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Hi Can anyone tell me what costs are like to return to the UK compared to moving out in the first place? Has anyone returned and fallen short on money due to a massive difference in the housing costs, shipping and every other cost involved? Just heard that coming back can be very hard for people and want to be able to know that I can do it. My hubby is 100% certain he would not come back, but I am definitely not so sure and worry that I will be stuck. I know I shouldn't be thinking of this because we haven't left yet, (house here in the UK is about to complete). But with 2 kids under 8 and years of household goods coming with us, I need to understand the problems that may arise. Thanks Sarah

Hi My husband and I are considering a move to melbourne (as that is where all my dad's family live):wacko::unsure: with our two young children (3 years and 8month), and we are looking at all our options. I am a nurse and he is a chemist so, from what i can see on the occupations in demand, we should both be able to find work ok. The question i want to ask, is how did everyone manage to afford a move down under? I may be assuming wrongly, but i am guessing not everyone who has moved to australia had thousands upon thousands saved, and no negative equity on their house! We have about 10k neg equity on our house - and limited savings. How do people afford the big move!!! Sorry if this is a daft question but we are racking our brains trying to work out how everyone manages to do it!! Thank you for reading! Kate

Been doing the sums and am worried that we can not afford to buy a house. Particularly now I have seen that interest rates in Australia are higher. My husband has been offered a salary of $64000 and I think we'll need to get a mortgage of at least $370000 as we do not have much of a deposit. We have a 19 month old daughter and another on the way, so I will not be able to work for a while. Will we even get a mortgage this big or be able to repay it? Thanks

My husband has been offered a job in Sydney as an ICT manager. Salary hasn't been discussed yet. I have done lots of research to work out what salary my husband should negotiate. I think that a salary of around $150,000 is acceptable to sustain a decent lifestyle in Sydney as it seems to be very expensive over there. Is this amount of money going to make living and working in Sydney possible?? All comments gratefully received, thank you.

A long road!! After waiting nearly 3 years for our visa, we have sold a flat in preparation to go and will have £30,000 to get us started - I dont think we will go!! My husband is a qualified electrician and I am a mum of an 8 year old. My sister already lives in Manly and has a new 10 week old baby. Our plans are to visit in Oct and validate the visa and then move over in March/April 2012. We are still going in October but I have started to look at the cost of living and I really dont think we can afford to go. The cost of living in Sydney is so high even earning around $100,000 it will not cut it. I do realise we want to rent in Manly which is expensive, but if we are going to give up our fab life in the UK we want to live the dream. Maybe we will just have to wait and see if the exchange rate improves and my husband needs to do further training to be classed qualified in Australia so this doesnt help!! All this time and money - gutted x

Hiya I am new to this forum as my husband has just been offered the chance to work in Sydney for a couple of years with the company he works for here in the UK. He has been offered $75000 pa plus possible bonuses. I won't be working and we have a 18 month old daughter. We have been though all the 'should we shouldn't we...' - now its just down to the money!!! I have done a lot of research online but I think the best way is to get those in the know the give me their thoughts..... would we be able to live off one wage comfortably in Sydney? I have seen it is becoming more expensive. Can anyone help??? Would really appreciate it so we can finally decide what to do!! x

Hi All WA'ers, I have had a job offer 457 in wembley, but I understand that this is an expensive area to live in or near. Please help! is there anywhere within 1hours commute (public transport) where myself,wife & 3 kids age 10,8 & 4 can afford to live?? my wage offer is $1200 pw before stoppages the wife could work part time during school hours she has nvqs in childcare. We are from stoke-on-trent so don't live in a posh place, but it is no way the worst either. We live a comfortable yet simple life here so I won't move to an area that is not tidy etc. the size of house in WA is not important to us but good schools, area, amminaties are. A short travel time to beach would be a big bonus. Hope you can give me some suburbs I can researh. Many thanks cobbler

:unsure:I *think* the answer is 'no' but hoping someone might indicate otherwise?! OH has been offered a role in Sydney, working in circular quay, which we're considering. We know Sydney quite well and a few years ago we'd have had our pick of the suburbs...but now? We'd have a budget of c $1million, but for that we'd ideally be looking for a 3 bed detached with a garden....preferably not one of the ramshackle places that are advertised as knock it down and re-build. We'd ideally like to be within 15minutes drive of the beach too as we swim each morning. I think the Eastern suburbs we know are all a 'no', and Manly too. Can anyone suggest anywhere else we should be looking at that would have a commute time of 1hour door to door or less? I think this is a lot to ask now, but 3 years ago it would have been easy peasy :huh:

