Comments on: Cost of Living in Australia: Salaries Compared http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/ What it's Really Like Living in Australia Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:07:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: BobinOz http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-14521 BobinOz Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:08:53 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-14521 Yes, houses are big here in Australia, see my post called <a href="http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/3372/my-house-is-bigger-than-your-house-its-official/">my house is bigger than your house</a>. As for those cheaper renovation costs in the UK, I think there are three factors in play. First, labour is much cheaper there, second the houses are much smaller so less work to do and finally, those TV programmes you're watching are probably three years out of date, knowing Australian TV :-) Yes, houses are big here in Australia, see my post called my house is bigger than your house.

As for those cheaper renovation costs in the UK, I think there are three factors in play. First, labour is much cheaper there, second the houses are much smaller so less work to do and finally, those TV programmes you’re watching are probably three years out of date, knowing Australian TV :-)

]]> By: Kathryn http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-14516 Kathryn Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:20:46 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-14516 At the moment you can get loans down to around 5.24%. However, Australia is also offering some of the HIGHEST interest rates on savings in the world - anything up to 6.01% (down from 6.51%) with some of the more prominent on-line banks. What IS expensive here, however, is housing and home maintenance. I am an avid watcher of HOMES UNDER THE HAMMER (the UK home renovation show) and am amazed how cheaply home maintenance costs in the UK are! Example? My husband and I are planning an upstairs extension of our home as follows: knock down wall in downstairs two bedrooms to turn into a dedicated media room; stairs up to large master bedroom with balcony, walk-in robe and ensuite PLUS full size 3 way (main) bathroom and 2 additional double bedrooms. How much? An amount ranging from AUS$250,000 to AUS$300,000. Our buidling/renovation costs here are astronomical but (if you are lucky), the extension will increase the value of your home substantially but this is not always a given in this market. When watching HOMES UNDER THE HAMMER, I notice extensions and renovations on the Show costing around UK 10,000 pounds that would probably cost around AUS$60,000+ here. Mind you, I believe that homes in Australia are a lot better than what is offered in the UK. Ultra large eat-in kitchens, large bathrooms with spas and double showers, ensuites off main and secondary bedrooms, rumpus and dedicated media rooms, studies, large open-plan kitchen/family areas and formal and informal living areas as well as the famous Aussie outdoor, undercover BBQ (with external kitchen) are now the "norm" and expected. Such things are not common in most homes in the UK. It is a fact that, on average, Australians own the largest homes (per capita) in the world ... unfortunately, this does impact on our Carbon footprint and cost of power! At the moment you can get loans down to around 5.24%. However, Australia is also offering some of the HIGHEST interest rates on savings in the world – anything up to 6.01% (down from 6.51%) with some of the more prominent on-line banks.

What IS expensive here, however, is housing and home maintenance. I am an avid watcher of HOMES UNDER THE HAMMER (the UK home renovation show) and am amazed how cheaply home maintenance costs in the UK are! Example? My husband and I are planning an upstairs extension of our home as follows: knock down wall in downstairs two bedrooms to turn into a dedicated media room; stairs up to large master bedroom with balcony, walk-in robe and ensuite PLUS full size 3 way (main) bathroom and 2 additional double bedrooms. How much? An amount ranging from AUS$250,000 to AUS$300,000. Our buidling/renovation costs here are astronomical but (if you are lucky), the extension will increase the value of your home substantially but this is not always a given in this market. When watching HOMES UNDER THE HAMMER, I notice extensions and renovations on the Show costing around UK 10,000 pounds that would probably cost around AUS$60,000+ here. Mind you, I believe that homes in Australia are a lot better than what is offered in the UK. Ultra large eat-in kitchens, large bathrooms with spas and double showers, ensuites off main and secondary bedrooms, rumpus and dedicated media rooms, studies, large open-plan kitchen/family areas and formal and informal living areas as well as the famous Aussie outdoor, undercover BBQ (with external kitchen) are now the “norm” and expected. Such things are not common in most homes in the UK. It is a fact that, on average, Australians own the largest homes (per capita) in the world … unfortunately, this does impact on our Carbon footprint and cost of power!

