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My family and I are planning on relocating from one of the driest cities in the USA, Phoenix, AZ - to Australia.
For this reason, I have some generic questions and hopefully the answers will come through;
1. We're trying to find a city that fits R/A sufferers (as little or now humidity as possible in both winters and summers);
2. Very important - Since we're missing big Metropolis like cities (My wife is New Yorker), we are looking to live in similar type environment, but still minutes away from the ocean/beaches/parks (very important, again!);
3. What is the average cost of rentals for 2-3 bedroom apartment?;
4. Will my European Bachelor Degree Diploma in Computers Science Engineering be recognized/accepted in Australia, or do I need to go for schooling again?; Same for my wife with her Medical Assistant certifications.
5. What's the income like - I'm a IT Engineer / Tech Support guy, and my wife is a Medical Assistant?;
6. Is cost of living in Australia, similar to cost of living in US?
I know they are really too many questions, but trying to wrap things up as quickly as possible. If you do have an answer for one of my questions, that will be awesome. No need to answer to all though.
Also, if people that do have R/A can also tell us how they feel like, we'll be happy.
Probably Perth would be your best bet, although the winters are quite damp and wet in spurts, the summer is very long and hot and dry (late October - end of April).
Rentals are not cheap, and Perth and Sydney are the dearest cities in Australia. Would probably be up for A$300 per week minimum, unless you head into the outer suburbs.
Incomes in your field I cannot be sure on, but would be over $80K - and there is a relatively high demand for IT experts, there are a lot of Indians in this field.
Medical assistant - ie I assume you mean medical receptionist - could expect to make around $65K if they are experienced.
Income earning capacity can be enhanced in the large cities by taking on extra work, or doing a 2nd job etc.
Australian cities are small by American standards, only Sydney and Melbourne are genuinely large.
In general the cost of living is relatively high across the board in Oz, compared with O/S.
Good job with this link. I went on the e-site, and I guess I have 120 points, so I can continue with the migration application. I don't plan on doing this now, just want to study which city is the best to move on? Thank you very much for your message.
Adelaide would also be a viable option. It is the capital city of South Australia, with a population of about 1.2 million people. It has the cheapest real estate of the five major capitals. It is drier than Perth, with about 550mm/year falling on average (~21 inches a year) in Adelaide, compared to about 850mm/year on average in Perth (~34 inches a year). Like Perth, winter is the wettest season with summer rainfall very scarse. Snow has never fallen in the metro areas of either city and frosts are not common. Both cities will experience fairly bleak weather at times in winter, with periods of cloud, rain and strong winds likely. Especially in Perth, which usually makes the national news a few times every winter after a powerful cold front has moved through.
Adelaide's wiki page (gives a good summary of many topics): [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide]Adelaide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]
Perth is a slightly bigger city with about 1.6 million people, but is extremely isolated from the bulk of the Australian population and major cities, and is a fairly expensive place to live. The resources boom in Western Australia has seen house prices and rents increase somewhat. Here is Perth's wiki page: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth,_Western_Australia]Perth, Western Australia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]
As already pointed out, the cost of living in Australia is high compared to most developed countries.
I would have thought Perth has generally higher humidity than say Melbourne?, also Perth is a little isolated so traveling to other centers for get aways is a tad costly.
I suggest Melbourne for its size and weather, but not buying property.
As for IT Salary it will vary dramatically like it does in the States, if you specialise in something like SQL, programming or Sharepoint ETC you can probably get 100K+. If you are like 2nd level support more like 60-80K
As above the cost of living in Aus/NZ is high compared to the US, the size of the US economy and its buying power protects you from the true cost of living imo. The US has largely come through the other side of the property boom and you can actually afford a home comfortably again, where in Aus the term "negative equity" will become familiar to many very soon.
Good job with this link. I went on the e-site, and I guess I have 120 points, so I can continue with the migration application. I don't plan on doing this now, just want to study which city is the best to move on? Thank you very much for your message.
OK thats why you have that other thread. It think the suggestions were clear: Adelaide or Perth would be your best options.
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