Household bills

[Lavers]

Hi all

I am due to fly out around September time and just after a little feedback regarding bills.

I know it is a bit off how long is a piece of string but I am just after a ball park figure.

There will be me, wife and 2 kids 10 & 5 so at least a 3 bed house.

So what would council rates, gas, electricity & water rates be if I was around the Sheidow Park/ Hallett Cove area.

Again I am only after a rough figure just so I have some sort of idea.

Cheers

Mark

[Curly]

Hi Mark

i will try my best to help but it does vary quite a bit and everyone has different circumstances. I will break down a little what we have to pay and it’s me, my wife and 11 year old daughter. 
 

Rent $350-400 per week (No council tax to pay until you own a house)

Car REGO (Car Tax) $300 per quarter

water rates $200 per quarter

Gas $200 per quarter

Electric $450-$650 per quarter (depends on time of year)

food shopping $150-$200 per week

school fees $350 per year (public school)

Car insurance $70 per month

we have just moved into a new house so now have a mortgage and we live in Seaford Heights and council rates are $1350 per quarter. 
 

I'm sure there are other things I have missed but they will give you an idea of the basics. 
 

What work do you do?

you will be coming at a good time of year and will start warming up ready for summer 

cheers

[Lavers]

7 hours ago, Curly said:

Hi Mark

i will try my best to help but it does vary quite a bit and everyone has different circumstances. I will break down a little what we have to pay and it’s me, my wife and 11 year old daughter. 
 

Rent $350-400 per week (No council tax to pay until you own a house)

Car REGO (Car Tax) $300 per quarter

water rates $200 per quarter

Gas $200 per quarter

Electric $450-$650 per quarter (depends on time of year)

food shopping $150-$200 per week

school fees $350 per year (public school)

Car insurance $70 per month

we have just moved into a new house so now have a mortgage and we live in Seaford Heights and council rates are $1350 per quarter. 
 

I'm sure there are other things I have missed but they will give you an idea of the basics. 
 

What work do you do?

you will be coming at a good time of year and will start warming up ready for summer 

cheers

Cheers Curly that's brilliant.

Car rego I wasnt sure on, does it depend on what car you have?

Is it only council tax that you dont pay when renting?

Everything else seems pretty close to what I thought so all good.

I'm a boilermaker by trade, currently supervising in the UK but happy to drop back on the tools in Aus.

That's what I thought with the weather...enjoy the UK summer then have a few months in Aus before there summer .

How long have you been out there for?

[Curly]

Hi Mark

Yeah the Rego is different for all cars. We have a Triton truck but used to have a Peugeot 307 and that was only $192 per quarter so I think it goes on the engine size. 
 

I think you might not have to pay sewerage costs when you rent also on your water bills but haven’t had a full water bill for our new house yet so not sure what it will be. 
 

Yeah you will probably have to drop back a bit but if you prove yourself I’m sure you can progress pretty quick. People here are happy to give us responsibility as the training we get in the UK is decent and know most people who come over have a good work ethics. 
 

We have been out here just over 3 years now and we love it. You still have to get up everyday and do everything like the UK but you have lovely beaches on your doorstep, big wide open spaces and obviously the weather. 
 

There is plenty of things for the kids too so they will love it. Parks are everywhere and then also the wildlife parks like feeding kangaroos and seeing the Koalas. 

[Lavers]

Im more than happy to be back on the tools as im fed up with the hassle of supervising haha

Exactly im not expecting Aus to be the holy grail, like you say you still have to get up for work, pay the bills and deal with stroppy kids but come weekend the weather will be better and we can get out and about.

Will it be forever who knows but at this present time it feels like the right thing to do.

What is it that you do for a job?

[Curly]

I’m an electrician. I was a supervisor in the UK but then came here and had to work as a TA until I transferred my skills over. The company I worked for were quite happy to let me work as a spark even though I wasn’t being paid for it. I worked as a supervisor with a different company and now got a job in project management. Like I said there are ways to get back up through the system as long as you work hard for it. 
 

there is much more to do on the weekends. You can actually plan ahead here for most things and not have to worry about getting wet. It can get pretty wet here in the winter but the rest of it is quite nice. It’s been a funny summer. Would have days of 40 degrees and then drop to 25 the next day. It has been pretty dry though hence the fires in the hills and KI. 
 

The kids will love it and sounds like you are coming out with the right frame of mind so you should love it too. I don’t even want to go back to the UK for a holiday I’m quite happy here and would rather use my time to see Australia when we get the chance. 

[Lavers]

All sounds really promising then...had you done project management in the UK?

You've hit the nail on head regarding weekends, it's usually a last minute decision here as to what you can do.  I'll be happy with a little rain (I think) do t think I'd want it red hot all year round, so a little cooler in winter will be welcomed.

