Would you pay £20k for a year in Sydney?

[DilemmaDame]

Not an AIBU but a WWYD.

Have NC’d for this as very outing.

No kids (and don't want any)

29 and 31

Married

One of us has a City-type job; one of us has a media-type job.

Own two properties in London: one flat (rented to long-term tenant) and one house (would rent out if accepted posting)

Together currently earn £165,000

Spouse with City-type job has been offered 12 – 24 month posting to Sydney with right of return to UK (would slot back into same role / position / team).

Should be good career-wise (expanding network, new work, new challenges, fresh environment)

Company would cover both spouses’ flights (at start and end of posting), shipping allowance for personal possessions, apartment for 2 weeks while a rental is sorted out, but no other benefits / perks.

The catch is that spouse with City-type job would need to accept a drop in salary (£20k p.a.) for duration of stay in Sydney.

Mortgages back in UK can still be covered easily, and there would still be plenty to live on and to enjoy a nice lifestyle with, but £20k is a huge sum of money.

If you were me / us, WWYD?

Media pays better in Australia though if it's TV production.

Thank you everyone this is really encouraging. I thought you would all say we were lunatics!

I wouldn't go. Wouldn't take the pay cut unless it was a place I'd always dreamed of.
I consider London the best city in the world and I'm guessing you two have a great life here.

Sydney is an expensive city.
Things to think about / ask.....
2weeks to find an apartment is tight, especially if you don’t know the city.
How does the £20k drop in salary compare to what locals get paid ?
You’ll need some medical insurance
What type of visa will you have? Will it allow you to work? How much will you loose in salary? Because if you can’t work, you’ll be loosing more than £20k

I'd rather live in London than Sydney.

For that much upheaval I'd expect compensation, I wouldn't pay for it.

@Pumpkin i do think it would do both of our careers good (although i note with caution and interest what @Splishy says above about that not necessarily being recognised back hom).

Why Sydney? No reason, it's just what's on the table. But we are both foreigners and have no emotional connection to London beyond our friends - while we obviously love our friends they would be there when we got back. And would hopefully visit :)

You haven't mentioned what is happening with pensions and should factor this in.
I'm not sure what your luggage allowance is but if you need to buy a new flat's worth of furniture that will need adding to costs, or look into furnished options, don't know what they are in OZ.
Are you both okay with not seeing family/friends for up to two years?
Is sorting out a rental in two weeks possible?
They are being pretty tight on the package, are they pushing for this to happen or is the push coming from one of you.
Would you value the experience of living there more or would spending 20k on travel be a better fit for you?
Living overseas is great if it works for you both and you can live with the huge disruption it can bring both moving out and even more so moving back.

@DPotter. Noted. Will check about medical. The £20k drop is because that's what locals are paid in same role / rank.

City-company will secure working visas for both spouses.

Will City spouse be working for the same employer? Why would they have to take a pay cut?

A £20,000 pay cut would be huge to somebody on an average salary. There are plenty of people who work hard and still earn less in a year than your proposed drop in income.

I think of myself as being well paid (especially compared to some of my friends), but you still earn multiples of my salary.

there would still be plenty to live on and to enjoy a nice lifestyle
Of course there would. £145,000 is a huge salary. I'm 51 and if I earned that sort of money I'd have been able to have a great lifestyle and still put away enough savings to retire by now.

I know that I sound bitter and jealous, but bloody self-indulgent 3rd world problems like this piss me off.

There are no downsides to this that i can see. Go and have a bloody brilliant time and sod asking for more flights back to the UK. Get them to go to you! Its not the rest of your life. Have fun im very jealous.

@Desperately - ok on pensions front. Both have healthy pots already. Admit it's not ideal (and will need to calculate the hit from loss of employer contributions) but i can shrug that off, for one year.

Your question would you value living there more than 20k to spend on travel is very revealing. I'd much rather live there - i couldn't bring myself to spend 20k on travel, for starters .

Have you just helped me answer my own question...?

Not a lot of upheaval pack a suitcase that's it.

Go. Live on the north shore if you can. Catch the ferry to work what's not to like although if it is TV studios it used to be Lane Cove. Cafe bars, outside terraces for lunch, Glebe & Paddy's market on a Saturday, wander around Darling Harbour, sit in Centennial Park, great Art galleries. The Opera House, the Bridge, the beaches, AMP building (revolving restaurant), shopping isn't manic like London not as busy. People are laid back. Go what an adventure and opportunity for a year. Occasional weekends up the coast, chance to see the rainforest, swim in the Reef, whale watching, Byron Bay, Whitsundays for a few days off how can you not go with that opportunity you would be mad not to!

