Aussie Cost of Living

[Q4NVS]

Friend of mine is considering moving to Oz as LJ45 FO.

The money talk is in the region of Aus$ 6000 per month. In Aussie terms, anyone knows how this shapes up wrt cost of living etc.

What would be a good SA (Rand) equivalent, if for a moment one can forget about the crime etc (tough as it may be...)

Oh the Boks! :zzz: :{ :yuk:

[james ozzie]

Not easy to offer a simple comparison but here is some info.

$72k p.a. is not a bad wage - quite far above the "average" of about $60k but be careful of those kinds of statistics. Some major factors include:

Where will your pal be living? if Sydney, then housing cost is a major income eater. Costs have also rocketed up in other centres, especially Perth, which is enjoying a mining resource boom right now - houses up about 25% in the last year. Other than Syney (& Melbourne) house prices are not that different to what they have become in SA after the latest boom. A typical modest subsurban house in Brisbane ranges from about $350k in a "starter" suburb. I think Sydney would be almost double that. There are plenty of good websites - google them & study. Rentals about $350 /week for a suburban small house in Brisbane. Traffic is not good, so house prices in far flung suburbs are lower but it can be a hellish CBD commute. This may not affect your pal. Interest rate a bit lower than SA (but the gap is closing), so loans are affordable.

Our weekly shopping trolley is about $150 to $200 (2 adults & 1 to 2 kids). Meat is about the same as SA, fruit & veg more & not as good (prepare for the shock of the $8 cauliflower!)

Schooling - about one third of Ozzie kids are in private schools (!) These include the Catholic schools, which are part subsidised by the Church & are not as pricey as the independent schools. Expect to pay $12-15K p.a for a private school - not feasible on that wage. Catholic school about $6k p.a. My daughter went to a State school & cracked it - her SA schooling prepared her very well. But accept the cuture shock of seeing a kid with an Afro hairdo walking to school in his uniform puffing on a cigarette - never in a private school though. Also kids at school living on their own in flats with state allowances.

Appliances - more expensive than SA; cars cheaper, servicing cheaper, insurance, cheaper, electricity, cheaper. Car registration - about $600 per year (!) but includes 3rd party. Expect to pay lots to park (Sydney airport $13 as you drive in; Brisbane CBD can be $20 for a couple of hours) Public transport - quite expensive & quite good - I think it not smart to run a car & use public transport - but you still need a car for flexibility.

Anything needing labour - a lot more expensive than you might expect.

Medical- effectively free (or at least subsidised) for Permanent Residents. Dentistry - no assistance, so (in my opinion) Oz is a nation of people with bad teeth. Get any expensive dental work done in SA

Then there is the narrowing of wages - the lowest paid are not much less that the highest paid. Many SA people are surprised to find they can earn the same money delivering furniture (for example) as being some manager with a tie round their neck sitting in front of a computer.

One of the secrets of getting ahead in Oz - your spouse/ partner needs to contribute to earnings. The second income makes a massive difference, especially as the money can be quite good for even quite humble occupations, and only part time at that.

There are zillions of South Africans & Zimmies here in Oz. Where I am in west Brisbane there are reputed to be 50,000 under the single post code of 4069 (covers 3 suburbs) - more so than any other post code in the world, so they say. Perth has about 110,000 SAs but they are more widely dispersed. The good news is that they seem to all settle well & prosper, with admittedly some initial shocks here & there.

Your mate should use the opportunity to get over here & get citizenship as well as build contacts - the money offer is less important at first. One here, he/she will always be able to network into a better position if they need to.

And well done the bokke....

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Missed the end of the game, did you...?:(

[Shrike200]

Were they snatching defeat from the jaws of victory again? :sad: (I missed the game obviously)

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Yep. Last minute try to even things up and a conversion to put the score at 20-18 to Oz. We need a slow clap smiley dedicated to Jake's bozos...:yuk:

[vagabond 47]

Yep. Last minute try to even things up and a conversion to put the score at 20-18 to Oz. We need a slow clap smiley dedicated to Jake's bozos...:yuk:

WILL IT BE REVENGE ON THE HIGH VELD?:ugh: