What’s life in Oz really like?

[Lisyloo725]

Hi ladies
We are seriously considering a big move to Oz (Sydney suburbs) - but I’m keen to know how my life (and DH+my kids 3 and 6) will be better than it is here in SW London please?
I’m a secondary teacher and DH works in IT.
Feel free to share the worst bits too ☺️
Thanks in advance!!!

Thanks for this @Cormoran

I moved to South Aus a few years ago so don’t have any first hand knowledge of living in NSW, but me and the family all settled really quickly here and made friends quite quickly. If you are on Facebook join the poms in Sydney group, for advise on making the move and then once in Aus you can see about any meet ups.

The mayor downside of living here is the sheer distance involved in going anywhere. It’s a vast country far away from everywhere.

Living in the uk you could very easily visit other countries with a quick flight , you can’t do that here.

I came on to say very similar to @Cormoran in that the outdoorsy good weather can be found much closer to home, in Europe. Harder now with Brexit but not impossible. Lyon or Barcelona would be great, as would Lisbon or Munich.

The lack of variety in Aus did my head in. Summer in Sydney was usually hot and muggy with tropical rain. Winter was better with sunny cool days. I missed the seasons and the distance from ANYWHERE else is huge and eats up all your spare cash.

We had a great couple of years there but I couldn’t live there again. Europe wins hands down for us.

I'm in lower north shore, Sydney.
Daycare costs without the subsidy are very high. Without the subsidy we would spend more on childcare than rent.(3bedtownhouse with air con and internal access garage).
Your dc will need to be matched to Aus vaccination schedule which means taking your current records to a GP for verification, having any extras/boosters and then taking the aus pdf/printout to school/daycare.
DC start school in late January of the year they turn five up to about July. Then they will start the following year. You can delay their start but they must be in school at 6years. Non citizens have to pay a reasonably large fee for public schools (depending on visa type).
Health insurance is a must, particularly if you don't qualify for Medicare. GP appointments are easily booked, even on the day.
Most workplaces seem to have a good work/life balance and can be flexible around hours etc.
I love that from where we are based DH and I can both walk to work, with my walk being over the harbour bridge and views of the opera house.
Pick your location carefully. Public transport is ok in some places, over capacity in others, and almost non existent in others. I can bus to town but train in the morning is almost impossible. You sort of have to launch yourself in, hook your elbows out, wait for the doors to close and then breathe out!
We find there is a lot to do but not always cbd based.
There are so many suburbs and smaller shopping areas that you actually have to make the effort.
Likewise with other areas in NSW and other states. We have a massive list of everything we would like to do, across all the states.
The distances are bigger than they seem, so to pop up to Byron bay you would be driving for 10ish hours (or just fly instead!).

Cars are expensive to own and run in Sydney. We bought a cheap one for run around stuff and it's been great getting beyond the public transport network. The fines/demerits are pretty high too.

Where we are we have easy access to gentle beaches for the kids and surf beaches, all within about 15min drive. But we are also a 5min walk to our local shops/restaurants/daycare, and at least 3 large parks with playgrounds.
There are loads of beautiful walks- we are still working our way through the local ones.
Like pp said it can be too hot in summer to be out and about, over 30C by 10am and climbing. Spring and autumn are lovely. Blue skies in winter are wonderful but I do miss the more definite distinctions between seasons.
No snakes spotted yet but apparently there is a red bellied black snack that lives in the garden a few streets over.
If you are looking at different states make sure check their employment long service leave because I think NSW is ten years whereas Vic is 5 or 7?
You can open bank accounts before you arrive with com bank but will need to go in when you get here to verify them. This will give you ID points for rental applications
Get your driver licence sorted ASAP- again for ID points for rentals and lots of other things.
Set up your profile on real estate.com.au and domain.com.au before you come.
Rental market moves really fast and you are better off arranging a private viewing rather than waiting for the official showing.

So to sum up- great place if you're open to seeking out what it's got to offer. Would be very easy to stay insular and miss out on all that is there for the taking!

Wow @spottygymbag THANK YOU!

@Lisyloo725 these were the things we found trickier/time consuming to set up or figure out so hope it helps.
It's a great place for family life, making memories and having adventures!

Great post spottygymbag

Are your plans to go out in a permanent visa or a temporary one?

I know for SA on a temporary visa there were things like additional stamp duty( if you bought a property, which needs approval on a temporary visa) additional school fees( around $6000 a child).

If a temporary visa are British? You will be applicable for a reciprocal Medicare card if so.

You need to pay for ambulance call outs here and all dental. It’s a good idea to get some sort of insurance which covers those.

If you go for a permanent visa, they give you a 5 year return visa with it. After it runs out you need to apply for one whenever you need to re enter the country, unless you become a citizen.

