Moving to Australia

[Milo]

Slightly off topic... but hey

Thinking of move me and my young family to Australia, from what I've seen I like Sydney, and Perth (mainly for the weather).

I work in IT (.net c# developer) and my points are way over the minimal for a visa.

Can you guy/gals offer any advice about renting, or buying. Houses, and locations for work and living.

Thanks
P.S. I love Subarus and Holdens, so I think its a good omen.

[Milo]

Also...


Worth me importing my 10 year old Subaru? I hear the A/C in Australian cars are really beefed up?

Thanks again.

[Milo]

Sorry just searched the forum, found the 4 page topic on exactly this...

I'll read that, unless anyone has anything to offer.

[tim the pool man]

Best to look at the other threads as we've all had our say already. As for Perth weather, commuting and working in 40degree heat is totally different to being on holiday in it...

If you like Holdens, especially Monaros, you're better off staying in England, they're cheaper there

House prices here went insane over the past 3 or 4 years. An average house in a very ordinary suburb is now $500K or 10 times the average wage. Rentals are extremely hard to find and prices have gone through the roof.

[deviant]

Milo said:

Also...


Worth me importing my 10 year old Subaru? I hear the A/C in Australian cars are really beefed up?

Thanks again.

No not at all worth it unless its something very special.

Be warned though cars (the sort we all like anyway) are very expensive here and dont depreciate much in the first 10 years. Have a hunt around www.carsales.com.au for an idea of what cars cost here.

If you can afford it buy your dream car now, make sure you have 12months continuous use with it and bring it with you as a personal import.

Despite the gripes I have with living in Perth it IS nicer than living in the UK. Quality of life and health is greatly improved and I can afford to do things I would struggle to pay for in the UK.
There are things I dearly miss about the UK....but I am settled here now.

[Milo]

deviant said:

Be warned though cars (the sort we all like anyway) are very expensive here and dont depreciate much in the first 10 years. Have a hunt around www.carsales.com.au for an idea of what cars cost here.

If you can afford it buy your dream car now, make sure you have 12months continuous use with it and bring it with you as a personal import.

yeah, I checked with ebay.com.au, and your right, holy moly the prices are high. I know a car in the UK with a 12 month MOT is £350 ($800). I also heard buying new is often the best return as second hand prices yield so well.

deviant said:

Despite the gripes I have with living in Perth it IS nicer than living in the UK. Quality of life and health is greatly improved and I can afford to do things I would struggle to pay for in the UK.
There are things I dearly miss about the UK....but I am settled here now.

Thats good to hear, I read the other thread and I haven't hear so much whiging since watching an episode of Alf Garnet. I was out in Cardiff last night, and it was chuffing freezing, I swear I have a cold and soar throat for half a year. Nearly summer, then the floods can start again.

Things I'm sure you won't miss...

London congestion charge, floods, M4 tolls, M4 surface maintenance, TV licence, crap DVB reception (I can't receive any ITV stations, for which my licence pays for, and no-one to complain to), friendly faces on the tube, Heating bills (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=516588&in_page_id=1770), British TV (the stuff they show now is terrible, many channels are US format, so different to yours, + you can download most from torrent sites, so you can still the best stuff) Petrol prices (filled my tank with £60 last night), and lastly see the underside of a cloud 8 momths of the year.

[TheArb]

Milo said:

lastly see the underside of a cloud 8 momths of the year.

buy them at 8

[Fiddlemesticks]

Please be aware that a negative opinion is not whinging, its just an opinion. Like Aussies complaining that the UK is too expensive, too cold and petrols too expensive....


To add a little perspective, things are not as cheap here as you may think. Its all about how much you earn really. So houses are not as expensive as the UK agreed, but mortgage rates are at 8% so the actually monthly mortgage cost will be not far off the uk costs.

Then the taxation system is a lot higher here:

0% tax upto $6000 earnings
16.5% between $6000 and $30,000
31.5% between $30k and $75k
41.5% between $75k and $150k
46.5% over 150k.

I'd pay a tv license any day of the week here if i could get tv as good as the bbc and get rid of the terrible adverts.

For heating bills, swap it for expensive broadband, food shopping on a lot of general foods (not steak and beers though importantly!), expensive electrical goods. Electricity and Gas are not far off the Uk i think.

