How much I will need to live in Australia for a family of four ?

Question

At present I am working in the Middle east, once my daughter is ready for college, we want to move to australia. What would be the income for a family of four to live a normal life in Australia ?

Answer 1

That's difficult to say without knowing what standard of living you would expect and where in Australia you would be living, but AUD$100k should be sufficient in most places. You could manage on $30K or $40k less if you had no mortgage or accomodation expenses and lived very simply, but I suspect that someone who has been working in the Middle East would not be very comfortable at that level.

If you are not an Australian or New Zealander, it may not be all that easy for your family to move here as immigration to Australia is very restricted e.g. you must be under 45 and  have a skill and qualifications that are in demand at the time of your application.

Answer 2

To be able to live comfortably in Australia, you would need to be earning close to $100,000. Otherwise, the mortgage eats up your salary and you wouldn't be able to take your family on holidays or day trips to anything worthwhile.

It really depends on your family's spending habits, some families can get by on less than $50,000 annually if they are careful not to waste money on unnecessary expenses. If you have younger children, they would need to be educated, and that would depend on whether they studied at a public high school or private.

I have two children, aged 11 and a half and almost ten. I can't actually take them out for the day without spending around $100. For example, in Sydney, we have Luna Park and it's also in Melbourne. We went to Luna Park about a month ago and spend around $200. That included 3 unlimited ride passes and food. If you go to the movies, you can't spend less than $100 once you pay for your tickets and refreshments. You try to buy some popcorn and the box that's the size of a house is not much more expensive than the little box so without realising you've upsized everything for all the family.

What I'm saying as a native Aussie is that if you are a professional, then living in Australia is affordable. For someone on a tight budget, it might be very testing. Good luck, it would be worth coming here for a holiday to check it out.