Cost of Living

[njduke]

newbie here have been offered a job in sydney but does anybody know of a good cost of living calculator website have searched but cannot find one.

Also finding it difficult to find furnished apartments is this not the norm in australia??

Any help would be appriciated going out on my own and starting to feel the need for a brown paper bag even though I am excited!!

[Gary Lucas]

One that we've used is near the bottom of the home page at .........http://www.auinfo.com/.
One thing to be aware of is that there are 'Oz' prices and then there's 'Sydney' prices! Now I'm not talking as an expert (we're moving across to Sydney area early next year, so are not even there yet!) but we've spent hours & hours looking into all sorts of cost related stuff and have deduced that Sydney (and outlying areas) are not exactly cheap.
Like many things though, if you shop around you get the good deals, so if the price comparison for example, a bottle of ketchup, was taken from their equivalent of M&S rather than Lidl, you're going to get quite a difference!
It's the house/land prices that worry me a little. I'm hoping that they are levelling off a bit now but maybe someone over in that neck of the woods could give an 'on the ground' opinion?!

[ABCDiamond]

newbie here have been offered a job in sydney but does anybody know of a good cost of living calculator website have searched but cannot find one.

Also finding it difficult to find furnished apartments is this not the norm in australia??

Any help would be appriciated going out on my own and starting to feel the need for a brown paper bag even though I am excited!!

Furnished apartments are NOT the norm here in Australia.

What part of Sydney are you looking at ? Its a big area, many people consider it goes West as far as Penrith. We used to live in Erskine Park area. House prices are not too bad out there, or so our Real Estate agent says, (we are trying to sell a property in St Clair).

[Rico]

Hi

Im moving on my own as well to Sydney. Got a job as well. Bit worried that I meet not meet people over there.

Do you know people already in Sydney?

P.S Thanks for that website for cost of living stuff.... I've been looking for ages.

P.P.S Can you pay extra to get a furnished flat?

[ABCDiamond]

The ones I see in QLD, tend to charge twice as much for furnished as they would for unfurnished, as they are often just short term lets. 2-5 weeks etc.

It may be cheaper to buy some cheap furniture :) eg:
http://www.fantasticfurniture.com.au/packages.asp

People have compared this to renting furniture, and buying these packages can sometimes work out cheaper.

Extra furniture is often useful, if you are moving into a larger property than you had in the UK.

[ABCDiamond]

It's the house/land prices that worry me a little.

Prices in NSW did drop from their peak. But a lot of prices were being unrealistic.

eg: We had a house that valued at $380k in Dec 2002. An agent wanted to market it for $480k in 2004. We said OK, but no buyers for it, they then said it should be $435k as a realistic selling price !!

How many properties were put up for sale at these extortionate prices, just because an agent wanted to do that ?

Prices have dropped since then and ours is now worth about $420k, but is being rented out at $420pw, until we sell it.

[ABCDiamond]

To check on the price of food etc at supermarkets, have a look at:
http://www.homeshop.com.au/category.asp?

Although by shopping around you can get things cheaper :)

eg: Woolworths: Milk Whole 2L = Price $2.67
I get it for $1.79 at my local fruit and veg shop :)

Potatoes can vary between 99c per kilo to $4 p kilo, depending where you buy them, what brand and in what quantity.

Be aware that Australia isn't generally big on "ready made meals", and therefore the prices for these are much higher, due to lack of demand.

[Gary Lucas]

Thanks for that info....specially the bit about the house prices! We are moving over on 16th December and because my job is based at Richmond, we are going to be looking to rent in the Richmond/Windsor area prior to buying. We are hoping that prices will be that bit lower than 'Sydney' prices and it'll be even better if it's generally turning into a buyer's market.

[Marylou]

House prices are quite a bit cheaper in Richmond/Windsor than in the city (Sydney) South Windsor is even cheaper on the whole but not as nice an area. The outlaying places around Richmond are more "properties' i.e. house and room for a horse or two- but very nice.
Good luck you'll get homesick but you'll love it.

[boganbear]

Dont forget Ikea. we got most of our stuff from there as it was nicer and cheaper