What's a decent wage?

[phil]

Also (and this is to no-one in particular) - I was under the impression that if you rent, there are some utilities you don't pay for - or have I invented that?

That seems to vary dependent on landlord. Well worth checking when signing up - some rentals include (some) utility bills, some don't.

And I can tell you one thing, it gets in a right mess when your contract says you pay Allinta for gas, they've got the meter numbers muddled for three different units, your landlord forgets you pay your own gas and so when presented with a bill from Allinta in error just pays it and tries to claim it back from you. Don't get me started

[Guest martywilk]

yes . i take your point , it matters because the exchange rate has dropped so badly in the last 2 and a half years that hit is massive so therefore the money you bring over is drastically less and lessens your buying power , for instance in my case i had total assets of £160k to bring @ $2.8 which was the rate when we applied that would have got me $448k . nice , however when we got the visas it was $1.67 to the £1 equals $278k difference of $170k !! at todays rate $240k difference of $208k do you see the difference ? these are not small numbers so having played the waiting game for almost 2 years with my house and money in u.k you can see why it matters , i guess its fine if you don,t mind the debt at high interest rates and at 41 yrs as i am ? wish i was the type that sits easy with debt

[Guest NeilEB]

Hi Marty,

 

I knew I was missing something - thanks for explaining it.

 

Good luck with your move back home :-)

[Guest martywilk]

hey neil ,

don,t think im painting it black here just explaining my situation who knows could go back and if the exchange picks up in a year or two i can always come back here as visa is valid for 5 years i think ? . costs money i know but when you consider those figures i showed you not so bad i dont think on the upside if not i will take with me the fact that i have lived in this fantastic place and it truly is and had a bloody good time seen some beautiful places made some good friends will really miss it , funnily enough just had allied pickfors come round today to give me price to re ship back and the rep told me there are lots of people in my situation reluctantly returning home

[Guest Hushpuppy941]

I don't like these posts :0( Neil you'll have to explain it to me all tonight as I am completely confused by it all!!

 

Although very helpful, thank you Marty and Dean & Maragaret :0)

 

Hayley (aka Neil's wifey)

[Goat]

yes . i take your point , it matters because the exchange rate has dropped so badly in the last 2 and a half years that hit is massive so therefore the money you bring over is drastically less and lessens your buying power , for instance in my case i had total assets of £160k to bring @ $2.8 which was the rate when we applied that would have got me $448k . nice , however when we got the visas it was $1.67 to the £1 equals $278k difference of $170k !! at todays rate $240k difference of $208k do you see the difference ? these are not small numbers so having played the waiting game for almost 2 years with my house and money in u.k you can see why it matters , i guess its fine if you don,t mind the debt at high interest rates and at 41 yrs as i am ? wish i was the type that sits easy with debt

 

You say you been here 2 years rate hasn't dropped to 1.60 until recently was around 210 October 08 2.60 food is alot cheaper if you think out of tesco mode , look around the markets and spud shed and farmer jacks

[deanhewitt]

I think that trying to convert costs etc is a little pointless unless you are retiring here on with a UK pension.

 

If you live in the UK then you shop in the UK with your UK wages and you live within your means.

 

If you live in Perth then you shop in Perth with your Perth wages and will hopefully be able to live within your means.

 

What you need to look at is how much will i earn, how much will i need to live and what have i got left to have a life.

 

Only your own circumstances will be able to answer those questions.

 

We want to live in Perth for an all round better life than in the UK. For this we have expectations that we know will cost us considerably and want to make sure we have everything the same as the UK as a minimum, nice house, car, food, entertainment, health insurance etc

 

We could come to Perth and think we could cut on that and cut on this etc but is that our intention of a new life.

 

Although we have only been here since Monday we have found Perth very clean, friendly, we hae already met some great people who just want to invite you round for drinks, the people on here are very friendly and helpful, the raod layouts are great and the roads are dead after 8pm.

 

All in all only you can make the decision on what is right. We would love to be here for the dream life but everything has to be better for us than what we already have.

 

The weather has been great today so been to Scarborough beach which is lovely. The weather certainly does make everything look better.

[Goat]

I think that trying to convert costs etc is a little pointless unless you are retiring here on with a UK pension.

 

If you live in the UK then you shop in the UK with your UK wages and you live within your means.

 

If you live in Perth then you shop in Perth with your Perth wages and will hopefully be able to live within your means.

 

What you need to look at is how much will i earn, how much will i need to live and what have i got left to have a life.

 

Only your own circumstances will be able to answer those questions.

 

We want to live in Perth for an all round better life than in the UK. For this we have expectations that we know will cost us considerably and want to make sure we have everything the same as the UK as a minimum, nice house, car, food, entertainment, health insurance etc

 

We could come to Perth and think we could cut on that and cut on this etc but is that our intention of a new life.

