Paula and Jay Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 Hi, Hope someone can help. Been waiting for our house to sell for a good few months now, hopefully someone coming to view it on Monday so fingers crossed. We have decided to live in Coogee and are currently planning money etc. We know our salary and rent etc. but can anyone advise roughly how much we would need each month to get by? We wouldn't want a car and there is only 2 of us so would prob need to know what the below would cost roughly each month: Public transport costs from Coogee to Tempe Food (would eat in prob 4 out of the 7 days a week) Gas / Electric Bills Water TV License? Life Insurance Any help would be greatly appreciated :wink: Thanks, Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csdub Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 From Coogee to Tempe you can get a bus and then train and there are weekly tickets to to cover that for $41 you can find that info here. http://www.131500.com.au/tickets/upload/docs/MyZone_English.pdf Buses to get from Coogee is 372 to Central or 373 to Martins place, or if u live in Coogee near Oberon street you can get the buses that come from Maroubra. Public transport in Sydney is excellent and always on time! It's been 3 years since i have actually lived there so not sure on the other prices like gas and electricity, but been back on holidays there the last 2 yrs and eating out is still pretty good value as a lot of places are stil BYO drink espically in the Spot in Randwick! Plenty of restaurant about with mains from $10-25 then there are dearer places to eat too of course depends what type of places you like to dine in! The Palace in Coogee does different meal offers mon-thurs for about $10 but on steak night you may get a massive queue for it! Anyway Coogee is a great place to live. Best of luck with the move! :wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula and Jay Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Hi thanks so mum for the info - yes coogee looks lovely and the fact thy the transport is good makes it a real bonus! Is randwick far fr Coogee beach? We've seen a few apartments there which are much better than coogee but really want to live by the beach? Is it far? Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
restfamily Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hi I live in Randwick for a couple of reasons, one being as you say you can get better value for money on accomodation and second its quicker to get to work as the bus journey from Randwick to Coogee although not far can add 15 mins to your journey, there are fast buses though that can reduce this. The beach is only a 5 minute drive. I guess it depends how often you want to go to the beach? I only go at weekends, so its not a big deal for me and I have Centennial park at the end of the street as my open space. All the best K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csdub Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hi thanks so mum for the info - yes coogee looks lovely and the fact thy the transport is good makes it a real bonus! Is randwick far frCoogee beach? We've seen a few apartments there which are much better than coogee but really want to live by the beach? Is it far? Thanks again Oh Randwick is just up the Road from the beach and is slightly better value for property, I also lived there on Silver street just off Belmore Road (main street) for a short while and would defo live there again. That was only an easy 10min walk to the beach as it's down hill. If you're feeling lazy and its really hot you can always hop on bus back up to randwick for about $2 of if your working and have a transport ticket it's like a free journey! :wink: There's actually 2 better supermarkets in Randwick a Coles and bigger Woolworths than the one in Coogee. Plus a decent veg shop in the centre with Woolies. There are also more frequant buses to get from Randwick to Bondi Junction than there are from Coogee. Bondi junction has a massive Westfields shopping centre where you might want to food shop there too etc as the supermarkets are even bigger there and has the department stores David Jones, Myer and a Target. I used work in the CBD on George St near Town hall and. I started work at 8:15am and used get bus from Coogee at about 7:30am to get there in time and that included a quick stop in a bakery to get some lovely fresh breakfast! If you want to know anything else at all, just ask cos I loved living there and hope to live there again if i can get a 176 visa! Cara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula and Jay Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hi Cara Thanks very much for the information it's exactly what we wanted to know about Randwick! The dream is to get home from work and go the beach so a 10 min walk is fine! Some really nice apartments in Randwick so we'll definately look there. We are really lucky as we're being sponsored on a business visa to come over so as soon as we've sold the house over here we're outta here! Really can't wait - we visited Sydney last year and loved it! Actually didn't manage to get to Coogee or Randwick but done lots of research and they both look great! Thanks again for the info and any other info would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Paula & Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Hi Paula & Jay, We live in NW Coogee, so Randwick is a 15min walk uphill for us, and Coogee Beach about the same downhill. We like it where we are - on the slopes above the valley. We did have a look at a few places in Randwick, but didn't get the one of those we applied for at the time. If you're looking around Randwick, maybe consider something that's walking distance to The Spot - it's to the South, just outside the shopping area, but is a very cool hub of restaurants, bars and a semi-arthouse cinema. (Search for St Paul's St, Randwick on the map). It reminds us a lot of Blackheath in London; not loud like Coogee can be, but very pleasant. From Randwick Centre or there, it's around 15mins walk downhill to the beach, which is no hassle at all! As for not getting a car; well, we don't want one either, and get by fine with buses, although it can be a pain at weekends. I take the bus into the