Hoping someone has already done this and can give opinion! Mechanics especially!

[Readingfam]

Hi everyone, we are new to this site, just found it while researching oz stuff. Sorry in advance for the essay and multiple questions! But any advice or personal experiences would be gratefully received!

 

I am a light vehicle mechanic, 10+ years of experience. We would like to apply for a state sponsored visa, although the employee sponsored one is tempting as they help with relocation costs etc and there seems to be lots of garages willing to sponsor mechanics. However, we have 2 children and would like to have one more at some point and therefore the instability of the 457 worries me so am definitely leaning towards state sponsorship.

 

We are about to start the process of applying for a visa and we were wondering if anyone has any personal experience or knows of anyone who emigrated over to oz for a job in my salary bracket. Having looked at and researched some jobs, it seems that mechanics get about 50,000-60,000. Although this seems great at first, having read some posts on this site, it seems below average which is weird considering they seem to have such a shortage! My wife is a secondary teacher and I think she would probably get more money if she worked full time and I stayed home with the kids (who are not school age yet) but as we would like another, it seems more logical for me to get started with a career in oz and for her to start teaching again once all the children are at school. So I think I will be the breadwinner for a few years. Are there any mechanics who have been the sole earner in their family? Or any occupation for that matter on that sort of wage? If so, how have you found it? Is it Point blank impossible?

I think we are naturally fairly frugal without even realising it, as my wife frequently points out, she doesn't go to the hairdressers often as she has curly hair (??!!) and when she does she goes to training colleges, we shop at aldi and any clothes are either ebay or primark/supermarket type places. So I don't really think we have an expensive lifestyle at the moment, maybe a few too many take always though!

 

We had our house valued very recently and after fees I think we should walk away with about £90,000 which at the moment is about $150,000 and is obviously a great sum of money to us but I would really like to buy as soon as possible and so would like to use as much of it as poss for a deposit. Would we be able to get a mortgage within the first year or two and would we even be able to get on the property ladder with me as the breadwinner and that sort of deposit? My wife would be happy to get some sort of part time job, maybe a couple of evenings and a Saturday but not sure what the job market is like for part time hours, I know a lot of part time jobs around our area are automatically filled for the 16 year olds. Tutoring is another option.

 

If anyone has had experience of getting by on this sort of money or has friends that have, please so let me know how it's been for you and if any mechanics have a mo to let me know how working as a mechanic in oz is-stress, attitude, bonus and overtime availability, main dealers or smaller garages please feel free to let me know as well. Any info people are willing to give is going to be so helpful.

 

Should also say that we are torn between south oz and Queensland at the mo, and maybe WA too as we have a few contacts in that part.

 

thanks again everyone,

rob and family

[VERYSTORMY]

I don't know how much mechanics earn, but that would be a very low income for a family to try and live on. There was a similar question a few days ago from someone hoping to earn $75k with a family of 5. The consensus was it was not enough - which I agreed with as we are a couple with no children and $75k is the limit at which we can just "survive."

[calNgary]

If you can choose which visa to get, knowing what i know now id definitely go for the Skilled over the sponsorship. Lots of main dealers do sponsor but their rates tend to be a tad less than independent garages.

If you have a skilled visa, Centrelink can top up your earnings with Family benefit,child care etc, this wont happen if your on sponsorship as your classed as a temporary resident. The pay scale you mention is about right, maybe a tad on the low side but many companys take migrants on as casual on a lower rate then when you have proven you can walk the walk ,rates and conditions do tend to get better quickly (or at least this is from our experience with hubby being a mechanic and knowing lots of garages).

 

The area you choose to live would need to be carefully thought out as some States do have a higher cost of living than others. We have been in Brisbane / Gold Coast coming up for 8 years now and have managed perfectly fine on hubbys mechanic income and my part time wage but we do only have a very small mortgage.

