the raes Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 we are thinking off making the move got our TRA and SA sponsorship and now just need to press the button with the visa fee, but got cold feet can we afford to live their, we only have 10 years left on our house and have 50k profit on it if well sell it and some savings to take with us and OH has job to go to 60k year but overtime their also and i would get a job, is it possible on this or not. pauline, david , callum:realmad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Helchops Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Hi there! What you have to remember is that a lot of Australians get by on the minimum wage just fine - it's not an amazing standard of living, but they get by. You're going out essentially doubling that figure! We're applying with the view to moving out with little capital, renting, getting casual work until we can find teaching positions and getting by! We currently own a house, have a nice car and are comfortable; but we have debts, family troubles and want a better quality of life. I think we realise we're going to have to work really hard and it's going to be a massive struggle at first - and judging on this forum, the people that don't tend to come back, know this. You'll be fine!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Everyone who emigrates has to be skilled in some job, that entitles them to get a visa and none of these jobs pay the minimum wage in fact most are paid very well, at $60,000 that sort of wage is just below the average and it is equivalent to earning about £27,000 back home in the uk, plus your wage and some overtime, you should be alright. Most newly created jobs in the uk are either, part time or paid at the minimum wage, it is just how it is these days, due to the financial crisis the uk is facing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 If it aint broke, dont fix it. If what you have in UK is: security of employment, a home in a good area and the kids in good schools with a wide social support network then don't bugger it up. $60k is not much to live on - it goes further in some places than others of course! In Canberra you would be seriously struggling (also the other major cities) but in Coonabarabran (or some other out of the way place) you would be OK. Of course it is a liveable wage - the average wage is around the $65k mark ($70k for men, $60k for women, give or take) but you will find many families are forced into being two income families to make ends meet - either that or they are living off Centrelink. Of course, there might be overtime - I have heard of employers who entice people over on the promise of overtime only to find that it doesnt happen, so be sure to check out the likelihood of that happening. Then, of course, you muck up your work life balance by having to work all sorts of antisocial hours just to get the money in - catch 22 really. If OTOH you have an itch for adventure, you can make a move safely (take a career break, rent out home, keep kids' spots in schools etc) then go for it and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the raes Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 thanks for all the thoughts, not sure if its to much of a gamble, do we want to strugle i am 37 and at a stage in life were we are comfortable, house prices seem to be through the roof we would need to spend about 400k and take it over 25 years again. pauline,david and callum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scotinaus Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 I think it totally depends on where you will be living... I live in inner Melbourne which is more expensive than many other places, and cheaper than others. I have found the cost of living here has increased a lot in theist five years. Many things are cheaper of course but things like clothes, shoes, even white goods and cars are cheaper in the UK. I am sure things probably balance out in the end, especially with the price of car insurance and petrol in the UK, but it's definitely not a cheap country... I saw a study that said jousts affordability was worse here than in London at the moment (costs around 7 times annual income instead of 5 or 6 there). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scotinaus Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Sorry I hit reply too soon! Was going to end by saying I adore Australia and will be very sad when the time comes to make the move back to the UK, even if it's temporary. But if you are coming here you don't want to be just scraping by... It's a big country with lots to see and do! I would definitely consider all these factors before making such a big move. Good luck with everything!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exile Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 we are thinking off making the move got our TRA and SA sponsorship and now just need to press the button with the visa fee, but got cold feet can we afford to live their, we only have 10 years left on our house and have 50k profit on it if well sell it and some savings to take with us and OH has job to go to 60k year but overtime their also and i would get a job, is it possible on this or not. pauline, david , callum:realmad: I personally would not sell your UK house. If you can rent it out and the rent covers the mortgage then I'd do that. The unfortunate fact at the moment is that the GBP:AUD conversion is appalling. That 50k value is worth much more in the UK, so I would leave it there. Make sense? Cold feet is only natural to be honest. 60k would be a bit of a struggle if you wanted to live right in the CBD of Sydney and expected restaurant meals every night! I think you will be fine. Also remember that when you get a job as well, the likelihood is that it will double the income. RE The cost of living: At the moment, if you look at the cost of things with "GBP eyes", then it may be really bloody daunting. If you think about it from AUD perspective, once earning, it doesn't become quite as bad. But in reality there are some things here that are just annoyingly expensive, either way you look at it. In the same way that UK petrol is really expensive. It just is, there's no two ways about it. On the flip side there are also solutions to cut downs costs, and many threads in PIO will have plenty of tips. Long story short, just live within your means and find your feet and you will be absolutely fine. I wouldn't let an opportunity pass you buy, as you may end up regretting it. Just go for it. but try not to sell your house if possible. At least not yet. Just rent in Australia till the dust settles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ph0en1x Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Hi there! What you have to remember is that a lot of Australians get by on the minimum wage just fine - it's not an amazing standard of living, but they get by. You're going out essentially doubling that figure! We're applying with the view to moving out with little capital, renting, getting casual work until we can find teaching positions and getting by! We currently own a house, have a nice car and are comfortable; but we have debts, family troubles and want a better quality of life. I think we realise we're going to have to work really hard and it's going to be a massive struggle at first - and judging on this forum, the people that don't tend to come back, know this. You'll be fine!! The minimum wage here is $15/ph, if you double that and you have a family you will struggle, that is if you are using that reasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil & Vikki Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 We were thinking