 

Although we have only been here since Monday we have found Perth very clean, friendly, we hae already met some great people who just want to invite you round for drinks, the people on here are very friendly and helpful, the raod layouts are great and the roads are dead after 8pm.

 

All in all only you can make the decision on what is right. We would love to be here for the dream life but everything has to be better for us than what we already have.

 

The weather has been great today so been to Scarborough beach which is lovely. The weather certainly does make everything look better.

 

Beach it's winter in 3 days Nd it's freezing mAte

[deanhewitt]

Hi Goat

 

We are from Scotland this is great weather lol

[Guest martywilk]

@goat .... rate was 1.67 in november 2009 never been above 2.00 since i know hi-fx and money corp send email daily and boy do i watch it... spud shed wanneroo ? yes i have been there cheaper than drovers but at what price the breads reasonable the veggies.... iffy and they uplift the price of general things. mate ..... i love it here and not on here to knock the place truly .... why do we all pretend it,s not expensive here ? lets face it . what if it rained 2 days from 3 and was cold ????

[Guest NeilEB]

@goat .... rate was 1.67 in november 2009 never been above 2.00 since i know hi-fx and money corp send email daily and boy do i watch it... spud shed wanneroo ? yes i have been there cheaper than drovers but at what price the breads reasonable the veggies.... iffy and they uplift the price of general things. mate ..... i love it here and not on here to knock the place truly .... why do we all pretend it,s not expensive here ? lets face it . what if it rained 2 days from 3 and was cold ????

 

 

Honest question for you Marty - have you checked out the prices in England recently? You say you've been in Perth for 2 years now? Prices have increased dramtically (and the VAT has risen to 20%)

 

Petrol is around 135p for unleaded - about 138p for Diesel (at least in the South East it is)

 

Might be worth going on Tesco or something and doing an online shop - see what your basket comes to.

 

But you are right - Oz is expensive these days, but I'm reasonably certain it's more or less relative - once you learn to ignore the exchange rate (which should only affect you the one time you move over).

 

I've also heard of people with over £100k, buying an expensive car, shipping it over and selling it - get much more then the exchange rate that way if you buy the right car (and hold it for more then whatever the period is - 6 months?

[Goat]

Honest question for you Marty - have you checked out the prices in England recently? You say you've been in Perth for 2 years now? Prices have increased dramtically (and the VAT has risen to 20%)

 

Petrol is around 135p for unleaded - about 138p for Diesel (at least in the South East it is)

 

Might be worth going on Tesco or something and doing an online shop - see what your basket comes to.

 

But you are right - Oz is expensive these days, but I'm reasonably certain it's more or less relative - once you learn to ignore the exchange rate (which should only affect you the one time you move over).

 

I've also heard of people with over £100k, buying an expensive car, shipping it over and selling it - get much more then the exchange rate that way if you buy the right car (and hold it for more then whatever the period is - 6 months?

 

Not worth it you have to have owned the car for 12 months in the uk , after. Import duty and fees and the fact it's an import , heard that to sell em on you struggle to get a good price with itbeing an import

[Guest martywilk]

damn should have brought 3 porches !!! only kidding neil!!! . heads up petrol/diesel is around $1.55 here thats a quid a litre so not so far behind AND MOST CARS ARE GUZZLERS , i have a diesel was 97 cents 2 yrs ago re tesco funny you should say that we shopped online with asda as a reccie true story , last week , beans are $1.30 coles home brand here asda 29 pence or so.. heinz $1.55 here . 4 cornettos /drumstick $ 6.00 FOR 4... ASDA CORNETTOS 6 FOR £1.45 . NOT THAT I LIVE ON BEANS OR CORNETTOS , !!! GO TO MINDARRIE QUAYS A PINT OF BEER DOMESTIC OR IMPORT $10. A PINT ,6 BOTTLES OF STRONGBOW FROM WOOLWORTHS $17 . £ 3.99 IN MORRISONS ? HEALTH CARE WHICH YOU NEED AS A FILLING WILL COST YOU $500 UPWARDS $225 A , MONTH ......ROOT CANAL $7K HAVE A SOUTH AFRICAN FRIEND WHO FLEW BACK TO JO BERG TO HAVE ONE DONE AS THE WORK WAS CHEAPER INC FLIGHTS!!! GINGER NUTS HOME BRAND COLES AND YES ITS IN ARMY SURPLUSS LABELLING AT THE TILL !!! , $1.75.. U.K 50 P ?? HOWEVER WINE IS CHEAPER , MEAT GOOD QUALITY AND REASONABLE PRICE .AS I SAID IF IT RAINED 3/4 DAYS A WEEK . ???

