lawrence33 Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Hi there Im new to this so please bare with me and so sorry if this has been asked a million times!!! its such a scary decition to make we dont know what to do for he best! My husband hs recently been offered a position in Balcatta but were unsure if the salary he will be on will be enough to live off until Im able to find a job in the travel industry. We are a family of four two children aged 3 and 7. his salary will be in the region of 66,000 a year before tax there may be a small bonus each month but we dont want to rely on that as its an extra. Can anyone advise if we would just about live of this amount with paying for rent, food and bills etc also schooling for my daughter. Many Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philpom Posted May 23, 2012 Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 66k is probably at the lower end of the scale. My guess is money will be quite tight until you get the second income coming in. Public schools will see you have to outlay less than $200 per child plus uniform. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawrence33 Posted May 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2012 Thank you I did think it was low. $200 schooling is that for the year? We have looked into food costs which seem very high is it cheaper to buy fruit and veg from markets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riboid Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 $66k in Perth? I think you will struggle. To rent a decent house, close to CBD will cost you minimum $350 per week upwards. Food is expensive too. I think if you are coming over here on a salary less than $150k you are struggling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scot01 Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 That will give you a take home pay of approx $1000 a week - http://www.paycalculator.com.au/ Would be hard but doable if you have a low rent, and are very, very careful. Also depends if you are going into debt getting here and setting yourself up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philpom Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Well 150k is a bit extreme. Not a huge percentage of the population that earns that. Above the 100k mark would be adequate but would mean you weren't living an extravagant lifestyle. I think the average rents in Perth is now above the $400 per week mark. Yes you will save some money going to buy all your fruit and veg from the markets. The $200 is for the whole year. You obviously will have to put your hand in your pocket from time to time during the year for excursions, etc., but that will be about all you'll have to fork out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hi there Im new to this so please bare with me and so sorry if this has been asked a million times!!! its such a scary decition to make we dont know what to do for he best! My husband hs recently been offered a position in Balcatta but were unsure if the salary he will be on will be enough to live off until Im able to find a job in the travel industry. We are a family of four two children aged 3 and 7. his salary will be in the region of 66,000 a year before tax there may be a small bonus each month but we dont want to rely on that as its an extra. Can anyone advise if we would just about live of this amount with paying for rent, food and bills etc also schooling for my daughter. Many Thanks I guess it all depends on how much you are willing to cut your cloth. And how much your rent is etc and if you have 2 cars or 1. We know people who live on this wage and its not easy and I would not advise it to be honest. We have been here 6 weeks and my hubby still cant get a job - we will both be working - I just got my job this week but if you have small kiddies it might not be worth your while because of childcare costs. Get yourself down to centrelink and see if they can help you with mortgage payments etc etc I think they do rebates if you have smallies. Ours is 14 so we dont get anything like that. there are cheapers places to shop like the spudshed in wangara and wednesday is cheap petrol day (Have you landed in Perth yet and do you have savings - I would say get your foot in the door and work your way up. Its who you know not what you know - well thats how it seems to be here!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Life Down Under Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Well 150k is a bit extreme. Not a huge percentage of the population that earns that. Above the 100k mark would be adequate but would mean you weren't living an extravagant lifestyle. I think the average rents in Perth is now above the $400 per week mark. Yes you will save some money going to buy all your fruit and veg from the markets. The $200 is for the whole year. You obviously will have to put your hand in your pocket from time to time during the year for excursions, etc., but that will be about all you'll have to fork out. I'm with you on this one Phil. $150K is certainly not the average salary in Perth. I belive across the board the average is in fact mid 60K's, however, I am in total agreement that that wage may be a struggle as a single income earner. Having said that, is that the going rate for the profession? So may I ask what the job is? I know men in their 50's earning a lot less than mid 60's aswell. Also from a migration point of view, this job offer could be the golden offer if it offers you a pathway to PR?