Thanks again

[Lavers]

How is it in Seaford heights being that distance to the CBD?

I have been looking around Hallett Cove and Sheidow park area, although I will look everywhere when we arrive.

[Curly]

No I hadn’t done it in the UK. I wanted too but the opportunity never come up so it was nice to get it over here. 
 

Yeah Adelaide is nice like that as you get the seasons. I really like Autumn here as it’s still in the mud 20s and dry. The winter generally only lasts 3 months here and it will start to get settled again. 
 

Im sure you will enjoy it mate and settle pretty quick. 
 

have you had a look at your job prospects here and do you need to update any of your skills?

[Curly]

I like it down here. I work just the other side of the city and takes me roughly 50 minutes to get to work in the morning traffic. 
 

We are only a 15 minute walk from the train station and can get the train in. We don’t go to the city that often only really when there are events on. It’s a lovely city and really nice in the night with all the lights on. If I drive down usually takes around 40 minutes and park on the outskirts and use the free tram system. We’re going down tomorrow to go to the fringe. Was there last Sunday too watching the Adelaide 500. 
 

Generally if we need to go to the shops we would go to Marion as has a big mall there with most of the shops similar to what you would find in the city. That’s only a 20 minute drive 

[Lavers]

That's not to bad at all, I live around 30min drive to Manchester so very similar.

How is it with crime etc ive read that a few places around that area aren't the best.

[Curly]

The crime is very low here mate. One of our friends had his truck broken into at Noarlunga but I haven’t really seen anything. The news here shows break ins but it’s stuff that wouldn’t even get mentioned on the UK news. 
 

There are areas all around Adelaide that they class as rough areas but if you compare it to a council estate in the UK it doesn’t even slightly compare. 

[Lavers]

11 hours ago, Curly said:

 

 

44 minutes ago, Curly said:

The crime is very low here mate. One of our friends had his truck broken into at Noarlunga but I haven’t really seen anything. The news here shows break ins but it’s stuff that wouldn’t even get mentioned on the UK news. 
 

There are areas all around Adelaide that they class as rough areas but if you compare it to a council estate in the UK it doesn’t even slightly compare. 

That's good to know and like you say it wouldn't even make the news or local papers here.

I live in a valley outside of Manchester but crime in the area is big at the minute. People from manchester coming and taking the cars of the drives, so not the best.

I'll have a good look when we arrive, the houses look decent around your area and a nice price.

[Curly]

You will always get the scumbags wherever you go but I don’t find it as bad here. I came from a small village in North Wales and then moved to Birkenhead with my wife for 8 years before we came out so it’s nothing compared really. 
 

Everything is so spread out here so  you don’t get the big groups of kids hanging around the streets apart from near the shopping centres. 
 

Yeah house prices are much better down south. We used to live near Marion and like the area but just too expensive to buy a house there. We built a big 4 bed on a decent block of land for less than what our old rental sold for and that was a 3 bed on a small block. 

[Lavers]

Hi Curly

I've just been looking at school ratings and most high schools (government) seem to have a low rating.

Does your daughter start high school next year, or is she there now.

Have you used public schools?

[Curly]

Hi Mark 

My daughter is still in primary school at the moment in year 6. Hers is the last class that will still be in primary in year 7 as in 2022 year 7 will become secondary as it is in the UK. 
 

She is in a public school now and we are happy with it. She is still in the school she was in when we first moved out here. We live further away now but pass the school for work so it’s not too bad. 
 

I have heard some of the schools around the south are not that great but we honestly haven’t looked into it that much yet. We went to the open day at Tatachilla last week and we liked the feel of it there but it’s a private school so need to weigh up our options. 
 

Aldinga is having a brand new reception to year 12 built and will be ready in 2022 but not sure what sort of standard it will be. You will get good and bad points with all public schools but unless you can afford private just have to make the best decision that you can. 
 

You will be zoned with most schools but some do offer Scholarships or will waive the zoning for the right people

[Lavers]

Ill just be looking at public I think, I think because private are more common in Aus it makes you question how good the public schools are.

From what ive read majority of private schools are only the same as public anyway.

Its not like we move around in the UK looking for the best schools, you tend to just send your kids to the local school and that's it.

Ratings wise there seem to be a lot of good primary schools around the south but no high schools.

[Curly]

In all honesty I think the ratings can be a little off putting. You will get the feel for a school once you have a look around. 
 

Like you said you didn’t have much options in the UK you just pick the school that’s closest. I think the school system is quite similar to the UK and use the same learning tools just teach it differently. 
 

We went around 3 schools when we got here and picked the one that felt the best. We were a little concerned when she first started as just seemed to be lots of drawings and craft but they use that as a way of teaching and We are happy with her progress now.