Good salary for a family of 3

[Gemmau31]

Hi everyone

We are looking for some advice 

We would love to make the move but unsure on whether it's really affordable 

 

My partner is a alarm technician, which is covered under the electronic equipment trades worker. We understand he has to obtain a visa and pass the skills assessment

 

We have seen jobs online for between $70,000 to $80,000 would this be a good wage for a family of 3

 

This wage is for adelaide or Perth. Obviously it depends on lifestyle choices. We are just after advice if it will be a struggle or can be done 

 

Thank you 

[Marisawright]

It's very difficult to advise you, because so much depends what kind of lifestyle you're after, and also what kind of savings you have. 

We spent a year in the UK a few years ago and at the time, living expenses seemed much the same in both countries.  Some things were dearer and some things were cheaper, but it evened out, in proportion to salaries. 

I would say that migrating is very expensive.  By the time you've paid visa fees, air fares, shipping costs, temp accommodation till you find work, and all the set up costs, you can easily spend £30K.  

 

[rammygirl]

For Adelaide  I would say if you can earn 2.2 times more in dollars than you do in pounds then you will have a comparable lifestyle.  So say $75,000 would be like 34,000 pounds. Some things are more expensive some cheaper. It also depends where you live now. London is more expensive than Bradford and Adelaide Eastern suburbs are more expensive than than the Hills for example. 
 

It also matters if those wages are inclusive of Super or if Super is additional. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by rammygirl

[Ausvisitor]

It's a difficult question to answer, but utlimately of you can live of £34,000 income in the UK you should be ok on $75K in Australia so long as you live comparably.

By that I mean you probably don't live right in the centre of London or Edinburgh so expecting to move from the suburbs of Hull (for instance as it's the city just mentioned on the radio show I'm listening too, no other reason) into a swanky river/beachside apartment in the city centre of Sydney/Perth etc. is unlikely...

However, to put it into perspective many families in AUS live on less than $75K a year and they are happy enough 

[Tulip1]

As others have said, it depends on what you’re used to. If you have to pay a reasonable mortgage or rent then I would say that’s not very much.  However, if you could manage ok on £34k a year in the UK then you’ll be ok in Australia on the income you’ve quoted, provided of course your rent/mortgage is similar.  

Edited April 15, 2020 by Tulip1

[s713]

20 hours ago, rammygirl said:

For Adelaide  I would say if you can earn 2.2 times more in dollars than you do in pounds then you will have a comparable lifestyle.

Personal opinion is that for Perth it would be slightly closer to 3 times more.

We moved back to the UK last year and earn less than 3 times (£ to $) what we did in Oz (wife is P/T) but I reckon we have more disposable income here.

[Quoll]

Nope, it's an average salary at best and for 3, whilst it wouldnt be beans on toast territory, it isnt going to be lush with overseas holidays, big swanky cars and a 4 bed on the beach with pool. Our retirement income for the two of us is about that and with no mortgage to pay we still have to dip into savings for the little luxuries that we choose to engage with. Having just returned from UK, my initial impression is that things are more expensive (we were living on the Aus credit card all the time we were in UK, silly, but we had no idea how long we would be there, so we can see a direct comparison and especially now that we have power, broadband, insurances etc to pay it's looking not so easy).  We arent driving much because we were isolated now voluntarily sheltering in place but with all the other little things we need to do to get reestablished in the first instance there's sort of a financial haemorrhage going on.  Most of the families I know either have one very high income earner (well more than twice what you are aiming for) or both partners work to pay the bills.