We have a budget of around $550,000 to $600,000 to buy a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home preferably with a pool or room to put one. Hubby would be working in the CBD and would not want to commute over an hour. We would need to be near good primary and secondary state schools for our two children aged 7 and 11. Are we being realistic? Are there good suburbs with good houses within this budget? We have always thought that we would be going to Brisbane because thats where hubby has family, but it is looking like there will be more and better job oppertunities for him in Sydney (hes an accountant) Melanie x

Hi, we are planning to move to Sydney this autumn. My husband is expecting a salary of about $100.000. I will most likely not work by the time we apply for a mortgage so this is our total. About what sort of mortgage/house price are we likely to be able to afford based on this income?

We have avidly been watching 'Wanted Down Under' on iPlayer and are a little shocked at the cost of living outlined in the 'reality check' section. I guess when we first decided to go through with this application the pound was in a better position and now 'the dream' looks more like an impossibility... The main reason why we want to go to Oz is for the better quality of life and so one of us could stay at home at look after children we hope to have soon. We are now really worried that we won't actually be able to afford this. We are unsure of my partner's salary out there which would be a position in middle office in an investment bank (salary here of £37k). We have seen one position for $60k. If his salary does work out comparable out there, the whole one salary family thing looks like we would be living in poverty. With a half decent tracker mortgage here, we can just about get by on one salary, albeit in a dodgy area whereas rent in two bed places in the Sydney or Melbourne suburbs are almost double what we currently pay here. Scanning through the 'affordable' suburbs in Sydney on Domain yesterday made me think our dream is not going to come true but this still seems contradictory to what we have heard from friends who are actually living out there? Everyone we know in similar jobs out there go on about food and the cost of living being cheaper - why then does everything seem so contradictory? Can anyone reassure us? Anyone else panicking? We wouldn't want a lavish lifestyle really - just some flights home to family every year, food, and ultimately a 3/4 bed house around 45 mins from Sydney/Melbourne's CBDs. The whole point of going was to afford a nice house, in a prettier area with me bringing up a future family- can this happen on one salary of say $65-70? THANK YOU!!

Were newbies, but love this website. We have been here 6.5 years and have had a fab time. We have really made the most of all the opportunities Oz gave us. I spent the first couple of years really homesick but got on with life and we are now further than we would have been if we had stayed in the uk. However and its a big however, we now have a daughter and another one due in 8weeks and last year we had our first home -holiday and absolutely loved it....and something just felt right. We didnt think it would but it planted a very definite seed and we are hoping to move back at the end of the year....moneydependent obviously. The only problem I can see is the housing issue......I just cant get over house prices, rentals seem to be the same as over here but i cant justify moving the family from the whitsundays to a mid-terrace for the same price And believe me I am trying:err: I am feeling the pull now more than ever but looking for reassurance, it will be the right move if we do it, family, scotch eggs, skips, monster munch, proper chinese take away(sorry :laugh:i am pregnant) Cheers Lis

6 months ago i thought we would be going to Oz with at least £60k now the house prices have dropped we have excepted an offer £90k less than what it was valued for in January. So for the time being i will be working just to pay of a loan, tax bill and saving towards our journey to Oz. If we sell our house now, which we have been advised by estate agents and mortgage advisors would be our best offer for a long time, we probably wont have saved enough money to go until 2010. We could probably scrape through on money september next year but with no money for back up. Should we sell our house now or ride it out for 2 years until hopefully house worth more, which would not be fair to our oldest son.(1 of 4 Kids). Cant afford to rent it mortgage is to much to be covered by rent. If ifell straight into a job and had 6 months rent behind us could we afford to do it. Some people have said the cost of living in Oz is cheaper than UK others have said the opposite, whats the truth. When we started this adventure it was like a dream coming true, overnight the housing market has turned it in to a night mare. Can anyone give us reassurance we can move over with nothing :sad:or better still a good joinery or carpentry job on the Gold Coast.

hi all! i'm just sort of wondering what kind of standard of living my family will have in Australia. We're thinking of moving to a suburb near Brisbane and would hope to get a four bed for bout $440,000 dollars (come on exchange rate!!) we would have that mortgage free. have two kids under three, i have uk/oz duel nationality and partner going out on skilled visa as electrician....would he be earning about $50,000 dollars a year??? (guessing!) i'm not planning on working for the next few years.... would we get any child benefits etc? will we be able to survive on partners wage? obviously being mortgage free should help! any advice would be a great help! Thanks

