Guest Linz75 Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Hi Guys, im looking for lots of info and help on moving to darwin. Sorry if i go on a bit, but hey feel as tho u guys are the experts so off we go,lol. im hopefully coming over in september with my 3 children. I have managed to save around £20,000 for the move and settling in period. when i get there my job will pay $57304.00 PA. i will be starting work immediatly. Where will i go to rent a house, iv looked on real estates, they seem expensive (is this norm), im going to need a cheap little car, where do i get this???????? im not bringing any furniture with me, where can i get decent 2nd hand till i get on my feet. Has anyone ever calculated how much they spent initially when they first arrived. im not looking for luxury (well not yet lol) just somewhere nice for me and my kids to settle, i really want to come over fully prepared financially. Any help or advice on these issues or anything else would be gratefully appreciated. Hope to hear soon guys, many thanks.xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 (edited) Hi Guys, im looking for lots of info and help on moving to darwin. Sorry if i go on a bit, but hey feel as tho u guys are the experts so off we go,lol. im hopefully coming over in september with my 3 children. I have managed to save around £20,000 for the move and settling in period. when i get there my job will pay $57304.00 PA. i will be starting work immediatly. Where will i go to rent a house, iv looked on real estates, they seem expensive (is this norm), im going to need a cheap little car, where do i get this???????? im not bringing any furniture with me, where can i get decent 2nd hand till i get on my feet. Has anyone ever calculated how much they spent initially when they first arrived. im not looking for luxury (well not yet lol) just somewhere nice for me and my kids to settle, i really want to come over fully prepared financially. Any help or advice on these issues or anything else would be gratefully appreciated. Hope to hear soon guys, many thanks.xx Not worth moving to the Darwin for that. Just had a quick squiz and the average wage in 2010 was [TABLE] [TR] [TD] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Just had a quick squiz and the average wage in 2010 was [TABLE] [TR] [TD=align: right]$67,262 [/TD] [TD=align: center] 39.3 [/TD] [TD] All occupations [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Cheers, Bobj. Edited May 2, 2012 by Bobj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4lan Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Hi Linz, I'm not sure as to the exact figures but my wife and I moved here last year and spent roughly what you have saved. Our expenses went on temporary accommodation while we found a rental, a small car (second hand cars are expensive but we decided given the total cost of ownership a new small car was the best choice) several pieces of furniture, living costs for a three or four weeks until I was paid, connections charges/utilities/bills and the tenancy bond to name but a few. Incidentally you should perhaps contact some rental agencies and confirm what you'll need to provide to ensure you'll pass muster when applying to rent a property, which even then doesn't mean you will be accepted (see below comment about scarcity). There are a few used car dealers, independent and those associated with dealerships, I've heard various stories but in the main my advice would be 'buyer beware'. I'm not sure if there are any second hand furniture places to be honest, the information online about local businesses can be 'hit and miss' to say the least so of limited help I'm afraid. That said furniture here new is VERY expensive so I expect used items to reflect this as well, so if you can to ship as much as you can in a container . Even with a wage over 70k (basic house, car, social, entertainment etc.) then you'll be struggling; the cost of living here is VERY high (avg rent 400-700 (dependent on suburb) per week for a 3/4 bed house) and will make a serious dent in your pay every two weeks (rent is particularly high and properties rare, which is only inflating the cost). You'll likely find the cheaper rents will be in suburbs with older housing and possibly less desirable to raise children in. Even if you qualified for family credits which isn't certain (given that there are perquisites such as residency time and visa type not to mention means testing) you could still be pushing it. You've said you're coming over with 3 children but do not mention a partner at all, is it just the 4 of you? If so I would strongly suggest you assess your financials and put serious thought into ensuring you have planned for even the worst contingency, bear in mind that if you have difficulties you are a LONG way from your support network! You may wish to speak to CentreLink as soon as you arrive if not before to see if you qualify for any assistance or find out whether your employer will subsidise your rent (many families can only afford to live here because there rent is paid e.g. Defense Force and Police). It would also mean having to sort everything yourself including bank accounts, renting, car, shopping, schools and buy the furniture/equipment needed for your home. When my wife and I planned our visa application part of the requirements was ensuring we could support ourselves for two years without income after we arrived; the NT government advised that we should have 35k to fund our initial settling and relocation (not including the two years worth of income).. Apologies if I appear to be bombarding you with negatives that is not my intention. I am merely attempting to provide a small example of the reality you will face once you arrive. Darwin and the area is fantastic and we believe it is great for raising kids (although schools have had mixed reviews). Of course everything should work out alright with the right planning, attitude and savings so no dramas ;¬D I hope that helps. 