in Australia. How much does a single person have to earn to afford a mortgage and live comfortably in Australia?

asprilla

Hi Tasha, If I was coming over here as a single person and earning less than $100k, I would not be looking to borrow more than 3x salary. If I was earning $100-$300k, I'd consider borrowing 4x salary or even more.

"Living comfortably" in australia is no different from living comfortably in the uk. Its all down to the individual. $80k might be a great wage for some, and a poor wage for others.

If you can give us more info, you will get far more informed answers.
a) what kind of work will you be in and how much do you expect to earn.
b) what kind of house / apartment do you want to live in.
c) chances are you will be working in a city. what is your max commute time?
d) what is comfortable living to you? having a glass of wine or two with friends at the weekend? taking a foreign holiday twice a year? eating out twice a week at nice restaurants?

without getting a better idea of the above, it'll be tricky to help you!
cheers

Tashaa

Thank you for your prompt reply. I will working as a nurse and looking at moving to Perth. The Salary will prob be about $55000 +. Max commute time 30 mins. On this Salary will i be able to afford a three bedroom house? Eating out once a week and one holiday overseas a year? I look forward to hearing from you. Many Thanks

asprilla

Hi Tashaa,

Unfortunately, I don't think you would be able to afford to purchase a 3 bed house with that salary, unless you had a substantial deposit.

You could consider the following instead:

a) rent a unit
b) rent in shared accommodation
c) look in another town/city and consider renting.

Don't be too disheartened with renting. Its approx half the price of buying a place. You can save that extra money, and put it to good use later.

good luck
Mark

Tashaa

Thank you very much for your help and ideas

spottydog

Certainly here is Sydney eating out is much cheaper than in the UK, I would think Perth would be the same, sometimes I wonder why I cook at home as prices can be so low for good food.

With houses renting is much cheaper than buying anywhere in Australia. But if you want to own your own place then I can understand that (I quite happily pay my mortgage even though selling and renting would save me money). If you haven't owned a property before and are an average first time buyer (which unless you have large savings or a family willing to give you a substantial chunk of money) then I would start by looking at the average first time buyer property rather than a family home.

I would expect your first home to be a 1 or 2 bed unit in a poorer area a bit further out than you wanted, then once you have paid some of your mortgage off and gained some equity you can start looking at moving up to the next rung. We went rough 2 bed flat in cheap part of town (1 average salary, no holidays/treats and lots of DIY), 2 bed house in nicer part of town (2 average salaries plus equity, annual holiday, car) and are currently on 4 bed house (2 higher salaries and lots more equity, pretty much buy what we want).

HTH

Timber Floor Au

Im With Mark and Spot.

55k unless you have a very substantial deposit, and or willing to live in a very run down area, isnt gonna get you a 3 bedder.

In fact, 55k then take off tax, and other contributions, travel, food, bills etc... even rent... isnt really gonna leave much left over for a overseas holiday.

Welcome to the forum, and good luck Ste