Hope this helps a bit

Cal x

[Readingfam]

Thanks for your replies, so if my wife was able to secure part time work that fits in with the children, we might be ok? So difficult to gauge if we will be ok as having read some other posts, I have found people saying that they have managed ok, through budgeting and living quite simple lives but obviously the majority of people feel they need to earn more to make ends meet. The only problem s that I doubt we would have a "small" mortgage based on what we can bring over. Having looked at for example adelaide area, we would have about a 30% deposit based on the real estate websites. I definitely think the skilled visa is going to be the best option for us. Just wished we had done this when we first discussed it, ie before children would've seemed less risky!!

[Readingfam]

The pay scale you mention is about right, maybe a tad on the low side but many companys take migrants on as casual on a lower rate then when you have proven you can walk the walk ,rates and conditions do tend to get better quickly (or at least this is from our experience with hubby being a mechanic and knowing lots of garages)x

 

What sort of wage could we expect once I have established myself in a garage? Are mechanics able to earn over 60,000 if there is an overtime or bonus structure?

[Paul1Perth]

What sort of wage could we expect once I have established myself in a garage? Are mechanics able to earn over 60,000 if there is an overtime or bonus structure?

 

A lot of mechanics work weekends, just like they do in the UK. There is a garage down the road from us that is open Saturday mornings. Me and my son have had work done there, they are a pretty good bunch of guys but you don't catch them there after about 5:00pm and they start at about 8:00am. There are always cars there, waiting to be worked on, so they aren't short of work. They must be making enough to get by without staying till 8:00 at night.

 

Having said that a neighbours son trained as a motorbike mechanic. Loves his bikes and has worked on them since he was at school. I think it was his dream job and he was made up when he got his apprenticeship. However, his brother is a rigger, did a 6 week course or something and was earning loads more then the kid that did the apprenticeship. He quit, did the same course as his brother and been rigging ever since. They are always buying toys, speed boat, jet skis, nice cars.

 

Never know mate, you might get over here as a mechanic and find something else that pays a lot more.:cool:

[calNgary]

What sort of wage could we expect once I have established myself in a garage? Are mechanics able to earn over 60,000 if there is an overtime or bonus structure?

 

It would depend on State / area and job description. With over time and bonus it would be possible to earn a bit over that IF your a good / specialised mechanic.

Also make sure you look into different areas of the State you fancy, for example, higher in QLD (Hervey Bay sort of area) you would probably earn more than somewhere like the Gold Coast or Brisbane that is highly populated.. Sometimes its a tough call and you have to decide if you want the money or the lifestyle and carefully consider both sides of the coin.

 

Cal x

[Readingfam]

Never know mate, you might get over here as a mechanic and find something else that pays a lot more.:cool:

 

Yeah exactly, some sort of mining job would be ideal but won't be holding my breath for that to happen!

[Readingfam]

It would depend on State / area and job description. With over time and bonus it would be possible to earn a bit over that IF your a good / specialised mechanic.

Also make sure you look into different areas of the State you fancy, for example, higher in QLD (Hervey Bay sort of area) you would probably earn more than somewhere like the Gold Coast or Brisbane that is highly populated.. Sometimes its a tough call and you have to decide if you want the money or the lifestyle and carefully consider both sides of the coin.

 

Cal x

 

Ok, il good to know that some garages offer some sort of bonus or overtime. Used to work for a garage that has a great bonus structure but have recently changed garages so we are used to suddenly have less money . Might be worth taking a few long weekends when we get there to explore different areas, although have to settle on a state first! Thanks very much for your advice,

rob

[Vicky1998]

Just thought I'd put give you my opinion on this rob. I've noticed that many people seem to say on this site that it isn't possible to survive on the average or just below average wage in oz, full stop. Or that you need 2 wages coming in at 70,000 each.I do notice that people who think this are always earning more than this and therefore cannot imagine living on less. I'm sure if someone asked if they could live off a salary less than what we have, I would say no or it might be a struggle as I couldn't imagine having to.

