# Current Cost of living - Sydney



## sairam786 (Oct 27, 2012)

Hi Friends, 

I would make a move to sydney on 457 company sponsored visa before christmas this yr , if anyone can pls tell me below cost of living for sydney ?

Electricity \ month 
Water \ Month 
Gas \ Month 
Train n Bus fare \ month 
food - 1 person \ month 
Internet \ month
Phone \ month 

Regards
Rahul


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## Cartisol (Oct 5, 2012)

sairam786 said:


> Hi Friends,
> 
> I would make a move to sydney on 457 company sponsored visa before christmas this yr , if anyone can pls tell me below cost of living for sydney ?
> 
> ...



Electricity \ month *25 $ approx per head as per use if you are sharing with some guys. You need to pay once in 3 months to the board* 
Water \ Month *No water charges*
Gas \ Month* Not very sure but very cheap*
Train n Bus fare \ month *Mostly you would be working in CBD and I assume you will stay in desi area where indians mostly prefer like Paramatta or Strathfield in which case weekly pass is 35 to 40 $*
food - 1 person \ month *If you cook by buying everything by yourself, all the time, then 350 $ Maximum*
Internet \ month *Depends on package and provider, some are cheap and some are costly*
Phone \ month *If you use Lyca, you can talk to indian landlines hourly just for 25 cents flat charge and mobiles also very less charge and even in australia, lyca to lyca free 100 calls or something*

Good Luck


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## Cartisol (Oct 5, 2012)

Cartisol said:


> Electricity \ month *25 $ approx per head as per use if you are sharing with some guys. You need to pay once in 3 months to the board*
> Water \ Month *No water charges*
> Gas \ Month* Not very sure but very cheap*
> Train n Bus fare \ month *Mostly you would be working in CBD and I assume you will stay in desi area where indians mostly prefer like Paramatta or Strathfield in which case weekly pass is 35 to 40 $*
> ...


Some update which I misspelled:

1. 35$ to 40$ is for one week train pass.

2. For food, I have spend maximum of 300$ only per month, depends on how much you spend. I also lived with 200$ per month food


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## busiaussie (Nov 15, 2012)

*Hi*

Does this means that with shared accommodation 2500 AUD is sufficient?


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## topazz2511 (Nov 14, 2012)

sairam786 said:


> Hi Friends,
> 
> I would make a move to sydney on 457 company sponsored visa before christmas this yr , if anyone can pls tell me below cost of living for sydney ?
> 
> ...


Hi Rahul,
My husband and I are on 457 here. I can give you the costs that we incur
Electricity \ month - 80$ for a 1bhk per month using refrigerator, washing machine, TV, microwave, electric stove. heater usage during the colder months will be around 20-25$ extra. if you share with someone, this will get split depending on number of people
Water \ Month - nothing for rented place
Gas \ Month - if there is an electric stove - in cost of electricity itself. gas stove - no idea 
Train n Bus fare \ month - Parramatta to city will cost you 150 per month for the pass.
food - 1 person \ month - 
If planning to cook -
We buy all our fruits and vegetables from the paddy's market and it costs 100$ per month . we are vegetarians so eat lots of veggies
rice 5kg - 12$
atta 5 kg - 8$
dals - 3$ per kilo
masalas - 2$ for 200g
maggi - 2.5$ for a 6 pack
other shopping from supermarket for biscuits, milk, curd, bread etc costs around 20$ a week. milk is 1$ per litre, bread is 3$ a loaf, biscuits are 2$ for 125-200g, chips are 2$ a packet, muesli is 4$ for 500g
If planning to eat out - I am giving below the approx costs that you might incur. depends obviously on the kind of food and the quantity that you will ultimately have
breakfast - 8$ per day (sandwich + coffee from 7/11 or Mc d for example)
lunch - 10-15$ depending on choice per day(set plates/lunch specials at indian/thai restaurant usually cost around 10$)
dinner -20$ per day(a main dish at any half decent restaurant will cost atleast 20$)
snacks - 3$ per day(chips/coffee/mints etc)
You must budget for atleast 300$ in the first month for food as you will want to try out the restaurants, pick up random stuff from the supermarket etc
Internet \ month - 59$ for TPG 100GB, 69$ for unlimited very good speeds. again will get split between housemates.
Phone \ month - I have found lyca to be pretty decent. they have a 24$ per month plan which gives you unlimited calls and text to all australian numbers except the 1300/1800 and 3GB data. calls to india cost 30c per minute to landline and 30c + 1c/sec to mobiles. 15c per sms to india. so overall 40$ per month for phone should be plenty with this plan
rent - if you share a place with someone, the cost would be around 200$ - 250$ per week so max 1000$ per month 
dont forget to carry all the formal clothes, shoes from India. they are much cheaper there. shopping for clothes can burn a hole in your pocket till you settle down here
So if you add a buffer of 300$ for weekend roaming around etc also, 2000$ should be a decent sum of money for a month as expenses for 1 person.
i hope i have been of some help.

