The true cost of expat living in Australia

Generali

Wages and living standards are more compressed in Aus I think. You earn less at the top and more at the bottom and that's an explicit aim of Government policy and also of the people at large.

If you pay less than a living wage then you can expect to get a pretty hard time from the community even if what you're doing is legal. It's nice that things like that are enforced by the people rather than by the Government to a large extent.

breadlinebetty

Generali wrote: »

The minimum wage is $15.51/hr but it's a bit more complex than that.

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/national-minimum-wage/pages/default.aspx

It depends on the industry you're in etc. Also, taxes are much lower in Aus than in the UK so net wages are commensurately higher. You can get a nice 2 bed flat just outside Wollongong for $250, eg (link) which would be fine for an adult couple to share. You could cycle to the beach from there in yuor swimmers and 'thongs' (filp flops).

Rents I do mean per week.

Hi Generali, do you pay your rent weekly, 4 weekly, or monthly? I would have thought monthly would have been much more simple?

Generali

breadlinebetty wrote: »

Hi Generali, do you pay your rent weekly, 4 weekly, or monthly? I would have thought monthly would have been much more simple?

Hi BB

It depends on the place that you rent. In the current place I pay rent weekly which is a PITA. Most often you pay rent fortnightly as almost all Australians are paid fortnightly. The last place and next place were/will be fortnightly rent.

Monthly pay is highly unusual, normally only done by foreign firms. Weekly pay is only really for temps.

breadlinebetty

Generali wrote: »

Hi BB

It depends on the place that you rent. In the current place I pay rent weekly which is a PITA. Most often you pay rent fortnightly as almost all Australians are paid fortnightly. The last place and next place were/will be fortnightly rent.

Monthly pay is highly unusual, normally only done by foreign firms. Weekly pay is only really for temps.

Oh that's interesting to know.

Of course, paying monthly by DDs is the norm over here as you know - do you just set up fortnightly Standing orders in Aus?

I'm so used to paying monthly DDs I'd find weekly/fortnightly more fiddly - but I suppose you get used to it?

Would you say there's any benefits to being paid fortnightly? I suppose you can't run low on funds at the end of the month like happens in the UK!

Generali

breadlinebetty wrote: »

Oh that's interesting to know.

Of course, paying monthly by DDs is the norm over here as you know - do you just set up fortnightly Standing orders in Aus?

I'm so used to paying monthly DDs I'd find weekly/fortnightly more fiddly - but I suppose you get used to it?

Would you say there's any benefits to being paid fortnightly? I suppose you can't run low on funds at the end of the month like happens in the UK!

It's ok because it's the norm. If you get paid monthly and you spend monthly then that's good and if you get paid fortnightly and spend fortnightly then that works too. The problem is if your pay and bills are on different cycles.

You are slightly richer on the same wage if you are paid fortnightly as you only have to wait 2 weeks rather than a month to get paid but that's a pretty marginal difference TBH.

The big advantage, as you allude to, is that if you get a big, unexpected bill that wipes out your spending money for the pay period then you only have to wait a fortnight until you're back on track!

On balance I prefer being paid fortnightly. I wouldn't turn down a new job if it meant moving back to monthly pay though.

drc

Generali wrote: »

It's ok. Supermarket chillies here are terrible. They have no heat, literally. I thought I'd omitted them first time I used them. I get a bag of about 20 or so from one of the excellent Asian supermarkets here for a buck.

Veggies are expensive here, red meat is cheap. Cigarettes are expensive and petrol is cheap.

Generally the cost of living in Aus is probably higher than in the UK but then wages are higher.

And you get year round sun and blue skies.

chewmylegoff

Last time I was in Aus there was torrential rain every day for five weeks and then everything flooded. When it wasn't raining it was overcast. The three times before that it was 40 degrees and about 98% humidity interspersed with massive storms and car destroying hail. The moral of the story is don't go to Brisbane.

property.advert

If your entertainment can be free or cheap then that offers a lot of compensation for higher costs elsewhere. In the UK, the weather precludes many activities and as such, entertainment tends to be more indoors and costly.

PasturesNew

property.advert wrote: »

If your entertainment can be free or cheap then that offers a lot of compensation for higher costs elsewhere. In the UK, the weather precludes many activities and as such, entertainment tends to be more indoors and costly.

Telly, with the lights out, £124/year or so.

Generali

PasturesNew wrote: »

Telly, with the lights out, £124/year or so.

Going to the beach to watch the kids play with with the waves, $f all or so!!!