What dos the opportunity do for your CV, future?

Why are your parents saying don't go?

GO!

All those saying "don't go, London is better than Sydney/the best city in the world" etc - maybe OP will agree with you, but how will she know unless she tries it?

OP I did what you are doing in reverse (Aust to London) at precisely the same age and had the most amazing time. Still look back on the memories fondly 30 yrs later - and that is priceless!

I had no job organised, and had given no thought to health insurance, pension, how it would affect my career or any practicality! Just went for it and had an adventure! And if you can't do that in your twenties when can you?

I do think moving continents is a hassle particulary when you have housing at both ends to sort out. Perfectly doable but a hassle.
Thinking it through if you are a higher rate tax payer and this 20 k is gross you wouldn't be losing anything like that by the time you have paid tax and national insurance on it.
You should compare tax regimes between UK and OZ as well.

You are both young. You’re both earning good money, in good jobs. You have two properties & good pensions. You’re financially secure.

There’s a lot you are unsure about financially, but whether the difference is £5k or £40k in the end, it really doesn’t matter. As long as you have things sorted with the properties here and can support yourselves while you’re there.

It’ll be a great experience & one I think you’d regret not doing far more than you’d ever regret doing it.

My friends went for 2 years, on her DH’s wage alone (decent, but n a par with your City Job wage) & with 2 kids. They had an amazing house in the suburbs first, then a fabulous apartment over looking the harbour. Lots of friends visited, they made some lovely new friends and they saw a LOT of Australia while they were there. Contrary to what someone else said, Australians are not a bunch of uncouth yobs. There’s a mix like anywhere else and you’ll both be meeting people through work.

Take some time to go to NZ, in the summer, it’s even nicer and no nasty spiders or snakes 🤣

Doesn't it rain more in Sydney than in London?

I would absolutely do it - if you can afford it, want to live in Sydney and it doesn’t sound like you have the family ties or dependents that would keep some people in London, then absolutely go for it. What a great experience!

My brother did this for three years in Sydney - had a great time. He was covered for rental by the company, though, which was a huge plus as rental costs are high if you don't want to live miles out ( and you don't, if you aren't looking for a family home). All the ,ooh, what are the long term financials implications - it's year, it's a blip in time , you're not abandoning a career to go open ended travelling and self funding. You have stability in the form of property and a job to come back to. You'll have a great time, city spouse will be broadening contacts and commercial horizons.

We go fairly often ( family and work connections ) and although we don't want to settle there, we have had some wonderful experiences and made friends. We've done several expat periods elsewhere in the world and it hasn't had a negative impact either on career or overall finances. It does get more complicated when children are involved, especially re education.

Cost of living has shot up in Australia over the past few years, so you do need to do some calculations and realise that your reduced salary is not going to buy a the sort of lifestyle you could have had there 10 years ago - but you aren't going to be on holiday, you won't be expecting to eat out every night. Do some research on expat forums about rental costs and other fixed costs, possible locations. Are the company going to help with pointing you towards rentals, apart from a 2 week initial funded put up ? You know from living in London just how tight that timeframe sounds, unless you can get another short let to carry you through into a longer one.

I'd do it - I think you'd have a huge regret later on to let this chance go.

You and your partner have an incredibly good standard of living. You are only 29 and 31 and owe not one but two properties in London and say you have good pension pots already. I think you can afford to not make all your choices about money.

Sydney is a lovely city and offers a different way of life to London. I love how Sydney most suburbs have a beach. I would say go for it!!

Go! If you are tempted, go and experience living somewhere different.

You're both young with incredible financial security. You can easily afford to take opportunities like this.

If anything I'm wondering why you're so hesitant, if this is something you'd like to do - has life until now followed a very precise plan? Does going to Australia for a year deviate dramatically from the plan?

Is Sydney really badly infested with cockroaches though? And big, poisonous spiders?

Would a nicely maintained, luxury apartment be reasonably free of beasties?!

Sydney is expensive, but definitely NOT more expensive than London, lol.

We live in a luxury 2 bed 2 bath apartment in a very nice building, 20 mins walk to my job in the CBD. We pay $780 a week for this. And yes, it's free of spiders and cockroaches

You're kidding right?

No brainer.

Who are these people that get these jobs?