Oz more expensive?? Depends on your occupation.

[Goochie]

Right then, having seen many many threads here recently where people are saying just how expensive Australia is, I've created a spreadsheet listing all of the costs of living in the UK and Australia in order to see what the answer is.

 

I really am gob smacked by it! :wacko:

 

If you have a look at my spreadsheet http://www.philgooch.com/Australia/costs2.xls and play around with some numbers, you'll see that putting in average salaries equates to pretty much the same percentage spend each month.

 

However, I'm a mechanical designer and here in England you can ask pretty much any similar person and they'll tell you how under-valued and under-paid they feel.

 

A quick look on the Australian job sites reveals the average pay for a similar role in the UK is dramatically different.

 

For example:

 

If we consider a degree qualified mechanical designer with 7 years experience. In the UK, he could earn around £30,000. However, in Australia, the same person could get $100,000

 

Those numbers equate to a UK spend of 82% and an Aussie spend of 61% each month. (Based on renting a similarly sized property)

 

So dont listen to all the doom and gloom on here - Work out how the cost of livingwill effect YOU.

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Theres so many factors to take into account over the cost of living in Australia, but the simple fact is, if you can get a better paid job when you got there than you had in the uk, you should be ok and have a good standard of living, the wages you quote above would make you alot better off, but not everyone can manage to get this much better wage. I found Australia to be slightly dearer than the uk, but not that much to fret about.

[Guest chris955]

There are just too many variables, just read a few threads and you will hear that some earn more, some earn less and some earn about the same. It depends on occupation (as you say), location and various other factors.

[pablo]

I think the minimum wage earners are better off wagewise in oz arent they?

[Guest famousfive]

Researching the average wage for your occupation before you commit to the move is probably the most important bit of research you need to do.My husband is a chef and his wage is not good here,not a problem when I am working too but it is very tight when I am not.I do find aus expensive,I also found Ireland expensive,but as you say it is all relative to what your earnings are.Here our earnings are much lower than at home so the high cost of living bites deeper.

[Guest famousfive]

My OH is on a pretty low wage and I can tell you without Centerlink benefits we would never survive on it.It is the award wage for his occupation too.We have often lived on his wage at home but here we need two wages to make it through each month.

[Guest Stevebel]

A quick look on the Australian job sites reveals the average pay for a similar role in the UK is dramatically different

 

And herein lies the key that so many people miss even when they're doing the whole "percentage of income" thing.

 

There's NO WAY I'll be able to get anything close to my European salary when I move to Oz. It's only ever going to be the raw $ figures that are of interest to me, so thanks for posting an up-to-date version of those.

 

Which part of Australia are the costs for though?

 

When I look at an Australian job, all I'm going to be interested in is how much money I take home each month, and how much of that is going to be disposable income.

 

Other than a dramatic effect on the AU$ value of my Sterling and Euro savings, the exchange rate means bugger all to me because I won't have to send anything to the UK, and if I need to draw on my savings just to get by then I'm doing something wrong!

[Parley]

Anyone who can earn $100K in Australia will be fine, if they live sensibly.

[fleabo]

If you are spending £400 per month on food in the UK you should probably expect to pay around $900-1000 per month in Australia, in my experience.

[Goochie]

And herein lies the key that so many people miss even when they're doing the whole "percentage of income" thing.

 

There's NO WAY I'll be able to get anything close to my European salary when I move to Oz. It's only ever going to be the raw $ figures that are of interest to me, so thanks for posting an up-to-date version of those.

 

Which part of Australia are the costs for though?

 

When I look at an Australian job, all I'm going to be interested in is how much money I take home each month, and how much of that is going to be disposable income.

 

Other than a dramatic effect on the AU$ value of my Sterling and Euro savings, the exchange rate means bugger all to me because I won't have to send anything to the UK, and if I need to draw on my savings just to get by then I'm doing something wrong!

 

The costs I've used are for the Perth area but they will of course vary even within there. Realistically we're looking at somewhere less than the rent I put in the spreadsheet but its always best to over estimate on things like this!

[Joebloggs]

Anyone who can earn $100K in Australia will be fine, if they live sensibly.

 

+1

 

Yeah with $100K it certainly is doable, I came to Oz 6 years ago on a WHV and $8000 in my back pocket.

