First arrival

[Ausvisitor]

Hi All,

Looking for some real world experience here. We are hopeful of receiving a grant of 190 for NSW.

We will most likely be arriving without jobs (although you never know). Assuming it is going to take 3 months to get a job, how much money would we require to cover that initial 3 months?

I realise this is a "piece of string" question, but I'm keen to see what others spent in this initial period, given my career it is likely to be Sidney that we end up living in.

Thanks...

[Marisawright]

First of all, you'll need to book holiday accommodation for about four weeks while you search for a place to live.    Check Airbnb for prices - in Sydney that's about the best you can do.

Then, check out realestate.com.au for rental prices and don't forget you'll have to pay one month's rent as a bond.   Warning - Sydney estate agents shamelessly doctor photographs so if you see something that looks like a bargain, it's probably a dump.  

Assume your supermarket bills will be much the same as in the UK. Some things are dearer and some things are cheaper.

Your biggest expenditure will be buying stuff to get set up.   Do a trial shop on Australian websites for all the stuff you'll need (depending if you're shipping stuff).   Try thegoodguys.com.au for whitegoods, hoover etc.   Petersofkensington.com.au for kitchen stuff.  Harveynorman.com.au for furniture etc.  

I do hope for your sake that it's not Sydney!

[Ausvisitor]

23 hours ago, Marisawright said:

First of all, you'll need to book holiday accommodation for about four weeks while you search for a place to live.    Check Airbnb for prices - in Sydney that's about the best you can do.

Then, check out realestate.com.au for rental prices and don't forget you'll have to pay one month's rent as a bond.   Warning - Sydney estate agents shamelessly doctor photographs so if you see something that looks like a bargain, it's probably a dump.  

Assume your supermarket bills will be much the same as in the UK. Some things are dearer and some things are cheaper.

Your biggest expenditure will be buying stuff to get set up.   Do a trial shop on Australian websites for all the stuff you'll need (depending if you're shipping stuff).   Try thegoodguys.com.au for whitegoods, hoover etc.   Petersofkensington.com.au for kitchen stuff.  Harveynorman.com.au for furniture etc.  

I do hope for your sake that it's not Sydney!

It will be Sydney, I'm aware its expensive but then again the profession I'm in pays well and as I've done work for Australian companies many times before and this isn't my first time migrating to another country (done Canada and the USA on company transfers in the past) I'm not too worried about getting a job (maybe a little naive)

Thanks for the pointers on where to try for shopping comparison

Edited May 14, 2019 by Ausvisitor

[Marisawright]

12 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

It will be Sydney, I'm aware its expensive but then again the profession I'm in pays well and as I've done work for Australian companies many times before and this isn't my first time migrating to another country (done Canada and the USA on company transfers in the past) I'm not too worried about getting a job (maybe a little naive)

Job shouldn't be a problem, the housing market is frustrating though.   

[Ausvisitor]

1 minute ago, Marisawright said:

Job shouldn't be a problem, the housing market is frustrating though.   

Yep I've heard that - is it just cost or availability - or is it the double-whammy of both??

If Australia had "big" towns in commutable distance from the cities we would prefer to live in a decent sized community with amenities that we could commute to work - but that doesn't look possible if you need the big big cities for work

Edited May 14, 2019 by Ausvisitor

[Marisawright]

25 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Yep I've heard that - is it just cost or availability - or is it the double-whammy of both??

If Australia had "big" towns in commutable distance from the cities we would prefer to live in a decent sized community with amenities that we could commute to work - but that doesn't look possible if you need the big big cities for work

Cost is the biggest issue.   Sydney is far and away the most expensive city for housing in Australia.  The next most expensive, Melbourne, is only about two-thirds the cost (for both renting and buying).  Everywhere else is cheaper again.  It's frustrating because unlike London, there's no "Sydney weighting" on salaries to compensate for it.  

It depends what your occupation is, whether you can find work outside the major cities.  In the long term, employers are becoming more flexible about working from home.  I know of several IT professionals who live well outside Sydney, and only visit the office one or two days a week.  In Melbourne, there's an increasing trend to do the same, living in (or on the way to) Bendigo or Ballarat.

[Tootsie]

On 14/05/2019 at 19:21, Ausvisitor said:

If Australia had "big" towns in commutable distance from the cities we would prefer to live in a decent sized community with amenities that we could commute to work - but that doesn't look possible if you need the big big cities for work

Hello

Lots of people work in Sydney but live some distance away in big towns

I know of people who live in Newcastle, Blue Mountains and Wollongong, and who commute into Sydney daily for work

The Central Coast is a prime example of decent sized communities with amenities, where you could easily commute into Sydney CBD or surrounds.

My longest commute in Sydney was two hours each way daily. I just got on the train and fell asleep until I reached my destination. No drama. And not much longer than my old daily London commute.

 

 

 

[Marisawright]

44 minutes ago, Tootsie said:

Hello

Lots of people work in Sydney but live some distance away in big towns

I know of people who live in Newcastle, Blue Mountains and Wollongong, and who commute into Sydney daily for work

The Central Coast is a prime example of decent sized communities with amenities, where you could easily commute into Sydney CBD or surrounds

It all depends on your personal definition of “easy” and what you’re comparing it to. The train journey from the Central Coast is under an hour, but by the time you factor in getting to the station and then getting to work at the other end, it can be well over an hour. 

For someone used to London commutes, I can see that would qualify as “easy”, but it wouldn’t be my cup of tea. I certainly wouldn’t contemplate the 2 hour commute from Newcastle or Wollongong!

Edited September 18, 2019 by Marisawright

[Collie]

On 13/05/2019 at 15:57, Ausvisitor said:

Hi All,

Looking for some real world experience here. We are hopeful of receiving a grant of 190 for NSW.

We will most likely be arriving without jobs (although you never know). Assuming it is going to take 3 months to get a job, how much money would we require to cover that initial 3 months?

I realise this is a "piece of string" question, but I'm keen to see what others spent in this initial period, given my career it is likely to be Sidney that we end up living in.

Thanks...

It really easy how long is a piece of string question.  Are you including a vehicle in the set up costs or not?  Are you shipping furniture and household stuff (90%+ of rentals are unfurnished).  Where are you planning on living? 

For pure living expenses, I think you would need $5-6k per month.  Check out domain.com.au (prices are per week) to get a feel for rental prices in different areas but inner Sydney will be about $500pw for a 1 bed apartment.  Additionally you will need 4 weeks rent as a bond (deposit).  I think I read the other day that the Sydney rental market is quite tight at the minute.

Hopefully, you are lucky with work, check out seek.com.au for current vacancies and to give you a feel for salaries.  Get in touch with recruiters before you arrive.  You may get lucky, I once hired somebody from London with just phone interviews (although she turned out to be a nightmare).

To be safe, I would be bringing 6 months living expenses so $30-35k + whatever you need for a vehicle (may not be needed of living in inner Sydney, also look at car share schemes like goget.com.au) and whatever you are going to spend to kit a place out (or you can rent furniture until you start working).

Hope this helps.