Taryn Schnugh Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Hello everyone, My husband might be transferred from south Africa to Australia and I was wondering if any of you ozzy moms could help out with a budget. We have no idea how much he should be earning for us to survive. We're a family of 6 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegs Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 As a general rule of thumb, you'll be most comfortable if your housing costs are no more than a third of your income. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Where are they likely to send you? And how far is your hubby willing to commute? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Sydney (most expensive), I guess half an hour into the city by train. What about groceries, life insurance, home insurance, car repayments, clothes, etc, etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Half an hour from Sydney CBD? Ouch. If you hang about, Sadie will show up. Keeping your housing costs below a third of your income is unlikely. http://realestate.com.au 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Why do you say ouch? Is that a long commute? I've looked and the cost is around 550 a week, so that's already 2200 per month, so if that's a third he would need to bring 6600 home after tax, that's quite a high salary isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 The other issue is that we can't afford to ship our things over, so we'll need to start from scratch over there. We're hoping to rent something fully furnished, or just camp out on the floor till we can afford furniture and appliances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Rosie said ouch because half an hour from the Sydney CBD is going to cost you a fortune. Also traffic anywhere in Sydney by car is a nightmare so half an hour will actually take you a lot longer... although travelling on a train is probably quicker. In general it will be difficult to find a place to rent fully furnished...it's not usual to rent that way here... most rentals don't supply anything except maybe a dishwasher...you need to bring your own everything...fridge and washing machine are not included like they are in the USA. I don't know how much your DH earns but yes that is quite a high salary. My DH earns around that and there is no way we could afford a place that close to Sydney. Keep in mind everything is super expensive here...food...electricity. Utilities are also never usually included in the rent ..you pay for all those yourself seperately including water and the rates are high. I'm assuming you are a US expat ... what are your plans for health care? What kind of visa will you be coming on? I can't remember exactly how our health system works but if you have a residential visa you can get social medicare...I don't know about other visa types. If your DH's employer is set up here they will sort that I guess. Sadie will be able to help you out more...she lives closer I think. But yes...half an hour from Sydney means your DH better have a very good income..it is not cheap. If you want to get an idea of grocery costs try www.woolworths.com.au and www.coles.com.au Lastly, I don't know if you homeschool or not but NSW has some of the strictest laws in Australia..you might want to look into that before you go there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 I thought half an hour by train would be about 100km from the cbd. How far away from the cbd do you live? No we're south Africans...so we have life insurance, medical insurance, every type of insurance you can think of... Yes we do homeschool...classical, use lots of susan's curriculum I assume we'll come on a work visa to start off with, then convert to permanent residency Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingmama Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I actually live in South Australia....about 1 hour drive from the CBD. Adelaide is far cheaper then Sydney. My DH works close to home so we don't commute. Living within half hour drive of any capital city in Australia is becoming impossible these days unless you earn very good money. A more typical commute would be 1-2 hours for those earning a more average income. Don't be discouraged though...Sadie might be able to help you make it work lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 100km is more like an hour and a half on the train. If it is a country train. An hour and a half on the suburban trains is more like 25km. I'm in Victoria though. Sadie should turn up some time and she'll be more help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deee Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I'm on the outskirts of Sydney, about an hour and a half by train (about 55km). I wouldn't drive into the city in a pink fit! The traffic and the parking are awful. Daily commutes of an hour or more each way are common. Sydney is a very expensive city. We are in the grip of a housing affordability crisis. Allow between $600 and $750 a week for rent (have a look on domain.com.au for an idea of prices). Furnished will be hard to find in that price-range. But furniture is relatively cheap here, with lots of secondhand stuff and giveaway sites like Freecycle. Food will cost around $250 per week depending on your eating habits and family size. Petrol is about $1.35 per litre. I'm not sure how frugal you are with power and water use, but add another $2-300 per month for both. Phone and internet will cost you about $100 a month, unless you are ringing Sth Africa a lot, which will be pricey. Car registration will cost about $1200 a year, but you can pay this in two installments. Anything you buy that comes from overseas (eg books) will cost a bloody fortune in shipping, but being Sth African, you'll already be used to this! I'm not sure if you are eligible for Medicare, but if you are, our health system is very good. We pay for out-of-hospital specialist care, ambulances and medicines (heavily subsidized in many cases). Some doctors charge above the medicare fee, some bulk bill (which means you pay nothing). The NSW Board of Studies regulates homeschooling. I don't think they will be at all interested in you or your kids until you have residency, but you could email them and ask, Sydney is home to lots of Sth African ex-pats. I bet there is an online forum. It is a beautiful and diverse city, and a great place to live, despite the cost, traffic and dreadful planning. Let us know when you get here. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geodob Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 At $550 a week, you might be able to find a 2 bedroom unfurnished apartment? But with a family of 6, squeezing 4 kids into 1 bedroom could be a problem? Australia is in a 'house price bubble', which needs to popped and bring housing back to a level that people can afford. If your husband is transferred to Sydney? A better financial approach, would be to send him off for 6 months, while the family stays in SA. Then he can have some time to become familiar with the local housing situation, and find the best option. Which could save you a great deal of money, and make for a much transition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 I thought $550 sounded cheap. :( Are there any decent options on the country train lines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Dee, are you a saffa? Your use of the word bloody is so south African, made me giggle! The other option is new Zealand. There are opportunities there as well. Ugh!so difficult to decide. With regards to nsw home school, will I still be allowed to use American curricula like math u see, etc? We were thinking of him going ahead for the 6 months... Then I could carry on with part time work here and pay off south African debt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deee Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 No, I'm an Aussie. I thought we owned "bloody". No wonder Sth Africans fit in so well here! You can use whatever curriculum materials you like as long as you cover the key learning areas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi mum Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 The other option is new Zealand. There are opportunities there as well. Ugh! so difficult to decide. If Sydney is too expensive for you then you probably want to avoid Auckland and Christchurch too. Not sure what options you have in NZ but we are currently in the process of moving to Hamilton (close to Auckland but much cheaper) so let me know if you have any questions about that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 My husband is in IT. We were told that Auckland is desperate for IT people. My sister in law lives in wattle downs, she pays about 400 per week, we were budgeting on 500 per week. We also heard north shore is very nice, lots of south Africans there. I guess we don't really mind were we are, as long as we can meet these criteria Close to the beach Easy public transport to Auckland cbd (45 min by train) Our hearts are drawn to nz.the island life, quiet, peaceful. We live in Johannesburg, which buzzes and glows and goes and we really want away from that... We've heard that the cost of living in nz is cheaper than Oz and you get help from the government if you home school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 We had friends move from Canada to Australia. They sold all their wooden furniture before they moved, as there are pretty strict regulations about what you can bring into the country. Pets were an issue, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi mum Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 My husband is in IT. We were told that Auckland is desperate for IT people. My sister in law lives in wattle downs, she pays about 400 per week, we were budgeting on 500 per week. We also heard north shore is very nice, lots of south Africans there. I guess we don't really mind were we are, as long as we can meet these criteria Close to the beach Easy public transport to Auckland cbd (45 min by train) Our hearts are drawn to nz.the island life, quiet, peaceful. We live in Johannesburg, which buzzes and glows and goes and we really want away from that... We've heard that the cost of living in nz is cheaper than Oz and you get help from the government if you home school I did a quick search for rentals in Wattle Downs. The houses looked really nice but there was nothing under $600 per week advertised. Howick is another nice area with lots of South Africans. I saw houses there in your price range. I can't understand why anyone would rent out a property there though, return on investment is very low due to extremely high house prices. North Shore looks within budget too but it would have to be buses to the cbd from both these areas as there are no trains. Train routes are extremely limited in Auckland. I'm not sure how far north 45 min would get you and I couldn't find timetable information, but there is a dedicated busway on the North Shore so that would help with commute times. Close to the beach is easy - everywhere in Auckland is close to the beach. We have lived in Oz as well as NZ and didn't find the cost of living much