# cost of living in Melbourne



## anubrata.s

Hello,

Can anyone please help me to get an idea of the cost of living in Melbourne. I am looking for jobs in Melbourne and an idea of the cost of living will help me determine the expected salary. Specifically what I am looking for is
House Rent (furnished, 1/2 bhk)
Food, Conveyance etc..

Thanks
Anubrata


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## Dexter

Try going for shared accommodation if you are after furnished. For a room you will probably pay between $150 and $250 depending on quality and location.

As for single units (which in 99% cases come unfurnished) it is probably anything from $300 per week.


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## anubrata.s

Thanks Dexter. 

Could you please provide a rough estimate of how much it's required for food of 2 persons in Melbourne and if there is anything else (like in UK we have council tax which is around 30% of House rent abd adds considerably to the living expenses)

Some guestimate regarding conveyance / gas-electricity bills will be helpful too !!

thanks
Anubrata


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## ozmikal

Anubrata,

Real Estate, Property, Land and Homes for Sale, lease and rent - realestate.com.au will give you an idea of the current rental market in Melbourne.

When it comes to food, you can pay very little in Melbourne if you ask around and learn to shop properly, or you can pay a great deal if you limit yourself to buying groceries only at the nearest supermarket. There can be up to 10x price difference between buying an eggplant at Coles and at Dandenong Market at closing time on a Saturday afternoon!

As to expenses other than food and bills, we have no 'extra' taxes. Life in Melbourne can be as cheap or as luxurious as you want it to be.


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## Dexter

You may need to pay some bills - electricity, gas, phone. No council, water or strata.

Food - count $50 - $80 per week per person (depends if you eat out or at home)


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## pencilpusher

you can opt to rent a room instead of a house which is around 200 a week, for a very decent room.


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## jasterpratt

I heard my riend told me that eating out for a fastfood or restaurants are very expensive. Is that true?


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## rofnac25

It depends where you go... as with anywhere.

Myself and my partner eat out at an Asian restaurant once a week and it costs us $10-12 per meal. I went to Box Hill and stuffed my face on chinese dumplings for $8, literally couldnt eat anymore.

On the flip-side myself and my partner went to a European restaurant this weekend in the CBD and 1x drink each, starter, main and dessert $150.00

I would estimate that most run-of-the-mill resturants average $15-$25 for mains.

Fast food is quite expensive... if you buy a meal at macca's, kfc, hungry jacks (burger, chips and a drink) you wont get any change from $10.


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## 27272 - deactivated

Hi,

I am planning to move to Melbourne by this year end. Can you please help me understand what would be ideal income for decent living in Melbourne. Is $50K annual package is enough for small family, myself, wife and kid ?

My lifestyle is not very luxurious, please help.

Regards
Akshay


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## Cam Ward

Depends where you want to live. In the city or city fringe can be very expensive and you should look at finding a share house. You would need a job earning 50K per year to cover all expenses and have some kind of life to live in the city or city fringe.


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## ozdev

akshadaks said:


> Hi,
> Is $50K annual package is enough for small family, myself, wife and kid


If you are paying tax at the Australian tax rate, you will only be left with $41,703.00 - you can do a quick calculation at TaxCalc - Calculate your tax. 2013-2014 financial year

This is not much for a family to live off in Australia.

I'm not sure what the rules are in regards to kids etc.. the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) will have more information.


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## GTaylor

hi there, you can rent a room in a share house for around $150 - $200 per room per week. As for food - food is quite expensive here. You could cook at home for around $6.00 per meal - or less if you try hard and like rice and cheaper vegies. You can eat out pretty cheaply - for around $10 per person. plenty of great cheap and cheerful restaurants. 
Clothes are expensive here. 
Also - keep in mind travel costs. Petrol is around $1.50 per litre.... phew! That's a lot. Public transport is $12 a day for zone 1 and 2. 
Good luck.


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## palsh

GTaylor said:


> transport is $12 a day for zone 1 and 2.
> Good luck.


At the risk of sounding naive, what do you mean by zones?


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## paddy445

Hi... I just wanna know that is it possible to earn 2500 Dollar's per month in Part Time jobs while studying in Melbourne. And how hard is to find a job in Melbourne.


