NZ Family of four (11 and 16yr girls). How much money do you recommend to start out in Gold Coast - Rent etc?

Question

I am aussie born and we are getting citizenship by descent for all my family (husband -his dad is an aussie) and our girls. I am curious to know how much money we would need for the initial costs to move to the Gold Coast. My husband is also an Information Technology man and has been looking hard for work from here (NZ) and signed up with a recruitment agency. We are really taking the plunge but want a change of life, environment and basically just want to give it a go. Can anyone help me ensure that we are well covered financially for our move to set us up once we get there? We also have family to stay with initially. We have seriously sold everything here, and will be starting out new! Ekkk and exciting too!

Look forward to any suggestions.

Answer 1

I fully agree with Xanthe. Why the Gold Coast? It's a rotten, expensive place to live and there are not many decent IT jobs down there. A large IT company on the GC went offshore a year or so ago and virtually everyone had to move away from the GC to find work.

You would be far better off moving to Brisbane. No surf beaches there but the coasts are only an hour away and the climate's the same. Brisbane is also fairly expensive to rent a house, but its better job prospects and somewhat lower living costs should more than make up for that.

The amount you will pay to rent a house will vary depending on what suburb you choose but $400 should get you something reasonable, though furnished houses are not easy to come by and may be more expensive. The other answerer obviously lives rather more frugally than we do as I pay more like $400 for gas and electricity for 3 months and our food bill would be over $200 per week when we have 3 1/2 adults at home. Petrol is another big expense, but that will depend on where you live in relation to work and school. I think it's cheaper than NZ petrol but is up to $1.50 per litre this week and rising. Car registration and insurance will set you back at least $90 per month for a small car. You can get broadband with VOIP for around $60 per month with cheap national and  international calls and setup charges of around $150 including a modem/router. Each doctor's visit costs around $25 after medicare rebate and prescriptions are currently $31.30. Public hospitals are free, but there are long (very long) waiting lists so many people take out private health insurance as well. For a family that's about $245 per month if you get extras cover (optical, dentist etc) as well as hospital cover. If you and your elder daughter want to work, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding some if you are willing to work in retail or fast food.

Can't think of anything else at the moment.

Good luck.

Answer 2

The gold coast?  Why the gold coast?  It is good for a holiday but a c**p place to live.  Way over priced.

If you want to rent a decent family home around the GC or Brissy that is fully furnished you will be looking at around $400 per week.  Have a look at http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rse... for what you can get.  

Leave up to $200 a week for groceries.  

We don't use our phone much and we pay about $40-50 a month on phone bills.  If you want internet then you MAY be looking at ridiculous start up fees (we were quoted $180) but search around before you agree to pay that - sometimes your landlord may pay it.  We pay $50 a month for a reasonable broadband internet.  

If you are renting they should pay all the basic rates like water rates, but you will also be looking at gas and electricity bills (ours cost about $80 for 3 month periods).

Good luck with your move and if you need to know anything else please ask.

Answer 3

Yes the gold coast is fabulous. I live here by choice of course. Yes there would be more work in IT in Brisbane but there is work here also. Expect to pay at least $350 for rent. Fuel prices are on the up and up at the moment about $1.45 a litre. There will be school uniforms to buy. At least 4 weeks up front for your rent. Power if you are careful at least $200 for 3 months. Phone approx $30 a month plus phone calls there are lots of companies and different deals. Food varies depending how you manage a loaf of bread varies from $2 to $4  Cheaper to buy 2 litres of milk and this varies Aldi supermarkets you can save a lot. I've just bought 18 purex toilet rolls for  $6 you can pay that for 9. It depends also how you do things. furniture can be cheap or expensive. There's a big second hand market and cheaper shops and electrical goods there is bargaining power that works well. Good luck with your move . go for it There's a great life to be had here.