good luck for your move


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## busiaussie (Nov 15, 2012)

It was very useful post topaz.


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## topazz2511 (Nov 14, 2012)

Glad that I could be of some help busiaussie!

one more thing I would say is please carry any medication that you might need with a doctors prescription 
carry a light jacket and a windcheater as the weather is usually pleasant and can get chilly in evenings
carry convertors for gadgets bought in India for charging and using here as the cheapest convertor in sydney will be 5$ and you will get the same thing for 100rs. in India
also check out Kmart, the reject shop and dollar shops in malls and stores in liverpool, cabramatta for utensils, towels, soap/shampoo/deo/washing powder etc. they are much more cost effective than the supermarkets. 
for Indian groceries, i have found parramatta to be most cost competitive
I would also recommend Aldi over other supermarkets for cost effectiveness. however there is no beating woolworths for range and availability

once again, good luck for your move and enjoy your stay in Sydney!!


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## Cartisol (Oct 5, 2012)

topazz2511 said:


> Glad that I could be of some help busiaussie!
> 
> one more thing I would say is please carry any medication that you might need with a doctors prescription
> carry a light jacket and a windcheater as the weather is usually pleasant and can get chilly in evenings
> ...


Well said  I am happy for you that you guys are on 457 and you like it and enjoying  Yes paramatta is a good place; Many cheap and good Indian restaurants in Harris park which is walkaway from paramatta. Hope you enjoying the Murugan temple too there in Paramatta.

To add to your point on train pass, quarterly pass will save you about 80$.

I can see from your expression of detailed post how excited and enthusiastic you are to be in lovely Sydney  Enjoy well and again, I am happy for you 

Cheers


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## sairam786 (Oct 27, 2012)

Hi, Thank you so much for the detail info. It would indeed help 

Is it a furnished house with all the things (refrigerator, washing machine,microwave, electric stove etc ) or 
Did you purchase from sydney only ?? if purchased , how much it cost ? 


I am planning to take 2 bedroom in a apartment and share 1 bedroom with indian guy in parramatta,sydney. Initially i will get 1 month accommodation from the company. Hopefully i will get someone for sharing  

Regards
Rahul



topazz2511 said:


> Hi Rahul,
> My husband and I are on 457 here. I can give you the costs that we incur
> Electricity \ month - 80$ for a 1bhk per month using refrigerator, washing machine, TV, microwave, electric stove. heater usage during the colder months will be around 20-25$ extra. if you share with someone, this will get split depending on number of people
> Water \ Month - nothing for rented place
> ...


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## topazz2511 (Nov 14, 2012)

Cartisol said:


> Well said  I am happy for you that you guys are on 457 and you like it and enjoying  Yes paramatta is a good place; Many cheap and good Indian restaurants in Harris park which is walkaway from paramatta. Hope you enjoying the Murugan temple too there in Paramatta.
> 
> To add to your point on train pass, quarterly pass will save you about 80$.
> 
> ...


