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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

175 replies

DilemmaDame · 27/02/2018 23:32

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?

OP posts:
writergirl747474 · 28/02/2018 04:15

I'm in Sydney - been here two years and moved here as my boyfriend lived here(we met on holiday). It's lovely but we are moving back to the UK - I've been really homesick and feel it's time to go home.

On the finance front (for you) there's a few things to consider. You'll need permission from your mortgage lender to rent out your home in the UK or change to BTL mortgage. Easier said than done - UK lenders are not all keen on lending to expats. Even then you'll be taxed highly on your rental income - it changed last year.

Rents in Sydney are high - we pay more than $3k a month for two-bed (admittedly in a trendy area). My mortgage in London is less than £500/month (admittedly not hipsterville). So, for me, it's a big difference. Everything costs more here - my sports club costs four times what I pay at home and the gym twice as much.
As for travel, yep, you can go to WhitSundays, Bryon etc but flights are pricey. There's no £20 return to Europe equivalent. Flights to other countries cost more than the equivalent flight the other way for some reason.

Saying all that, you're on good money but I've found I'm skinter here than London - I could afford most things I wanted to do there within reason, but not here.

I think people on working visas need health insurance too although Brits get Medicare cover

peanutbutter310 · 28/02/2018 04:19

In your shoes, my flights would already be booked!

AbsolutelyCorking · 28/02/2018 04:23

No way, sounds absolutely crazy. Taking a pay cut to be on par with locals? Sounds very dodgy to me, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Are you sure they don’t want to lay off your spouse from the London office? Anyway, Sydney is horrid compared to London and the standard of living is much lower. So it would be a no from me.

Strawberry2017 · 28/02/2018 04:25

It's the chance of a lifetime that might never come along again.
Life is not a rehearsal- do it and enjoy it!
The fact you can come home and pick up where you left off is amazing - you may find you never want to come back.
It's possible that's why parents are being negative.
They might be worried they won't see you, but you have to live your life for you not them.
My parents would push me out the door and stick me on the plane themselves but that's because they would be planning their trips over as soon as I told them! X

WorldWideWanderer · 28/02/2018 04:34

How wonderful to have this chance - go! You can keep your property back home so all OK there, and will slot back into the UK job once back....with these in place I would accept the income drop quite happily for the experience of a lifetime and just go for it.....!

MarshaBradyo · 28/02/2018 04:43

Does media person have to find a job there and back here?

I wouldn’t take a pay cut no, doing that kind of experience relocation is fun before you’re in jobs and young with little to lose and everything to gain but in an established career I’d expect to be rewarded for the effort and for it to be a good job opportunity too.

But you sound really keen and excited so that could be enough

Just be careful it’s not that classic Australia is amazing thing, it’s ok - but like anywhere life is more than the weather. London is pretty good

AltheaorDonna · 28/02/2018 04:49

I agree London is a great place (hey, I lived there for ten years and loved it). But its not the only place, and you only get one life.

Historicallyinaccurate · 28/02/2018 04:55

career I’d expect to be rewarded for the effort and for it to be a good job opportunity too.
The reward is the massive opportunity, plus all the expenses of the move paid! I'm sure there would be loads of ppl who would jump at the chance. Even if you frame it as a pay cut (for a year or so - not a massive deal when you consider the money the company is spending on getting you out there) it's the average rate for that job locally, so it's hardly going to be shit pay!

KingIrving · 28/02/2018 04:55

We live in the Northern Beaches and the rent here is crazy. We pay per week what we used to pay per month in Barcelona.

It is early a chance in the lifetime but it still deserves a go. It is a year, use it as a base to travel Oceania, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Fiji, .....

Life is really expensive here, eating out, cars, even health. You might be eligible for Medicare but not sure on a short visa. Even with medicare you are out of pockets $$$$ when it comes to specialist visits.

You will probably lose a bit more than just 20.000 but you spend a year in another country.

I would recommend you come here with nothing but a suitcase. A container would take months to arrive and than spend another month at custom And packing according to quarantine requirement in a PIA.

MarshaBradyo · 28/02/2018 04:56

Plus Sydney doesn’t appeal to me out if the Australian cities, but it sounds as it does to you op - what do you think you’ll like most about it?

HuskyMcClusky · 28/02/2018 05:02

OP, I think you’re either the kind of person who’ll make the most of it, or you’re not. Only you know that.

To be blunt, some people on this thread sound like they’d have a shit time anywhere different.

I’ve spent a few years in both Sydney and London. They are both brilliant cities in very different ways.

It’s not about one place being objectively ‘better’ than another; that’s just silly. I lived & worked in Jakarta for a year, obviously not because I thought it would offer a better standard of living than Sydney (where I was based at the time) but because it was an amazing life experience.

