Perth residents: Can you help me with these living costs?
Discussion
I wonder if some of you Perth residents could help me out with a few monthly costs?
I'm looking at houses for about $300 a week in the Mandurah area and really have no idea what the monthly running costs will be!
Things like council tax, water rates, gas, electricity, phone, broadband, house insurance and so on (you get the idea)
Can anyone help?
I'm looking at houses for about $300 a week in the Mandurah area and really have no idea what the monthly running costs will be!
Things like council tax, water rates, gas, electricity, phone, broadband, house insurance and so on (you get the idea)
Can anyone help?
Don't know Perth, but for a thumb in the air, you'll pay around $200/month for a phone/broadband/foxtel TV package from Telstra - that includes cheap minutes to UK landlines for calling home as well, plus about a 100Gb capped broadband, which should be plenty unless you're on bit torrent 24/7!
We pay about $150/quarter each for gas and electricity in Sydney.
As Pomegranite said, council tax & water rates should be built into the rent, so only your utilities to worry about.
If you don't need a home phone (we don't, wish I hadn't bothered!), you can get a 'naked' ADSL connection for about $50/month, then just use Skype over your home WiFi to call abroad and your usual mobile to call around Australia.
Mobile will cost you $40-$100/month depending on carrier/pacakge, but I'd recommend Telstra for mobile as well as they've the only decent network. On the flipside it's one of the best mobile networks I've ever used - blistering speed everywhere on 3G.
We pay about $150/quarter each for gas and electricity in Sydney.
As Pomegranite said, council tax & water rates should be built into the rent, so only your utilities to worry about.
If you don't need a home phone (we don't, wish I hadn't bothered!), you can get a 'naked' ADSL connection for about $50/month, then just use Skype over your home WiFi to call abroad and your usual mobile to call around Australia.
Mobile will cost you $40-$100/month depending on carrier/pacakge, but I'd recommend Telstra for mobile as well as they've the only decent network. On the flipside it's one of the best mobile networks I've ever used - blistering speed everywhere on 3G.
A bit of info - get a contractless 3g card for very little and then perhaps Virgin for mobile. I had an Iphone for about $70 per month but my minutes included international calls in that.
That way when you move out of your rental you dont have to deal with Telstra (aholes), no contract, ability to skype and international calls.
Firmly believe the less you have on contract the better due to the mobility you require when you first move to the country. Also you find that once you've been there a few months you suddenly work it all out and could get better deals than when you arrived. So go easy on getting everything sorted asap.
That way when you move out of your rental you dont have to deal with Telstra (aholes), no contract, ability to skype and international calls.
Firmly believe the less you have on contract the better due to the mobility you require when you first move to the country. Also you find that once you've been there a few months you suddenly work it all out and could get better deals than when you arrived. So go easy on getting everything sorted asap.
Pommygranite said:
p.s why Mandurah? Job there?
No.
We're off on a fact finding holiday in 2011 but in the mean time Mandurah seems to be a popular choice with expats.
I know we cant decide on where we'll want to be until we've had a look around and found work etc.
Are there any areas worth avoiding in Perth?
We'd like a smallish house to start with (theres no point in wasting money on a rental) within 15 mins drive of the sea, not bothered about a pool.
Mandurahs a nice area but its a distance from Perth compared to most of the Perth commuter belt. Probably only an issue if your job is near/in Perth.
It's a lovely place for a day for lunch/visit but perhaps not much there if you live there. I think a lot of poms go there when visiting and like the holiday feel so live there. Deviant lives not far so his opinion more valid than mine.
It is expensive area and not at all bad and so if you don't mind it quiet and your job is not Perth based then go for it
It's a lovely place for a day for lunch/visit but perhaps not much there if you live there. I think a lot of poms go there when visiting and like the holiday feel so live there. Deviant lives not far so his opinion more valid than mine.
It is expensive area and not at all bad and so if you don't mind it quiet and your job is not Perth based then go for it
Ok asked as it may be that your field has more jobs in Perth city and so Mandurah would be quite a way out. If however you can work anywhere then it's a decent place.
If you do commute I would go as far south as rockingham and as far north as Butler as the train is your friend.