 

To reassure you, lm happy to say that My husband earns pretty much the salary you have quoted, he is the sole breadwinner and we get by ok. We aren't extravagant with our spending, like your wife I don't spend a great deal on hair, clothes etc and when we were in the uk, the idea of shopping for clothes in say, Next, was an absolute no no, supermarket and primark for me and although you don't have the variety of discounted stores in oz, you can definitely find places that offer cheaper clothes, hair cuts etc. we shop at aldi, as we did in the uk and that saves us money, I'd say we spend about $120-150 a week on food for family of 5. We probably eat out or have some sort of "luxury" activity such as cinema etc about once a month.

 

If you look up a website that tells you your salary after tax, it will tell you that on the lower salary you have mentioned, you will get about $750 a week. We pay 330 rent and 120 on food. So after rent and food we have about $300 left a week for bills etc. if this was all we got, then yes it would be a struggle I think but maybe just about doable, however,. like others have mentioned, you would be more secure and better off when you get here if you get a perm visa. We get about $700 a fortnight in rent allowance and child benefit so if you include that, after rent and food we actually have $650 left each week for bills and other expenses. One thing I would say, is our children are quite young and not of school age, therefore they don't eat too much or require money of clubs, school uniform etc. once they are all a bit older and at school, I'm sure we will see our expenses increase, but by that point I will be able to get a job as won't need to be at home with the children as much so it should balance itself out.

 

Hope this his helps, it's not impossible or massively stressful living on this wage I don't think, I've never had to debate if I can afford my child's medicine for example and If I know something out of the ordinary is going to be needed to be paid for then we normally have enough to sort this out. Obviously we have had to dip into our savings for some things, for example we went to visit friends in perth a while ago which we paid for from our savings, obviously you won't have the money for things like this using just that salary but to get by day to day I think you will be fine as long as you don't EXPEcT to live the dream of a having a big house with a pool and jetski and lots of meals out etc.

 

if I can help with any other questions, let me know,

Vicky

[Vicky1998]

Should also mention that if you do buy straight away, you won't be entitled to rent allowance which will reduce your money. :-)

[Reena1991]

Just thought I'd put give you my opinion on this rob. I've noticed that many people seem to say on this site that it isn't possible to survive on the average or just below average wage in oz, full stop. Or that you need 2 wages coming in at 70,000 each.I do notice that people who think this are always earning more than this and therefore cannot imagine living on less. I'm sure if someone asked if they could live off a salary less than what we have, I would say no or it might be a struggle as I couldn't imagine having to.

 

To reassure you, lm happy to say that My husband earns pretty much the salary you have quoted, he is the sole breadwinner and we get by ok. We aren't extravagant with our spending, like your wife I don't spend a great deal on hair, clothes etc and when we were in the uk, the idea of shopping for clothes in say, Next, was an absolute no no, supermarket and primark for me and although you don't have the variety of discounted stores in oz, you can definitely find places that offer cheaper clothes, hair cuts etc. we shop at aldi, as we did in the uk and that saves us money, I'd say we spend about $120-150 a week on food for family of 5. We probably eat out or have some sort of "luxury" activity such as cinema etc about once a month.

 

If you look up a website that tells you your salary after tax, it will tell you that on the lower salary you have mentioned, you will get about $750 a week. We pay 330 rent and 120 on food. So after rent and food we have about $300 left a week for bills etc. if this was all we got, then yes it would be a struggle I think but maybe just about doable, however,. like others have mentioned, you would be more secure and better off when you get here if you get a perm visa. We get about $700 a fortnight in rent allowance and child benefit so if you include that, after rent and food we actually have $650 left each week for bills and other expenses. One thing I would say, is our children are quite young and not of school age, therefore they don't eat too much or require money of clubs, school uniform etc. once they are all a bit older and at school, I'm sure we will see our expenses increase, but by that point I will be able to get a job as won't need to be at home with the children as much so it should balance itself out.

 

Hope this his helps, it's not impossible or massively stressful living on this wage I don't think, I've never had to debate if I can afford my child's medicine for example and If I know something out of the ordinary is going to be needed to be paid for then we normally have enough to sort this out. Obviously we have had to dip into our savings for some things, for example we went to visit friends in perth a while ago which we paid for from our savings, obviously you won't have the money for things like this using just that salary but to get by day to day I think you will be fine as long as you don't EXPEcT to live the dream of a having a big house with a pool and jetski and lots of meals out etc.

 

if I can help with any other questions, let me know,

Vicky

 

we are also slightly worried about cost of living and have just received our 190 visa, and the impression we have got from the different poms forums is that we are going to struggle. I never try to include the extra help we should hopefully get when thinking about money but reading how you manage your money I'm a it more hopeful now that we should hopefully be ok if we are careful and don't expect too much!

[Readingfam]

Just thought I'd put give you my opinion on this rob. I've noticed that many people seem to say on this site that it isn't possible to survive on the average or just below average wage in oz, full stop. Or that you need 2 wages coming in at 70,000 each.I do notice that people who think this are always earning more than this and therefore cannot imagine living on less. I'm sure if someone asked if they could live off a salary less than what we have, I would say no or it might be a struggle as I couldn't imagine having to.

 

To reassure you, lm happy to say that My husband earns pretty much the salary you have quoted, he is the sole breadwinner and we get by ok. We aren't extravagant with our spending, like your wife I don't spend a great deal on hair, clothes etc and when we were in the uk, the idea of shopping for clothes in say, Next, was an absolute no no, supermarket and primark for me and although you don't have the variety of discounted stores in oz, you can definitely find places that offer cheaper clothes, hair cuts etc. we shop at aldi, as we did in the uk and that saves us money, I'd say we spend about $120-150 a week on food for family of 5. We probably eat out or have some sort of "luxury" activity such as cinema etc about once a month.

 

If you look up a website that tells you your salary after tax, it will tell you that on the lower salary you have mentioned, you will get about $750 a week. We pay 330 rent and 120 on food. So after rent and food we have about $300 left a week for bills etc. if this was all we got, then yes it would be a struggle I think but maybe just about doable, however,. like others have mentioned, you would be more secure and better off when you get here if you get a perm visa. We get about $700 a fortnight in rent allowance and child benefit so if you include that, after rent and food we actually have $650 left each week for bills and other expenses. One thing I would say, is our children are quite young and not of school age, therefore they don't eat too much or require money of clubs, school uniform etc. once they are all a bit older and at school, I'm sure we will see our expenses increase, but by that point I will be able to get a job as won't need to be at home with the children as much so it should balance itself out.

 

Hope this his helps, it's not impossible or massively stressful living on this wage I don't think, I've never had to debate if I can afford my child's medicine for example and If I know something out of the ordinary is going to be needed to be paid for then we normally have enough to sort this out. Obviously we have had to dip into our savings for some things, for example we went to visit friends in perth a while ago which we paid for from our savings, obviously you won't have the money for things like this using just that salary but to get by day to day I think you will be fine as long as you don't EXPEcT to live the dream of a having a big house with a pool and jetski and lots of meals out etc.

 

if I can help with any other questions, let me know,

Vicky

 

This is really reassuring, we don't expect to live richly in oz with a pool or boat and loads of eating out. Having been out a few times to perth, I know how expensive it can be, but obviously being in holiday mode is very different to actually living day to day life. But the fact that you feel that you are not literally counting and budgeting every penny and worrying about if you can afford essentials is very positive.

 

Rob

[Vicky1998]

Yes it is very different holidaying or even doing a reccie to actually living day to day life but like I said on the salary you're looking at and the help you will get, you won't be living in a big house with a pool or really near to the beach but in my opinion, if you are careful and budget you will be fine and if your OH decides to get a part time job to help you should have some surplus money for savings!

[kabodhi]

Hi, I am not a mechanic, but a panel beater, so pretty much del with the same mindset of managers.

In my trade too, wages are usually advertised between $50 - $60,000 but like back home, you can discuss and try to get what you can out of them. There are a lot of jobs advertised for the motor trade, more jobs than workers so you can usually arrange a better deal. Locally, the beaters jobs are advertised around $60,000 but i am on $73,000, so goes to show that they are willing to pay if the need is great.