Hi everyone. This forum is really interesting & lively! I have a query, having checked out the 55+ migration rules. How can anyone (or their children on their behalf) guarantee not to be a charge on the state for 10 years? It seems to me to be the killer clause, really. Nobody has a crystal ball! What happens if there is a very expensive and unexpected health issue? Are there insurances people take out? Reciprocal UK NHS arrangements seem to exist for tourists but what about UK migrants? Have I misread the regs?? Would love to hear how this area works out in practice. Best wishes Polly:unsure:

Hi All, In summary our 457 visas have been approved and, if we go, we will leave early January for Sydney. Our dilemma is based around 2 things - having to send home $1500 month to cover outstanding debt here and having to save enough money to allow my wife and children to return home for Xmas next year (non negotiable as we feel so guilty for taking our 2 children away from their grandparents etc) which I believe will mean saving an extra $1000 a month - a total of approximately $2,500. Given that rental will probably cost $1,500, food another $1000 and bills perhaps $500 I reckon that's around $5,500!!! My TFA is $135,000 (inculding super, car and fuel card) with superannuation salary $100,000. I will also be entitled to the LAFHA. Is there anybody out there who knows about these things who could work out how much I would be taking home based on the salary figures etc so that I can see whether we can actually afford to relocate. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Thanks, Craig

HI EVERYONE,THIS IS AN UPDATE TO OUR 'CAN WE AFFORD THIS MOVE' UPDATE.AFTER CAREFULLY CONSIDERING EVERYONES WONDERFUL VIEWS ON WEATHER WE WERE LIKELY TO AFORD MOVING TO ADELAIDE OR NOT,WE HAVE DECIDED TO GO FOR IT ANYWAY.!WE HAVE A GOOD SOLID RELATIONSHIP AND BOTH WANT THE SAME THINGS.WE FEEL WE WILL MAKE IT ANYWHERE AT THE END OF THE DAY.AS LONG AS WE'RE ALL TOGETHER,WE DON'T MIND IF WE HAVE TO WORK LONGER DAYS/EXTRA.WE BOTH WANT THIS SO MUCH.WE'LL JUST HAVE TO CUT BACK.AT MOMENT WE HAVE A BIG MORAGE SWEEZED INTO 16 YEARS SO USE TO NOT SPENDING TOO MUCH!IF IT DOESN'T WORK OUT FOR US,WE CAN ALWAYS COME BACK.YES WILL PROBABLY BE WORSE OFF THAN WE ARE NOW BUT IF WE NEVER TRY IT JUST WOULDN'T FEEL RIGHT NOW.COME TO FAR IN MIND.WOULDN'T FEEL SETTLED NOW.BUT AS I SAID I REALLY BELIEVE WE WILL BE OK AND THAT ITS THE RIGHT MOVE FOR US!THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR HELP EVERYONE,AS USUAL.TRACY & STEVE.XX.:yes:

Hi, Firstly I'm not sure which area of Oz we would move to but vacancies are currently in NSW near Williamtown. Our salaries would be approx $57,000 (I think, is this about right for an aircraft electrician?) and $45,000 (personal assistant). For a joint mortgage what would we be able to afford? Would we be able to buy a house straight away or would we have to rent? How much deposit would be needed for a mortgage? Lots of questions there - hope you can help Many Thanks Debbie & Chris

Hello there My OH and I are into the immi process skilled family sponsored subclass 138. We are having a panic at the moment about our financial situation with regard to buying a house when we eventually get to oz! :shock: Im a primary teacher and himself a landscape gardener. We dont own our own property and have been renting since we came back from our oz backpacking adventure in 2004. We want to live on The Sunshine Coast- Maroochydore area. We would have to take out 100% mortgage as we wouldnt have enough for a deposit. We can stay at the OH family in Brisbane initially until we find jobs etc. Would our occupations provide enough joint income to live in The Sunshine Coast area? :? Any advice would be really helpful! Thanks

I have a pretty good job here, and our mortgage will be paid off in 11 years. We've been looking into moving to Melbourne for a while now. We could sell our house and buy a decent 3 bed bungalow with the equity. In addition my company may have an office in the CBD soon. But looking into it further, with the various emigration fees, stamp duty (gasp - how much??) on houses, cars, loans, heaven knows what else, income tax, health insurance, school costs, dental fees, and the many other ways the government have to squeeze money out of an already tight budget, I really don't think I can do it. How does anyone else manage? We can be quite comfortable in the UK, but it looks like we'd be putting ourselves into debt again for weather-based benefits. Am I getting this out of proportion, or is it really like this? Spock.