I’ve not seen any draw backs to being a citizen so I plan to apply for that as soon as I’m allowed.

Thanks @MoppaSprings - we’d ideally get the perm visa, but my husband is one of the 17 jobs that are very shortage at the moment so we could potentially get there quite soon on that, temp. But would want to apply for perm almost concurrently.

Thanks fro the tip on paying for things like school and healthcare if only temp.

What we are trying to establish through the migration agent is if we can get a perm visa base on the job list of 17 very priority jobs. Rather than a sponsored by a job visa. X

@Lisyloo725

We went for a 482 temp visa to start with and applied onshore for 186, once it was submitted it took 5 weeks to be granted.

The 186 was one that was backed by the employer and they did have to pay for it. There are various routes to go through, a migration agent can help you if you are not sure.

@Lisyloo725

Yes - it’s been a tough week or so for Sydney-siders! Thanks for your note *@LadyVymes* I know the fact things cost more will be annoying - and that’s a good tip - accept it and get on with the rest! I also realise it’ll be same shit different place - but just hoping the greater amount of bright days and a more outdoor lifestyle will be good for my well-being. Thanks v m

Be careful what you wish for. Bright days sound good but summer can be relentless. Some Western suburbs of Sydney get to the mid 40’s on some days in Summer. High UV levels mean that you likely won’t spend as much time outside as you might hope.

Then I’m an Australian who dreams of moving to the UK and living in a cooler climate so probably not the best person to ask

Oh that’s really helpful @MoppaSprings
And great for you!!

Hehehe @bluetongue - I always wonder why people from lovely warm climates come to the uk!! 😁 now I know!

@Lisyloo725 make sure you talk to someone about tax implications. Do this before you make the move, esp if you're looking at transferring UK pensions over and plan on keeping your London home initially. Spend the money and talk to someone who specialises in that area, prob someone in Aus who will be up to date with all the changes that are happening/due to; it's pretty complex and easy to get wrong if you don't have the right guidance/advice.

Much appreciated @CrikeyPeg
We will be renting out our house also - that will be my ‘salary’ as it will give a small profit - but yes - working out the tax payable even on that is nigh impossible
...maybe there’ll be no profit left Hahha

We did a couple of years in Sydney and it wasn't for us (and I'm Australian, but didn't grow up in Sydney).
My husband really struggled with the different work culture.
Housing is horrifically expensive- we never would have been able to afford a family home with a decent commute to the CBD for my husband.
The summers are hot. You can't spend a few hours of the day outside as the sun is too fierce. Although, when our DC was little I loved that a lot of coffee shops opened at 6am so you can get out for a nice coffee and breakfast when they're up really early, then home for the hottest part of the day for a nap!
It felt quite insular and transient. The only way I can explain it is if you live in Sydney you just live in Sydney. Whereas if you live in London you're a Londoner. In London I have always felt like a tiny cog of a bigger picture and I never felt that in Sydney.
I also don't like the very right wing media, the current government stance on climate change, and the rampant misogyny.

There were some brilliant things too. The food is incredible, and I find even the quality of fresh produce is way better than the U.K. It was brilliant just being able to make plans to do outdoorsy things and we'd almost never have to change plans to a wet weather option. The beaches are freaking gorgeous. But ultimately we couldn't afford the sort of lifestyle we have in London, and we missed our friends and our home here.

Also we rented out our place while we were gone and it was a lot of work and expense. We needed it to potentially come back to so I'm glad we kept it. We also didn't have big expenses with moving at DH went on secondment.
Have you ever been?

Yes - been pre kids and loved - but you’re tight house prices have changed since then of course.
I need to take a closer look at exactly what we can afford. We also would ideally have 4 bedrooms which I know is going to limit the number of properties. (It seemed to when I used the app Domain).
We are doing this for a better quality of life - so cost of living has to work. It’s a stress here in London (we got our mortgage based on my full time salty and now I work 3 days) so resorting things and getting a placed based on the reality of income will be good.

House prices are crazy. A couple of houses are for sale in my street. I could easily buy a château in France for that price and the quality of the house would be so much better.
Renting is very high. And I mean really high.
Sadly on domain or real estate (the other website for renting) , you can't see how terrible the houses in the lower prices are. If you put a limit at $1000 with 4 bedrooms and have only a very few options, they are probably very bad. And I mean very bad.

If you are coming here because you are under financial stress in London, reconsider, because Sydney is way more expensive.

