Cost of Living in Sydney

Joe asked below about saving....

Is it hard - yes and no - but you need to think of what is the purpose of saving also. Living in the USA, Suzie Orman the finance guru always spoke about having a 5 month fund to cover unexpected job losses or health costs. Good advice but don't necessarily need this in Australia because of the different way society and costs are structured - there is less risk:

* Healthcare - may need to make a modest part payment but will not receive not a catastrophic bill. You will always have access to Healthcare
* Retirement Savings - 10.5% is paid by your employer and may be accessed in extreme emergency - you will be aiming to have about $500K or more when retiring
* Kid's College Funds - not needed as costs are less and covered by a tax payment plan
* Job Loss - less likely with secure employment and if you are made redundant you may receive say a tax free redundancy of say $50k to find another job
* Illness - you retirement fund may have insurance or you may have months or years of employer benefits accumulated as well as months of holiday leave to get you through this period
* Mortgages - usually a 6 months freeze or switch to interest only is available
* Assets - the average person will have greater assets which may be accessed if needed
* Unemployment and Pensions - modest but better than many other countries
* Wages - average wages and unskilled wages much higher than USA

If Cost of Living is on the high side for you, get a quick loan of any amount, email bank officer to help you, mktdng65@gmail.com , if living is too costly.

But I am a Sydney resident and let me tell you firstly this is a city not a country town or village and secondly you should be grateful that customs even allowed you into the country because if u come here u have to accept the fact that this is a city not a country town and everyone's mentality is different so if u don't like it then go and thirdly nobody has time for other people's bullshit u cannot change other people u can only change yourself we are not Europe we are not Russia we are not China we are not Asia So if u can't accept it then leave stop trying to change people I read a review about some idiot saying why are Sydney people so stuck up and said I hate the people in this city And don't like what this big city life thing did to me well duh? Who cares no need to tell the whole world your problems your acting like a Karen pal if u are unhappy then move stop trying to change the place once again when people walk past me I don't get all upset about it.

Mortgage interest rates :
Very important increases coming each month
As at 30 July 2022, 5 years fixed rate is 6.84%
(Commonwealth bank of Australia)
Expected to be 7.5% on 5 August 2022

We live in Sydney south- west, 2 adults + one 13 yr old child. We are on one income of $70000. I receive $8,000 a year in Family Benefits and Carer Allowance from Centrelink. We manage to pay off our mortgage by $10,000 a year by using a mortgage through the Crown Money Management program (Crown Lending). All income goes into home loan, we get paid a fortnightly allowance for food/fuel/medicines. All bills are paid through the mortgage via direct debit. When we need extra funds we request a drawdown. This product works for us.

Our expenses are:-
Mortgage $ 800/month(we purchased our home for $305,000 but had a $150,000 deposit due to a compensation payout. House is now valued at $1,000,000.)
Food $50/week each = $150 x 4 weeks = $600/month
Electricity $650/month
Gas $180/month
Water $160/month
Petrol for one car $80 x 4 weeks = $320/month
3 x mobile phones $200
Medication $120/month (With a Health Care Card for our son)
Life insurance $45/ month
Income protection insurance $ 60/ month
Clothing...very minimal as we rarely shop for clothes, usually just work uniform for husband and school uniform for son. Underwear and pyjamas for all three as well. I wear same outfit all week so only need to do laundry once a month. I have all the clothes I need (I built a "time capsule" wardrobe over the years and as I don't work my clothing needs are VERY minimal!) My son fits into his uniform for 2 years at a time. Uniforms total $300. My husband only buys uniform when on sale. 5x long- sleeve high-viz shirts, 5 x cargo/drill pants, 2 x high- viz jumpers...about $ 150 for the shirts, $230 for the pants and $ 180 for the jumpers. His uniform lasts 3-4 year's. Work boots $250/ year. Total for underwear/ pyjamas = $230 @ x 3 $690 a year, total for husband for regular everyday clothes $600/year and $450/year for our son.
We don't drink alcohol, smoke, gamble or party, or go out to eat. We get the occasional Macdonald's/ KFC every 2-3 months @ $ 30 for all three of us x 4-6 = $ 120-$180/year
Our vice is watching movies. We have a dedicated home theatre room and husband prefers to buy Blu-rays. We have over 3,000 collection. These are only ever purchased on sale, during deals etc. Each movie must be under $15 max. We buy about 5 each month x $15= $75/month.
Furniture = I bought lots of stuff over with me from my parents and we used $40,000 left over from the compensation payout to get the rest plus renovate one bathroom, paint whole inside (2 storey, 5 bedrooms), put in new carpet, install window shutters, resand/resurface ceramic tiles and install new interior and exterior wooden doors and mesh screen doors.