different, although it does depend what the exchange rate is doing at the time (and we weren't living in Sydney, which is particularly high). Wages tend to be higher in Oz but NZ tend to be easier for immigrants to qualify for medical care, superannuation etc. Sydney wouldn't be my choice if you were looking for quiet and peaceful. Auckland traffic can be pretty bad, but if your husband is using public transport and you don't need to go near the cbd then it should be fine. Homeschooling in NZ is easier than in Oz. They make you jump through hoops to get started but then they leave you alone (except for the handouts ;) ) Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Petrol in NZ is back above $2 a litre and there was a thing in the consumer about honebrand from Woolworths/Countdown being double the price in NZ. Registering cars has just gone down to about $200 a year plus warrant of fitness costs though. Auckland doesn't have good public transport though and no trains are going to do 100 km in half an hour, more like 50km in a whole hour. I am not sure about the residency requirements for the home school payments but our schools are nice compared with what I read here. Bring any US books with you as the exchange rate is awful right now. Good luck PS. We say bloody too. We were always told it is short for 'by our lady' and is English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Thank you everyone! We're still very early in the process. I'll let you all know how we get on! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed.cleaner Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Commutes in Sydney can be a nightmare! We are a family of 4 who live in the western suburbs about 40km away from the CBD. Today I drove 42.3km to a park just east of the CBD for a field trip and it took me 1 hour and 40 minutes to get there. Hubby has recently started a new job on the western edge of the CBD near central station, and just yesterday we were celebrating the fact that it "only takes him an hour door to door". You might find Melbourne, Victoria a more livable city (and I believe their registration requirements are very straight forward). We have spent a fair bit of time visiting relatives in NZ and I think if I was choosing between the two countries and work opportunities weren't an issue, I would be very tempted by NZ even though I am an Aussie! And I think if I was going to choose one of the bigger cities, I might seriously consider Wellington (although all the other cities mentioned are nice too). Good luck in finding what works for your family, Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Not in Sydney but you can absolutely use American curriculum etc. the only thing that's different is it can be expensive for shipping to get your resources out here. Are you planning a long term move? South Africans at DHs work love how much they make here. It doesn't buy them a lifestyle here, but they plan to move back eventually and the savings they make will add up to more back home or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Also I have rellies from Auckland and I think housing costs are almost as crazy if not more so than here, from what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 No, we're planning on settling out of south Africa. So many conflicting thoughts. Some say nz is cheaper some say Australia. What I know for sure is that south Africa is much cheaper than either... The main concern for be it's that we make it every month, can visit the doctor when we need to and pay for it, buy school stuff when we need it and be able to send about 1000 aud home every month... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobeatenpath Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 As a post above said, you would have to earn around $4K a month AFTER tax, and that would be for a pretty conservative lifestyle. Average Australian male earnings are around $82,000 before tax, or about $5K a month after tax, but of course it really depends on what job you are doing, what company you are working for, experience, luck etc. If you plan on flying back to South Africa every year or so, that is another $9,000 - $10,000 you have to budget for if the whole family goes (and your children are under 12 - more if they are over). I am an Australian who now lives elsewhere, so I guess I have the expat perspective from the opposite side :) You also say your husband is in IT. Remember, there are A LOT of Australians already heavily experienced in IT competing for those jobs. And people from India. Does he have a company willing to sponsor him and move you over? If not, do you even qualify for visas? It is doable - we decided to move away from our 'home' country, and made it happen. But there was a lot of research involved; a job and an employer who paid to move us and sorts out things like housing, visas etc.; we only fly back to see family every 3 years or so; we only have one child. It is going to come down as much to what your motivations and expectations are as it does to the cost of living. Is there a particular reason you are set on Sydney? Or is that the only part of Australia you know about? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 My husband is a scrum master, one of about 10000 in the world. There is a company in Sydney who are thinking of bringing him over to start the agile division in their company as they can't find anyone there with the right experience to run the new division. I've been to Sydney and gold Coast, would prefer to live in Brisbane, but the offices are in Sydney,so I guess we're stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 You Sydneysiders, are there any towns on the regional lines that might suit? Haven't they given any idea at all on what they're willing to pay him? