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Original poster

What type of lifestyle would $220K p/a salary Sydney get a family of 3?

41 replies

pestooneverything · 03/08/2012 19:39

DH and I trying to decide whether to give Sydney a go for a couple of years but I know the cost of living is sky high? Just wondering whether a joint income of $220K would give us a nice standard of living?

By 'nice' I mean:
Renting a 3 bed place in a nice neighbourhood.
Close to the beach but doesn't have to be walking distance
Eating out twice a week
Our DS would be 3 when we go so we'd have to pay for daycare for him too.

I know i should probably go over to pomsinoz but mumsnetters are generally very helpful!!

Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
Emsmaman · 03/08/2012 22:40

Hi I'm Aussie but have lived in UK for years so not entirely up with it but from what I know and have seen when we've considered it I would think that salary would afford you a similar lifestyle to london on £100k.

redvelvetpoppy · 04/08/2012 06:33

I think that salary would tick all your boxes Grin

We moved to Sydney 1y ago, still waiting for my pr so we are on DH's salary only which is about half that. We started off renting lovely 3 bed townhouse 15mins walk from the beach but have moved closer to the city to shorten DH's commute. We're in a lovely suburb 20-30mins on the train direct to beach and 30 mins to CBD. Renting new 3 bed townhouse with reverse cycle air con opposite park. We are watching our pennies on one salary so no car or daycare yet, but we certainly eat out as a family 1-2 times weekly, take DS (4) to various sporting/pre-schooler activities & enjoy a sociable life!

Iheartpasties · 04/08/2012 06:48

I think you could so pretty well on that salary. Domain.com.au, homehound.com.au and realestate.com.au are good places to check on rental prices.

I'm not too sure on prices for day care though, sorry!

I find eating out quite reasonable in price and we eat out often, I somehow find it more reasonable than supermarket shopping which is pretty expensive :)

Original poster
pestooneverything · 04/08/2012 07:17

Thanks everyone. I had thought it might be similar to £100k in London...
Such a big decision though, how did you guys who moved out find it ? The good, the bad and the ugly!!

OP posts:
Romilly70 · 04/08/2012 07:45

I have a friend who lives in perth and daycare was about 75 aus$ a day for her 2 year old. not sure how sydney prices compare

Arfishy · 05/08/2012 01:16

Tax is high in Australia and so are rental prices but you will be fine on that salary. DD's daycare in Sydney back in 2005/2006 was $110 per day but that was because there are huge waiting lists for daycare and I needed something quickly after arriving.

Check www.domain.com.au for rental prices - beaches close to the City are Bronte, Clovelly, Coogee, Tamarama, Bondi.

Do you have visas?

Mosman · 10/08/2012 14:56

Is Tax high ? I found we are paying less than in the UK

Zhaghzhagh · 11/08/2012 06:21

Tax is less than the UK but everything else is very expensive. You're young though and you say you want to experience it for a couple of years - probably a good time to leave the UK anyway just now and have fun overseas and you will be able to have fun on $200k.

Mosman · 11/08/2012 13:40

If you're earning dollars then it doesn't feel expensive because the wages are good, if you keep converting back to pounds it's depressing. However we are a family of 6 living in an excellent suburb on a lot less than the OP and having a great time. In fact I am send money back to the UK to overpay the mortgage because the dollar is so strong right now.

Zhaghzhagh · 11/08/2012 14:26

Mosman, you are the first person I've ever heard saying it doesn't feel expensive here! DH is earning an awful lot of money here but that does not detract from the fact it is extremely expensive here. A pineapple for $9.00...( I just saw that in the shop half an hour ago...)

ComradeJing · 11/08/2012 14:33

Some things feel hideously expensive. Dh was in sydney the other week for work. They went to a cafe for breakfast and one of them ordered off the menu a slice of whole grain toast with half a sliced avocado on top, a quarter of lime and a little pile of salt. It cost $16 (12 quid?) and he said people were queuing up for it. Madness.

ComradeJing · 11/08/2012 14:34

I mean he ordered from the menu - not off menu.

hazchem · 11/08/2012 15:20

zhaghzhagh maybe don't buy pineapple out of season:) It's like after the cyclones that wiped out the bananas crop they were $25 a kilo. They became a treat not an everyday item

pestoon we are about to move to canberra and think would be be lucky to get $80k a year. pros and cons we still think we will have a good life and backyard.

Mosman · 11/08/2012 15:24

I'm not saying its cheap but it's all relative.

Mosman · 11/08/2012 15:26

And of course we have jobs here which one of us didn't in the UK so that's a major factor in the families overall financial well being.

Zhaghzhagh · 11/08/2012 15:31

Em Hazchem...it is pineapple season!

We had coffee and croissant this morning (2 of us) and it cost us $18.

Mosman · 11/08/2012 15:43

You could go to Dome and have that for $12 though and that would cost you more than £9 in the north of England.

hazchem · 11/08/2012 19:02

Opps i tend to think of it as November /December when they are all in if you know what mean like mango get cheaper the long the season is going.

Sunnydelight · 12/08/2012 06:54

I thought you went to Perth in the end rather than Sydney Mosman - and I do have to ask, did your MIL eventually move with you or not? Grin

OP - that would give you a nice standard of living in Sydney as a family of three. You would be able to live in a good area and do the things you want, with the odd Fiji, or local holiday thrown in as long as you don't have a penchant for designer clothes or something.

Mosman · 12/08/2012 07:24

We are in Perth.

She will be joining us in a week or so, as it happened she actually ended up saving the day and doing us a massive favor so I shall have to grin and bear it until she flies back over Christmas. I gave bought her a gum tree bed and if the heat/weather doesn't put her off then the price of food will on a fixed income.
Not much we can do about either of those.

ComradeJing · 13/08/2012 00:58

Hope it works out for you Mosman with MIL.

Sunnydelight · 13/08/2012 03:51

I will think of you with envy waving you MIL goodbye, while I grit my teeth and raise my alcohol intake welcome my MIL who has invited herself for a month over Christmas and DH -didn't have the balls to say no-- agreed to it.

Sunnydelight · 13/08/2012 03:51

Ah shite, only one strike out worked!

Mosman · 13/08/2012 04:06

Why do they have to ruin Christmas ? We have to hide half the presents until after she goes home which is normally boxing day but will be the 27th December this time, the kids know the drill but even so.
I have booked a trip to Sydney for feb to help me recover from the whole trauma. My own mother is coming out in January but not seeing us due to massive row and shit slinging that took place upon our departure. I can honestly say I am not missing any of em right now

ComradeJing · 13/08/2012 04:43

Why do you need to hide presents until she leaves ?

MIL & SIL planning to come and help with DC2 when he comes along in November if DH is already posted to Sydney. Whilst it's very kind said through gritted teeth I'm dreading hearing, all over again, about how all modern advice is just created to sell books.

Having a low day with wanting the move to happen. SO desperate to leave here.