I wouldn't commute by car into the city - I used to live 25kms south of Perth and it's a 45m-1hr drive and bumper to bumper. Never again.
If you do commute I would go as far south as rockingham and as far north as Butler as the train is your friend.
I wouldn't commute by car into the city - I used to live 25kms south of Perth and it's a 45m-1hr drive and bumper to bumper. Never again.
Personally I could not live in Mandurah. There is not much to it and it is expensive. It is also a heck of a treck to the city. I am in Rockingham and I would not want to be any further from the city especially if I worked there.
You can be 15 minutes or less from the beach practically anywhere in Perth. The further North you go the hotter and more expensive it gets.
If you are renting then council rates and water are likely to be covered in the rent but this can vary.
Power and gas depend on how the house is set up. Air con, gas, electric or solar hot water etc.
We both have a $29 cap plan with 3 mobile and no land line.
Internet is iinet naked...something like $60 / month with around 100gb month limit.
You can be 15 minutes or less from the beach practically anywhere in Perth. The further North you go the hotter and more expensive it gets.
If you are renting then council rates and water are likely to be covered in the rent but this can vary.
Power and gas depend on how the house is set up. Air con, gas, electric or solar hot water etc.
We both have a $29 cap plan with 3 mobile and no land line.
Internet is iinet naked...something like $60 / month with around 100gb month limit.
Dubai said:
Whose paying $150 for elec a quarter? I want to live there.
$450 a quarter here living in QLD in a 2 bed loft with outside Studio.
Would hate to see next bill as recently installed A.C.
I'm paying $160 a quarter on my old place and my new place. $450 a quarter here living in QLD in a 2 bed loft with outside Studio.
Would hate to see next bill as recently installed A.C.
Old place was a 2 bedroom house, new place is a large 1 bed apartment.
No one is at home during the day, and don't have AC I guess.
Our electricity is about that as well. 2 of us in a small 3 bed duplex with AC, solar hot water and gas cooking.
Our gas bill is negligible and the water is not much either.
Honestly I think Australia has the cheapest utilities V income of pretty much anywhere in the world. If you are working full time and not paying ridiculous rent / mortgage then I don't think they are something to sweat over.
Our gas bill is negligible and the water is not much either.
Honestly I think Australia has the cheapest utilities V income of pretty much anywhere in the world. If you are working full time and not paying ridiculous rent / mortgage then I don't think they are something to sweat over.
Thought I'd continue this thread rather than starting another on a similar, related topic.
I've been trawling the web trying to work out where the most likely places will be that I could find a job in Perth. It seems that most are either around Welshpool / Beckenham to the south of the airport or just to the north of the airport around Morley and Bassendean.
So where would be a good place to start looking for something thats easily commutable to there? Ideally I dont want to spend more than 40mins each way sat in the car!
I've been trawling the web trying to work out where the most likely places will be that I could find a job in Perth. It seems that most are either around Welshpool / Beckenham to the south of the airport or just to the north of the airport around Morley and Bassendean.
So where would be a good place to start looking for something thats easily commutable to there? Ideally I dont want to spend more than 40mins each way sat in the car!
http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/ has all the bus and train times and routes on it. You can just enter your start and end point and it will figure stuff out for you. Combine that with google maps and the addresses of some companies and you should get a fair idea of how long your commute will be and how you will do it.
Public transport is cheap, clean and reliable here but if you are working in the industrial areas you might find it difficult to use public transport. I am in an industrial estate in Bibra Lake and I could get a bus from the end of my street but it only gets me to the outskirt of the industrial estate about 2.5kms away.
The freeways can be absolutely shocking in the mornings and evenings. I live in Rockingham (just north of Mandurah) and if the roads are clear it only takes 35-45 minutes to drive (about 25 minutes on the train) but during the week it can take well over an hour.
Public transport is cheap, clean and reliable here but if you are working in the industrial areas you might find it difficult to use public transport. I am in an industrial estate in Bibra Lake and I could get a bus from the end of my street but it only gets me to the outskirt of the industrial estate about 2.5kms away.
The freeways can be absolutely shocking in the mornings and evenings. I live in Rockingham (just north of Mandurah) and if the roads are clear it only takes 35-45 minutes to drive (about 25 minutes on the train) but during the week it can take well over an hour.
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