ljruss2013 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Hi all Apologies in advance if this question has already been asked and answered. This is my first post so please bare with me lol With all the horror stories online with it being so expensive to live in Oz I just wanted to see what other peoples thoughts were. We are a couple and a 4 year old looking to move to Melbourne at the end of 2015 with my other halfs work. We are not planning on living in Melbourne itself and are looking into the suburbs for a more family life. I have not got any plans in going to work for the 1st year on arrival maybe even 2 years depending on how quick we settle in. My other half has been given a quick rang of salaries from between $95k a year to $125k a year in it will be discussed soon when they make him an offer. My concern is that from reading online we prob are not budgeting enough for the bare essentials so I was wondering if someone could help and maybe even give me their thoughts to see if the wage my other half will be getting is even liveable for 2 adults and a child. I am budgeting $2000 a month for a rented house 3 bedrooms ??? We are not big drinkers don't go on big nights out don't go on many holidays abroad but would like to buy a house at some point. Our child would be going to a public school. Just because I have seen a lot online about this. We are not big spenders here in the uk and will prob be same in oz. Is our life going to be liveable in oz ??? Thanks in advance for your feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Hi, and welcome to the forum. Have you looked into the question of work visas? Apart from the fact that you must have one, whether it's a temporary (457), provisional (489) or permanent (189, 190 or 186) visa will make something of a difference to how well you'll manage financially as on the first two, you are not eligible for any government family benefits and you also get no assistance with childcare costs if you decide to go back to work. What is your OH's occupation? And where will he be working? If the $95k - $125k doesn't include superannuation, you should be able to manage reasonably well and should be able to save if you're not big spenders. You'll get something reasonable to rent for $2000/month provided you're willing to live well away from the CBD but that could lead to long commute times, particularly if your OH drives to work - Melbourne's traffic is dreadful from most directions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljruss2013 Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 We would be coming to oz on a Subclass 189 permanent. My OH is a sales manager and works from home so not to bad that we don't need to be near the CBD. Not meaning to sound rude but what do you budget on groceries at the moment I am budgeting $1000 a month. Thanks for the help so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevsan Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Might be worth creating an online account with coles etc and put in as best you can your weekly shop, that should give you an idea of grocery costs. What i have done is created a budget spreadsheet for all my monthly costs and then worked out each line item as a % of my UK salary. Then i apply the same principle to planned salary and estimated / true costs of Aus and that gives me a % of monthly / yearly etc spend to compare how much we will spend on the same things and if there is the same % left over.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Some thoughts: Commuting into Melbourne from the suburbs can be long and slow. I know people do it, but Australian workplaces tend to put a lot of value on working long hours and if this is coupled with a long commute, it can damage family life. If you can, I would consider living closer to work. Food is expensive. It may be possible to live more cheaply than we do, but I would probably reckon we get through $400 a week on groceries for a family of four (including big boys aged 9 and 15). I know that sounds a lot and we try to get meals in at under $10 a head but it gets blown out by the bread, milk, jam, nutella, cereal, cheese, ice cream, snacks, etc. that the boys eat constantly. Plus, doing anything special at the weekend (e.g. legs of lamb, legs of pork, etc. blow the budget). I know there’s a temptation to pop in your groceries from Scotland into the Coles online and see what you get, but this can be misleading. Relative prices in Australia are different so you end up buying different things and living your life in a different way. Prices in supermarkets can be variable – many things end up on half price offers for a week – so you stock up on them and seldom buy them at full price. Meat is relatively inexpensive and vegetables can be hugely expensive. Veg that you eat in Scotland – turnips, leeks, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, etc. can be very expensive in Australia, whilst pumpkin, cabbage, carrots and onions are very cheap. Fish is astronomical. Some local shops (butchers, greengrocers, etc.) are way cheaper than supermarkets but others are way more expensive. When you get to know them, you can save by shopping around, albeit sacrificing convenience. You will discover that some things