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Right, I've been offerred a job in Australia, Sydney to be exact. Currently I'm in the UK. I've never been to Aus, so I've no idea on Standard of Living and the likes. So, I'll start my research by asking Dakka Aus members!! What would be a good annual Salary? I'd be looking to be able to afford a 4 bed detached house, Wife and 2 Infants to support. I'll be based in Sydney, but more than likely will live on the outskirts, not in the City.

What's the deal on Healthcare, in the UK we have the NHS, it's all free. Schooling for Children? You get the idea of what I'm looking for. THought I'd start here before I go trawling the Internet!

I've also thought to boost my wages, I can run a garage business getting GW stuff at UK discount prices, family posting it out to me in Aus, and I can sell it on

All I know about Australia is drop bears will kill you and their soap operas show boobies.

Also, Fosters sucks.

In Australia the only things that will not try to kill you are two breeds of sheep. At least they have never been proven to kill anyone.... No one has found any bodies....

I lived in Australia for six years, now I live across the ditch in NZ. From what I remember wages are high, probably higher than the UK but I have no idea what in particular to expect. Healthcare is universal under the government run medicare but you have the option to go private.

Basically the standard of living is like most other liberal western countries. Last time I was over there things seemed to be pretty good.

House prices are quite high everywhere, rent prices are stable generally. Not sure how it is in Sydney though, I'm in Canberra.

As per EmilCrane, Medicare is free but be prepared to wait for everything.

Not sure what annual salary would be considered 'good' - depends on where you live, and what work you'll be doing.

Fosters does suck, which is why you won't find it in Australia. It's 'Export Quality' beer

My sister lived in Sydney for a little over a year and she'd run into some difficulty with employment because there's some labor laws that prevent foreigners from working there without the right paper work. Not sure if you need a special visa or whatever but make sure you're properly authorized to work there before moving.

I live in Sydney. Go for living in the South West for the better rental pricing. Check various websites first like realestate.com.au and domain.com.au and look in Macarthur and Liverpool areas.

For a comfortable salary, I'd be looking for $60k-$70k per year for a 4 bedroom house with 2 kids, though that's an assumption as I don't have kids yet. Rental prices on a 4 bedroom would be in the $500 per week vicinity, and you'd want double that per week to be relatively comfortable with some ability to save money for a rainy day.

The further south or west you go, the cheaper it will be. South to Wollongong is a nice-ish coastal area, though work in the area is pretty much dead outside of some retail, so you'd have a long commute to Sydney. West to Penrith is cheap as well, but with the same commute problems, plus during summer you get some nice, blistering hot 45 degree days (celcius for those on the other side of the pond). If you're from the UK this sort of summer might be a large shock to the system. Wollongong, being coastal, keeps cooler. South West like Liverpool and Mararthur get hot, but not as hot as out west.

Public transport like trains isn't fantsatic from West or South. South East has really good public transport.

 TheSecretSquig wrote:
So, I'll start my research by asking Dakka Aus members!! What would be a good annual Salary?

Good is a very relative term, and will probably be determined by what you're on now and what living standard you expect more than anything.

In general though I think Sydney would be not too dissimilar to London, from my experience in both cities. So probably figure out however many pounds you’d need to live well in London, and double that to get a rough figure in Australian dollars.

What's the deal on Healthcare, in the UK we have the NHS, it's all free. Schooling for Children? You get the idea of what I'm looking for. THought I'd start here before I go trawling the Internet!

There is public healthcare. Like the NHS it’s fine, but with long waiting lists for anything elective. But there’s also a really strong incentive in the tax system in Australia to move to private healthcare, if you earn a decent amount they will tax you more if you don’t have private cover, with a family the limit is pretty high, but it’s something else to keep an eye on.

There's public education, and most schools are just fine. In most states, and I think this includes NSW, there will be some school fees, probably a few hundred dollars.

I've also thought to boost my wages, I can run a garage business getting GW stuff at UK discount prices, family posting it out to me in Aus, and I can sell it on

Probably be more profitable than importing heroin.

Also, get ready to live with some really, really...interesting animals, reptiles and insects!

I haven't been to Australia (yet)... but from what I understand, if you don't hate the All Blacks yet, you'd better start when you get there

From Australian Geographic

The Sydney funnel-web (Atrax robustus) is one of the world’s most dangerous spiders. Its toxic venom evolved as a defensive tool against predators, rather than for attack. Unfortunately, humans are especially sensitive.

“As a fluke, we are particularly sensitive to funnel-web venom and thus bites are particularly devastating to humans,”

Just throwing that out there. Welcome to god's country.

As an aside, the funnel web's venom is particularly targeted at insects and primates ...

I'll just let that bit sink in ...

I don't think there IS still a "native" primate to these shores* (ALL the humans moved in - ALL of them, some just moved in later).


*I've been told that the "flying fox" is technically a primate, though.