Elliott-Family Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 hi we are currently on our reccie in Melbourne and trying to decide on an area to settle in, we are looking at prices of houses we would like to rent but are not sure how far DH wages would stretch, are we being realistic in thinking we would be able to survive on his wage of approx $65k per year if we rented somewhere between $300 - $350 per week, i would also work but we would like to survive on the one wage and use mine for treats, weekends away etc, look forward to hearing your views, we are a family of three, me, hubby and Jack (12) and two smallish hair mutts cheers Claire x :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Toomers Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Sorry I cant answer that but I am also very interested in the answer... I have been looking at rentals upto $550 per week due to the locations I would like to be in... also travelling to CBD every day needs to be considered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest soon2move Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Not sure whether the answer about the 65k thing but try this website...it gives you your take home after tax, quite handy... Payrise Calculator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest destinationoz Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Hi again! Not sure i can help either but in Canberra (so may be different) we went to view 2 properties at $350 pw and soon put our budget up to $400pw!! The ones between $300-350 were not too good - like student accomodation!! alright if you're 18 ish but not a family of 3!! I tried to work out if the salary would be enough and think it may be - but someone else would be better to confirm that ... Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 hi we are currently on our reccie in Melbourne and trying to decide on an area to settle in, we are looking at prices of houses we would like to rent but are not sure how far DH wages would stretch, are we being realistic in thinking we would be able to survive on his wage of approx $65k per year if we rented somewhere between $300 - $350 per week, i would also work but we would like to survive on the one wage and use mine for treats, weekends away etc, look forward to hearing your views, we are a family of three, me, hubby and Jack (12) and two smallish hair mutts cheers Claire x :biggrin: Hi Claire you have to understand that the cost of living in Australia is almost identical to the uk, based on an exchange rate of about $2.2 to £1, you have to totally ignore the current exchange rate because it is based on the uk's huge financial difficulties at present and not the cost of living in each country. So $65k is worth just less than £30k in the uk, so how would you survive with that here. People will tell you that it is really dear in Australia and some things are, but other things are cheaper, but it works out very similar with Australia being just slightly dearer. Rent in Australia is dearer, so you will have to factor this in when you look at costs, best of luck, jim:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 You could survive on $65k in a $350pw rental, especially with another salary for treats. Your takehome would be $4200 per month. Rent would be $1400, phone and internet would be over $100, travel card (zone 1+2) would be $170 per person, lunch in the city would be $150+ per person, bills, insurance, food, etc. all add up too. As a rule of thumb (ad it is rough) divide a salary by 2.2 to get the equivalent purchasing power in Sterling. Hence, although $65k may look like £40k, it only buys you about a £30k lifestyle. Hope this helps. Edit - Jim got there whilst I was typing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davlap Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 We are family of 3 (son was 12 when we came). Rent was $420 a week and wife was on a wage of $65k as nurse. We kind of broke even I guess. After a year I got a casual job in Coles and we are now OK as I pull in about $500 a week. I have also just secured an IT job, so we will be on 2 'proper' incomes soon. Couple of things. We came when rate was $2 plus to the pound. Now $1.75. I say forget any comparisons like that - you are earning Oz $. We had some money and spent maybe 10,000 GBP up front on new furniture, crap car, first holiday etc We ate out most weeks, but otherwise spent little on social stuff (no hobbies or mates !). Do a lot of bush walking. It took 6 months looking before getting a casual job. You may not find part time work easy to get. It took 18 months for me to get a job in IT (with 20 years good UK experience). We live within our means. Have given up on the idea of buying a house for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theonetruechris Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Depends what sort of life you want to live - yes you can manage on that and pay the bills but it will limit lifestyle options. When we landed the wife was on $65k with $310 per week rent and we found we were transferring money regularly to top it up but we are a spending (not budgeting) family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 You could certainly survive on that, but it wouldn't leave you vast amounts of spare cash. It really does depend on what you like to spend your money on - if you like lots of luxury items rather than non branded ones then it will obviously cost you a lot more.... Love Rudi x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gary12 Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 You can but it will be tough. The problem with such a small rental budget is that therre will be many people wanting the same property, as someone has said it may not be ideal for a family. If you are on a PR visa (not sure about any others) you can claim child benefit, it varies depending on salary. The other thing you should consider is the cost of any clubs that your child may join. I reckon it costs us about $700 a term on out of school activities (soccer, gym x2 swimming x2) The medicare system here we have found to be excellent, find a bulk bill doctor who will not charge you to see them, You need ambulance cover but we don't have private insurance on top. So that keeps the cost down. Overall I think we spend slightly less in the UK, I try to watch what is spent but not to the point of being tight. We take advantage of "free" days out and take a picnic or stuff for the public BBQ. For us, we didn't want to come here and have to scrimp for everything, we wanted to be able to go on holiday or have treats. It makes for a very stressful time if you are having to watch what you spend. I would think that you will use the second salary for more day to day things than you imagine. best