]]> By: Kathryn http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-14515 Kathryn Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:04:08 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-14515 Hi James, Australians pay tax on a SLIDING SCALE depending on their annual salary which ranges from NIL up to a maximum of 45%, viz: NIL TAX PAID if your Taxable income is less than AUS$6,000. 15% TAX paid for each dollar over $6,000 up to an including a salary of $34,000 per annum (maximum tax in this bracket is 15% of $28,000 = $4,200). If you earn between $34,001- $80,000: You will pay $4,200 + 30% for each dollar over $34,000 (maximum tax in this bracket is $4,200+ $13,800= $18,000 If you earn between $80,001 - $179,000: $18,000 + 40% for each dollar over $80,000 (maximum tax in this bracket is $18,000, + $40,000 = $58,000) If you earn anything over $180,000+ $58,000 + 45% for each dollar over $180,000 On top of this we currently fork out 10% GST (Goods and Services Tax) for most imported or processed foods (but NOT basic food items, eg bread, milk, fruit, vegetables are NOT affected by GST). There was talk that the GST may increase but this would be political suicide for the political party that goes down this path. In addition, the current Labor Party have just introduced the unpopular Carbon Emissions Tax. It is debatable how much this will affect the ordinary taxpayer. Here is a link to provide you with some information: http://www.carbontax.net.au/ Having said that, the Australian State and Federal Governments do provide generouse subsidies and benefits to families who fall in the lawer socio-economic classifications. The first $6,000 you earn in an income year is tax-free. This is called the tax-free threshold. This amount can change if you have: Hi James,

Australians pay tax on a SLIDING SCALE depending on their annual salary which ranges from NIL up to a maximum of 45%, viz:

NIL TAX PAID if your Taxable income is less than AUS$6,000.

15% TAX paid for each dollar over $6,000 up to an including a salary of $34,000 per annum (maximum tax in this bracket is 15% of $28,000 = $4,200).

If you earn between $34,001- $80,000:
You will pay $4,200 + 30% for each dollar over $34,000 (maximum tax in this bracket is $4,200+ $13,800= $18,000

If you earn between $80,001 – $179,000:
$18,000 + 40% for each dollar over $80,000 (maximum tax in this bracket is $18,000, + $40,000 = $58,000)

If you earn anything over $180,000+
$58,000 + 45% for each dollar over $180,000

On top of this we currently fork out 10% GST (Goods and Services Tax) for most imported or processed foods (but NOT basic food items, eg bread, milk, fruit, vegetables are NOT affected by GST). There was talk that the GST may increase but this would be political suicide for the political party that goes down this path. In addition, the current Labor Party have just introduced the unpopular Carbon Emissions Tax. It is debatable how much this will affect the ordinary taxpayer. Here is a link to provide you with some information:

http://www.carbontax.net.au/

Having said that, the Australian State and Federal Governments do provide generouse subsidies and benefits to families who fall in the lawer socio-economic classifications.

The first $6,000 you earn in an income year is tax-free. This is called the tax-free threshold. This amount can change if you have:

]]> By: BobinOz http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-14390 BobinOz Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:11:39 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-14390 I have written posts on almost all of the subjects you have mentioned above, and I agree with you with some of them and with others I disagree. My verdict on it all is that some things are dearer here and others are cheaper, it's swings and roundabouts. The bottom line as far as I can see is there is not enough in it to worry about once you have taken into account the higher salaries here. But I do agree with you wholeheartedly that the reason to move to Australia is for the lifestyle. And here's my rule of thumb on that; whatever you earn in GBP in the UK, aim to earn twice as much in AUD here. Depending on your occupation, that normally isn't hard to do, as you can see from this equation: £1.00 = $1.50 x 30% higher salaries here equals $2.00. Cheers Gman, thanks for your input. Bob I have written posts on almost all of the subjects you have mentioned above, and I agree with you with some of them and with others I disagree.

My verdict on it all is that some things are dearer here and others are cheaper, it’s swings and roundabouts. The bottom line as far as I can see is there is not enough in it to worry about once you have taken into account the higher salaries here.

But I do agree with you wholeheartedly that the reason to move to Australia is for the lifestyle. And here’s my rule of thumb on that; whatever you earn in GBP in the UK, aim to earn twice as much in AUD here. Depending on your occupation, that normally isn’t hard to do, as you can see from this equation:

£1.00 = $1.50 x 30% higher salaries here equals $2.00.

Cheers Gman, thanks for your input.

