need some advice and view from the PRs here... i just came back from Melbourne and had an offer for a contract IT job for 6 months, pay is AUD500/day inclusive super...

the few days i spent in Melbourne, i did cooking for my boy so i roughly know how much the vegetables and fishes costs, i surveyed basic groceries at the CBD supermarkets, eating out, driving, parking, public transport, even the pharmacy cos my wife was sick...
i'm still a bit skeptical whether that pay is sufficient for a family of 3... no conversion wise, Melbourne are as expensive as KL... the parking especially even beats Orchard Road flat

rough calculations say its doable... still need to be very careful spending... mind sharing your input?

This post has been edited by kenji1903: Oct 8 2016, 02:38 PM

What is your primary objective? If it's to get a job in Melbourne, then this is a big step forward no? Know your objective and make your decision based on that.

$500/day is roughly $130k per year. Less since it's with super and you get no paid leave, but still higher than the $75-85k average annual salary in Melbourne.

thanks for the feedback!

to me its a good start and it works out roughly to about AUD6.7k take home per month provided i get 20 days for work a month...
again, no conversion, my MYR household (my wife is working) take home pay is way higher than that and its just enough supporting a family of 3...
is AUD6.7k enough for a family of 3 in Melbourne since i'm the sole breadwinner?

In all honesty I'm in the same boat as you ie. the typical job in Australia is a step down financially. My primary objective is to not be at a financial disadvantage, but enjoy the nicer weather there I'm just prepared for all possibilities though including letting my PR lapse.

Off topic, more than A$7k take home in Malaysia and it's barely enough for a family of 3? Your standards are high my friend

then we are in a similar situation

one-to-one without conversion mar, i cannot raise a family alone with RM7k take home pay, but am i able to do it with AUD7k what's more in Melbourne?
a blardy donut next to the hotel i stayed costs AUD3.50 leh

Its more then enough for sure.

No one drives to the city public trasport.

Groceries is cheap and if you buy from markets like victoria and preston etc even cheaper.

Staying 15 km out of CBD rent will be 1400 amonth

Electricity quarter 250
Gas quarter 300 almost zero in summer
Internet 99 amonth
Handphone whole family 120 amonth depending on plans i put maximum
Car rego anually 750
car insurance depending 1300 a year
medical whole family about 3k a year

U shld be very happy with AUD500 a day.
As you rightly calculate, its about 6.7K a month.
Most people get by with 55K a year, raising a family. That's 3.7K a month.
A mid level IT job is only 80-90K a year, or 5K a month.
Some recent arrivals are even happy to get a 20/hour job (35K a year, 2.9K a month).

Honestly if u think u r going to get more, u really must have some unique or senior management skills.

Melb is not as expensive as KL.
Groceries is 1/3 KL price.
Parking is free or discounted if u know where. Only ppl with too much money or packaged in their salary pay the full CBD rates.
Petrol at the peak of 1.40 is dollar to dollar cheaper than KL.
A brand new Corolla is 20K.

Rental, u dont be crazy and rent in the CBD or inner city. 20kms from the CBD, u can get for $300 a week for a apartment or smaller 2BR house.
Health is covered by Medicare for standard illness and private health care for the rest.

Final word, its an extremely attractive package.



This post has been edited by shazam7: Oct 10 2016, 08:14 AM

yeah, i made a mistake renting a car while staying in CBD... it was a nightmare

i've been monitoring rents and house prices at the astern suburbs and usually its in the 400-500/week range, can PM me the place you recommended?
the utilities you mentioned, is it for apartment or house?

thanks so much for the insurance info, really needed that!
can PM me also the insurance you are using? i did a quick Bupa quote previously and it came out to about 400/month for medium coverage

its contract and i only get paid if i work... my skills are niche, and limited therefore they are able to offer that
frankly its above my expectation cos most of the time i read very negative comments on jobs and the pay like you said is only at those range... now waiting for their reply to see if they are ok with my arrival dates...

i've went marketing so i roughly know the prices, somethings are cheap, somethings are the same, but basically from what i've noticed, 60%-70% of the items are only slightly cheaper in Melbourne... trout and cod are really cheap... but vegetables it depends... celery is dirt cheap, lettuce is the same... ah... forgot to checkout rice

can you still get a corolla for 20k? i checked earlier this year it was nearly 26k for a basic to medium spec... and the basic spec is really kosong, the pulsar that i rented didn't even have reverse sensors

thank you for the feedback, i'll put that into consideration... my wife still can't accept having single income

This post has been edited by kenji1903: Oct 10 2016, 10:43 AM

It is a very good package for a first job. If you were making RM7k back home, I think this is an upgrade and very few can do that here. You probably can't save much with that salary cause you are moving here and there will be a lot of initial expenses. Your wife will need to get a job if your kids are school age and you plan to send them for tuition and/or private schools.