 

I have come over on a 457 and looking to change employers in a different area. Its a simple enough process to do so, you just need to find an employer who is registered to sponsor you. If you however are not tied to any particular employer like that, then happy days, your in an excellent position.

 

I am here on my own and $73k suits me fine. I have workmates with family who struggle on the same wages, but like anything, everyone has their own cost of living and what one person thinks is a lot, others will disagree

 

Good Luck

[Ali B]

Teachers pay varies from state to state. Goes up each year till you hit top of scale.

Here's the table for Victoria. (i teach in Melbourne, Victoria) Class sizes are capped at 25 and you teach 75% of the week the rest is planning/marking. Nowhere near the stress of UK schools.

Mechanics do well here tho cost of living has risen hugely and it is an expensive country so people cut back on non-essentials and the car repair industry has been hit like everywhere else.

Buying a 3 bed house in Melbourne would cost anywhere from $400/500k upwards depending on suburb. You'd need 10% deposit plus fees, duty etc. renting is dead money and will at into savings.

 

Please research your city very very carefully. Where do you live in UK? Brisbane Adelaide and Perth have very different vibes.

[jac2011]

Its the same argument in the UK, I have had discussions on here from people who don't believe I can feed my family of 5 for £60-£70 a week including toiletries. But with careful planning and utilising meat sparingly (we eat Quorn several times a week) we have a very healthy diet packed with vegetables and salad and we can easily afford to live off £60-£70 a week. My family also eat large portions. Yet other people stated that they just don't see how this would be possible. I need to save for Australia therefore ever £1 is important. Whilst I usually avoid the cheapest option I certainly don't mind supermarkets own labels or Lidl/Aldi brands. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

We will be getting to Australia with a very small budget (no savings for a deposit for a house) but we are prepared to start out as small as possible, renting as cheaply as possible in order to save for a mortgage. We will have one income a nurse of around $65,000 and without signing up for finance and mobile contracts etc I do believe its doable. I know it wont all land at my feet but with a good year or so of hard work on arrival I think we will be in a much more favourable position and once my youngest starts school 4 months after arriving my husband can start looking for employment.

 

So, don't let some threads put you off. Plenty of people survive on less. If it helps, I avoided Sydney and Perth just due to the increased costs. I love most of Australia but the initial 12 months will be the important factor and therefore we looked at affordability. We are looking at the Northern Gold Coast areas such as Ormeau which are 25 miles north of Surfers Paradise, 30 miles south of Brisbane and 30 mins drive to the beaches. This way there are more employment opportunities in either direction, you are on the train line and the motorway. Some of the schools in this area are brilliant. The private schooling also seems very affordable too. The houses are far lower than the coastal area. We believe we can rent a nice large 4 bed for $400. We aren't after luxury but compared to houses in the UK I still feel it will be superior.

[Guest]

You could probably get by fine on that in Adelaide if you buy in one if the less pricey areas. Or a crappier house in a better suburb that you can do up a bit. $300,000-350,000 for a 3-4 bed house in a decent suburb. Might not be coastal but yeah, can be done. Can get them for less in some suburbs. Or get more house for that price iykwim. Only thing is the work situation, can't comment on that. High school maths and science teachers I am told are in demand here.

 

Perhaps research Adelaide more? Look at southern suburbs carefully for house pricing.

[Xenon4017]

people who don't believe I can feed my family of 5 for £60-£70 a week including toiletries.

 

10 pound a day for 5.

 

2 pound per person per day.

 

Good on you. If you can get by on this budget then you're in for a treat when your finances are in better shape, will they will be given time. Much better to start off thrifty then spend more when you have it, than the other way round.