that when we left, but have found that you live on what you get. If you are the kind of people who say we will stay in and watch the TV tonight, rather then going out to a top restaurant and blowing the whole of the weeks shopping money, you will be fine. We have found the if you look around hard enough, you can make that dollar stretch a bit more. We only have one wage coming in at the moment and we manage (family of four). There are times that we have to think about can we afford it, but on the whole we have a better standard of life here. Quite a few of the things that you can do here are free, or dont cost that much, like spent the day at the beach. The only thing that we find is that we are not able to save as much a month as we could in the UK. In the UK the house was paid for so all money could go into savings, but here quite a lot has to go on rent. In saying that we know it is only short term so it is all OK. Good luck and at the end of the day there is only one way you will find out, go for it :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boganbear Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Looking at recent job vacancies in the Uk for my profession (librarianship), wages have not gone up in 10 years. I've seen job ads paying the same or even less than what i was on 10 years ago. In Oz, I earn double what i was on before I left the UK. That's not everyone's experience of Australia and we still cannto afford to buy a house here but we can save quite a bit, see the beautiful countryside and have holidays which we couldn't do in the UK. No way I'm going back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ph0en1x Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Looking at recent job vacancies in the Uk for my profession (librarianship), wages have not gone up in 10 years. I've seen job ads paying the same or even less than what i was on 10 years ago. In Oz, I earn double what i was on before I left the UK. That's not everyone's experience of Australia and we still cannto afford to buy a house here but we can save quite a bit, see the beautiful countryside and have holidays which we couldn't do in the UK. No way I'm going back! Using the famous 2.2 calculation you need to earn more than double your UK wage to have the same standard of living Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 People always say they regret not doing things they wanted to do in life. Few people regret trying something new. So if you have been dreaming of Aus you should definately go for it. Otherwise you will always have that "If Only...." feeling for the rest of your life. As everyone says, and I know to, you live to your means so earning more doesn't meant you have more money in the bank, you just spend more. Hopefully you will be able to increase your earning power once you have settled into a job and maybe get a better paying one when you have proved your ability here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine111 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 If OTOH you have an itch for adventure, you can make a move safely (take a career break, rent out home, keep kids' spots in schools etc) then go for it and see what happens. Couldn't agree with Quoll more. It is a fabulous adventure, edge your bets. We have been away 10 yrs, 5 yrs here in Perth. First 3 yrs in Perth where great, was in awe of the place, but now it just doesn't tick all the boxes anymore. However, so glad we did it, cause we would have been wondering what if...... Very excited about heading back to the UK with different eyes. Think more people should do it! Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Its really up to you and obviously there is no certainty about anything. To migrate successfully you have to be very committed and in my view it has nothing to do with the cost of living, its all about not wanting to stay in the UK anymore. Know it was for my family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the raes Posted May 30, 2011 Author Share Posted May 30, 2011 hi thanks for all the help, just need to grow a back bone and get on with it. thanks pauline david and callum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Its really up to you and obviously there is no certainty about anything. To migrate successfully you have to be very committed and in my view it has nothing to do with the cost of living, its all about not wanting to stay in the UK anymore. Know it was for my family. You do indeed have to be committed, self sufficient, self confident and somewhat selfish to make a go of it. For us it wasnt about leaving UK so much as the next opportunity arose in Australia and (unfortunately for me) we stayed. I tend to think that if you have a good life where you are, then dont bugger it up. If you have a nice place in a nice area and your kids are in good schools and you have a good social network then work out whether you are prepared to gamble all that and lose (life's a gamble no matter which way you look at it). Consider the odds and then make a decision - it's a much easier decision if you have a job to go to and it looks like an improvement on the one you currently have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piglet1 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I gambled, and I won. Back from where I came from, the purchasing power is low (but enough to get by honestly), and discrimination happens (not too happy about that, when certain races get 7% when buying properties, etc). But my average salary is well, average and things are getting expensive. I was only earning about $10k AUD per year after conversion from my local currency of course, and this, I was working in a specialised field. My OH is aussie and he said leave those behind and come back (he was on a world trip and working on his stock trading when I bump into him - together for 2.5 years now) and we did. Both found jobs, and getting a well paid jobs for both of us. Life couldnt be any better than now. But of course, I miss my family and friends, and the familiarity that I grew up with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gibbo Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 If it aint broke, dont fix it. If what you have in UK is: security of employment, a home in a good area and the kids in good schools with a wide social support network then don't bugger it up. excellent advice as usual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sancha2 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 we are thinking off making the move got our TRA and SA sponsorship and now just need to press the button with the visa fee, but got cold feet can we afford to live their, we only have 10 years left on our house and have 50k profit on it if well sell it and some savings to take with us and OH has job to go to 60k year but overtime their also and i would get a job, is it possible on this or not. pauline, david , callum:realmad: I would strongly recommend keeping your UK house, maybe renting it out because its hard to get where you are in the UK so if you ever wanted to return you will have it. Also if your husband has a job lined up you don't really need so much cash at hand to start with. 60k is good, not great! here though. Food cost alot but then you don't have so many bills. You will never know until you have done it but i would do it with a back up plan maybe think about 2 years and go from there. I have been here 11 years and its not been easy. It has been fun and the country is great! there is so much to see. We are going home this year and i wish we had a house to return to. Good Luck:smile: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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