that are free in Scotland (health, education) end up costing you in Australia. Even state schools charge fees, make you buy textbooks in secondary schools, donate huge stationery orders in primary schools. Plus, kids end up going on many camps, paying extra for music lessons, craft lessons, computer lessons and joining clubs and activities outside school –all of which charge fees, have away days, require fancy dress costumes, wigs for crazy hair day, money to buy raffle tickets you don’t want, etc. Australia is more expensive than Scotland, but pay is usually higher. But my point is that trying to make direct comparisons is hard. There’s a lot of trial and error in getting the balance right but once you are in the Australian way of life (perhaps takes 2-3 years to achieve) you find you manage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Food is expensive. It may be possible to live more cheaply than we do, but I would probably reckon we get through $400 a week on groceries for a family of four (including big boys aged 9 and 15). I know that sounds a lot and we try to get meals in at under $10 a head but it gets blown out by the bread, milk, jam, nutella, cereal, cheese, ice cream, snacks, etc. that the boys eat constantly. Plus, doing anything special at the weekend (e.g. legs of lamb, legs of pork, etc. blow the budget). I know there’s a temptation to pop in your groceries from Scotland into the Coles online and see what you get, but this can be misleading. Relative prices in Australia are different so you end up buying different things and living your life in a different way. Yes - comparing grocery spending is nigh-on impossible between families: some buy everything at supermarkets, some buy from grocers and go round farmers' markets, some buy organic, some don't, some buy more expensive meat and seafood, some don't... As Quinkla said, you will manage, generally by living within your means. On your husband's income you will be fine, especially if you work as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 We would be coming to oz on a Subclass 189 permanent. My OH is a sales manager and works from home so not to bad that we don't need to be near the CBD. Not meaning to sound rude but what do you budget on groceries at the moment I am budgeting $1000 a month. Thanks for the help so far I spend more than $1000/month on groceries but many people manage on that amount - I'm pretty extravagant! I'm not sure though what (if any) visa you'll be able to get. In order to be eligible for a 189, your OH's occupation must be on the SOL and they must be able to get a positive skills assessment but Sales Manager isn't on that list. Have you cahcked the SOL and the skills assessment requirements? http://www.immi.gov.au/Work/Pages/skilled-occupations-lists/sol.aspx The SOL If you need to start talking about visas in any more depth, I suggest you start a new thread in Migration Issues - it's off topic for this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiKaye Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Hi, Just to add a comparison, we are a family of four (OH, me, 11yo and 7yo) and we managed for the first two years back here on my salary of around $65k. We were paying $400 a week rent and we probably spend around $150 pw on groceries. Having said that, we already had citizenship so did get some help from the govt on in the form of family payments, etc. Its not easy but it is doable. We manage with one car, are renting for the time being and the kids are at state school, not private. Sounds like you OH's salary will be a fair bit higher than mine was so I think you could definitely manage, but you won't be going on overseas holidays every few months! We live in the suburbs about 20km from Melbourne CBD and the train from here takes about 1/2 an hour so its not too bad. OH drives to work in St Kilda Road which takes around 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask if you have any other queries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 (edited) ...we are a family of four (OH, me, 11yo and 7yo) ... we probably spend around $150 pw on groceries. Just to put that into context. That is $5.35 per person per day. Our prisons typically spend $7 per person per day on food. Edited March 25, 2015 by Quinkla revised daily amount - I had misread $150 as $160 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiKaye Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Just to put that into context. That is $5.71 per person per day. Our prisons typically spend $7 per person per day on food. Wow, I hadn't quite thought about it like that. We're certainly not eating prison food, I can assure you. Having said that, my OH is a really good shopper (I don't do the shopping). Most of our staples come from Aldi, with some label stuff from Woolworths or Coles. Meat comes from either Aldi or a local butcher unless there's a special on. We eat a lot of vegetables and my 11yo is mostly vege at the moment. We buy our standard bread, but make mine (coeliac). That food bill includes all of our supermarket shopping, including toiletries, cleaning products, etc. but doesn't obviously include any takeaways or restaurants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) Bit