Eddy Smirks

Hi. As you'll be on a 457 visa make sure that the policy you have exempts you from the medicare levy surcharge which isn't a given just because you have insurance. I initially took out insurance with iman ($80/month) to allow me to get in to the country and just kept it going thinking I wouldn't have to pay the levy. Come tax time it became apparent that even though it was exactly the same type of cover a PR or citizen would have I still got hit with a $1000 surcharge. When I spoke with iman, I could pay for additional hospital cover which I couldn't technically use but which gave me a letter exempting me from the surcharge. The cost of this additional cover was double what I would pay for the surcharge. Needless to say I canceled the policy there and then. Not sure if the above is the same for all 457 health cover policies but definitely ask the question and do the maths. Eddy

Hi, If you rent you'll find that the water bills are covered already. You can also get pretty good payg mobile Sims for $30 a month - just bring a couple of unlocked phones with you. Think my last electricity bill for a 2 bed unit (no a/c though, just fans) was about $200 a quarter. You might also want to factor in contents insurance. Think mine is about $80 a month with $20k cover including extra bicycle cover. Travel in bris is pretty cheap by public transport (I think). Shouldn't be much more than $35 a week if you live reasonably close as after your 9th journey it's free for the rest of the week by go-card. Good luck! Eddy

Hi, Moved to Oz on a 457 in 2011. I saw it as my only route to getting over here. I might have been able to go PR route but it would have been a protracted process and at the time probably would have taken over a year and a lot of money. There is a risk involved in a 457 when you get to Oz, but it all depends on your own circumstances and the level of risk you're willing to take. It's worked out perfectly for me and hopefully will lead to employer sponsored PR before the year's end. For me there was more risk staying in the UK and trying to get PR from there than there was going for a 457. As others have said, it's a temporary work visa and shouldn't be viewed as anything else however, that's not to say it isn't a great way to come and work in Oz. Just do your homework eddy

Asking prices going up is meaningless if no one is prepared to or can afford to pay the price. It worked when the banks were throwing money around for mortgages and it appeared that the 'dream' of owning your own home was running away from people. These articles are almost suggesting that the average property will increase in value by £52,000 in the next year (£142 x 365) - somehow I didn't think so. Btw we still have the Budget this week and the fallout from the Cyprus debacle. I don't see either of these suddenly turning around the fortunes of the Uk in the next few weeks. eddy

Try http://www.paycalculator.com.au It's pretty accurate (down to the nearest dollar). Don't forget to differentiate between your salary with and without superannuation. eddy

**Ice cream seller says living off choc-ices cheaper than vegetables!!!** It forgets to mention that interest rates are ridiculously low or factor in additional costs for owning a home (insurance, maintenance etc). And as another poster pointed out you'll need to save £sss to even access these mortgages. If they did a like for Iike comparison backed up with real costs then I'd believe it. Perhaps someone with more time on their hands could give that a go. Eddy

Just take your licence to a Department of Transport and Main Roads office, fill in a form, present your UK licence and pay the necessary fee and that's it. At least that's what happens in QLD. You don't trade it in as such as you keep your UK licence however, worth bearing in mind that if your uk photo card expires whilst you're here i believe that's it pretty much gone until you return to the uk and reapply for one with your paper counterpart. My photo card runs out soon and I've decided it's too much hassle (and possibly illegal if i claim i'm residing in the uk when i'm not) to get it renewed when I'm here. eddy

When I opened an account with NAB they gave me a $1000 overdraft. This might help with some short term overspends. Eddy

Hi Jennix, I think (as far as I'm aware and it works for me) you multiply your UK salary directly by 2.2. The reasoning behind it is that it's roughly the difference between the average (or median, or whatever) salaries between the two countries and isn't as skewed by exchange rates. I think it also reflects the historical average exchange rate. I was earning a similar amount that you mentioned in the UK and when I came here I was on about 2.3x as much and it was about right. To be honest though it depends on lots of things: where you are moving from and to (I'd guess Hull to Sydney would be a bit of a shock to the wallet whereas say London to Woop Woop would be less so), how set in your ways you are (if you HAVE to have certain brands they may be more expensive than swapping to something the Ozzies prefer) etc, etc. No regrets on coming to Oz at all :biggrin: I basically weighed up leaving London to live somewhere cheaper in the UK so I could rent my own place instead of being in a houseshare (£580 a month to share with 5 others - ouch!), save for a deposit, start a pension etc. When I thought about it, it would have meant starting afresh no matter where I went. Admittedly I'm 10,000 miles from friends and family instead of a couple of hundred, but I only ever saw family every 6 months or so (they live in Scotland). And here I have my own 2 bed place, I'm 30mins from my front door to my desk and the weather is fantastic - it's deep mid winter here in Brissie and I'm still mooching around in my shorts (albeit with a jumper) - life is sweet :cool: Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to do. Use the 2.2 as a guide and read as much as you can about the place. Oz isn't as expensive as a lot of people say so don't let that freak you out. There's lots of things cheaper here than in the UK and renting may seem expensive but there's no extra's like TV licence, water rates or council tax (in QLD at least). Eddy

As to whether I feel better off, definitely yes. But I lived in london so I could maybe have had a similar improvment by living elsewhere in the UK (but without the nice weather).

I've found the 2.2 to be pretty reasonable in giving a feel for what a figure in £ is in $. Your maths is a little out though. If you earn £35k in the UK to be on a similar wage in Oz you'll need to earn about $75k. I'd say the figure quoted by the recruitmenr company isn't far off that. Eddy

Hi, I've had absolutely no problems with these guys in the last 6 months: http://www.tpg.com.au/products_services/home-phone-bundle/superchat Think I'm on the $59.99 unlimited deal with home phone (still haven't got a phone to use it with yet...). I'm sure when I got my deal I wasn't locked in for 6 or 12 months though which is what it appears to be now. I'd read the fine print first of course. Eddy

Worth mentioning that, in Queensland at least, you don't pay a separate 'council tax' payment if you rent and I believe that if the property you are in doesn't have its own water meter (i.e. a unit in a block) you won't pay separate water rates. Probably not a massive difference, but if you consider you're including those costs in your weekly % it maybe doesn't appear so bad. eddy

Hi, I don't work in mining per se but have worked on a large gas project which is similar in terms of living arrangements and rosters. Having done a couple of 12 hour, 14 day stints I have to admit, yes the extra money it brings in is welcome but I'm glad I didn't go looking for this type of work full time. It is definitely a very tough lifestyle. Imagine your job as it is now, 12 hours a day, 28 days straight and you're in the back end of nowhere. I see a lot of posts on forums from people seemingly desperate to get a job 'in the mines', with hindsight I can't see the attraction especially for less skilled workers. Verystormy's $52k a year quoted for some people could easily be achieved doing admin work in the city - ok you can save a fortune on living expenses working away from home, but I'd assume you'd still have to rent somewhere as a base. eddy