People & Places
Montoya's Australian blog May '08
The Montoyas settle into the first month of winter with balmy day time temperatures of 22 degrees to report!
G'day all. Well it's early June here on the Gold Coast (the first month of winter) and the coolest time of year! Around 22 to 26 degrees in the day, warm and sunny and a cool 18 degrees on average in the evening. Not bad for winter, eh? It's the time of year when a lot of people have baked (roast) dinners. In fact, some people even go as far as to have Christmas dinners at this time of year! December is far too hot for these usually, so the Ole 'Barbie' takes over (as it does for most of the year).
All is well with the family - the usual Birthdays, school, work etcetera, some things do not change! Mind you, having most of our birthdays in the winter now is still strange, as, of course, in the UK it was summertime! We are drawing close to our three years Down Under and still have no regrets! Lots and lots and lots of Poms are still gracing us with their presence over here each year, especially up here in Queensland.
Remember when you are looking to make that move and decide whereabouts to reside in Australia, take in to consideration some basic things…
Queensland is hot or warm most of the year, that's why it's known the Sunshine State with over 270 days or so of sun a year. If you are not keen on that sort of weather, then Queensland may not be the place for you? For winter temperatures like those in the UK you could look at Victoria, where there are hot days in the Summer. You get all four seasons down there. New South Wales gets hot, too, but cooler again in the winter months, so more bearable. Western Australia gets really hot and has warm weather in the winter as well, but not as warm as Queensland (in Perth anyway)!
Housing costs are varying all over out here, always on the up at present in Queensland, going down a tad in New South Wales, even in Victoria and dropping a tad in Western Australia. However, generally the boom has happened for most areas now and things are slowing up, although Queensland is still the exception, I believe. Brisbane and the Gold Coast, being so popular to live in, are still driving prices up, rentals included. For example, the average house rental on the Gold Coast for a four-bedroom house with a study, bathroom, rumpus room and twin garage is still around the AUS$450 a week mark. With a pool you can pay around AUS$520-$550. To buy the same kind of property would be around AUS$450,000 without a pool, and up to AUS$500,000 with one. Again this is an average only, areas and size of house will vary the price.
The cost of living for sure has gone up a lot in the last three years for us. People are going mad over the cost of fuel, the average being AUS$1.45 a litre! Cheap, I hear you Poms say. However, three years ago we paid around AUS$1 a litre, and a couple of years before that, when we had a holiday out here it was around 80cents, so you can see why we are not happy! Costs on fuel has a knock on effect on everything, of course, shopping, groceries etcetera, just as it does anywhere in the world. But, if you take the average wage in Queensland (AUS$50,000) around AUS$750 a week take home then look at the following:
Rent at AUS$450 a week; Groceries for four people AUS$250 a week; Fuel at roughly AUS$80 a week, then you have to ask yourself what do you live on?
This is why most households have two people working or if you're lucky a good six figure salary for the main worker! We, as a family of six, do okay out here. I earn fairly well and Lin runs her own small cleaning business, our outgoings are fairly high due to the type of house we have - two cars and a large grocery bill! But, it's the same for all out here one way or the other.
The good news is, of course, the way of life. Sunshine and beaches along with swimming in the pool are free for us. It's all about the quality of life out here as opposed to the UK. Yes things are now expensive, and probably the same as the UK, but we have the quality of life and houses to match which is something we never had in the UK. It's all about family time out here - picnics in the park, days at the beach, doing outdoor things most days. Would we consider coming back to the UK at present… not likely!
That's it for now, please keep on emailing if you wish, as we're happy to try and point some of you in the right direction.
Montoya's Down Under