How much money do you really need to travel & live in Australia? 

How much money do you really need to travel & live in Australia?

So, you’ve made the choice to make the move over to Australia – well done (great choice)! You may have heard about how expensive the cost of living can be in Australia, especially in the big cities like Sydney and Melbourne..If the figure at the bottom of your bank statement does not fill you with confidence, you may be wondering..How much money do I actually need to make it to Australia and get settled in?

The good news is: it’s not as much as you think!

As a rule of thumb, we recommend the minimum figure to travel and teach in Australia is $5000 – that’s Aussie dollars. That’s excluding flights of course.

If you can get $10,000 -great. If you can get $20,000 even better but unless you’re planning an extensive holiday you really won’t need much more than that.

If you’re arriving in the Summer (December – January) and have $10,000 this gives you a good buffer zone of about 4-6 weeks before you need to start work and worry about getting some money coming in.

To be honest many international educators start working within 2 weeks anyway, due to the shortage of teachers in Australia. So unless you’re partying like a rockstar you won’t hit the end of your $5k before then.

Let’s break it down over a 4- week period:

RENT & BOND

The most expensive thing you’ll have to layout when you arrive is accommodation; generally your first month’s rent up front for a long term rental.

If you’re living in an apartment or share house (let’s say $900 per month for your room) you’ll be up for $900 for the first month of rent upfront (remember not to pay until you meet the person and never before you have visited the house/ apartment, you don’t want to get scammed) – that’s about $1800 straight away. On top of that chuck you will most likely need on average about $500-$1000 for your temporary accommodation in a hostel/Air BnB and that brings it up to $2800 just for accommodation.

FOOD & DRINK

We’d budget around $40 a day for food and drink; this covers groceries, some eating out & going for a drink every other night when you first arrive so we’re not scrounging here! No 2-minute noodles or baked beans for dinner!! We recommend buying some breakfast supplies and packing your own lunches to keep costs down. You will find pubs often have cheap nights of the week like “$15 Parma night” so you can get a decent meal while still not breaking the bank.

Also expect to pay between $4-6 for a regular coffee (it may be more for non-dairy milks), so if you love coffee make sure you budget for that too.

TOTAL: approx $1200

OTHER

Essentials like stuff for your new flat (linen, kitchen supplies etc) (about $200)

Spending money for fun things like nights out, live music, art galleries, movies, etc ($500)

Play tourist – visiting all the cheesy landmarks when you first arrive! (say $100)

Transport – loading up your Public transport card ($150 will cover you for a few weeks) You might want to buy a car?

Loading up your SIM card (which we give you before you go) with some credit ($50 will last a while!)

TOTAL: approx $100

GRAND TOTAL FOR 4 WEEKS: AUD $5000

There you go! $5000 will last you a minimum of 4 weeks without scrimping too hard on budgets. Anything more than $5000 just gives you a longer buffer and a bigger safety net, however for those teachers struggling to save then you can feel confident travelling to Australia with only $5000 in your bank account.

If you are interested in making the move to Australia, click here for more information and to get in touch!