4lan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Can't add anything except good wishes and go for it- life is short and if you want to do something, you do it! will be a big adventure up there, very exotic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janine the party queen Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Darwin is VERY expensive.TBH there is no way I would move with 3 children on the money you are quoting.You have not said where you will be working as this will give us an idea on a suburb that might suit you. Furniture is expensive we do not have any of the cheap furniture stores that other people mention on here ie; ikea,fantastic furniture etc.You are pretty much stuck with Harvey Normans,Le Corneu,Freedom and Jape Homemaker Village. We only have the choice of Coles and Woolworths for shopping.Fruit and veg at the markets is very seasonal. Its OK other people saying " you only live once go for it " this might work in other areas of Oz but will not work up here.Rental and house prices are going through the roof because of the new gas mining project. You also have no choice of power suppliers there is only one ,Power and Water. Now we love living up here but we are both on a good income and our grown up children left home a number of years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Linz75 Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Thank you so much for your honest opinion, im so worried about making my children live on the bread line and them becoming unhappy. Unfortunatley this is my only opportunity of getting out of the uk and into oz. Lots to think about hey.thanks guys.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Julz Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 We moved to Darwin in 2009 with 3 young kids......personally I wouldn't do it again, Darwin isn't like the rest of Australia.....and that was one of the first things an Australian said to me when we arrived there. What visa are you coming across on, if you are not entitled to state schooling fees wil be high and you would not be able to afford it on that salary. Australia on a whole is very expensive, rents in Darwin can be around $1500+ a month, you will spend approx. $300 on food a week and like Janine says new furniture is VERY expensive in Darwin. Good luck in whatever you do but please take on board the advise people give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j9blossom Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 To give another perspective - we have been here nearly 6 weeks now. We brought nothing over with us except a suitcase each of clothes and a few toys for the kids. At this stage I'm not working (but do intend to be soon, for now I'm doing some volunteer work). My husband is on a wage not far different from what yours will be and we are managing. We will get assistance from Centrelink but nothing happens quickly around here and we're still waiting for it all to be processed (I'm told we should get it back-paid anyway). We don't have thousands of dollars still sitting in the bank to keep us going, but we're also not struggling yet either. (and certainly hope not to!) We live in a suburb of Palmerston called Gunn, we pay $470 per week rent (which is pretty good! We're in a nice basic 3 bedroom house, not flash but certainly not at all grotty). We have two school age children and they both go to the nearby primary school. They are happy there and enjoy it and I've had no problems. I've met very friendly locals and have already been invited to things and included in outings. We bought furniture 2nd hand from a website called Gumtree. (http://www.gumtree.com.au - search for Darwin items). The only thing we did buy brand new for ourselves was a mattress! (on sale too which was good) My husband did also find a brand new dining table from Harvey Norman which was significantly marked down due to a few minor scratches as it was a floor model. My hubby also found us a 2nd hand car for a few thousand dollars. It's definitely nothing flash but for now it gets us around. We plan to upgrade it once I'm working and we have more spare $$. Good luck with your move plans! It's lovely up here! A bit muggy at the moment (not entirely 'normal' for this time of the year) but it's so nice to not be have a freezing cold winter! :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janine the party queen Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 J9Blossom,the OP has 3 children and does not mention a partner.I was basing my comment on the facts given and taking into account childcare cost on the wages mentioned.With that in mind factor in utilities and day to day living expenses and I really do not see how on earth she will manage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j9blossom Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 oh sorry Janine :unsure: , I wasn't trying to argue with you or anyone else who had commented - just giving info on our situation so far. I agree, with 3 children (depending on ages) childcare cost (or after school/school holiday costs) won't be cheap. Plus I'm not sure what the deal might be with school fees? I wasn't saying that she 'would' be able to afford it, I was trying to point out that we are 'managing' on a 'not huge' single income at this stage :cool: But yes, it is a huge move to make and if you don't do all of your research and ask plenty of questions first then you may end up making the wrong decision in moving here. You can always go back again but that is more $$ too.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lychee123456 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Hi Linz75 I am also moving to Darwin this year, hopefully July 2012. I am coming with my husband and two children. I am keen to fnd out as much as I can before I get there, so hopefully we may be able to share ideas. Good luck with your move and congratulations, Darwin may not be for everyone but I know its right for me and my family. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Julz Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Hi Linz75 I am also moving to Darwin this year, hopefully July 2012. I am coming with my husband and two children. I am keen to fnd out as much as I can before I get there, so hopefully we may be able to share ideas. Good luck with your move and congratulations, Darwin may not be for everyone but I know its right for me and my family. :biggrin: I said that too before moving to Darwin, good luck with the move, its a good time of year to arrive in Darwin in the dry before the harshness of the buildup and the wet season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest morgdots Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 We moved here 9 weeks ago today , also in the Palmerston area in rosebery surberb, we have 4 kids ranging from 10/11/14 and 17......We all love it bar the eldest! It is expensive but im learning to be savey with the shopping . The markets for fruit and veg can save you a fortune, leaflets come in the door showing all the local supermarket offers and i go between them to get the best prices , i also stock up on regularly used items if they are on offer! W e came with about 25 k euro and easily worked our way through about 20k in our initial set up.....house bond+ 2 weeks in advance 5100$, car 5000$ and its only an 01 .......school uniforms, book packs , subscriptions to kids clubs, mobile phones.... we did get a great deal where if you top up by 50 $ you get 1000$ credit which myself and 2 of my sons have so with 3000$ credit monthly we call home regularly ,my girls is 30$ a month and they get 200$ credit so they can keep in touch with their friends.....so between that and skype i can honestly say i dont miss home, its just like we would have spoken to them at home when we lived 20 km away , in fact we are probably in touch more! There is a second hand furniture place on Stuart Highway, in Winnili just down from John Holland offices, its not offering 5 star stuff but fridges, washing machines, couches, lots of bed frames , its worth a look as you might find a bargin .We got a beautiful queen size bed for our daughter in La Cornu for 500$ and that was upgrading the matress, we use it while we wait for our container and its actually more comfy than my own bed comming,...lol we pay 722 a term for 2 kids in private primary which is very reasonable, the public schools are very good and we tried get them into some but at the tome we were in the CBD looking for houses in Palmerston and the schools are catchment area based , so we were caught and had no choice but to put them where they are which ive no regreats about either! Comming from ireland, we had all the frears about Darwin , crocs, snakes, spiders, bugs, storms, lightening , cyclones..........while of course these are threats there realistically there is nothing to fear! Of course stay away from the sea , but i have experienced more spiders at home than here , we saw one snake because we drove to the outback looking to see something, the lightening is beautiful, the rain Dramatic when it comes and cyclones well i cant comment. The bugs are a pain in the butt, my youngest is eaten alive but as time goes on thats getting easier, they say the blood thins so ur not as attractive to the bugs and they look for fresh meat as such lol. At this moment in time there is absolutly nothing that would make me go home, to wake up , pull ur curtains and think wow, look at that sunrise! No freezing cold galeforce winds......I laughed yesterday when driving and my wee girls said " close the window mam, ur letting the heat in" ...priceless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJS2171 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 (edited) Hi Linz75, I have been through a recruitment process this year and will be moving to Darwin Aug/Sep, I am married and have 4 children,3 are coming with us. I had to do lots of research in the process to prove I had an idea of cost of living as they have stressed to me form the word go it is not a cheap place to live. I did an on-line shop at Coles to compare with what we spend here,I have emailed rental agents as you can send over some ID etc so you are ready to view when you arrive, but like other comments this will not mean you get accepted as rental market is competitive and more than one family will be viewing same home. The cheapest I have seen a 4 bed home for is $550per week, we are looking to need up to $800- $850 per week for the home /lifestyle we are moving for. Second hand cars are relatively expensive, the lowest I saw was $3000 but they are around if you look on Google for second hand cars in Darwin. Here are some websites I used for research: www.expatistan.com/ - you can compare the cost of living with where you live now and Darwin here. Coles Supermarkets www.coles.com.au/ - you can get an idea of food costs and do an on-line shop www.homehound.com.au/ - another property website www.aussiemove.com/ -lots of migration info on tax etc here, but is based on Perth so bear in mind Darwin may be different, but I used this alot to help me calculate tax, estimate household running costs ect look in the cost of living section. Bottom line is I have no savings but a good relocation deal, 4-12 weeks of accommodation support when we arrive, 4 weeks car hire, all visa costs repaid when I arrive and a salary of $83,000AU + incentives, and we can get Medicare on our Visa, but even with this level of support we still feel my husband will need a job for us to manage based on the costs we have for our family size here and what we see as we will need over in Darwin. We all live differently but just do your financial homework carefully. Hope