Yes I have been here only for the last 4 months and am already loving it. I do miss having friends and family around but so much exclusive time with hubby makes up for it

I actually do not live in parramatta but i have found it to be an excellent shopping place including westfield

thanks for your nice comments and i do hope to reach out to you in future for advice

topazz


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## topazz2511 (Nov 14, 2012)

Hi Rahul,

all places will have a built up kitchen i.e. with some cuboards and a stove (gas or electric). you can look for homes that have built-in wardrobes called built-ins here. Also some buildings come with shared laundry however i have rarely seen other furniture as part of the regular rent. there is a site called gumtree where you can buy everything you will need second hand. we bought our refrigerator, washing machine second hand for 300$ and 200$ each. if you want, you can rent furniture as well!
topazz


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## Cartisol (Oct 5, 2012)

topazz2511 said:


> Yes I have been here only for the last 4 months and am already loving it. I do miss having friends and family around but so much exclusive time with hubby makes up for it
> 
> I actually do not live in parramatta but i have found it to be an excellent shopping place including westfield
> 
> ...


Oh that's interesting that you love things there. Well yes, I can imagine how excited I was like you every fraction of seconds I lived in Sydney 

Indeed, I was in Strathfield sometime, and had friends all over in Homebush, Strathfield, Flemmington and believe, i love walking through to all the places. I also stayed in North Sydney and St Leonards for sometime which again is fabulous place to live. Strathfield and Paramatta are crowded especially indians  hehe 

Oh yes, Paramatta westfield is something next to the one in Pitt Street near Wynyard CBD. Yeah yeah, go and have fun in Westfield when you get bored 
Even you can go to Opera house and sit when your hubby can catch you for lunch or even after office hours and you can spend some time there and return back  It would be a great fun.

If I am missing anything in my life in this world, its the life in Sydney and the Sydney  I will be right back there :| :|

And oh yeah glad you have GREAT time with your hubby  

Enjoy enjoy


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## krishireddy (Jan 18, 2012)

Many Thanks Topazz & Cartisol...this helps many of us


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## Cartisol (Oct 5, 2012)

krishireddy said:


> Many Thanks Topazz & Cartisol...this helps many of us


Anytime mate.

Cheers


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## sairam786 (Oct 27, 2012)

Thank you for the info. 

Regards
Rahul



topazz2511 said:


> Hi Rahul,
> 
> all places will have a built up kitchen i.e. with some cuboards and a stove (gas or electric). you can look for homes that have built-in wardrobes called built-ins here. Also some buildings come with shared laundry however i have rarely seen other furniture as part of the regular rent. there is a site called gumtree where you can buy everything you will need second hand. we bought our refrigerator, washing machine second hand for 300$ and 200$ each. if you want, you can rent furniture as well!
> topazz


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## topazz2511 (Nov 14, 2012)

krishireddy said:


> Many Thanks Topazz & Cartisol...this helps many of us


Glad to be of help


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## coolnixy (Aug 16, 2012)

There are many threads about cost of living and each expat mentions cost of living according to his/her lifestyle. I feel the cost of living varies from person to person and location to location. I understand the cost of living figures help you get reference and make some calculations but then there are many factors that you can't calculate before you actually being to that location. I am not trying to negate anyone, but just requesting the people who are migrating to Oz to be bit more cautious and not take the figures mentioned here as your only reference. Say for example I will say weekly train pass is $33 now that's according to my current location and my work place and I commute via train. What if there is no railway station to suburb where you stay Or where you work and you have to take a bus and then a train. Will the figure I mentioned be any use to you? Same applies to everything from phone bills to electricity to grocery!!

So friends I will again repeat my words, take the numbers mentioned in this forum just as a reference and don't over rely. 

Thanks,
Nixy


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## sairam786 (Oct 27, 2012)

Hi Friends,

I need some info regarding the bank account. Once i will be in sydney i would open an account as soon as possible, preferably commonwealth bank ( As i will be working for the same bank )

Question :

- I need to transfer the money to my current bank( ICICI ) in india on a monthly basis as i have my EMI getting paid from that account.

I would like to know the process i need to follow ? how can i initiate that ?