Fruit and vegetables are often good quality, but very expensive. When I did my big first shopping at the supermarket, I was shocked when it came to paying.
Even stupid things like a Pantene shampoo cost triple, so I buy a stock when they are on special.
Cars, buying and running a car is very expensive and depending where you live, you will need two. Because the kids will have activities, soccer games, and you can't use public transport for those. Even the beaches. There is a strange thing (strange for a continental European, maybe it is a thing in UK), and it is the double insurance you must purchase for the car, one for you, one for the third party called green slip, even if you have the platinum insurance.

Going anywhere will cost a fortune, this is why so many do camping. Going to Europe is very costly in terms of money and time.

Entertainment such as theatre or opera is sooooooo expensive, books as well (book depository has different prices for OZ), Amazon doesn't;t deliver here, you can only use Amazon Australia (and very rarely Amazon USA) and the choice is rubbish.
Health is very expensive once you need something more than your basic GP. Specialist will charge you 300-600 and medicare will cover 70. Only if you are seen - in very rare cases - in hospital will the visit be free. Private health insurance doesn't cover for specialists or imaging. Dentists are crazy expensive but will be covered by private insurance, but the cover needs to be high to really cover for all.

Coming to Sydney on a budget is doable but why bother then? If you come to Sydney it is for the way of life. If you have to go deep in the West, away from the beaches and bush, it is only a worse version of London with blue skies.
Look at Maroubra for a good balance of price/lifestyle.

Maybe consider Gold Coast? Newcastle? Wollongong?

I don't agree with everything the above poster said. Cars aren't as expensive because Honda/Toyota etc cheaper than in Europe. Car insurance way cheaper than London. I find food equal/cheaper but for much better quality. It's seasonal though so yes it's $$$ if you buy out of season. We used to love the imperfect picks range at Harris Farm!
To give you an idea, DH was on about $160k a year (no benefits package though as it was a secondment). We lived comfortably but didn't manage to save a huge amount. We rented a 2 bed apartment in a nice inner-west suburb. I was definitely the 'poorest' one in my mothers group- all wore Country Road/Seed clothing, drove fancy cars, holidays abroad, most were home owners. I didn't really care and I am still good friends with a few of them, but just to demonstrate the sort of salary we had and the lifestyle it afforded. Home ownership was never going to be an option.
A friend recently moved to the northern beaches, to a nondescript suburb. Lovely little 3 bed house but not much in the way of local amenities. They have to drive most places. Her husband commutes a hour each way on the bus. They paid $1.7m.

Totally second what @catsjammies said. The cost of housing is critical to whether or not you’ll enjoy life out there. It’s incomprehensible to most Europeans until they experience it. Housing quality is low, and to afford a four (or even three) bed house relatively centrally would require two fairly large incomes unless you had a huge deposit. Going further out will get you more house but will also a lot more downsides - long commutes, limited amenities, limited sense of community and soul in many parts. I enjoyed my years there but don’t understand the appeal these days for expats. Even five years house prices were at a point where you could have a reasonable quality of life on a good but not great income - now most people will be seriously compromising if they don’t already own a house.

Woolongong and Newcastle are actually a decent option - friends of mine moved to Newcastle after they couldn’t afford to upgrade from apartment to house in Sydney (own apartment in Noethern beaches, good jobs etc)

I don’t mind the odd imperfect pick myself, but one doesn’t move to the other side of the world to make dinner based on second choice vegetables.
I am not talking about seasonal fruits/ veg but normal ones.
Brussels sprouts and green beans are some of the vegetables that fluctuate from one day to the other from and potatoes are on average 4$ / kg unless a big bag is on special .
Yes you can buy cheap industrial toast but quality bread is expensive.

To go to the shops because you fancy a Niçoise salad and then give up because the green beans are at $12 would be very sad.

And the previous poster raises a very good point. How difficult it is for most to save money and put some aside for retirement, kids’uni, ...

so many people I know are deep in debts.

There are a ton of good points about sydney. Truly gorgeous beaches, the kindness of the people, the safety. But they come with a high price tag.
The OP said she was thinking about suburbs with walking distance to the beach. I am in one, it doesn’t come cheap especially 4 bedrooms.
Reason why I suggested that maybe Queensland is a better option, Goldcoast ticks all the boxes.
Even the move here with visas, medical, flight , removalist will eat up a chunk of savings if not paid by the employer .

Are you set on Sydney

Eerm, climate change?? Australia is seeing more extreme weather than anywhere in The planet and it's only going to get worse. Devastating fires, droughts and floods. You really want to avoid that.

My cost of living isn’t too bad but I live in Adelaide. It’s just about the cheapest main city so my options for moving are limited. At one stage I considered moving to Canberra but the cost of housing there means that selling up here in Adelaide and buying in Canberra is pretty much impossible as a single person. I own a dog so buying an apartment or renting a house don’t really work for me.

I’d likely be better off financially if I lived in the UK apart from London.