 

Managed to buy a decent house in Sydney and live comfortably, of course I count myself lucky but at the end of the day you make your own luck.

 

Just imagine how expensive it would seem if you had moved from some shanty slum in India.

[moirclan]

Right then, having seen many many threads here recently where people are saying just how expensive Australia is, I've created a spreadsheet listing all of the costs of living in the UK and Australia in order to see what the answer is.

 

I really am gob smacked by it! :wacko:

 

If you have a look at my spreadsheet www.philgooch.com/Australia/costs2.xls and play around with some numbers, you'll see that putting in average salaries equates to pretty much the same percentage spend each month.

 

However, I'm a mechanical designer and here in England you can ask pretty much any similar person and they'll tell you how under-valued and under-paid they feel.

 

A quick look on the Australian job sites reveals the average pay for a similar role in the UK is dramatically different.

 

For example:

 

If we consider a degree qualified mechanical designer with 7 years experience. In the UK, he could earn around £30,000. However, in Australia, the same person could get $100,000

 

Those numbers equate to a UK spend of 82% and an Aussie spend of 61% each month. (Based on renting a similarly sized property)

 

So dont listen to all the doom and gloom on here - Work out how the cost of livingwill effect YOU.

 

maybe 100 k would be right when you first arrive with no aussie expereience , maybe even a bit less , but after getting to know aussie standards etc and you have proven your self i would think the ages would be more like a 120 k , i know mech supervisers on 90 k plus super , you seem to earn less in a consultancy than say for a mech contractor , dont forget with those wages you will get taxed extra for medicare so you might as well get private health insurance as you will be payng it one way or another whether to the govt or the insurer

[Goochie]

maybe 100 k would be right when you first arrive with no aussie expereience , maybe even a bit less , but after getting to know aussie standards etc and you have proven your self i would think the ages would be more like a 120 k , i know mech supervisers on 90 k plus super , you seem to earn less in a consultancy than say for a mech contractor , dont forget with those wages you will get taxed extra for medicare so you might as well get private health insurance as you will be payng it one way or another whether to the govt or the insurer

 

Is that in WA ?

[moirclan]

yes im from perth when my husband worked in sydney i noticed that a lot of engineers / designers / draftsmen were paid less than perth generally , , qlnd seemed more on a par with perth

[Goochie]

yes im from perth when my husband worked in sydney i noticed that a lot of engineers / designers / draftsmen were paid less than perth generally , , qlnd seemed more on a par with perth

 

 

Would you be able to ask your husband how healthy he feels the job market is out there at the moment?

 

Its easy enough to find job adverts online but thats not much good if there are hundreds of applicants for each one!

 

(dont worry if he doesnt know!)

 

Thanks - Phil.

[moirclan]

i do know that a lot of companies wont even consider you unless your all ready here , i know the comapny my hubby works for wont generally look at over seas applicants they do how ever look at interstate applicants if they cant find what they are looking for here ,

i know hubby thinks work is going to be harder to tender for next year as things are tighteneing up a bit , but there are some big jobs on going like the fiona stanley hospital etc so i should imagine if your on one of the bigger jobs your ok

would you be working with a builder / contractor / consultancy ?

[legoman]

nice thought but generally people going to oz can see the figures and compensate for higher oz prices in other ways, those returning see the difference the other way round, I find there is less competition and choice in perth than the uk which usually means higher costs, its just the way it is

 

clothes in the uk are cheaper due to stores like primark etc and better bargains to be found, regardless of the 'child labour debate. fuel cheaper in oz, yet you travel much further. lots of equations, but at the end of the day people see what they want to see :-)

[legoman]

forgot to add, whatever you earn you will adapt to life anyway, all part of the experience

[Pumpkin]

Good work - It is similar to how we have worked it out, we arrived here and now have double what we arrived with after 4 months. It seems easy to save money here.

 

Lucky you. :laugh: I have been saying to hubby lately that we are saving hardly anything since we got here six months ago. But then a third of our income goes on rent now whereas an 8th of our income went on the mortgage before. Just a statement of fact (for us), not a complaint as this is our choice and a price we have decided is worth paying for the experience.

[Guest Toorak Trev]

Its like having kids and comparing post to pre kids time.

 

Everyone feels the difference but people still keep having kids

[Guest Bobby]

There is always overtime in most jobs to boost your income, Saturdays at time and a half is nice.