[Mad Cow]

@goat .... rate was 1.67 in november 2009 never been above 2.00 since i know hi-fx and money corp send email daily and boy do i watch it... spud shed wanneroo ? yes i have been there cheaper than drovers but at what price the breads reasonable the veggies.... iffy and they uplift the price of general things. mate ..... i love it here and not on here to knock the place truly .... why do we all pretend it,s not expensive here ? lets face it . what if it rained 2 days from 3 and was cold ????

 

I dont think anyones trying to say its not expensive to live here ie mortgage, bills etc. it is! However, you can live fairly well if you are prepared to! We came here with £30,000 approx. that was three and a half years ago. We now have our own home, courtesy of the bank lol! We both work full time, no kids! We dont have a lot of spare cash but to us our quality of life is better! If it rained 2 days from 3 and was cold then we would not have come here in the first place! To us its about living by the beach, bbq in the parks, sunshine, the ozzzies, i love them lol! the different cultures, and MOST of all, we get to spend more time as a couple and our stress levels are lower than the uk. I wish you luck on your return to the uk, i really do. We have friends that are coming back to oz who returned last year to the uk, ok, they had to go back to know that they wanted to live, back here, in Perth. Expensive for them. But in the end, it was their choice. I cant wait for them to come back and i hope it works out for them, this time. Im digressing now lol! We shop at markets for fruit and veg and the quality is good! I go to coles or woolies for their ""specials". My food bill here is far less than the uk! My petrol is cheaper, my mortgage a bit more expensive, utility bills cheaper, clothes, well not as much choice so i dont buy as many lol Good luck to you and yours.

[Mad Cow]

Hi Goat

 

We are from Scotland this is great weather lol

 

Welcome to Perth!!

[Guest NeilEB]

I dont think anyones trying to say its not expensive to live here ie mortgage, bills etc. it is! However, you can live fairly well if you are prepared to! We came here with £30,000 approx. that was three and a half years ago. We now have our own home, courtesy of the bank lol! We both work full time, no kids! We dont have a lot of spare cash but to us our quality of life is better! If it rained 2 days from 3 and was cold then we would not have come here in the first place! To us its about living by the beach, bbq in the parks, sunshine, the ozzzies, i love them lol! the different cultures, and MOST of all, we get to spend more time as a couple and our stress levels are lower than the uk. I wish you luck on your return to the uk, i really do. We have friends that are coming back to oz who returned last year to the uk, ok, they had to go back to know that they wanted to live, back here, in Perth. Expensive for them. But in the end, it was their choice. I cant wait for them to come back and i hope it works out for them, this time. Im digressing now lol! We shop at markets for fruit and veg and the quality is good! I go to coles or woolies for their ""specials". My food bill here is far less than the uk! My petrol is cheaper, my mortgage a bit more expensive, utility bills cheaper, clothes, well not as much choice so i dont buy as many lol Good luck to you and yours.

 

Thanks MC,

 

This thread was starting to get me really worried.

 

I guess it's a case of make the move, see how it turns out.

[Mad Cow]

Thanks MC,

 

This thread was starting to get me really worried.

 

I guess it's a case of make the move, see how it turns out.

 

I think if you really really want to make it work, then it will! If you come here and miss family, as we all do then thats copable! If you come here and try to compare oz to the uk, then that wont work! We all do it at first, its natural! But you get over that! You earn in $ so you need to think in$! We loved an asda shop when we went back to the uk in 2009! It was so cheap! But would i go back there for that, NO! Each to their own eh? x

[jackboots]

Totally agree with MC .. you have to also cut your cloth , most people i know that have come here have moved down a rung and sideways too , you just have to go with it , its part of migration .. unless you are seriously high earners and have other money ventures .. as has been said Earn dollars ..spend Dollars .. we came over with hardly any money as we rented the house back in the uk .. we had old cars that got us A to B .. husband could not get a job that we came out for his visa ..but he went sideways got a different job .. likes it very much , you just don't know whats around the corner every persons life is different ..

[Give me a break!]

Im not working at the moment and OH earns about $90-$100 a year. We have a good life. We have a smashing house a really new modern 4x2 with a theatre room, Study, Laundry etc etc etc and are renting it for $400 per week and ours is one of the nicer houses. Its perfectly possible to rent here for about $350 per week if you choose to. Its a really nice area and is right by the sea, so it can be done.

We got out for meals about 1 to 2 times per week at the moment. Not massively posh places but nice places. We are saving and hope to build/buy soon.

We are one of the "nutters" who came out with just over £10,000 and we didnt even ship one stick of furniture, but we have fully furnished a 4 x2 house with mostly new furniture in 11 months. This isnt all made up in my head we have done it, and we dont live like church mice. We go out, we eat and drink well ( too well!:biglaugh:need that diet!) it CAN be done :jiggy: