cost of living do able on 95000 $

[cat]

Hi,

 

We are currently living in Norway as UK expats. My husband has been offered a job working 2 on 2 off rotation and I would be based in Adelaide. Can you tell me is this a liveable wage for us? We have one toddler. Because I'll be on my own for half the time I really want to stay in a safe, child friendly area in the hopes of meeting some pals! And not too far from the airport (if possible). Any help would be very appreciated thanks

[Guest Guest75]

Yep, but you may need to live a bit away from the airport to make this happen. A few of the guys on here and elsewhere (including a friend or two) do this.

[snifter]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

How far is too far? 20-30 minutes? Depending on if its rush hour or not? If so, yes I'd say its doable. I personally don't think its a big deal driving 30 minutes to the airport from round about where we are. Some days its a bit less, depends on traffic and time.

 

It will be doable closer to the airport but not sure which suburbs round there I'd go for. I can't think of any that leap out and appeal to me on that income if a mum at home with young child right close by. Renting maybe, but buying you may be looking a bit further afield. Hmm, well Henley Beach and round there, very nice but not affordable buying wise perhaps unless you have a hefty chunk to put in already. A few other suburbs around the airport, but again, budget, not sure cost wise of these suburbs. Renting will give you some decent options closer to the airport though.

 

But if you are happy with say a 30 minute drive then lots more options for you I reckon.

Edited October 7, 2014 by snifter

[cat]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

How far is too far? 20-30 minutes? Depending on if its rush hour or not? If so, yes I'd say its doable. I personally don't think its a big deal driving 30 minutes to the airport from round about where we are. Some days its a bit less, depends on traffic and time.

 

It will be doable closer to the airport but not sure which suburbs round there I'd go for. I can't think of any that leap out and appeal to me on that income if a mum at home with young child right close by. Renting maybe, but buying you may be looking a bit further afield. Hmm, well Henley Beach and round there, very nice but not affordable buying wise perhaps unless you have a hefty chunk to put in already. A few other suburbs around the airport, but again, budget, not sure cost wise of these suburbs. Renting will give you some decent options closer to the airport though.

 

But if you are happy with say a 30 minute drive then lots more options for you I reckon.

 

 

I should have said we will be renting and I'll not be working. Half an hour to the airport is great I just didn't want a two hour round trip every time I'm confused, I don't know if I'm missing something or I've just lived in expensive oil towns for too long but the house rentals look reasonable to me. I'm surprised it looks like we can afford a LOT more in Adelaide than here ( here being the 2nd most expensive city in the world though!)

[cat]

What would be in your opinion the best areas to stay in? Thanks so much for taking the time to reply

[snifter]

What would be in your opinion the best areas to stay in? Thanks so much for taking the time to reply

 

Hey, I don't have time to reply in full tonight as its almost midnight and I have to be up at 6am tomorrow. I'll drop you a PM in the next day or two

[kelbert]

You should be fine on that salary as the average Aussie income is in the $60k region apparantly.

[flossybeth]

Certainly for renting options on that sort of money Lockleys, Henley, West Beach, Grange, Fulham (all west of the airport towards the sea) would be great. In fact depending on what you prefer you've got a great choice within the 30/45 minutes radius to the airport, just not too far north or south or into the Hills and you'll be fine.

 

Not massively helpful but it really does depend on what you like

 

And certainly the wage you're looking at will be plenty (again assuming you are relatively "average" with your spending). We're a family of 5 on less than that and mange clubs for the children, days out etc.

[Guest Guest75]

What would be in your opinion the best areas to stay in? Thanks so much for taking the time to reply

 

If you don't mind a journey time of up to 30 minutes you have a huge choice of suburbs.

As far South as Hallett Cove ( we live there)if you like coastal.

[EmmaB]

We are UK expats living in Sweden, perhaps the Scandinavian experience has clouded our view. We are moving in Jan 2015 hoping there are no nasty surprises.

[cat]

We are UK expats living in Sweden, perhaps the Scandinavian experience has clouded our view. We are moving in Jan 2015 hoping there are no nasty surprises.

 

Hey, sorry I don't understand you mean the same as me? You think its fairly reasonable?

[EmmaB]

Yes, I'm not sure if I am looking at rents that seem reasonable to me but are crazy to those that know better.

[cat]

I've got an Australian friend here who's lived in Adelaide and she assures me there's not a catch but I don't know. We currently spend 50% of salary on rent so $400 p/w looks awesome are you over now or making the move?

[cat]

Sorry just seen you're moving Jan 15 think that's about right for us too but waiting on HR aaarhg!

[Guest Spitfire]

Many of the rentals at the lower end of the market are cheap but in terrible condition. You could expect to rent a reasonable three or four bedroom house in an outer suburb for $1800 a month. My only advice to those coming from Scandinavia would be that Australia is like the UK in the sense there is basically no serious regulation of landlords, and no legislation forcing them to install proper heating/cooling into their properties. Make sure you get somewhere with proper air-conditioning throughout the property if you can, because the portable units are largely crap, and you will not enjoy sleeping in 35+ degrees, especially if you have to get up in the morning. The summers in Adelaide are very long, and ferocious without air-con. If you can imagine what your greenhouse feels like in Norway in the day in summer, well that's your bedroom at night in Adelaide on many summer nights.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Spitfire

[cat]

Oh crap, knew there had to be a catch! Thanks

[Guest Spitfire]

Oh crap, knew there had to be a catch! Thanks

 

Cat - something else I just thought of is make sure you get a bedroom and if possible a lounge with ceiling fans. Heat is a subjective thing - some feel it others don't. I do. We had to beg our landlord to put a ceiling fan in the bedroom, she ripped us off over it as well, and then refused to put one in the lounge, but they can make a real difference whether you're running your air-con or not. They're not expensive to buy or fit.

[snifter]

Consider if your hubby is going to be away for 2 weeks at a time if you are going to be happy further out in one of the suburbs along the coast or towards the hills or if you would rather be closer to the city or city beaches (Henley, Glenelg etc) which are a bit more hustle and bustle (but still really nice).

 

As lovely as many of the suburbs are, once in the residential housing areas of those suburbs further out, it can be a great deal quieter in terms of footfall, people out and about and so on. Not to say nothing goes on, it does, just you notice that it becomes far less busy. Sure the shopping hubs will have people but I find many of those pretty souless and boring to spend time in other than the weekly shop and so on. Also the friends I've made live over a wide area so its not like I can call one of them and say shall we meet up at my local shops and cafe when they live in Glandore say. Mind you, with younger kids you meet other Mums through playgroups so can make 'local' friends from the same suburb that way. But then that is not for everyone and it may still feel rather quiet even so.

 

When I first came over in 2004 I likened the suburbs I saw to Stepford Wives land. Everyone drove everywhere, roller doors go up, roller doors go down, lawns get mowed (mostly) and so on. I didn't feel this at all in the CBD where hubby was living at the time nor in Glenelg where we also spent time with family (and where we first lived for 7 months when we moved over last year). I'm more a proper rural girl and suburbs with a central shopping hub full of the same shops and stores as the suburb 10k up the road are not a dream come true for me. And coming from the UK where you get used to seeing people walking places, local shops on street corners and small garages or bakeries dotted around, pubs and halls, more densely packed suburbs, it can be a bit jarring to land in Aus and suburbia. However, now we are living here (just on a year now) I am better equipped to deal with Stepford Wives land and we bought right on the edge of a suburb in the foothills with open fields only a short amble across the road away sort of thing. However, we do very little in the suburb itself as our interests and activities take us much further afield. But we love the location and for me, that it doesn't feel too Stepford Wives like is a real plus.

[Guest Spitfire]

I empathise with the Stepford Wives observation. It's the problem you get when you build suburbs without a centre, all in a short period of time from one another. To be fair, urban planners have made some of the suburbs very nice, with great parks and easy access to shops and other facilities, but you have to look carefully to find them as the norm is flat suburbs on a grid with no centre, and many don't even have pavements to walk on. If buyers want to avoid Stepford Wives territory, then they should stick to the coast (right on the coast) or the hills/foothills regions, or CBD. These areas have more independent shops, more interesting nooks and crannies than the great flat 'burbs, but cost is a factor.

[guspjmh]

$95k is a fine wage for a family - if you have PR you will get family allowance on top. On the aircon front, we arrived from a British winter into 5 days of 42 degree+ heat and survived fine with just a ceiling fan in the bedroom. If you live near the coast and have fly screen on windows there tends to be a breeze in the afternoon.

Edited November 6, 2014 by guspjmh