Brisbane Cost of Living

I'm down in Vicky Point, about 10 minutes from Capalaba, over by the water.

I actually have no connection with Canada, I found this site, as my own site for the Brits in Oz gets a few visitors that come from here, so I just looked it up, and noticed I could answer a few questions, as they would be the same as for us Brits.

I agree that we do acclimatise to the weather, the longer we are here. Only on Monday I actually said to someone that I was freezing! Then I realised it wasn't really THAT cold!

Yah, you're not too far away.

I see your website, I'm currently checking out the Bayside forum which I didn't know existed. Normally I just look at the British Expats website.

Hi friends. This is my first post here and I found the website accidentally while doing a Google search for cost of living in Brisbane. I went through some of the posts and peeps have posted very good information. So here I am jumping in to decide whether to make a move or not.

Actually I have a telephonic interview this weekend for senior water and waste water process engineer position in Brisbane. I did my search on salaries and it looks like a salary range of around $120K will be reasonable to ask. But I have questions as to what kind of living standard can I maintain with this salary when comparing the life in Edmonton AB at a salary of around $90K. I realized that the house prices in Brisbane are quite high as compared to Canada.

My primary reason of considering relocation to Australia is the climate (no winters and no snow shoveling) and secondly career jump. The company will be sponsoring 457 visa.

We are a family of 3 and our little one is only 6 months old.

Any information or advise will help us decide whether to make a move or not. I noticed that comet555 is from Fort Mac and I am sure you will know first hand the differences and pros and cons of moving to Australia.

I have just typed a big long post but lost it when I tried to submit it (probably becuase I haven't logged in).

So. I'll make this one a bit shorter, don't have time to retype it all.

In short. I think you'll be just fine. There are of course lots of factors, like the kind of lifestyle you want, housing, trips, etc. But I would say as long as you're prepared for a commute to work (up to 1 hour) then you shouldn't have a problem finding something relatively affordable for your salary. The closer you are to the city centre the more expensive it is.

We live about a 35min bus ride or 45 min train ride away from the city. I just love the area (called Bayside) and I'm only 15 minutes from the ocean. We bought our house for $460,000 last year and it has 4 beds, 2 baths and a pool. Probably hasn't gone up too much either. We had a deposit of about 50% (thanks to Fort McMurray) so that helped us a lot. The interest rates are also higher here so keep that in mind.

Here's a couple of calculators to help you figure out the costs of a mortgage:
http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/publ ... +and+tools

You can get an idea of house prices here:
http://www.realestate.com.au/

There's also tabs at the top for renting, most rentals are through real estate agents here. Prices are quoted by the week too. Keep in mind a lot of rentals don't include your white goods (fridge, washer, dryer). But you can rent those separately from a rental company. Renting is usually a bit cheaper as well.

For us it's been great. I haven't noticed any huge differences, some things are more expensive (electronics for one). My husband makes the same salary your quoting, plus superannuation, and we do pretty well. The smaller mortgage helps though although we'd do all right with a bigger one.

Remember to ask if your salary includes super or if super is on top of that. Employers here have to pay 9% of your salary into a super fund (like an rrsp). I would also ask about private health care as well. If you're only coming on a temp visa then you cannot get free public health. So you will need to take our private healthcare at about $2000 a year. Hopefully you can get the employer to pay for it (by law they are suppose to but they seem to be able to get around that).

Anyway. if you have specific questions just ask. But I would say you'll do all right on that salary.

Haley

Here's a map tool (like Mapquest) that will help you figure out where all the suburbs are.
http://www.whereis.com/

We're in Capalaba, Queensland.

Thanks Comet. I will check out the website links. The company I am interviewing with is located in Milton QLD. I will make sure that I find out about super and private health care.

I will definitely have a few more questions after the interview on Sunday and I will post them here.

I appreciate your help.

Just thought I'd mention we do have a couple of hockey arenas here in case you happen to play ice hockey. My team could always use another player!

The interview went quite positive yesterday. They mentioned that they will sponsor 457 business visa. The question I have is that is it worthwhile to try if they would be willing to do employer sponsored migration visa under ENS?

I didn't ask too many questions during the first conversation with the employer because I want to see what they have to offer and is it worth moving.

BTW Comet I do not play Ice Hockey.

It's certainly worth asking if you can get the ENS, not too sure if they would though. Generally employers like only giving temp visas so they've got you tied into them so to speak. Your temp visa would only be valid while working for the company, so it ensures that they don't spend a lot of money bringing you over and then have you leave for the next job. So. it's worth a shot, but I wouldn't expect it.

Have you looked at all the restrictions to having a 457?
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/457_Visa_Restrictions

Thanks a lot Comet for the link. It has great information and in light of these restrictions I am sure that I will not move without being a PR. My wife is also a professional and if she is unable to find meaningful work then my life is going to be hell since she is very compassionate about her education and area of expertise. Moreover it is a significant risk that if the employer dumps me then 28 days is nothing to find a new sponsor. It will be most difficult task to move back again to Canada. Even though the situation may not arise but who knows. Trouble doesn't give you advance intimation before knocking on the door.

No issues about schooling for kids because my little one is still 4 years away from going to school. However, buying a house is definitely an issue because I would like to buy one earliest possible.

The employer did mention that at the start they will provide 4 weeks of stay at their cost and in the mean time I have to find my own place.

I will see what I can negotiate with them. If it works out then fine otherwise I am doing quite well in Edmonton as well and both of us have decent jobs in our area of expertise.