However, if you do have the intention to stay here permanently, I don't see why you would hesitate. 9 out of 10 that wants to migrate wouldn't be as lucky. I know I wasn't as lucky when I first moved here, but my situation is great now. I'm sure you'll do well considering you are starting off better then average.

thanks for the feedback

i'm earning more than that in Malaysia, similarly with my wife... so moving from 2 income sources to 1 is a real setback for my wife as she's very concerned my salary is enough to support the entire family in Melbourne... cos the overall cost is similar to KL, may be 20-30% cheaper in Melbourne, but that's just based on my observation after spending a few days there

my wife can look for a job but she doesn't know what she can do since currently she's a sales manager...

yeah, i do have the intention of migrating, 6 months can be a good try for us... worse case we'll just go back if things aren't smooth sailing but we will try our best to avoid that...

thanks again for the comments, keep it coming

It all depends what yr endgame is. When ppl migrate, they take a huge risk. They forgo their comfort zone, leave their family and friends behind, 24x7 mamak, Pama free babysitting service, Kak Minah basuh seluar dalam etc.

I only know too many who have sacrificed their careers, v v high income jobs to live here. For them the key reasons are work life balance, cleaner and cool air, and education for the kids.

Ultimately u hv to weigh the risks and determine whether it is worth it or not.

If there seems to be so much doubt and worry, I suggest do not come over. This will potentially put stress on yr marriage and family.

As I said I found the living in Mel to be significantly cheaper than KL (with the exception of rent). When I return to KL I am shocked at the price of things, groceries, eating out etc. For example, $50 a week would get me reasonable amt of groceries a week for 1 person and inc. fish, meat and veg. Compare that to RM50 and what that buys u.

This post has been edited by shazam7: Oct 10 2016, 12:17 PM

Well said,

For me its the kids , their quality of life now is priceless.

Family security Priceless

Well said,

For me its the kids , their quality of life now is priceless.

Family security Priceless

your wife can go into property agent if she's comfortable

to me, the only setback is the income, others are all the same, i have no maid, i have no FAMA help, i have little friends, i seldom go eat out, i don't drink, etc... yeah, i'm an extremely boring person
i just want to spend more time with my family, that's why the decision whether to take the offer or not... well the final decision is still in their hands since it depends whether they can wait for me or not... they wanted me to go over next month which is impossible...

thanks for the feedback, i know... definitely there will be a lot of doubts cos its migration not just working abroad temporarily...
to me, there's no turning back... but i supposed everyone goes through the same dilemma when they decide to migrate...

This post has been edited by kenji1903: Oct 10 2016, 01:57 PM

we did discuss about that... maybe charity work or get some kind of cert so that she can work... baby sitting, kindergarten teacher, agent like you said...
all part of the consideration, thanks

Let me say this is a VERY good income. Many newcomers would be envious of your daily rate.

As I say many frens have struggled months without work, or with $20/hour gigs on a part time basis.

Anyway it is the first contract so use it as a stepping stone. Network, gain contacts, move on later.

As for the fact that it is a contract, let me say permanent is no better. Esp with the large companies.
They can just turn around, make a position redundant like that. The difference between contract and permanent ends up being the redundancy package.

this is very good info, thanks a bunch bro! i had the thought of requesting them to convert me to permanent after the 6 months, at least i get annual leaves and MCs but i'll see how it goes first, thanks again for the invaluable info!

by the way... if its not convenient, can PM how in general the permanent package works in Aussie? there isn't very much info on the web...
what i know is, 20 days is the common annual leave
not sure about MCs, bonuses, increments, medical cards (if any, most probably there isn't since i see a lot are getting their own private family insurance) and stuff like that

nice your first contract job higher pay than mine .... since you are in IT and being contract there is no sick leave and all so if you are sick just work from home at least still get paid .... cos when public holidays you don't get paid as well .... anyway around 9-10 months of your contract your manager would have told you if they are able to confirm your extension of contract or if there is a permanent vacancy available otherwise they would just advise you to start looking out for jobs