The cost of living in a foreign land is always a concern when moving overseas. As with many things in life the first try can often be the most difficult, but in the case of moving country, the difficulty is usually due to the emotional turmoil generated by leaving home and stepping into the great unknown for the first time.
By focusing on practicalities and being as well prepared as possible before packing bags and saying goodbyes, you give yourself the best chance of hitting the ground running in your new (albeit possibly temporary) home. One tool I have found online is a cost of living calculator created by the good people at Study Australia - an official Australian Government initiative. Their website is one you can trust, is regularly updated with accurate information, and is very user-friendly.
The Study Australia cost of living calculator takes you through 9 steps:
Which city you would like to live / study in
Do you plan to live in the city centre or suburbs
Type of accommodation you prefer
Transportation types you expect to use and the frequency of use
Eating out - types of restaurants and regularity
Food choices when eating out and at home e.g. cheap/moderate/expensive
Lifestyle choices like gym memberships and mobile phones
Clothing purchases
Social activities like trips to the cinema and nights out
As you can see, the calculator covers a broad enough range of real-life expenses which are all too easy to overlook when planning finances. I used the calculator and answered the questions honestly, thinking back to how I actually lived my life in Sydney. The result was extremely accurate and very much reflected my weekly expenses while living there.
At the final stage, the cost of living in my chosen city was compared to the cost in all 8 Australian capital cities (Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin) based on the answers I had provided. One thing to keep in mind is that the cost of living in any country must be considered relative to factors like the economy of that country, salary standards, and overall quality of living.
You can try the Study Australia cost of living calculator here: https://costofliving.studyaustralia.gov.au . Contact us below with any questions you may have.
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