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Australia is one of the countries I've been considering immigrating to from America, and I've already made an "Immi Account" and am trying to figure out Australia's skill select system. I've really been reading a lot about the prices of real estate and climate of different settlements in Australia as well, and comparing them against teacher salaries. Based on this list, Rangeway/Geraldton in WA is my #1 pick and Port Pirie is my #2 pick. Rangeway in particular looked great for a beach lover like myself since, besides getting a little hotter than I'd like in January, it has pretty much perfect weather. Rangeway also has $100,000 houses that look decent for a single man who may or may not have a small family later. Meanwhile, teachers in WA make a minimum of 75,000 AUS which currently converts to $50,000 USD. I currently only make $45,000 USD in America as a 5th year public school teacher, and I have enough equity in my house that I could probably sell it and have a decently big downpayment on a house in Rangeway. I haven't looked much at the prices of groceries and daily living, but Numbeo tells me that it should be comparable to what I'm currently used to, but that table of grocery costs.
Austrailia's political system looks better than America's political system, but I'm looking from a distance. Is Australia's rightwing as unhinged as America's rightwing? Does Australia's far right look like it could rise to power any time soon? Is the labor party still a working class party with a healthy left flank?
Geraldton seems to be a swing district between labor and the liberals/nationals. I cuurently live in a safe GOP district here in America, though, so a swing district would still be nicer to live in than a rightwing district, probably. Living in a swing district would only be nice if neither side are unhinged extremists, though.
I'm also currently learning Swedish, since the other countries I'm interested in all are in Scandinavia and Sweden is the easiest of the Scandinavian countries to move to. Australia has an edge over those other countries, though, because Australia is English-speaking and English is my native language.
Before you get into politics you may want to look into actual cost of living in AUS. Actual cost of housing, utilities, transportation, food, ... versus income.
Before you get into politics you may want to look into actual cost of living in AUS. Actual cost of housing, utilities, transportation, food, ... versus income.
WA seems to have lower living costs and higher salaries than America, whereas the other Australian states seem to have a much higher cost of living.
Jurien Bay, Geraldton, Rangeway, -- all smaller coastal Austrailian towns in WA with a high public school teacher salaries and cheap real estate. I haven't gotten much information about groceries, but I have a general sense I'd have much higher buying power there than I have here in America.
Finding teaching jobs in these affordable smaller towns has been hard, though. Most of the work is in the expensive cities, it seems.
Last edited by Magic Qwan; 09-20-2022 at 02:02 PM..
Politicis is more moderate here which is believed to be partly because of the voting system, which is compulsory and proportional. Yes, the Libs will probably get in again in a few years if politics follows the patterns of the past. But the Liberal/Nationals are centre right and Labor is centre left so I would not think you would need to factor politics into your decision.
The main issue with Western Australia is that it is extremely isolated, which may be good or bad, depending on your perspective. Many teachers, at least here in NSW, seek the coastal towns out of Sydney because the cost of housing used to be cheaper (not necessarily now) and the easiest places to find work are the disadvantaged Western Sydney schools.
Geraldton is one of the few towns in the country where I have not been, so someone else may be able to advise you.
Last edited by MarisaMay; 09-20-2022 at 05:07 PM..
WA seems to have lower living costs and higher salaries than America, whereas the other Australian states seem to have a much higher cost of living.
Jurien Bay, Geraldton, Rangeway, -- all smaller coastal Austrailian towns in WA with a high public school teacher salaries and cheap real estate. I haven't gotten much information about groceries, but I have a general sense I'd have much higher buying power there than I have here in America.
Finding teaching jobs in these affordable smaller towns has been hard, though. Most of the work is in the expensive cities, it seems.
To complicate the issue, taxation in Australia is different. The only income tax you pay is federal, "sales tax" ie GST is uniform across the country (it's also included in all advertised/quoted prices in stores etc), and local government taxes are more uniform and don't include the property tax regime that many US jurisdictions have.
I don't get it. Why pick a place like Rangeway in Geraldton? Prices for houses are less for a very good reason. It is not a good suburb. A lot of social issues , crime, drugs and a range of anti-social conditions.
Geraldton is a small beach side city, quite windy (great for wind surfing) some seven hours north of Perth, but better suburbs than Ridgeway (although there are other equally bad ones)
Never been to Port Pire, nor met anyone who has lived there. I'd suggest a place to go purely to work.
Politics in Geraldton and region , as in most all regional centres, tend to be conservative in voting .
I don't get it. Why pick a place like Rangeway in Geraldton? Prices for houses are less for a very good reason. It is not a good suburb. A lot of social issues , crime, drugs and a range of anti-social conditions.
Geraldton is a small beach side city, quite windy (great for wind surfing) some seven hours north of Perth, but better suburbs than Ridgeway (although there are other equally bad ones)
Never been to Port Pire, nor met anyone who has lived there. I'd suggest a place to go purely to work.
Politics in Geraldton and region , as in most all regional centres, tend to be conservative in voting .
I was going for affordable, but if its really that bad, I could try somewhere more expensive and just tighten my belt a bit.
I was going for affordable, but if its really that bad, I could try somewhere more expensive and just tighten my belt a bit.
Put it this way, it is not called The Bronx for no reason. Last time in Geraldton, (three years back) a number of police cars sped past us in the city with sirens blaring.
Heard next morning serious disturbance issues that previous evening in Ridgeway.
If you are going to buy in somewhere like Geraldton, go for the best area. It seems it is not an area which is growing much so you do not want to be stuck with a property you cannot sell.
You can Google prices of food etc. Coles and Woolworths are our main supermarkets and I think prices are fairly consistent across the country.
But your big issue is where you can get work. I have forgotten what type of a teacher you are? You need to see if your qualifications comply with the requirements.
Politicis is more moderate here which is believed to be partly because of the voting system, which is compulsory and proportional. Yes, the Libs will probably get in again in a few years if politics follows the patterns of the past. But the Liberal/Nationals are centre right and Labor is centre left so I would not think you would need to factor politics into your decision.
The main issue with Western Australia is that it is extremely isolated, which may be good or bad, depending on your perspective. Many teachers, at least here in NSW, seek the coastal towns out of Sydney because the cost of housing used to be cheaper (not necessarily now) and the easiest places to find work are the disadvantaged Western Sydney schools.
Geraldton is one of the few towns in the country where I have been, so someone else may be able to advise you.
Isolation has both its pros and cons. On one hand, it means good stargazing and good undisturbed sleep. On the other hand, it makes entertainment and jobs harder to come by. Ideally, I'd have my house somewhere cheap/quiet, but still be close enough to the city to visit and scratch my city itch from time to time.
I notice a few cheap towns in Victoria. I remember somebody on another thread mentioning that Victoria is one of Oz's more reliably Labor states, so that earns those towns a few bonus points in my book.
Are you familiar with Golden Beach?
Quote:
Originally Posted by the troubadour
Put it this way, it is not called The Bronx for no reason. Last time in Geraldton, (three years back) a number of police cars sped past us in the city with sirens blaring.
Heard next morning serious disturbance issues that previous evening in Ridgeway.
Sounds a bit like where I'm moving from, honestly. Thanks for the heads up.
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