Thanks in ADV
Rahul


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## Cartisol (Oct 5, 2012)

sairam786 said:


> Hi Friends,
> 
> I need some info regarding the bank account. Once i will be in sydney i would open an account as soon as possible, preferably commonwealth bank ( As i will be working for the same bank )
> 
> ...


Hi Sairam

It's very simple. 

Just register yourself in the link below. Then use those credentials in the login page below.

https://m2inet.icicibank.co.in/m2iNet/m2iNetLoginForm.jsp

Then choose "Net Express" option in "Initiate Transfer". It will take you to a page wherein, you may want to enter details as requested (Like how much AUD etc and you also have option to see what will be the conversion INR). They charge negligible amount (Like 50-150 Rs) only. You have option of two transfers (Fixed rate, where amount will be little less, variable rate, where amount will be fluctuating, like it will calculate the amount on the day it gets credited in your Indian account, so it can be high or low depending on value on that day). Don't worry too much on this, you ll come to know if you once do these stuffs.

Then once you confirm it, it will give you a 3rd party (JP Morgan) account details which you need to transfer your AUD to). So then go to your SBA account and then initiate a transfer to the account no, BSB, branch details mentioned in this confirmation screen in Money2India.

Done  Your transfer will be done in 2 days.

Hope that helps.

Cheers.


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## sairam786 (Oct 27, 2012)

Cartisol said:


> Hi Sairam
> 
> It's very simple.
> 
> ...



Thank you


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## drfaria (Sep 12, 2012)

topazz2511 said:


> Hi Rahul,
> 
> all places will have a built up kitchen i.e. with some cuboards and a stove (gas or electric). you can look for homes that have built-in wardrobes called built-ins here. Also some buildings come with shared laundry however i have rarely seen other furniture as part of the regular rent. there is a site called gumtree where you can buy everything you will need second hand. we bought our refrigerator, washing machine second hand for 300$ and 200$ each. if you want, you can rent furniture as well!
> topazz


i've seen many things on sale in gumtree. but can u suggest the cost of transport if we need to pick them up? like we want to buy a queen mattres. i've seen them within 100/200 bucks in gumtree. bt we need to pick them up on our own. what will be the cost for carriage to another suburb? its a huge thing and we cant carry them in bus or rail.....


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## Jey2012 (Nov 18, 2012)

Thanks for sharing info.

Keep positing


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## andiamo (Jun 10, 2012)

Folks,

Based on what I read, looks like expenses minus rental for a couple would be around 1500$ / month. 

That being said, would it be possible to find decent 1 bhk apartments in the CBD for $1500 ?

The intent is to keep the total living costs under 3K $. Not sure if that would be feasible


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## Cartisol (Oct 5, 2012)

andiamo said:


> Folks,
> 
> Based on what I read, looks like expenses minus rental for a couple would be around 1500$ / month.
> 
> ...


A strict NO in CBD for 1.5 K (Are you talking about fortnight ? That may be possible with lot of efforts in searching).

Excellent areas like CBD comes with a good cost buddy, it will cost you atleast around 900 $ PER WEEK for a very good 1 BHK room around CBD.

You can check in this link below as an evident. This is the famous website apart from gumtree for real estates in Sydney.

http://www.domain.com.au/Search/rent/State/nsw/Area/sydney-city/Region/sydney-region/Suburb/sydney

Here, they give you details of car park, bedrooms and other amenities including the rental details. Also some have pictures. 

Hope that helps.

Enjoy !!!


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## topazz2511 (Nov 14, 2012)

drfaria said:


> i've seen many things on sale in gumtree. but can u suggest the cost of transport if we need to pick them up? like we want to buy a queen mattres. i've seen them within 100/200 bucks in gumtree. bt we need to pick them up on our own. what will be the cost for carriage to another suburb? its a huge thing and we cant carry them in bus or rail.....


