Another possible Brit moving over - Sydney

[dxbtiger]

Morning all,

I have been approached about a job in Syndey, had second interview 2 nights ago, got final one next week sometime by video call.

I am in Dubai at the moment and love it, always thought that Aus would be my next potential move it's just come quicker than I imagined.

Been a while since the tax man had his mitts on my money, my current basic is US$50,000 with an OTE of around US$80,000

Basic is Aus$110,000 rising to around $140,000, the office is in Bligh Street which is near the Opera House I think?

As I understand the take home on the basic would be around 80-85?

Assume we could survive on my Salary until she finds a job?

Any advice gratefully about cost of living, housing, general stuff etc gratefully received.

Guess the closer to the office I live then the more expensive and/or smaller place it will be?

Would be going out on my own at first, but long term girlfriend would be joining in a few months once the dogs could come with her.

Thanks

[200bhp]

Is it just you or do you have family too?

Use this site to work out your take-home: http://www.paycalculator.com.au/

[dxbtiger]

200bhp said:

Is it just you or do you have family too?

Use this site to work out your take-home: http://www.paycalculator.com.au/

thanks, so $79,703 on my basic.

Just me initially, girlfriend would join once everything is squared away here and she could bring the dogs.

No kids and she would look to find a job, she currently works in banking.

[bigunit00]

Joint incomes at that level you will be fine. I think you will find it quite expensive just living off yours though. Sydney is not cheap.

[JRM]

A couple of things spring to mind, firstly it is an expensive place to be, but I would say about 2.1:1 compared to the UK, i.e. take a UK salary, double it (and a bit), stick a $ in front and that's roughly what you need for status quo if you are renting a place.

Secondly the government recently scrapped the Livving Away From Home Allowance, which would have allowed you to effectively rent and buy food tax free, so if you hear stories of where some ex-pats used to live on similar wages, factor in that they may have been here with significant help.

Depending on what kind of lifestyle you are looking for you should be fine. Go onto domain.com.au to look at the rental prices

Compared to the UK petrol's cheap (although not compared to Dubai) and electricity is extortionate!

[200bhp]

Take a look at carsales.com.au for an idea of how big another of your major initial costs will be. Second hand cars here are expensive - There is no such thing as a cheap banger.

In the 6 months running up to leaving the UK I bought a 14yr old Lexus for 700 pounds and sold it for 400. It had 196000 miles on the clock but was in excellent condition.

I looked recently for a similar Lexus and found them for $7000 complete with dodgy wheels, noisy exhaust and blacked out windows.

There is also no MOT requirement (at least in WA there isnt) so buying a cheap car could be fun!!

[JRM]

Good point on the car front, I ended up buying new as the depreciation seems pretty linear and you get a deent warranty for piece of mind.

[dxbtiger]

bigunit00 said:

Joint incomes at that level you will be fine. I think you will find it quite expensive just living off yours though. Sydney is not cheap.

Guessed as much, Dubai isn't cheap either though

JRM said:

A couple of things spring to mind, firstly it is an expensive place to be, but I would say about 2.1:1 compared to the UK, i.e. take a UK salary, double it (and a bit), stick a $ in front and that's roughly what you need for status quo if you are renting a place.

Secondly the government recently scrapped the Livving Away From Home Allowance, which would have allowed you to effectively rent and buy food tax free, so if you hear stories of where some ex-pats used to live on similar wages, factor in that they may have been here with significant help.

Depending on what kind of lifestyle you are looking for you should be fine. Go onto domain.com.au to look at the rental prices

Compared to the UK petrol's cheap (although not compared to Dubai) and electricity is extortionate!

Petrol here is free as far as I am concerned, I spend sweet FA running a mildy modded 2006 Mustang GT.

Our apartment costs us 16k sterling a year in rent only, although we do rent the second bedroom out to a mate who is in town 2 weeks a month

200bhp said:

Take a look at carsales.com.au for an idea of how big another of your major initial costs will be. Second hand cars here are expensive - There is no such thing as a cheap banger.

In the 6 months running up to leaving the UK I bought a 14yr old Lexus for 700 pounds and sold it for 400. It had 196000 miles on the clock but was in excellent condition.

I looked recently for a similar Lexus and found them for $7000 complete with dodgy wheels, noisy exhaust and blacked out windows.

There is also no MOT requirement (at least in WA there isnt) so buying a cheap car could be fun!!