this helps a bit. x Edited June 7, 2012 by AJS2171 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamnRabb Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Hi guys, thanks for all the info above, we are thinking of moving to Darwin also and the above info has been really helpful. What's the cost of electric and gas and things like broadband and phone in Darwin? Is this also as expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j9blossom Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Our average quarterly power bill is $900, we've had one as high as $1,300. I know of others who have regular bills even higher though. I guess it all depends on where you live, how much power you use, running a pool pump, air con, dryer, extra fridge/freezer, etc. Our most recent one was only $670 - this was a final bill for not quite 3 months as we moved house. But it was for more than 2 months, so I'm pretty happy with that one! Am hoping that our bills in our new house (different suburb) won't be too bad. We've just signed up with Telstra for broadband and phoneline and I think our plan (non contract) is around $70 per month? Higher set-up fees (first bill around $350), but the rest should only be around $70. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 I don't know this but I would guess that fresh fruit, veggies etc might be a bit cheaper up there? Also seafood etc. Assuming you shop at the right places of course. I watch the temps up there on our news- always warm and for us it is an exotic faraway place- I loved my one and only visit there, such a friendly town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somi60 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Hi guys, My husband and I are moving to Darwin in March, Hope to find good friends there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narendra singh Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Friends in few months time I am coming along with my wife. Planning to move to Darwin. I am from hospitality industry working as a restaurant manager in India. Worked in London for 4-5 years. I do nat have a job in Darwin or any friends. plz suggest 1) if it's ok to move to Darwin without having a job. 2) how much money we would be needed to bring with us to live there at least 2-3 months. 3) how much a studio or a room will cost us to live in Darwin. 4) are there enough jobs in hotel or restaurant. I know now it's many question but your reply will b very valuable for us to make a decision. Plzz reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narendra singh Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Hi somi, may I plz ask you if you are coming through visa 489 or 190. Are you from India. I am also coming to Darwin along with my wife by end of January. we don't know anyone there so looking forward to make new friends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somi60 Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 (edited) Hi Narendra Singh we are coming to Darwin through visa 489. We don't have job in there too but I think we could find job so soon , just try to be optimistic have you checked gumtree for price of room and apartment ? It can give you an idea about the general price. Also it would be nice for us to have friends in Darwin Edited November 27, 2014 by noworriesmate removed link as per forum rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miacara Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Hello I see these posts are fairly old but my husband has been offered a job in Darwin and we are considering the move. He will go out first then my 2 young children 3 and 5 and myself will follow. I was wondering if anybody could point me in the direction of good primary schools? As we will pick our area depending on the local schools. Any advice would be great. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdalki Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 Guys, Sad to update that my application for 190 nomination to NT is rejected and worst thing is that my occupation is not open in any other state. Am thing of reapplying but agent wants me to wait for 6 months or atleast till july, My occupation is safety inspector, 312611 and reason of rejection is mentioned below: The market research and the consultation with NT employers indicated that your particular skills and experience related are not in line with the NT employers and industry needs. Based on the above factors, your application for sponsorship under the Skilled Nominated visa program has been unsuccessful. Please suggest to process further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmitri Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Hi everyone, I would like to ask a few questions regarding accommodation and preschool. Is it possible to rent a flat prior to our arrival? We are intending to receive a visa in Sept-October, is it possible to register a kid in preschool (4 year old) before visa is granted? How did you find an apartment, through agent or from homeland (online)? We are moving with two kinds (2 and 4 years old), will we have problems with registering them into preschool and childcare. How long does it take? Maybe someone can suggest area for living, where it is safe and calm! Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcsher2015 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hi Linz Did you end up moving to Darwin? Myself and my partner are in WA the past 3 years and contemplating on whether to move up there as we are very bored were we are, we have good jobs but it seems all we do is work and lack any form of social life here, We want to move somewhere thats family friendly and that we can settle and start a family and buy a house at some stage once we got settled in new jobs. Any view and feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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