Bob

]]> By: Gman http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-14376 Gman Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:07:32 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-14376 It is obvious that Australian wages are higher, however this is by no means a way determining of you are better off. The cost of living is the key driver; everything in Australia is significantly more expensive. • Perth WA last year was $12 a pint • Average house prices are higher • Renting a house is also significantly higher • Fruit and vegetables are more expensive • Private Health care is a must, even if only for the tax break o Be aware even with the best health cover this will not cover all costs, my friend had a stroke, had the best cover and still ended up with a Bill for $6000 • In NSW 3rd party car insurance is not included in the rego and costs more • Leave allowances are lower o Only 20 days annual leave per year, in the UK I got 25 o Annual Sick leave allowance is only 5 days, not helpful in the event you catch more than the flu, which means you then need to pay for income insurance and have money to cover the wait period. o If you off sick for more than 2 days you need to see a doc for a cert which also costs. • Most states have 10 public holidays (same as UK) however NSW only gets 9. Some states also apply an additional charge on public holidays to cover staff increased rates i.e. bars and restaurants in WA add 10% • The Public Transport service is far from fantastic, if your not near a train station forget about late night transport or anything after 7pm on a Sunday (and that’s in Sydney) • Taxi’s cost more and are a nightmare to use, driver don’t know where there going (even with a GPS), refuse people further out of the city on busy nights, in WA there are well known for not turning up even if booked. • Your driving license needs to be renewed every year. Long story short: If you had the same amount of money for a year in each country your money goes further in the UK, but money is not the reason you move, its lifestyle It is obvious that Australian wages are higher, however this is by no means a way determining of you are better off. The cost of living is the key driver; everything in Australia is significantly more expensive.
• Perth WA last year was $12 a pint
• Average house prices are higher
• Renting a house is also significantly higher
• Fruit and vegetables are more expensive
• Private Health care is a must, even if only for the tax break
o Be aware even with the best health cover this will not cover all costs, my friend had a stroke, had the best cover and still ended up with a Bill for $6000
• In NSW 3rd party car insurance is not included in the rego and costs more
• Leave allowances are lower
o Only 20 days annual leave per year, in the UK I got 25
o Annual Sick leave allowance is only 5 days, not helpful in the event you catch more than the flu, which means you then need to pay for income insurance and have money to cover the wait period.
o If you off sick for more than 2 days you need to see a doc for a cert which also costs.
• Most states have 10 public holidays (same as UK) however NSW only gets 9. Some states also apply an additional charge on public holidays to cover staff increased rates i.e. bars and restaurants in WA add 10%
• The Public Transport service is far from fantastic, if your not near a train station forget about late night transport or anything after 7pm on a Sunday (and that’s in Sydney)
• Taxi’s cost more and are a nightmare to use, driver don’t know where there going (even with a GPS), refuse people further out of the city on busy nights, in WA there are well known for not turning up even if booked.
• Your driving license needs to be renewed every year.

Long story short:
If you had the same amount of money for a year in each country your money goes further in the UK, but money is not the reason you move, its lifestyle

]]> By: Gman http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-14375 Gman Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:37:42 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-14375 It is obvious that Australian wages are higher, however this is by no means how to calculate wealth. The cost of living is the key driver, everything in Australia is significantly more expensive. Perth last year was $12 a pint, house prices are higher, fruit and vegetables are higher - not to mention health care where you need to have private health cover, even if just for the tax break. It is obvious that Australian wages are higher, however this is by no means how to calculate wealth. The cost of living is the key driver, everything in Australia is significantly more expensive.
Perth last year was $12 a pint, house prices are higher, fruit and vegetables are higher – not to mention health care where you need to have private health cover, even if just for the tax break.

]]> By: BobinOz http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-4104 BobinOz Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:10:23 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-4104 Hi James Well thank you for sharing your experiences with us, I particularly relate to the children playing outside thing. That's one of the real joys of living here as far as I am concerned. During the hotter months, my daughter often comes home from school with a friend or two and jumps in the pool. She would live in there if she could. Then there's parks and beaches, picnics and barbecues, it's all very outdoors. I love it! And you are right, Australia is very much a place of opportunities. If anyone gets the chance, they should come. Cheers! Hi James

Well thank you for sharing your experiences with us, I particularly relate to the children playing outside thing. That’s one of the real joys of living here as far as I am concerned.

During the hotter months, my daughter often comes home from school with a friend or two and jumps in the pool. She would live in there if she could. Then there’s parks and beaches, picnics and barbecues, it’s all very outdoors.

I love it! And you are right, Australia is very much a place of opportunities. If anyone gets the chance, they should come.

Cheers!