Is a car a must from the outset? Is public transport a viable option to get to and from work (obviously depending on where you live)?. I will be office based 99% of the time.

JRM said:

Good point on the car front, I ended up buying new as the depreciation seems pretty linear and you get a deent warranty for piece of mind.

I have done the nice car thing here so it would just be a basic run around probably, not very PH but it may make economic sense.

Do companies generally provide healthcare?

I noticed there was a deduction in the wage calculator, is that the Aus NHS?

Is a flight home normally included in expat pacakages? We all get one here.

[pikey]

dxbtiger said:

Is a car a must from the outset? Is public transport a viable option to get to and from work (obviously depending on where you live)?. I will be office based 99% of the time.

Do companies generally provide healthcare?

I noticed there was a deduction in the wage calculator, is that the Aus NHS?

Is a flight home normally included in expat pacakages? We all get one here.

Car - depends where you are based. We live in an area with a good bus service into the CBD for me, but where my wife works there isn't a service at all so we need a car.

Healthcare - it was a condition of our 457 Visa that we had comprehensive healthcare (ie. not paid by the company).

The deduction in the wage calculator - you might have been looking at "super". Ie. Superannuation - obligatory pension.

Flight home - if you can negotiate it. My missus tried but didn't succeed on that front. (Sadly!)

[dxbtiger]

6 months process to get the dogs and therefore the missus out.

That sucks

[pikey]

dxbtiger said:

6 months process to get the dogs and therefore the missus out.

That sucks

Sucks even more when you find the vet lied to you about the sample coming back clean. Turns out our vet lost the sample and never sent it to the lab. That cost us 4 months..

[JRM]

said:

ar - depends where you are based. We live in an area with a good bus service into the CBD for me, but where my wife works there isn't a service at all so we need a car.

Healthcare - it was a condition of our 457 Visa that we had comprehensive healthcare (ie. not paid by the company).

The deduction in the wage calculator - you might have been looking at "super". Ie. Superannuation - obligatory pension.

Flight home - if you can negotiate it. My missus tried but didn't succeed on that front. (Sadly!)

Factor in that 9% of your salary has to go into a pension, so you need to know if that is inclluded in your package or additional - big difference.

Also worth noting that with private healthcare, which is not always a default benefit here, doesn't cover the full costs like it does in the UK. It's very difficult to fully understand, but if you need to use it you are bound to need to shell out some cash as well - having said that the service is superb

[Mattt]

I moved here from UAE/Qatar, so relevant experience!

You are treated differently here, you're expected to be a resident rather than an ex-pat so things like flights home etc generally aren't included.

I think you'd be fine on your wage if you lived in a flat share, at least until your Mrs arrives/works but would be tight (in relative terms) as a single guy in the CBD.

Cars are expensive, my Disco cost me $45k when the UK equivalent would have been $30k.

You'd need to have private medical at that pay rate, as if you earn over $85k then you get hit with an extra tax. My medical costs me $250/month for top coverage with BUPA. You still have to pay the base Medicare levy which is 1.5% IIRC, but save an additional 1% on top.

As above check if 9% super is included/excluded from base salary.

Australia is a place where you can set up a life, whereas I think Dubai is good for a few years but isn't 'real' if you know what I mean?

[Colonial]

You'd be fine on that income.

It's above average.

You won't be loaded but you can have a comfortable existence.

Say 80k takehome. A quarter of that per year on a decent 1 bedroom place within easy commute, like Neutral Bay etc.

Some people have rather unrealistic expectations on what is a normal income.

[dxbtiger]

Cheers all.

Matt, didn't realise you'd left Qatar.

You are right in a way about Dubai but I have lived here for a total of 15 years out of my 32 years on the planet so it actually does very much feel like home.

Will get busy with google over the weekend looking at property, cars etc.

Someone else has already suggested Neutral Bay so will start there.

[pikey]

dxbtiger said:

Someone else has already suggested Neutral Bay so will start there.

Good bus service into the CBD

[Colonial]

said:

Good bus service into the CBD

And if you live at the bottom end, you can get the ferry.

I used to live near Taronga Zoo in Mosman and caught the ferry into the city for work everyday.

Best way of commuting, ever.

[james5]

Sydney is the best places in the word to visit.

[dxbtiger]

A friend in Melbourne has said that if work put me on a 457 visa I can then sponsor the missus, sound about right?

[Mattt]

If she qualifies as de-facto (6 months living together as a guide) then yes.