CBD some weekdays, for which I allow an hour door-to-door during rush hour. At weekends, many routes only run every 30 minutes, so if you're relying on buses to get from A to C, via B (eg. Rose Bay via Bondi, as we did), then you wait for one, then wait maybe 10-20 minutes at the change, and end up taking 60-90 minutes for a 15 minute drive. We've had buses completely fail to show up twice so far - 45 minutes waiting in the blazing sun, one time! - and we finished sailing in Rose Bay once to find the last bus to Bondi Jcn was at 3pm, and the next direct one was on Monday! Still.... it's not that bad, so best arrive, see how it goes, and consider whether you might want to occasionally rent a car for a weekend, get a scooter, or use Goget.com.au (hourly car-share scheme). We still just use buses for metro journeys, since we're rarely in a hurry and hate traffic - and rent a car if we're going out of the city. As for costs.. be careful planning rent. Although places are advertised at certain rates, there is a lot of competition in the E Suburbs, and we routinely found ourselves competing with 5-10 other applicants for a place, at the advertised price. It may be less intense in Randwick (and we were looking in the week before Uni started, which didn't help), but just don't take the listed price at face value. Electricity; I checked my meter last week, and we're using 8 units a day on average for a 2-bed flat, no aircon. At $0.20 a unit, plus standing charge, that's around $2.20 a day, or $800 a year for elec. I'll have to re-check all this after a bit longer, as it sounds a bit low. And everything else... well, Sydney is a bit expensive; but we tend to buy less things here, and you can often get deals. You might reconsider eating out 3 nights a week; Sven's pizzas round the corner start at $20 for a medium thin-crust (although they're a bit gourmet, I think). We each had a salad and smoothie near the beach today for $37, which is probably around the same as London, maybe a bit more. I was hit by sticker-shock when I first arrived, but I'm relaxing into it now, and, well, just spending a bit more sometimes! TV Licence - no idea, as we have no antenna! We do have a Foxtel connection (like Virgin Media - cable), but that starts at $75pcm. Broadband, we use TPG, which is cheap at $60pcm inc phone, for unlimited use. Plus installation, it works out at around $1100 a year. Life Insurance - no idea! Groceries are my bugbear; we shop in Aldi's instead of Coles/Woolworth's to save money. We did do a medium-sized shop in Woolie's last month, which was $180. That was a typical bi-weekly shop, no meat, fish, or alcohol, and the cheapest option of everything, which would probably have cost us around £60-80 in Sainsbury's in London. But having said that - we spent today down on Coogee Beach, relaxing, watching the waves, and then having that gorgeous salad, so you get what you pay for :-) D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane_d Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi, There is no such thing as a TV licence here. Aussies laugh at that! (Probably a good job there isn't because Aussie TV is quite rubbish and there would be an outcry if they had to pay to watch as well ). You can get Foxtel (same as Sky) which as someone said above is around $75 per month although you can also get limited channels through an X-box and I think that is cheaper. I have Foxtel and usually end up watching channels 7,9 and 10 which are the terrestrial channels you can watch without Foxtel. And anyway, you wont be in watching telly,there is much more to do... Good luck with the move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tlander56 Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 Hi, Hope someone can help. Been waiting for our house to sell for a good few months now, hopefully someone coming to view it on Monday so fingers crossed. We have decided to live in Coogee and are currently planning money etc. We know our salary and rent etc. but can anyone advise roughly how much we would need each month to get by? We wouldn't want a car and there is only 2 of us so would prob need to know what the below would cost roughly each month: Public transport costs from Coogee to Tempe Food (would eat in prob 4 out of the 7 days a week) Gas / Electric Bills Water TV License? Life Insurance Any help would be greatly appreciated :wink: Thanks, Jay I used to work at The Royal Womens Hospital in Randwick....great area. Whereabouts in the UK are you moving from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula and Jay Posted April 24, 2011 Author Share Posted April 24, 2011 Hi Tanya & Dave We're moving from sunny Liverpool (Well sunny for today at least :-)) Thanks for the information, everyone has been so friendly on here. SO how did you find Randiwck, the dream is to be able to finish work and quick change then down the beach, is it possible from Randiwck? Also what are the bars and restaurants like there? It seems like you have been a lot round Oz! WHat's it been like, how have you found it? Thanks again for your help. Paula & Jay x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Yeah, you can do the after-work beach from Randwick in the summer; 3-4 bus routes (372,373,376??), which at rush hour will be almost every minute, from the main drag in Randwick to the beachfront in Coogee. You can walk it, but why waste time? :-) It's not quite beach weather right now, though :-) Dark at 5.30pm, and we had around 3 inches of torrential rain and wind the last 3 days. Can still get by with a T-shirt (with brolly), though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shreen Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 We have been living in Coogee for 8 months now and we absolutely love it! Its beautiful, I run on the coastal walk between Clovelly and Coogee and Coogee and South Coogee and couldn't imagine my life without it. It is absolutely breathtaking. I love Randwick and The Spot, lovely restaurants, cool cinema you can bring alcohol in with you (from the bar) and tuesdays and wednesday's its cheap ticket night. It takes me 20 mins to get to work. As you can see I love it! The only downside is weekend and few drunk young people but at least it is a bit colourful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest markone Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Hi Paula, You have picked a great spot to live......we live in Bream st very near the beach ! Especially if you dont need a car, public transport is second to none and reasonably priced....(you hear a lot of Aussies moaning, but most of them havent experienced anything else) My wife uses goget once a week to do shopping at the larger shopping centers ( im sure she only goes to get here nails done and have a massage !) We did live in Randwick before.....Randwick is quite large by the way and for a 15 minuite stroll to the beach you would need to live practically on the Coogee border ! The reality is (for us anyway) we use the beach 10 times as much now...as you can get home from work and the cant be arsed to walk for 15-20 mins syndrome easily kicks in !! So if you can stretch the budget to Coogee rental prices.......Do It !! Resturantes in Coogee and the Spot are fab ! Pubs are busy the beach palace is a bit run down but its a good location and livley. When are you looking to move......and are you coming with furnature ??? Cheers Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula and Jay Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Hi Mark, Thanks very much for the post! I think we've definately made our mind up on Coogee, we are just going to spend the extra, we want the beach life so we're gonna have to pay for it ! I didn't know about goget - that sound's great, we are debating on getting a car when we're there but that sounds ideal for the first few months whilst we get settled. We're looking to move as soon as possible really, as soon as the house sells we're outta here! The OH is a Merchandise Planner so there is quite a few jobs which offer sponsorship so it's ideal for us, plus the job will pay for relocation so we can bring our furniture with us which is great. Thanks for the info about the pubs, we do like to go out quite a bit (hopefully a lot more in Oz!). What's the Beach Palace out of interest? We're just sitting here now, heating on, raining outside - so depressing!! If you know anyone who is looking for a house in "not so sunny" liverpool let me know!! How long have you been out there? Is it the best move ever? Thanks again, Paula & Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickjenkinson Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Hi Paula and Jay I have friends who live over Coogee way. They love it. They are early 30's and seem to find it entertaining enough for nights out and restaurants etc. I've been there a couple of times to visit and much prefer it to Bondi. We live on the lower north shore, but if we were to live over that side of the bridge, we would consider Coogee. Anyway, hopefully not to long before your house sells and you can head out here. We left Liverpool a year ago and are loving it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bullion Baron Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Cost of living has really gone up in Australia over the 6 years I've been here. When I first came here I thought everything was dead cheap (compared to Scotland) but now it's the other way around. Last time I went back home to Scotland I was amazed how cheap everything had become there compared to here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula and Jay Posted May 18, 2011 Author Share Posted May 18, 2011 Thanks Nick for the info! - any of your Liverpool friends looking to move ;-) Bullion Baron, thanks for the info - we really don't know what to budget at all. We know we can afford $650 pw for a 2 bed in coogee, and have budgeted around $1800 a month for bills (electricity, gas, shopping, rates, water etc), do you think this is reasonable for a couple living in Coogee? Thanks again to everyone who's commented - it's been great hearing everyone's views! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SydneyMiles Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 My last electric bill was 150 (that was a 2 way split of a 300 bill with my flatmate) for a quarter so that's ok compared to the UK. No water rates or council tax or tv license. Food is crazy expensive though. Adds up to a huge amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ph0en1x Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Cost of living has really gone up in Australia over the 6 years I've been here. When I first came here I thought everything was dead cheap (compared to Scotland) but now it's the other way around. Last time I went back home to Scotland I was amazed how cheap everything had become there compared to here! Snap, we will see a huge difference when we move back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin McAuley Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 Cost of living has really gone up in Australia over the 6 years I've been here. When I first came here I thought everything was dead cheap (compared to Scotland) but now it's the other way around. Last time I went back home to Scotland I was amazed how cheap everything had become there compared to here! But isn't that because you are now being paid in Australian dollars? If you had to live in Scotland in the same job but on a Scottish salary it would be more expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikewheble Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hi all, My wife, youngest son (18) and I will be in Sydney for September. My eldest son is in Sydney and has been for the last 18 months. He used to live in Coogee and loved it and so we have decided that’s where we are going to head to. I want a 2 bed apartment near the beach as this will be important for us and are budgeting around $650 per week. We are bringing two cars and my Vespa scooter over with us. One of the vehicles is a L200 raging bull which has been customised and the only equivalents that I have seen out there are for circa $50k and so will probably sell it. The question that I have is, how long will it take from Coogee to Bondi Junction (where my job will be). Also, is it a good idea to commute by scooter/motorbike or would I/we be better off using public transport. Thanks all, great thread. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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