SuperBeagle · 28/02/2018 05:17

Anyway, Sydney is horrid compared to London and the standard of living is much lower.

The standard of living is lower? Where on Earth did you pull this from? Grin

Mummyoflittledragon · 28/02/2018 05:23

Dh and I did the expat thing in various European countries. He was paid in the U.K. with all the usual perks I see you don’t appear to be being offered. His former boss (was a VP) went to China. The boss’s face no longer fitted when there was a change of top management. The company sacked him apparently on an expenses thing (he’d paid for his wife and ds’s travel on company credit card as were travelling together), which was standard practice and he’d always just reimbursed.

This guy had no U.K. employment rights at all and was sacked on his Chinese contract - possibly why they could get away with this being gross misconduct. The company offered to repatriate his family to the U.K. in the cheapest way possible, which they declined and stayed on abroad.

This guy consulted a U.K. barrister, who we also consulted when company started acting very oddly to dh. Dh wondered if he was going to be sacked as well. The job he went to do in the last host country didn’t materialise and the company tried to force dh to stay on there and take a massive pay hit in a role, which no longer existed. The barrister told dh that he had no U.K. employment rights. It was a tense time.

As is, the company repatriated him and he still works there. The company reissued him with a U.K. contract giving him continuity of employment. But there was no legal obligation to do so.

My point is, before you go, speak to a barrister specialising in employment and see how you can protect yourselves. Get your ducks in a row so to speak. Child free, I would go. This scenario is highly unlikely to happen but company do this to your dh, ultimately he will be able to get another high paying job. Especially as you are in oz. And they won’t be able to treat him badly because it is a country (I assume) with good employment rights.

BeverlyHillsBillie · 28/02/2018 05:26

Absolutely, I would jump at it. You can easily afford to swallow that £20k for the experience.

You are so lucky to be able to experience such a great city without having to commit to it permanently.

lostlemon · 28/02/2018 05:34

Personally I would jump at this. Life isn’t just about money, this could open up other opportunities. Do it while you can. If possible try and come back with residency if some sort, this will gives you options for the future. Good luck

lborgia · 28/02/2018 05:39

I would give an awful lot to go back to the UK, and really really am not a fan of Sydney... but even I would say, if it's really just for a year, take the opportunity.

Working and living in Sydney is fun for a year when you're 30 and have no kids. You shouldn't get bored in only a year.

With all the caveats, such as make sure you won't get screwed by the company, it will be a great experience.

I suspect your parents see the other side of the world being similar to moving to another planet... just confirm it's only a year.

I am in Sydney now, and in the last 10 years the prices have gone up spectacularly. I'm very aware of the housing market too... If you want details feel free to pm.

KC225 · 28/02/2018 05:43

Go. Go. Go.

Its one year with virtually no downsides

notabee · 28/02/2018 05:59

Personally I'm not in love with Sydney either but I'd still go in a heartbeat.
Just fully check your contract so you really can slot back in when you return.

AJPTaylor · 28/02/2018 06:05

Your parents dont think you are mad for considering it.
Your parents are worried you will want to permanently relocate to the other side of the planet.

HotelEuphoria · 28/02/2018 06:11

You would be more than 20k worse off with the cost of living over there and Sydney is boring and small after a bit, however it's a year, so if you can afford it and you clearly can, I would probably go for it. It's only like going travelling right?

swlondonnanny · 28/02/2018 06:22

Did you say you were foreigners here? In London/UK? Will you be able to return to UK after your one year away? As in would it change your immigration status here in UK?

HuskyMcClusky · 28/02/2018 06:26

Sydney is boring and small after a bit

Oh, c’mon. It’s a city of 5 million people in an entirely different country. How ‘boring’ can it be for only a year?

Vitalogy · 28/02/2018 06:28

The experience of living/travelling and working in a different country or and extra £20,000 in the bank when you already have more than enough. Imagine being on your deathbed and asking the same question.

StripeyDeckchair · 28/02/2018 06:34

Go!
Sydney is a fantastic city & you can use your holidays to explore Australia. You'll have a great time & can return to your homes & jobs in London.

It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and you'd be mad to pass it up.

GnomeDePlume · 28/02/2018 06:37

Check out all the details both for time in Australia and exactly how the return will be handled. It's a bit like any other project opportunity with the added international dimension. How good are employers at resettling employees back once they return?

Many employers sing a good song but arent so good in reality. Can the city partner talk to people who have done similar? What was their experience?

If you do decide to go then all the while you are there remember that the clock is ticking so if there is anything you want to do dont leave it until the last 2 months!

We lived abroad for a few years. Lots of people say they could, should, would have taken the chance but it wasnt the right time for the job/kids/cat dont be one of those people!