Hi MKS,
I moved up here from Sydney after living there for 6 years (am from Melbourne originally) so will try and have a stab at answering your queries...
mks77 wrote:Hi,
I am based out of Singapore working for a large MNC. I have an offer from my Sydney office - wanted to check following:
- cost of housing in sydney (i am paying retal of around S$1600pm in singapore for a
condo) will be looking for similar facilities
- cost of living - based on inof i have gathered cost of living in sydney is around 1.5 times singapore
- if i make 150K in Singapore what should i be getting in sydney.
appreciate all the help
thanks
First of all, where is the company you will be working for based? Many MNCs are not based in the centre of Sydney at all, but in places such as North Ryde and the North West Business Park, both of which are located in the northern suburbs - if you are going to be working in these locations you'll really need to consider driving. Note however car ownership in Australia on the whole is cheaper than Singapore.
In terms of rental, S$1600pm a month equates to A$1200 or so at current exchange rates, or about A$300pw. There are (in my opinion anyway) many advantages to renting in Australia compared to Singapore (leaving cost issue aside):
- your deposit goes to the NSW Office of Fair Trading (in Sydney anyway), not your landlord. If there is a dispute at the end of the lease the landlord can't just simply withhold your deposit.
- tenancy agreements are standardised and any additions separately documented. When you sign a lease you are given documentation to detail the condition of the
property (copies to you and the agent) as well as booklets on renting and your rights as a tenant.
- you don't pay any upfront fees to an agent to show you places. Landlords pay a % of the rent as a management fee to estate agents for their property
- the market is WAY more "transparent". What I mean by that is that most (if not all) real estate agents show their listing on their own, or major websites such as domain.com.au or realestate.com.au, usually with pictures of the apartment. Note that rent is quoted by the week, not by the month in the advertisements (though you will probably pay by the month in the end).
You can have a look at the two websites I mentioned for details on rentals, but for A$300pw you'll probably get a studio, but if you want a two bedroom place you'll probably find yourself further out of town.
Having said all that the Sydney rental market is pretty tight at the moment. Vacancy rates are low, and heaps of people turn up to inspections, and sometimes bidding wars ensue (similar to what I have heard happens here in Singapore sometimes). Recently over 100 people turned up for a one bedroom rent controlled apartment that was going for around A$200 a week!
Big "condo" developments are not as prevalent in Sydney (or Australia generally, except for maybe the Gold Coast), so I wouldn't expect too many places with gyms (which to be honest are usually crap) or lap pools - ones that have them will be a bit more expensive.
In terms of cost of living, I think you're 1.5 times is probably about right - I know the couple of times I had been back I found things more expensive. You won't find A$3 wonton mee or anything like that in Sydney! I can provide more info if you have specifics. Drinking out is sooooo much cheaper though (if that's your thing).
Not sure how much you would be getting in your role in Sydney - you could look on some of the Australian job sites (mycareer, careerone, or seek) - some ads do have salary levels quoted. If you want to work out what your after tax income would be approximately, there are tax calculators on the Aus Tax Office website - ato.gov.au
Hope some of that helps!