We live quite comfortably on our small income. We can afford to live in an expensive city like Sydney thanks to some homework by me when researching when and where to buy, a boost by a compensation payout and my dedication to simple living. For example, our son was in cloth diapers, I use wee- wipes, I only ever purchased his clothes from thrift stores and always bought a few years ahead when something was discounted and I kept to a wardrobe template so I always knew what he needed. This meant he didn't need much clothing because I could mix and match his outfits as they coordinated with each other.

Fantastic site. Thanks for all the info. I'm using it to help people calculate holiday costs for my site.

Monthly net income data just made me laugh. So everyone in Sydney makes 6 figure salary, huh? Wow I had no idea Aussies are richer than Americans Lol

hello i wanted to move for work in australia. i am a heavy equipment technician. maybe you guys have any company that could offer me a jod..could be great for good..

I wonder if I am making 3000$ per month, am I able to live in a single room in a shared apartment/house in the city center? Assume that I only eat out for special occasions and cook for myself every day. I will be traveling by bus or bike only.

Tarq's comment makes no sense. Australia is open for business, which is good. Tons of people move to Australia every year because the country hasn't experienced a recession in the last 28 years. That being said, Australians are kind & friendly. I'm not Australian and I fell in love with the country when I first arrived here.

Sydney is much safer than London, Chicago, Paris or Los Angeles. The work culture is good, you can choose between private and public healthcare. Taxation is reasonable, public transport is improving (light rail, new underground lines) and is quite decent already. Sydney is even building a new airport. Universities are good. Food is great and many areas have been regenerated (see Barangaroo) + there are talks of regenerating other areas west of Pyrmont as well.

"Sydney is boring" if you're inactive. You can go to the Blue Mountains or take a ferry to Watsons Bay or Manly and enjoy miles of pristine landscapes. The city does have museums and other types of attractions. The parks are amazing. The only problem Sydney has is people drinking too much (which prompted local authorities to introduce lockout laws that damaged the city's nightlife a little)... and that it is expensive.
That being said, Sydney is a global city & the most important financial centre in the southern hemisphere and your money will go further than in London anyway.

Yes, and that’s exactly part of the job of a buyer’s broker. I have a client in her early 70’s whom I rented apartments to for several years and she suddenly came into a small inheritance. She actually called me and said, “Jeff, I have some great news…one of my relatives passed away…” which of course left me in puzzled silence. She explained that this relative left her money, and then had the sensibility to say “I shouldn’t have said it that way.”

With new funds in hand she was excited ditch the rental life and buy her first apartment ever, an apartment she told me would be her retirement home. I carefully culled appropriate selections for her and previewed units to make a list of top recommendations. But she saw some pictures on a website and totally fell in love with a relative large apartment on the 4th floor of a walkup building far from subways but which oozed prewar character. The hassles of getting things up or down 4 flights up was precisely the reason this unit seemed like such a deal compared to the more expensive doorman + elevator buildings I showed her.

When we viewed the apartment, she already had clear difficulty in making it up the stairs, but she told me she was “absolutely in love.”

It took substantial persuasion and tactful discussions to help her understand that if this was to be her “forever home,” and she expected to live here for the next 10, 15 years or more, she HAD to give thought to what it would be like to navigate those flights of stairs at age 80, 85 or 90.

Fortunately, I was able to convince her to view some of the attractive apartments I was recommending that were somewhat smaller, but in elevator buildings. The one she finally bought had an elevator, 24 / 7 doorman, a block from the subway and featured a rooftop solarium.

I stayed in touch with her over several years and she recently called me asking me “Guess where I am right now?? I’m in my rooftop sooo laaaa reeee ummmmm !!!” She insisted I come join her for lunch and during lunch she told me how much she loves her building and thanked me profusely for dissuading her from purchasing the walk-up apartment in the little building far out of the way. As it turned out, she had developed some issues with her hips that may eventually require surgical intervention and she described having an elevator and 24 / 7 attendant as a “lifesaver.”

The job of a SELLER’s broker is always to “sell the house.” But for the BUYER’s broker that job is ensuring the client gets a good deal on a great property that best meets the client’s needs. A buyer relies on his / her agent / broker for exactly this insight and expertise, even when that means being told “Nope. I know you love it, but this is not right for YOU.” Contact me bryankingston001@gmail.com to get your apartment