of luck Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bob Tonnor Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Hi again!Not sure i can help either but in Canberra (so may be different) we went to view 2 properties at $350 pw and soon put our budget up to $400pw!! The ones between $300-350 were not too good - like student accomodation!! alright if you're 18 ish but not a family of 3!! I tried to work out if the salary would be enough and think it may be - but someone else would be better to confirm that ... Enjoy!! Hi there Have you thought about 'suburbs' outside of the ACT such as Queanbeyan or Bungendore? Bungendore is a nice place, maybe a bit country for some but i kind of liked living there Location Lowdown | Bungendore NSW Australia Real Estate | Bungendore NSW Australia Immigration | Bungendore NSW Australia Relocation there are quite a few little villages just 'outside' the ACT that are worth a look, without wanting to hurt anyones feelings i would suggest you avoid Captains Flat even if it does have Australia s biggest bar . I found that Allhomes, NSW real estate properties & homes for sale, rent and share | allhomes is one of the best real estate sites down around this region. Happy hunting Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrned Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 hi we are currently on our reccie in Melbourne and trying to decide on an area to settle in, we are looking at prices of houses we would like to rent but are not sure how far DH wages would stretch, are we being realistic in thinking we would be able to survive on his wage of approx $65k per year if we rented somewhere between $300 - $350 per week, i would also work but we would like to survive on the one wage and use mine for treats, weekends away etc, look forward to hearing your views, we are a family of three, me, hubby and Jack (12) and two smallish hair mutts cheers Claire x :biggrin: Hi yes you could do it ie pay rent, eat, pay bills, petrol etc, depending on what area you are looking at will depend on quality of property in that price bracket, a house ie 3 beds would be nothing special at that rent, you may get better quality ie if you rent a unit. what area are you looking at, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliott-Family Posted May 31, 2010 Author Share Posted May 31, 2010 thanks for the replies. To be honest we're really not expectin the oz roads to be paved with gold or live a lavish lifestyle, we didnt live like this in the UK and starting afresh in a different coutry we know will be hard and at times a stretch. The question is are we being realistic or way off mark? Havin since spoken to a realestate agent they seem to think we could increase the budget alittle and still be OK. They reckon on spending a third of your salary on rent........its 1 opinion i guess! We have had opportunity to look round some brand spanking, new, shiney, big properties that quite honestly are amazing but, we are realistic not dreamers and kno in UK we couldnt afford 1 of these so are not deluding ourselves now. Small and comfortable is fine so long as we can live the dream!!....... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Calie Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Hi Claire you have to understand that the cost of living in Australia is almost identical to the uk, based on an exchange rate of about $2.2 to £1, you have to totally ignore the current exchange rate because it is based on the uk's huge financial difficulties at present and not the cost of living in each country. So $65k is worth just less than £30k in the uk, so how would you survive with that here. People will tell you that it is really dear in Australia and some things are, but other things are cheaper, but it works out very similar with Australia being just slightly dearer. Rent in Australia is dearer, so you will have to factor this in when you look at costs, best of luck, jim:wink: Isn't the exchange rate closer to 1.7? Where have you seen 2.2? Cheers Cal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheArmChairDetective Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Isn't the exchange rate closer to 1.7? Where have you seen 2.2? Cheers Cal. I think you miss read Helen's post Cal. She was talking about a cost of living calculator nor the actual exchange rate. For example, I bought a Disco3 in the UK for £40k my brother bought the same (different name) in Melbourne for $87k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernie inn Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I am in a similar position, will be moving to Geelong but will need to send money home to cover mortgage if the house doesn't rent ( I think it will). Then if we settle in Oz we'll then sell the house. i'll be on £85000 per year and my wife isn't going to work when she first gets there. Were going for a 2 bedroom house until our house sells, then expanding if we have settled. There are me my wife and our 2 year old son. i don't expect it to be luxorious for a while but it should be comfortable enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gary12 Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Bernie Inn Change your mortgage to a interest only buy to let, for the first year here we were topping up our UK mortgage, after changing it, we are paying less than half. The rest goes into the bank for a rainy day! regards Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I am in a similar position, will be moving to Geelong but will need to send money home to cover mortgage if the house doesn't rent ( I think it will). Then if we settle in Oz we'll then sell the house. i'll be on £85000 per year and my wife isn't going to work when she first gets there. Were going for a 2 bedroom house until our house sells, then expanding if we have settled. There are me my wife and our 2 year old son. i don't expect it to be luxorious for a while but it should be comfortable enough on L85k (sorry no pound sign on my computer) you would be laughing - on $85k just about managing. I am assuming you are talking Aus dollars - that is over the national average wage and so many people manage on much less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernie inn Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Ha ha yes $ although £'s would be nice. Thats a good idea Michelle i'll look into that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo_uktooz Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 on L85k (sorry no pound sign on my computer) Hi Quoll, Try this- Hold down the Alt key and at the same time type the numerals 0163,that should create a £ sign,I think it wprks on most keyboards. Cheers J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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