of a "how long is a piece of string" question in all honesty. Yep, Melbourne is bloody expensive for a lot of things. The most expensive thing by far is housing. If your budget is $2000 pcm it works out as $460 a week (everything is rented out in weeks here) you may struggle to get something you want. A good three bed house anywhere in Bayside will be double that, but the further out you live (and the further west) the more you'll get for your money. Have a look here - www.domain.com.au However, other costs are probably not as expensive as you might think. The supermarket prices have come down quite a lot in the last few years and are roughly the same as the UK for a lot of things (maybe a bit more expensive). But, shop around and your money will go a lot further. A few tips: 1. South Melbourne/Queen Vic Markets are miles cheaper for fresh produce 2. Places like the Tasman Meat Market also save you a packet compared to Coles and Woolworths 3. Public transport costs peanuts 4. Petrol is dirt cheap 5. Loads of free things to do in and around Melbourne - no need to spend a fortune to have a day out So, swings and roundabouts... You'll certainly manage though. Edited April 20, 2015 by Petkula73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Make sure you get a house reasonably near a station because the commute to Melbourne gets worse every day by car! My husband commuted for many years to the CBD- 40 minutes train journey and we are 35 k out in the Eastern suburbs. Very pleasant, semi rural, good schools and a lot cheaper. My drive to work was 10 minutes but not on a freeway and not much traffic where I worked. If you are near an Aldi it saves you heaps - probably about 30% per week . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Do you find Aldi here is pretty crappy compared to the UK though? We don't shop there any more as we got sick of the overall poor quality. Aldi in the UK is great - some very good quality stuff, but here we noticed the quality was a lot lower. Meat, veg and dairy are noticeably a lot worse in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 I find Aldi fruit and veg pretty terrible, but the meat is good. I like the highland Park grass fed steaks fantastic value and great quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Aldi is good where we live- but I have heard not so good in other suburbs. The fruit and veg are locally grown up in the dandenongs which helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petkula73 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I find Aldi fruit and veg pretty terrible, but the meat is good. I like the highland Park grass fed steaks fantastic value and great quality. All beef in Australia is pretty good. What's noticeable here is the cheaper end is still high quality. For example, we often buy "chuck on the bone" for stews and casseroles. Needs to be cooked a long time, but it's full of flavour and very tender. We pay $5 a kilo for it - hardly any fat either. For a treat we'll have some rib eye with the bone in. Never pay more than $20 a kilo and it's amazing. Same with legs of lamb and chicken. Provided you don't eat any fruit or veg you're quids-in! A great place to be on the Atkins diet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoaussie Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 We rented a house mooroolbark last year, it costed 1300 dollars per month for 3 bedrooms. That was cheap. Budget about 350/400 per week and you will be fine. There are good kinders and schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exploding Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 You will discover that some things that are free in Scotland (health, education) end up costing you in Australia.. hi guys - i'm planning on coming over with a three year old and a one year old, the three year old has been diagnosed with SPD and will likely need OT and/or speech therapy. I was under the assumption that health and education are covered in Australia? I'm now assuming that I'm wrong and will have to add these into our budget? Are the public schools a significant amount worse than the private schools? I assume this depends on the area, or is it more generalised. I was also under the impression that mainstreaming my child wouldn't be an issue as they would have support from the school? thanks for any advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exploding Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 just to add to my education, health post above - we are arriving on a PR visa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I was under the assumption that health and education are covered in Australia? Amount of "cover" varies state to state and depends on the type of visa you have. In Victoria healthcare is mainly free (ambulances, doctors visits and some outpatient is not). Are the public schools a significant amount worse than the private schools? Depends on the school. Some public schools are better than some private schools. IMO the main reason to send your child to a private school is so they can meet up with other kids from wealthy backgrounds who may have a positive influence on their lives now or in the future. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.