Cost of living figures

[heatht]

I heard we are about to get Costco's in Australia too.

[barneyandbird]

hi everyone
we are new to the site and thought we should say hello! planning a move to oz and we`ve found this post really interesting!
just wandering if there were any more people in queensland we are heading for cairns area,probably the northern beaches and really interesting to know a bt more about the costs!
my husband is a mechanic and im just training in the fitness industry,any info would be great!
thanx

[soelofsen]

Originally Posted by techman

Hello,

This site is great with lots of useful information. Thanks to all the contributors.

Thanks.

Hi All,

Agreed, this site has given us so much information. Thanks to all.

Im in the waiting period at the moment for the 457 visa, and hopefully will be issued in the coming month.

We are moving to Brisbane, and im looking for information on a number of things, and any assistance in this regard will be appreciated.

Im trying to find information on the public schools, and which would be considered the desirable public schools, and which area they are in..

I have been looking at living in North Lakes (north of Brisbane CBD) and seen that they have a state school. My child is due to begin school in 2010 for the firs time, and would like to find out how that particular school is rated compared to others.

If there are better schools, please advise where they are, and what areas around that school would be considered 'favourable' to live in.

Thanks
Newbie

[anj1976]

Hi Sole...

welcome to the forum

I suggest u start a new thread with appropriate subject, writing in other threads dont give you much hits in term of people seeing the post. Remember only those will open the thread who are looking for cost of living.

alternatively you should see all the sticky threads, there is heaps of info in there, also search the forum with different key words, a lot has been discussed in the past which might be of help

cheers
anj

[qwerqwer]

how about Melbourne living cost, I've heard as Melbourne is cheaper than Sydney, is it true?

[kaz101]

Originally Posted by qwerqwer

how about Melbourne living cost, I've heard as Melbourne is cheaper than Sydney, is it true?

Usually yes - check the 'PLEASE READ...' sticky threads for links to real estate since that is most people's major living cost.

Regards,
Karen

[naved1970]

I am a structural design engineer. Dealing In design and supervison of residential , commercial buildings. I also have experience in the design of material handling steel structures. Can anyone suggest which will be the best place for me to live.
we are small family with two kids age 14 and 7. salary will be around $A 50,000 per annum

[manisha]

very valuable information indeed....

Originally Posted by leoman20

fuel always is cheaper on tuesdays often 5-15cents per litre over last several years and even though noted by the media it still persists!
use buses or trains much cheaper and faster (but less comfortable )than your car if they are going your way-buses/taxis have a special lane in most capital cities.traffic jams a problem in larger cities .
Taxis are very expensive though-$50 to go 15km in city.train/bus is $3-$5 for same journey.parking in city typically $40-60 per day.
outside cities not much bus or train ,also less regular service so use a small engine car.roads are good for most part except for small stretches between sydney and brisbane.

canberra has best roads/cheaper parking as federal govt used to pay for it all and less people to compete with.but cold in winter as on an inland plateau and near snowy mountains.also most recreational parks per resident of all oz cities. good cultural things parliament house national gallery,museums,universities,lower land and house prices than sydney and melbourne although rising now.
man made lake with scenic 17km cycle track around it .
3 hours to beach (by a winding road) and 6 hours to sydney by car on a great expressway.
house prices in sydney and rents are high unless you are further out in suburbs (20km out).smaller country towns cheap housing and land
but less facilities.
government schools underresourced but catholic church schools are cheap but better quality even if u r not catholic.
private schools very expensive and you may not get what u pay for-ripoff in my opinion.typically $25000 per student per year in last 4-6 years of schooling
universities and colleges are good in main and govt gives you a low interest loan for fees which u dont have to pay off until you have job after graduation.
restaurants in cbd are expensive because labour is expensive and because sydney is also a tourist town esp for europeans japanese and americans.
best to buy food at supermarkets.meat -beef cicken pork is world wise very cheap.veges cheap snap frozen is like buying fresh and is only $2-4/kg-peas carrots beans corn kernels broccoli cabbage.
fruit is cheap if in season (ALL IN $)
-fresh:
bananas 2-3/kg apples 3-6/kg peaches 5/kg oranges 3-4/kg
plums 4-6/kg
blueberries $5/punnet strawberries 2-4/pun
raspberries 7/pun
grapes red or green 4-6/kg
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cheeses 10-12/kg most varieties made locally or new zealand
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phone lines $20-30/month calls15c-20c each local plus caps on trunk calls typically 2.50 per 20 minutes
overseas better to use phone card or internet skype,messenger etc
mobile prepaid expensive (50c-$1 /minute plus 25c connect) except for virgin brand (10c per minute plus 25c connect) .
capped post paid plans cheaper but 12-24month contract.
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clothes rel inexpensive apart from designer stuff as tariffs now zero on imports
medical is cheaper than most western countries as part govt subsidised if u r classed as resident and nottoo high if u r not.
general gp is $40-50 but if in medicare u get 10-20$ refund.if doctor agrees to bulk bill then if u r on medicare it is FREE.
dental is rel expensive esp orthodontic work 5000-10000 for full treatment
and there is no govt scheme.
health insurance is available $1000-3000 per person per year depending on level of cover( operations only or medical and surgical dental etc)
but insurance does not cover 100%of fee so may not be much saving from insurance.some plans have attached clinics where services are cheaper esp dental.
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climate is good on eastern and western seaboard so air con not greatly needed except for few weeks in summer and winter although offices tend to be air con all year round.
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you can drink the water from the tap athough a lot of people over last 5-10 years have been buying water.only tap water is flouridated (in most places) good for your teeth.
buying water in most countries incl australia is more expensive than buying petrol.u dont need to buy water.
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I was born in oz.

[christel]

hi everyone on this forum,
I am totally new here, and preparing a State Sponsorship application. therefor I'll be needing some''official''and up to date figures to fill out the form, thus question on costs of living in SA. is anybody familiar with this item??
Thx in advance,
christel, hoping that Oz will soon become our new homeland

[anj1976]

HI Christel

welcome to the forum. I suggest yo u start a new thread. alternatively search the forum for the same as it might have been discussed in teh past.

Also have a look at the real estate sites, the link is in the sticky threads. you dont need to give exact figures. We also got state sponsorship a week back from ACT. We wrote about the areas, about canberra, surroundings, culture etc in the essay as for the figures we did not mention much as you cant really have the exact cost of things over the net, everyone has a different lifestyle. There are links to several supermarts/online stores in teh sticky threads, that too will give you a basic cost of things.

Hope this helps

cheers
anj