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## alkex

I'm trying to get a figure about how much I need to earn on a monthly base to run my family in Melbourne. I'm trying to get a god minimum figure That I can use as a minimum requirement to accept or not a job offer there.

these are my guess based on information based until now.
we are 2 adults and 2 kids (7yo and 4 yo)

monthly costs

food: 2000 AUD (6 AUD x 2 x 4 x 31)
rent: 2500 AUD
health insurance: 200 AUD ??? (If holder of permanent VISA)
School subscription for 2 kids: 500 AUD
Utility: 500 AUD
Car Insurance and fuel: 400 AUD
Clothes and other exp. : 1000 AUD

this sumup to about 7000 AUD.

Are these estimate correct? are them higher or lower than what are IRL?
I'm missing something that I should consider?

I don't want to consider in this evaluation extra costs like going out for dinner or fitness center etc ...

thanks in advance
Alkex


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## shoeb.dpi

Hi,
I am new to this forum. I am Shoeb Ahmed Khan (age 32) from India, Master of business administration(marketing), I am a certified SAP SD consultanat with 7+ year of experience in Customer service and SAP SD/ CS.
My current earning is 40,000 Australian dollar p.a. I am looking to migrate to Australia on PR.

Q1. How is job demand for I.T (SAP SD or CS)
Q2. What will be average earning p.a
Q3. What the tax ratio
Q5. What will be cost of leaving for 2+1 people p.a

Please help me with above answer and guide me further to migrate to Australia.

Thank in advance..
Shoeb


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## esskool

Hello,
Can anyone please help me to get an idea of the cost of living in Melbourne. I am looking for jobs in Melbourne and an idea of the cost of living will help me determine the expected salary. Specifically what I am looking for is
House Rent (furnished(Sharing or PG)
Food, Conveyance etc..
Thanks,
Satish Kulkarni


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## esskool

Hello,
I just wanna know that is it possible to earn 2500 to 3000 Dollar's per month in adminstrative jobs in Melbourne. And how hard is to find a job in Melbourne.
Thanks,
Satish Kulkarni


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## naveen hr

anubrata.s said:


> Hello,
> 
> Can anyone please help me to get an idea of the cost of living in Melbourne. I am looking for jobs in Melbourne and an idea of the cost of living will help me determine the expected salary. Specifically what I am looking for is
> House Rent (furnished, 1/2 bhk)
> Food, Conveyance etc..
> 
> Thanks
> Anubrata


The cost of living in Melbourne can vary according to the type of accommodation you choose and the lifestyle you lead.
cost of groceries, eating out, utilities and entertainment is similar across Melbourne, the cost of accommodation in and around the city centre is greater than in the outer suburbs. On the other hand, travel costs may increase the further you live from the centre of the city.

You will need to budget approximately AUD$2300 - $5000 for the initial costs of establishing yourself in Melbourne.


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## iloveburgz

the cost of living is definitely an issue facing australia in the future. what are your thoughts?


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## contact.siddiquee

Cam Ward said:


> Depends where you want to live. In the city or city fringe can be very expensive and you should look at finding a share house. You would need a job earning 50K per year to cover all expenses and have some kind of life to live in the city or city fringe.


for a family of 4 ( husband,wife and 2 school going kids) what is the minimum cost of living including all the expenses you think would justify?


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## nicolas_sf

Agreed. $200 rent average for a single room. $300 on shopping a month. $50 a week in leisure. A cafe job close to your place, in which you can eat, will be a great way to save money, even if they pay you $3 less dollars an hour than other jobs.


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## bbrisbine

Living in Melbourne, I've paid $600/wk for a 2BR apartment in South Yarra on the 13th floor of a huge development with city views and pool and gym, but I have many friends who live in Brunswick/Footscray (only a few minutes farther from the CBD) and pay $300 for a flat in a small unit block. You don't have a view or a gym or a spa, but maybe that's not as important to you. Like everyone has said, living in Melbourne CAN be expensive, but definitely doesn't have to be. 

The best money saving tip I could provide would be to rely on public transport for commuting. My partner sometimes pays $25/day to park in the city for work, not to mention the fuel costs of starting and stopping in traffic. On the other hand, I pay $7.80 a day to get anywhere on the train/tram/bus network, which runs pretty much nonstop anywhere you could ever need to go.


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## Bernat

Hello!
I know that this post was written in 2013. Thats why my question is: how expensive is Melbourne nowadays? 
I'm going to earn 36k per year. Is it enough now?

Thank you!


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## volcanoadam

Is Melbourne cycling friendly? It's not only the cheapest form of commuting but also the healthiest.


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