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Tasmania is much cheaper and has really nice people living in it ;) But the job opportunities are limited. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 No nothing yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobeatenpath Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Here is some idea of the pay rates: http://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Certification=Certified_ScrumMaster_%28CSM%29/Salary If a company has head hunted him, or are willing to bring him over due to not being able to find anyone in country that can do the job he should be asking about things like relocation payment, visas for family etc. If they really want him they can make things happen :) Because of the urban sprawl, your chances of living in a 'regional' area and still working in Sydney are not a good as some other places. There are people who live in Wollongong or Gosford and commute, but that commute is around an hour and a half each way, depending of course where in Sydney their work is (don't forget Sydney is really huge - you can live in Sydney and work in Sydney and still take over an hour to get to work ...) If your husband's company-to-be want him to work in their office, and have him working long hours (as can often be the case for a scrummaster) you have to start thinking about how much time he will be spending with the family vs. work (and I say this as someone who has a husband who is away from home for months at a time - again it really depends on what you as a family finds reasonable). There are quite a few online groups for homeschooling both in Australia and for Sydney specifically. It might be worth joining now to get some idea of the homeschooling 'scene' you could be moving in to. (And while I have lived in Sydney and liked it, if I was going to settle in Australia I would live in Canberra or Brisbane. But as you say, you go where the work is). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed.cleaner Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Look, Sydney is a gorgeous city...I spent yesterday afternoon next to the harbour..bliss...but it's a bugger of a place to live. I agree wholeheartedly! Sydney is beautiful: the harbour, the beaches, the national parks, the blue mountains... I would only add "it's a bugger of a place to live... unless you have plenty of money." And perhaps the company courting hubby are willing to pay enough to assist you in overcoming two of the major causes of stress for Sydneysiders: commutes and housing affordability. For example, our family-of-four-western-suburb-lifestyle is completely different from the inner-city-double-income-no-kids-lifestyle of my sister and her husband. Being close to the harbour, beaches, city, museums, galleries, playhouses, parks, etc means you can ignore a lot of the traffic problems that cause so much stress. And being able to afford to enjoy all that the city has to offer obviously makes it a lot more fun. If you know where your husband's office will be located, you can get a good idea of commute time from other parts of Sydney using either google maps to calculate driving times using the get directions function (be sure to use the arrive before x time on a weekday to get an accurate reflection of travel time during peak times) or Sydney's Public Transport website. With any luck it is close to a train station and you can afford to live within walking distance to a well serviced station that is on the same line. Driving during peak times is a nightmare unless it is a short distance or against the traffic. As previously mentioned the general wisdom in Australia is that housing costs ideally should not exceed a third of the family budget and you can get an idea of housing costs suburb by suburb at real.estate.com.au. You will also need to know that property purchases are subject to stamp duty. To get an idea of what a scrum master (had to google it) earns in Sydney look at seek.com.au. I am guessing he is looking at a six figure salary and you would probably need that to be comfortable. Local homeschool sites you might like to visit to find more answers include Sydney Home Education Network, Aussie Homeschool Forum, Home Education Australia, and Rockpool Homeschool Forum. Good luck! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taryn Schnugh Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 I think we need to wait for the offer. Hopefully they'll be willing to send him to the Brisbane office. The Sidney office is right near the aquarium... In south Africa, he leaves at 6, gets to work at 630, leaves at 330pm and is home by 415pm. We love having the extra time with him and are absolutely not used to him being away. From what I'm hearing, this is not going to happen if we're in Sydney. He'll leave at 6 and get home after 8, depending on where we live. We've heard from friends that new Zealand is more family orientated and not as career driven as Australia. Is this right. All our friends say if you want the quiet "california" surfer type of life, new Zealand is the place to go... Would any of you be willing to help with a personal budget? If I sent a spreadsheet and you filled in the amounts under the headings... If anyone is willing please send me a pvt message, I would be most appreciative to. Also any new Zealand mommies? would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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