Petrol is cheap (c.$1.40 at the moment or 68p a litre) but its expensive to buy cars, you pay tax on the purchase price, you have Rego (which works out about the same as a years road tax and mot on an average car). Servicing seems cheaper though.

It does have great weather agreed, but just spend a winter here and the UK will seem like Barbados. Not because its terribly cold but because the houses arent built to retain heat - so no double glazing, lots of tiles and thin walls means little heat retention.

Its a friendly place, good natured with a great outlook, but trust me, its not nirvana, its what you make it, but be prepared to feel like you're living in the 1980's sometimes in Perth.

[SkinnyBoy]

Can't see the attraction people have with Perth, its the most isolated major city in Australia, that alone made me stay away. Its bad enough the feeling of being at the far side of the world, but at least Melbourne and Sydney are blessed with decent stuff to look at. Perth and canberra are two of the most boring places in the world, Adelaide is the third.

[tim the pool man]

Hmm unusual for me to defend Perth, and I agree the isolation is a killer, but to say it's the most boring place on Earth is stretching it a bit...

[nickpage]

tax rates have dropped a bit now.

Percentages are now
15%
30%
40%
45%

Everyone's forgetting the real reason they all moved to Perth - it's for the chicks and 9 months of blue sky summer every year.

I've got a 2 bed townhouse for rent in East Freo for $370 per week - double garage for the cars/bikes if anyone if interested. 5 mins walk to the Left Bank pub, importantly.

[Milo]

Yeah, I think I'm talking myself out of Perth. Apparently Canberra is screaming for my skills, but it looks a little remote compared to Sydney.

[deviant]

Fiddlemesticks said:

Please be aware that a negative opinion is not whinging, its just an opinion. Like Aussies complaining that the UK is too expensive, too cold and petrols too expensive....

Yeah it might look like whinging...but its all true and valid points that need to be thought about long and hard before you take the plunge.

Fiddlemesticks said:

Its a friendly place, good natured with a great outlook, but trust me, its not nirvana, its what you make it, but be prepared to feel like you're living in the 1980's sometimes in Perth.

The best advice to give out to people looking to move here (or any country) is to really look at why you want to do it.
Moving is not going to present friends, great job, massive house or whatever you dream about unless you work for it.
Its not going to give you an escape from governments or whatever it is about English society you dont like..every country still has its problems.

I guess you just need to step back and weigh up what it is you like about the UK and what you dont against what you hope to get out of moving here.

Good luck with the choice, it can be a tough one to make and it can be tough when you first get here.

[Fiddlemesticks]

[quote=nickpage]tax rates have dropped a bit now.

Percentages are now
15%
30%
40%
45%
quote]

No they are the tax rates, but i just included the 1.5% medicare levy.

[TheArb]

Fiddlemesticks said:

Like Aussies complaining that the UK is too expensive

Not anymore. Take a look at the exchange rate.

[Fiddlemesticks]

TheArb said:

Fiddlemesticks said:

Like Aussies complaining that the UK is too expensive

Not anymore. Take a look at the exchange rate.

Well it was c.$2.55/ 1gbp a year ago, c.$2.55/ 1gbp in Sept and about $2.13/ 1gbp now, so its gonna fluctuate, and therefore using an exchange rate to gauge cost is difficult, so for true expense comparison look at cost of goods in relation to wages.

The UK wasnt that expensive a year ago, it is just perceived as so historically.

[suthol]

Milo said:

Yeah, I think I'm talking myself out of Perth. Apparently Canberra is screaming for my skills, but it looks a little remote compared to Sydney.

Perth is the most remote capital city in the world and if you are from the east they are all too happy to tell you how left out they feel.

Canberra is only a few of hours drive from Sydney, gets bloody cold in the winter and equally hot in the summer.

It's also full of public servants.

[Fiddlemesticks]

Personally i feel more isolated from the western world in Brisbane when i'm there than in Perth as its another hour or two on a time zone, and even further from the uk.

[Milo]

Anyone tell me what Geelong, Leopold and Ocean View are like. They're all near Melbourne.

Thanks.

[Steve-B]

Canberra -- The Milton Keynes of Australia

Geelong is nice, good blatting roads up that way. same is true for the Dandelong / Lilydale areas