willgolf82 Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 Hi Everyone! I am new to this forum so bear with me. Hopefully going to be moving to Perth 2015. Just going through the visa process at the moment. It will be me and my partner and our 1/2 year old making the move. Just wanted to get an idea of the amount of money we will need to earn to survive out there. I will be working as an Electrician and my partner will be doing whatever she can part time. I know its going to take us a while to find work, especially as i will have to work as a trade assistant until i have completed my Gap training etc. I just wanted to get a realistic amount that we will require to get by on each week/month. Also can anyone give me current costs of childcare, as my partner will have to work part time. Im sure i will be posting many more questions on here, so hopefully some of you guys can help me. Thanks Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redsquare Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hi Will. Welcome to the forum. Thought I'd give this a quick bump as sometimes questions can get missed and go unanswered. How much you need to live on depends what kind of lifestyle you want and expect. I'd recommend that you bring as much money as you can over here to tide you over before getting a job. No kids myself so can't tell you how much childcare cost are. I'm sure someone else will be along soon to give you a better answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hi, welcome to PP, sorry I missed this yesterday. As Redsquare says, how much you'll need will depend entirely on the kind of lifestyle you elect to live and where you set yourself up. Both of mine are in school so I can't help with costs and I've never used this before and couldn't say if it's any good but this site might give you an idea of costs; http://www.findababysitter.com.au/Search/Babysitters There has been a lot of discussion on the forum recently about all the hoops tradies are required to jump through and the sometimes significant costs in order to get their relevant licences. If you look up our member known as Straighttothepoint he has a budget sheet he can email to you that will help you work it all out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabeinaussie Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 I am in the same situation hoping to be in perth may 2014, we have a two year old and my husband will be working as a mechanic, hoping to be near Scarborough beach, will be interesting to hear people's views also!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 When I arrived in December 2011, I was earning about $70k, after tax was paid my rent ($1100) on a 4 x 2 with a 6 foot square garden at the rear in a decent suburb of Armadale was taking half of my take home pay per fortnight, my wife was unemployed for 8 months & she's an accountant she just couldn't get a job, the first 8 months here was rough. What I'm trying to say is Perth is bloody expensive, get your facts & figures correct, I was ready to give it all up after 6 months, it just wasn't worth it, fortunately I got a substantial pay rise which helped, then my wife got a decent job, since arriving I have managed to double my income, but it's still not easy, we have just had an electricity bill, when it got really warm we turned the aircon on, we worked out the aircon was costing us about $100 a week to run, we have turned it off again, the price of petrol has skyrocketed, it now cost me over $100 week to fill up, grocery shopping costs us $300 week and that's for a family of 4, the list of bills is endless, oh and don't forget when you rent you need a security bond, that's another two weeks rent to cough up, after you have vacated you wait weeks for the agent to pay you back. Bring lots of money, when you first arrive Perth is a money pit!, but I hope it will all be worth it in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedolly Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Childcare will cost you $90 a day in a day care centre but if you have PR you could qualify for the rebate which halves it. You might not need it for a while though, it is very hard to find a part time job here, I have tried for so many, even though some say part time the can still be over 30hrs a week, or they want you in every day for a few hours which means you have to pay a full day childcare even though kids are only in for a few hours, making it not worth while to actually work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabeinaussie Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks Druid, My calculations some bits $1600 rent, $800 bills, $800 food, $400 fuel, we are coming with about 20k in pounds for car, first few months rent until the monthly income rolls in, would you say this is realistic amounts!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedolly Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Depending where you go your rents a bit low, especially if you want beachside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougie and Elizabeth Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 I am noticing that it is very expensive to live in Perth I think I would realistically need around £30000 to start off and that's before I find a job, not feeling very optimistic now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayliandnathan Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hi all we too will be looking at 20-30k start up costs and will hope and pray we find work ASAP, my husband is a welder and would like to secure fifo work and I work with substance misuse and complex needs. We will require childcare and in mandurah this ranges from $45- $80 per day! I have spoken to someone who lives there who explained u can claim 75% child care costs back. Plus get a child allowance of $200 every 2 weeks for one child! Cost of living is higher although so are the wages and providing the employment is right then so should everything else be right, we both work full time in uk and we will go to aus expecting to have to work just as hard to achieve the lifestyle we want for our family. I think securing work is the biggest worry of all because spending sterling on an Aussie lifestyle it's never gonna go far is it!!! Kayli )))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaffanZimbo Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 We did our reccie in April 2013 and were to be honest shocked by the prices of food, cars, rentals and childcare. We plan to move later this year but OH will go first to find a job and I will follow with the children later. We've worked out a budget of £20k to get us through the first 3 months and that is only allowing £5k for a second hand car we know this will not buy us much as 2nd hand cars a really expensive. We also have the luxury of having friends we can stay with until we find a rental. If you have children go onto the various government websites as they show the rebates for childcare and child allowances etc are. Some are means tested and other are not. We have found that we will get up to $7500 a year per child back from any childcare costs with registered / recognised child care providers. However before school and school costs per child are $43/day during the school term and $50-60 per child per day during school holidays for the schools we hope to get the girls into. We have a 5 and 7 year old and I hope to find work ASAP but not optimistic as jobs look few and far between on Seek.com for my type of work. I also need to check if working will be worthwhile after taking into account childcare costs (after the rebate). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willgolf82 Posted February 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Thanks for all the replays guys! That's allot of help. Going to have to sit down and come up with some figures. I PM (straight to the point) for the spread sheet for living costs in Perth, which he has now sent to me. This should also help us getting our costs reasonably accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 Don't want to put anyone off but have you read this; http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/21409119/high-cost-perth/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJT Posted February 11, 2014 Report Share Posted February 11, 2014 We came out here seven months ago with a plan that it would take a year for hubby to find work and for us to settle. So financially we planned for this, as we really wanted to move to Perth and knew we would have lots of stress on the way, without adding the financial worry. My hubby was very successful in his last job and was highly valued, but it has taken seven months to find work here as it really is who you know and not what you know. Luckily we were mentally and financially prepared for this and made the most of him being off work and saw it as an extended holiday. It has been very hard work emotionally to get where we are, but I would not change a thing and now consider Perth my home, we have actually started to look at houses to buy now. I think as long as you are prepared as much as you can be and know that maybe you won't start you new life the very first week you land and you accept it will take time to adapt to everything, things should work out. Its a big move and so worth the gamble and I wish everyone who is coming out here this year all the very best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveJ Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Saffanzimbo can I ask when you did your recci how did you find the climate that time of year as we are planning the same next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibbs Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I've mentioned it before, but our annual outgoings (just bills, so excludes food/holidays/entertainment/going out) are about $60k. That's 2 people, 2 dogs, bought house and 2 cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 When I arrived in December 2011, I was earning about $70k, after tax was paid my rent ($1100) on a 4 x 2 with a 6 foot square garden at the rear in a decent suburb of Armadale was taking half of my take home pay per fortnight, my wife was unemployed for 8 months & she's an accountant she just couldn't get a job, the first 8 months here was rough. What I'm trying to say is Perth is bloody expensive, get your facts & figures correct, I was ready to give it all up after 6 months, it just wasn't worth it, fortunately I got a substantial pay rise which helped, then my wife got a decent job, since arriving I have managed to double my income, but it's still not easy, we have just had an electricity bill, when it got really warm we turned the aircon on, we worked out the aircon was costing us about $100 a week to run, we have turned it off again, the price of petrol has skyrocketed, it now cost me over $100 week to fill up, grocery shopping costs us $300 week and that's for a family of 4, the list of bills is endless, oh and don't forget when you rent you need a security bond, that's another two weeks rent to cough up, after you have vacated you wait weeks for the agent to pay you back. Bring lots of money, when you first arrive Perth is a money pit!, but I hope it will all be worth it in the end. Hi Druid I just wanted to ask what sort of air con you were using? Because I find that cost very high and we are supposed to have the most 'expensive' air conditioning to run in our house and it's no where near that! Just received our electricity bill for 2 months - December & January - so the two of the most expensive months of the year to run things and it was $250. We had 4 adults living in the house at the time as my parents were staying with us, so they used much more during the day than we usually would (I swear my mother had the washing machine on every day!) and they also used the air conditioning during the day. So our air con was usually on most of the day and all night for 2 months, we also had a small pool pump running for 10 hours a day every day. We have reverse cycle ducted air conditioning, which we were told not to install by so many people because of the cost to run. Now we've had it 6 months and our bills are no more than before we had it, and certainly not costing $100 a week! The settings we have it on are 24 degrees/cool/low fan speed. That's supposed to be the most efficient and it is a perfect temperature to keep the house. I would also wholeheartedly recommend those who want to save money on electricity getting a energy reader - a little gizmo that attaches to your electricity cable (outside in the box) and feeds information through to a handheld monitor. This shows you exactly how much you are spending at any given time. How much it costs you to boil water using the kettle, how much to have the tv on, even how much those non-energy efficient light bulbs cost to switch on! It is a real eye opener and I think one of the reasons our bills are so low. This is the one we use (can change the settings to $) but there are plenty out there http://www.amazon.co.uk/Owl-Connectivity-CM160-Wireless-Electricity/dp/B0041H6VXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392167077&sr=8-1&keywords=energy+monitor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkis2000 Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 We have been here a little over a month. I reckon that so far our set up costs are running at around $25k. That includes buying two cars and setting up house from scratch in terms of sticking cupboards, cleaning equipment etc. we are lucky in that we haven't had to pay any rental bond and we have only just started paying rent. Having said all that we have also enjoyed ourselves. We have had days out and also eaten out a lot so that probably accounts for a a few hundred!! I have been lucky enough to find a reasonably well paid job very quickly and I'm going on a diet so I'm hoping we will now even out and stop spending quite so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Druid Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks Druid, My calculations some bits $1600 rent, $800 bills, $800 food, $400 fuel, we are coming with about 20k in pounds for car, first few months rent until the monthly income rolls in, would you say this is realistic amounts!
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