Hi drfaria,
I just saw your post. My apologies for the delayed reply. 
Vans can be hired for transportation at 80$ for a few hours. Look, Sydney is NOT a cheap city to live in. Some smart planning could lessen the initial settling in cost though. There are people who sell their household items in bulk eg. Bed, mattress, sofa, table, kitchen stuff etc at the same time. Best would be to buy from one seller, hire a van for 80 bucks and get it all transported at the same time. Even if you buy first hand from a store, they will still charge you the same 80$ for delivery! 
Hope that helps!
Topazz


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## topazz2511 (Nov 14, 2012)

andiamo said:


> Folks,
> 
> Based on what I read, looks like expenses minus rental for a couple would be around 1500$ / month.
> 
> ...


Hi andiamo,

I would just qualify by saying that 1500$ minus rent would be the minimum expense for a couple with occasional indulgences. Please note eating out daily, taking taxis, indulging heavily at the supermarket can jack the costs up quite heavily!! 
As Cartisol has mentioned, apartments in the CBD are very expensive and 1500$ would barely cover 2 weeks rent not to mention parking etc.. Plus for 1500$ a fortnight, the places available would be either matchbox sized if its a 1 bhk or a studio at best.
For a couple, keeping living cost under 3k would mean living very austerely. Also, In the initial home set up stage, 3k a month is not possible as you will be spending on stocking up the kitchen and setting up the house. 
IMHO, around 4k for a couple should be the expense

Topazz


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## VKB (May 28, 2013)

VKB said:


> Hi all,
> First of all I appreciate all of you, for the details shared. Its so helpful
> I have some queries. It will be really great to receive your replies.
> Me and my son(1yr) are moving to Sydney in July 2013 to join my husband.
> ...


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## sudhakard2010 (Feb 29, 2012)

topazz2511 said:


> Hi Rahul,
> My husband and I are on 457 here. I can give you the costs that we incur
> Electricity \ month - 80$ for a 1bhk per month using refrigerator, washing machine, TV, microwave, electric stove. heater usage during the colder months will be around 20-25$ extra. if you share with someone, this will get split depending on number of people
> Water \ Month - nothing for rented place
> ...


Thank for providing detail information! it really helps people like me planning to move on jan 2014.

Thanks
Sudhakar


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## gb_raj (Jun 10, 2015)

How does the current cost of living in Sydney look like? Will a typical Indian family of 4 limit their living expenses under 2k excluding the rent? I'm referring to all other expenses apart from rent, including the schooling for 1 kid.


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## oz.productguy (May 12, 2016)

Hello Topazz, 

Thank you for the information. This is helpful. Is there a way I can reach out for more information.


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## nilesh82 (May 6, 2017)

*Required help for getting basic cost of living in Parramatta?*

Hi topazz2511

While doing a google search for cost of living on Australia found your post in this forum.
Could you please guide me for the same as my 457 visa is in process so just wanted to get some idea on the cost of living in or near Parramatta. My work location is in Smithfield. I will be planning to move with my Wife and 1 kid (8.5 yrs). Can you please quide me with the monthly expenses so it will be easy for us to plan our move. We are pure vegetarians and are planning to share a room or studio which ever is good and affordable. With other day to day expenses.

Thanks for your help in advanced.


Nilesh Shah




topazz2511 said:


> Hi Rahul,
> My husband and I are on 457 here. I can give you the costs that we incur
> Electricity \ month - 80$ for a 1bhk per month using refrigerator, washing machine, TV, microwave, electric stove. heater usage during the colder months will be around 20-25$ extra. if you share with someone, this will get split depending on number of people
> Water \ Month - nothing for rented place
> ...


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## amitnr (May 4, 2017)

nilesh82 said:


> Hi topazz2511
> 
> While doing a google search for cost of living on Australia found your post in this forum.
> Could you please guide me for the same as my 457 visa is in process so just wanted to get some idea on the cost of living in or near Parramatta. My work location is in Smithfield. I will be planning to move with my Wife and 1 kid (8.5 yrs). Can you please quide me with the monthly expenses so it will be easy for us to plan our move. We are pure vegetarians and are planning to share a room or studio which ever is good and affordable. With other day to day expenses.
> ...


I am also in same situation.. Any help would be greatly appriciated..


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