]]> By: ray http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-4065 ray Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:56:16 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-4065 hi i live in the uk would like to leave the uk i have nothing to keep me here so do you have any IT jobs in your company im trustworthy decent person need a sponsor and happy to go the extra mile for my employer. any openings let me know thanks hi i live in the uk would like to leave the uk i have nothing to keep me here so do you have any IT jobs in your company im trustworthy decent person need a sponsor and happy to go the extra mile for my employer. any openings let me know thanks

]]> By: James in Sydney http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-4036 James in Sydney Sat, 22 Oct 2011 05:20:28 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-4036 Hi. Id like to share my experiences. I moved here in June with my family of 3 young children and wife. I moved to set up the Australian branch of the company I work for. At 43, I agreed to do 2-4 years, with the option to stay for good. We had a nice lifestyle in the west of england prior to this, and my motivation to move was 'for the experience'. We now live buy the beach, the kids have never spent so much time outside, and it always seems to be sunny, so , so far, so good. What is clear to me is that UK has suffered under the GFC and the buying parity of the pound against the AUD has halved in the last 3 years. For me, the country feels like buying power of the dollar has yet to catch up with its strength. Some imported goods, especially electricals are very good value(cheap flat screen TV anyone?) but everything eles is significantly cheaper in the UK. And the reason for this? As someone else mentioned, Australia is benefiting from a booming resource sector, continued growth and generally more jobs than people. With unemployment at around 4% (in essence, this is the measure of full employment), getting a job is easy, finding and retaining good people is hard! Many of the people I employ are lazy and feckless! They like to go home early and seem little fussed about going the extra mile. I can only assume they dont have to try to get employment, and yet I have to pay top dollar to retain them. But I cant lose them as I need people to run my business and getting new people is hard - its a great catch 22. So there is the reason for the high wages and high cost of living. My advice? If you want to move here permanantly, you have a real opportunity to shine and do well just by working that little bit harder. The opportunities for promotion are great just now. One interesting thing I have noticed, my staff from Asia and India work way harder than the locals (and Brits!) - a lesson to us all? Hi. Id like to share my experiences. I moved here in June with my family of 3 young children and wife. I moved to set up the Australian branch of the company I work for. At 43, I agreed to do 2-4 years, with the option to stay for good. We had a nice lifestyle in the west of england prior to this, and my motivation to move was ‘for the experience’. We now live buy the beach, the kids have never spent so much time outside, and it always seems to be sunny, so , so far, so good. What is clear to me is that UK has suffered under the GFC and the buying parity of the pound against the AUD has halved in the last 3 years. For me, the country feels like buying power of the dollar has yet to catch up with its strength. Some imported goods, especially electricals are very good value(cheap flat screen TV anyone?) but everything eles is significantly cheaper in the UK. And the reason for this? As someone else mentioned, Australia is benefiting from a booming resource sector, continued growth and generally more jobs than people. With unemployment at around 4% (in essence, this is the measure of full employment), getting a job is easy, finding and retaining good people is hard! Many of the people I employ are lazy and feckless! They like to go home early and seem little fussed about going the extra mile. I can only assume they dont have to try to get employment, and yet I have to pay top dollar to retain them. But I cant lose them as I need people to run my business and getting new people is hard – its a great catch 22. So there is the reason for the high wages and high cost of living. My advice? If you want to move here permanantly, you have a real opportunity to shine and do well just by working that little bit harder. The opportunities for promotion are great just now. One interesting thing I have noticed, my staff from Asia and India work way harder than the locals (and Brits!) – a lesson to us all?

]]> By: BobinOz http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/2667/cost-of-living-in-australia-wages-compared/#comment-3846 BobinOz Tue, 27 Sep 2011 06:15:14 +0000 http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/?p=2667#comment-3846 Hi John and Chris from America Don't worry, I haven't had a sarcasm bypass since moving here, I completely got what you were saying and the sarcastic tone. What I didn't do though, was read all 43 comments above it to see what you were referring to, because if I did that every time I answered a comment, I'd never see my family again. Having now skimmed it, I can see not many people have been anti-Australian on this page, but I can assure you elsewhere we have some real Aussie haters. So I sort of answered it to address them, not knowing there weren't many of them here. Does that make sense? Anyway, I certainly haven't got upset. And I'll take that be a Chris anytime. Cheers! Hi John and Chris from America

Don’t worry, I haven’t had a sarcasm bypass since moving here, I completely got what you were saying and the sarcastic tone. What I didn’t do though, was read all 43 comments above it to see what you were referring to, because if I did that every time I answered a comment, I’d never see my family again.

Having now skimmed it, I can see not many people have been anti-Australian on this page, but I can assure you elsewhere we have some real Aussie haters. So I sort of answered it to address them, not knowing there weren’t many of them here.

Does that make sense? Anyway, I certainly haven’t got upset.

And I’ll take that be a Chris anytime. Cheers!

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