[Ali B]

Its the same argument in the UK, I have had discussions on here from people who don't believe I can feed my family of 5 for £60-£70 a week including toiletries. But with careful planning and utilising meat sparingly (we eat Quorn several times a week) we have a very healthy diet packed with vegetables and salad and we can easily afford to live off £60-£70 a week. My family also eat large portions. Yet other people stated that they just don't see how this would be possible. I need to save for Australia therefore ever £1 is important. Whilst I usually avoid the cheapest option I certainly don't mind supermarkets own labels or Lidl/Aldi brands. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

We will be getting to Australia with a very small budget (no savings for a deposit for a house) but we are prepared to start out as small as possible, renting as cheaply as possible in order to save for a mortgage. We will have one income a nurse of around $65,000 and without signing up for finance and mobile contracts etc I do believe its doable. I know it wont all land at my feet but with a good year or so of hard work on arrival I think we will be in a much more favourable position and once my youngest starts school 4 months after arriving my husband can start looking for employment.

 

So, don't let some threads put you off. Plenty of people survive on less. If it helps, I avoided Sydney and Perth just due to the increased costs. I love most of Australia but the initial 12 months will be the important factor and therefore we looked at affordability. We are looking at the Northern Gold Coast areas such as Ormeau which are 25 miles north of Surfers Paradise, 30 miles south of Brisbane and 30 mins drive to the beaches. This way there are more employment opportunities in either direction, you are on the train line and the motorway. Some of the schools in this area are brilliant. The private schooling also seems very affordable too. The houses are far lower than the coastal area. We believe we can rent a nice large 4 bed for $400. We aren't after luxury but compared to houses in the UK I still feel it will be superior.

 

If you are having to economise that much why on earth leave stability in UK? Is your life there really that bad? And WHY consider private schools for goodness sake???

[jac2011]

being able to economise that much has not affected our quality of food at all, if anything it has improved. We have had a roast dinner this week, Risotto, pasta bakes with chicken, Curry, Soups, Fajitas and Spaghetti with a vegetable arriabatta sauce. We've had massive packed lunches with salads, freshly baked healthy bread, muesli bars, muffins, fruit etc. We now eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day which we didn't do when we spent what we liked on meals.

 

I actually prefer it now and despite having plenty of money to spend on food, I choose not too. We don't buy cheap brands, we just buy local and choose wisely. We cook from fresh. We don't use salt or anything other than olive oil/virgin olive oil.

 

This, and downsizing from a 4 bedroom detached country house with a huge maintained garden with gardener to a 3 bed terraced newbuild has allowed us to clear all debts and save a minimum of £1000 a month whilst having a foreign holiday each year and several UK breaks. So why wouldn't I choose wisely what I spend my money on?

 

We are going to consider private schools as we believe in their ethos of character building, one of the Lutheran schools we are looking at focus the children towards helping others, considering the outside community, having respect and caring for those around you. I was proud of my school when I grew up and I want my children to be proud of theirs. I know there are good public schools and if I buy a house in an area with a good catchment area I would consider public, however I do not want to be tied to specific areas in order to gain a good school. I would rather look around and choose a house that suits my family.

 

Life in the UK is in no means bad but that's not why I am leaving. I had children young and my husband was not able to go travelling, we just didn't come from those kind of backgrounds. So now over 30, and looking back on life we are emigrating for an adventure, to show the children that the world is a small place. To show them that they can achieve anything they want if they work hard enough. Where we grew up there were no opportunities, no decent careers, you either worked in one of the large insurance companies or DWP or you were on benefits. We didn't want that for the children. We did move away from our hometown 3 years ago and know that not all the UK is like that, but we feel that right now Australia will benefit our family, because we are ready to change as a family and embrace the lifestyle.

 

Thankyou Xenon, too us life is about avoiding consumerism. We don't have Sky TV or even pay the BBC licence fee. We watch Netflix and have been perfectly happy with this for 8 months. We don't buy expensive or named brands. It's not to say we wont in the future, but we have set ourselves a goal and we aim to achieve that. We avoided any extra debt for the past 3 years and have now become debt free which feels amazing and we would like to live a basic life in Australia and buy things slowly to ensure we can remain debt free in Australia.

 

However, despite being a skinflint at the moment - the children have never gone without. They have designer clothes (bought at retail outlet stores) and have had holidays. Its about choice.