WCS

When arriving in a new country, there is that one question that keeps popping up in everybody’s head: How high is the cost of living in Australia? We have tried to come up with a budget type, divided into six big categories, so you can plan your expenses before coming to Australia. We have also created a list of products with their prices in Australian dollars and Euros in order to help you get a feeling for how much living in Australia costs.

Table of Contents

Accommodation

Accommodation costs vary depending on what type of accommodation you choose.

Although Australia is a popular expat destination, it does have a rather high cost of living. That said, most expats find that the high quality of life makes up for it. Nevertheless, we recommend that prospective expats do their research and find out exactly what their potential expenses will be.

In the 2020 Mercer Cost of Living Survey, Sydney ranked as the 66th most expensive city out of 209 cities surveyed worldwide. It is Australia’s most expensive city to live in, followed by Melbourne (99th) and Perth (104th).

Expats should therefore ensure that their salary is high enough to cover all of their expenses, as Australians frequently complain about stretched household incomes. The famed social welfare and benefit systems in Australia, such as Medicare and superannuation, seem to do little to ease the financial discomfort of many Australian families.

I have always stated on this blog that Australias houses are cheaper than those in the UK. But as property values fall back in Britain and the pound versus the Australian dollar tumbles, I am forced to relook look at the figures. If you want to check out my original post, you can read it here..

Also, at the foot of this page, you will find a link to an update on house price information from April 2016.

This revision doesnt make for pleasant reading, although there is a twist in the tale.

There are some raging debates going on over at the blog about the cost of housing here in Australia. The debate, of course, is are houses cheaper in the UK or in Australia?

Go back to 2007, for me there was no debate. Australian houses were a fair bit cheaper and much bigger. By 2011, with the pound a little weaker, there was probably not that much in it in terms of cost, but you still got a much bigger house for your money here. Of course, Im talking about the difference in prices between the UK and Australia, so it very much depends which country youre coming from.

What the future holds, who knows? For those of you who are exchanging British currency from the sale of your UK home and changing it into Australian dollars, or any currency to buy a house here, the exchange rate is everything. As exchange rates can change fast, how the prices compare largely depends on what day you turn up.

As you would know the major cost involved in buying a house or apartment is the purchase price, but there are a number of extra costs that come with buying a home.

Taking time to plan and budget for the complete costs associated with buying a house or an apartment will help ensure you are not faced with any surprises that may cause issues with the property settlement process.

Here is a look at what is often called the hidden costs of buying a house or apartment.

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Flour and Stone bakery is a beloved Sydney institution, famous for creations such as the Lemon Dream Cake and panacotta-soaked.

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We decided to dig into the documentation and find out. So if this sounds like you, read on, because we have the answers.

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In this guide

Who can qualify to withdraw their superannuation to buy a house?

There are three main types of home buyers able to use superannuation for property purchases: first home buyers; property investors; and over-65s / retirees.