Forum Sydney

[sujitp]

Hi All
i am in the decision making process as i will be relocating from mumbai-india to work in sydney.
The company has offered me a permanent position in sydney with a package of 5000 AUD p.m. , this salary is pretax and is all inclusive

the company has agreed to bear the visa cost, travel cost and relocation expenses

What i need your help is in


what is the avg weekly cost of living for a cpl in sydney
what would be the amt i would end up spending in accomodation (assuming i go for a 1 bedroom apartment)
what amount of time would i need to locate a decent apartment


regds
sujit

[EasyExpat]

http://www.easyexpat.com/mod/cost_en.htm

[gerty]

Hi Sanjit,

Sydney is quite expensive and 5000pcm pre tax is not going to be worth all that much in Sydney. After tax, you will probably bring home about $800 per week. It means if you are the only one working, you will probably need to live a little further out from the city where rent is cheaper.

Sydney has a big shortage or rental accommodation at the moment, meaning rents are higher.

I think you may find this website very useful www.cityhobo.com

It's got plenty of information on many Sydney suburbs including rent, the style of the suburbs, the transport, schools, medical facilities, shops etc in each of the suburbs.

Where is your job? What is the name of the suburb? It will be good to find something close to your work so that you don't spend too much time travelling to work, and so that it becomes cheaper to travel. If you let me know where your business is located, I might be able to suggest some names of suburbs.

[-Sandy-]

Hi Gerty,

you seem to be well informed.
as it happens, i have also received a job offer for australia and deducting tax and rent in the suburbs where i would be working from (so not too much traveling), i will be left with AU$600 per week.
do u think one can live decently in Sydney with this?

difficult to assess when you don't know the cost of every day life, electric, gas, transport, bars, clubs, cigarettes, food, etc...
so any advise is much appreciated as i need to make this huge decision

do you live in sydney yourself? where are you coming from?
thanks

[gerty]

Hi Sujit,

Yes, I am living in Sydney.

$600 per week won't be much to live on in Sydney for two people, especially if your wife is not working.

You will most likely have to live a little further out from the city in a one bedroom flat. Because there is a shortage of rental accommodation right now, you will probably pay $250+ for a one bedroom flat in reasonable condition.

Do you know what suburb you will be working in? If so, I can suggest suburbs nearby that may be good for you, or at least cheaper.

There are several phone companies - Telstra, Optus, are the two big ones. There are plenty of smaller companies.

Many people are giving up on landline phones and just using mobiles because at least they don't have to pay line rental for a mobile phone.

You will be able to survive on $350 a week, once your rent is paid, but it could be hard. Food and transport and furniture is quite expensive in Austalia.

If you do have to furnish your flat, maybe you can ask people at work if they have any furniture they don't need anymore, or are prepared to sell you for a cheap price.

Gerty

[-Sandy-]

Hi Gerty,
thanks, this is not sujitp mais sandrine
I also had an offer to work there, but will be on my own.
done some searches for accomodation close to work in Girraween NSW 2145
it seems far enough from the centre to reduce cost of rent, looked at a few flats already on http://www.century21.com.au/advanced_search.cfm, and as I said will be left with AUD$600 per week after tax and rent.

thanks for advice on phone and stuff, any more tips will be welcome

huge step for me (i'm now in france) so still not sure.

how is everyday life in sydney, i mean is it a pleasant city to live in, how do u like the mentality there?

thanks
sandrine

[gerty]

Hi Sadrine,

Sorry I confused you with Sujit.

I am not from Sydney but I am living in Sydney at the moment and this is my second time in Sydney.

The suburb where your work is based is in Western Sydney. I'm not sure what sort of lifestyle you are leading in France at the moment but I think you may find being in the western suburbs of Sydney could be a bit of a culture shock. Yes it is very multicultural, but most places in that part of Sydney are not that sophisticated. It tends to be mostly working class and plenty of families.

Parramatta is the closest big suburb to your work and it has plenty of good restaurants, and a theatre.

You could look at renting a flat a little closer to the city, maybe Burwood. There is a train that goes express from Burwood to Parramatta so the trip won't be so long. Burwood has plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants and is quite multicultural, and safe. To get more information on Burwood or Parramatta, you can try the website I suggested before - http://www.cityhobo.com The train website is http://www.cityrail.info
And the bus website is http://www.sydneybuses.info

Sydney has a beautiful harbour and so many beautiful beaches, places you can go for long walks, interesting areas close to the city centre.

It will be an interesting experience for you to come here. It did take me a while to get used to Sydney, but I think if you come here and know it is only for a short time, you will make the most of it.

If you are looking for rentals, you can also try http://www.domain.com.au and http://www.realestate.com.au

Century21 is just one real estate company. The two websites I have just mentioned will have a lot more information for you.

YOu could easily live on $600 a week in Sydney, once you pay your rent.

It is a big decision to move countries, but if it is only for a short time, you may find you have a good, big, adventure in coming here.

Feel free to ask me anymore questions.

[-Sandy-]

Great, thanks!
you make me want to go there, just what i need, would be stupid i guess to miss the opportunity. I've only be back in france for 9 monts (was in London for 8 years b4 that) and not that keen on staying in france, i think it would be sydney or london, so i guess it won't be too much of a culture shock, london is so multicultural and that why i love it soo much.
but london is around the corner from home, when sydney is on the other side of the world, a bit scary!


i hope you are not saying that the area i will work in is a "hot" area? these are sorts of things u don't know when u don't the city
as for my lifestyle, not spending huge amount of time in bars or clubs (far too old for that so if u think i can live on easily with $600 it is very reassuring, thanks

[gerty]

Do you mean temperature when you say 'hot'? If so, western Sydney gets very hot in the summer. The habour and beach areas get sea breezes in summer, but western Sydney can get like an oven.

Sydney, overall, is very multicultural and there is a huge range of food from all over the world.

Given you have spent 8 years living in London, I think you will find Sydney cheaper, more egalitarian, and more relaxed. Certainly the weather here is much better. There is plenty of sunshine, more blue skies, and beautiful national parks close to Sydney.

You can always try it out for a year and see what you think.

It is far from France and London so you may have to deal with homesickness because it is not cheap or quick to fly home if you get homesick.

However, if you do miss the European flair, you could always fly to Melbourne. It is much more European in its style and design than Sydney, and it's cheaper.

I come from Melbourne but love both cities for different reasons.

[mraj]

Hi!

I am soon moving to sydney. My workplace is in the CBD. Can you suggest some suburbs which requires commuting of less than 40 minutes by public transport?

R

[gerty]

Hi mraj,

sorry it's taken me a while to respond. A lot of where you want to live or what would suit you depends on your lifestyle, the size of your family, the amount of money you haveetc.

I think if you look at the http://www.cityhobo.com website, it should help you narrow down the options.

I would strongly recommend trying to find a suburb that is on a train line or a busy busy line. It can be so much easier taking public transport to work if you live close to the city.

Plenty of people drive to work, but they tend to be the ones who live further out from the CBD. Given petrol costs are going up, and parking in the city is expensive, it will be easier and possibly cheaper if you catch public transport.

[marcusamoraes]

Hello Gerty,

I´m about to receive a job offer in Australia. They haven´t told me where I might go yet, but it will be either Sydney or Melbourne.
The salary range would be 100 to 120k per year.

Do you think this is enough for a married couple (wife doesn´t work) to live confortably ? We plan to rent a 3 bedroom house at first, but I hear Sydney is really expensive.

What do you think ?