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Life Down Under Posted May 24, 2012 Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Whats the job? It may be the going rate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawrence33 Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Hi There thank you so much for all your replies. The job is a panel beater and I have a feeling it is the going rate from the research we have done. Were not in Perth yet still deciding if to accept job just don't want to be worse off than we are now. I will work but won't bring in much after childcare well until my youngest starts school anyway. We should bring over some saving subject to the sale of our house in uk but don't want to dip into that too much ad want to use for deposit on buying if we want to become permanent residents. It's such a tough decision to make especially when little ones involved! We want to make life better for them bit won't be able to if can barley live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philpom Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Maybe you should loom at going to a regional town if that's the going rate. If you were to live in Bunbury for example, rents are approximately $100pw week cheaper than Perth and all other costs are roughly the same. You would more than likely have more options on rentals than in Perth. Even if you looked at Mandurah, the rents there are slightly cheaper than Perth. I understand that your OH is working NOR so these scenarios are not ideal, but it's just food for thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Life Down Under Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Hi There thank you so much for all your replies. The job is a panel beater and I have a feeling it is the going rate from the research we have done. Were not in Perth yet still deciding if to accept job just don't want to be worse off than we are now. I will work but won't bring in much after childcare well until my youngest starts school anyway. We should bring over some saving subject to the sale of our house in uk but don't want to dip into that too much ad want to use for deposit on buying if we want to become permanent residents. It's such a tough decision to make especially when little ones involved! We want to make life better for them bit won't be able to if can barley live. Hi Lawrence, to be honest I imagine that the wage offered is probably the going rate and iss more than likely to meet the award rate for this type of work http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/labourrelations/PDF/Awards/V/VehicleBuildersAward.pdf It is very unusual for a reputable employer to try and get away with paying less than the award rate and obviously thna can pay higher if they wish! I have jumped onto this thread as I am interested in the perception/expectation and the reality of wages in Perth. As a Registered Migration Agent, I obviously have access to wages and contracts of potential migrants. Perths economy has really become two tiered. WE have the professional oil/gas/mining executives and engineers many of whom are demanding huge salaries from $250-500K pa and many contractors are charging $1500-2000 pd. Then there are the unskilled/semi skilled workers who are getting huge salaries at the mines. My old hairdresser in her mid 20's gave up hairdressing where she was earning $46K to work in the mines as FIFO worker and got paid $105K where he job involved gathering up the dirty laundry adn driving it to the cleaning depot! over the last five years, there have also been the tradies who were chraging unrealisitc prices and getting away with it as it was a booming economy and people were desperate for tradesmen. Those days appear to be over. I have many friends who are in the building trades and a lot of them are struggling for work now and many dont get a full five day working week. A couple of years ago these guys were earning $150K plus but now many have come down with a bang, These are not the average wages of Australia, purely economy driven with the mining and building booms. The average Aussie is probably earning around $70k per annum http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6302.0/ So Lawrence what you need to take into consideration is the cost of living here, which is expensive and whether or not emigrating to Australia is something that you feel will benefit your family. As an agent, I can tell you living the dream in Australia isnt evryones cup of tea, I belive about one third of Brits return home to England within 5 years. The main statistical reason is they miss family, lack of culture and they are bored. I am now hearing of people returning as they a struggling financially. I know I am a strange migration agent, I should be encouraging people to come here, so I get paid to do the visas! However, I hate seeing people put their life in turmoil when they havent thought it through properly! Good luck with the decision process,ultimately itis your decision and no matter what anyone else gets paid in Perth only you know if the salary will meet your expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Mmm. I think you would be surprised at what people in mines earn. For example, most cleaning, laundry and support services are contracted out. The biggest contract company is ESS, part of Compass group. They pay such staff $54k a year for 12 hours a day, 2 weeks on 1 week off and often split shifts. Underground truck drivers and unskilled staff are on about $75k a year. There are well paid people, but these tend to be for very particular skills such as engineers and geologists. I am the supervising geologist for one of Australia's biggest mines and I certainly don't earn a salary that starts with a 2 or anything close. There are some exceptions if people are doing very long rosters such as 4 weeks on, 1 off. But, the hourly rate is still only about $28 an hour. It's just they put more hours in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawrence33 Posted May 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 Hi thank you so much for all your replies they have been a Hugh help. Think we may have a chat with the employer and see if we can increase the offer in anyway. Will keep u posted! Thanks again to everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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