Pocket money to bring in Australia

Jenn24 · December 2019

Hello po,
darating po ako sa Australia next year 31 January. Tanung ko lang po,magkano po yung dala nyong pocket money.

batman · December 2019

Check mo sa destination state mo magkano below. Tpos estimate mo gano ka tagal ka stay dun.
Rent
Food cost
Internet
Trsnspo
Etc

athelene · January 2020

Same advice as batman: Check which suburb/city you're moving to. Of the list, rent ang usually pinakamahal, especially in the city center.

Just for reference, your own room in a flatshare (old terrace house) in Sydney (near Sydney Uni) can cost AUD 350+ per week. If you're sharing a room with someone, it could be AUD 220-250 per week. The closer you are to the CBD, the more expensive the rent, so most people opt to live farther from the city and just commute to uni.

Food cost depends on you. Takeaway food can be AUD 20-25 per meal, which could be 5-10x more than what you'd spend per meal if you cook at home.

Internet may or may not be included in your rent; you'll have to verify with the landlord if this is inclusive. Mobile phone bill can be relatively cheap if you can find the best deal according to your needs. I've switched providers a few times now, and I'm paying roughly AUD 40-50 per month for a large data allowance (my internet at home is unreliable lately so I use mobile data most of the time).

Transportation---this can be expensive if you live far from where you're studying. I live near the university so I spend only about AUD 30 per month for traveling around Sydney or visiting my cousins in Western Sydney. Expect to pay more if you're living far away from the city.

Jacraye · January 2020

@Jenn24 said:
Hello po,
darating po ako sa Australia next year 31 January. Tanung ko lang po,magkano po yung dala nyong pocket money.

Hi @jenn24 your expenses will depend on the location you will be staying.
But staying closer to CBD does not necessarily mean it will be more far more expensive than living further away. Rent will definitely be expensive near CBD but sometimes there will be cheap ones. Transpo is not that significant but will be cheaper if your destination is near CBD. For food, it can be very cheap or it can be very expensive specially if you are alone. If you are able to prepare your own food it will be less expensive than buying cooked ones. Also, don't buy all your food stuff in groceries if possible and go to the nearest public market. If in sydney, there's a good and cheap market place in the CBD where you can buy your meat, fish, vegies, etc. and there's a big asian grocery where you can find some of the common PH goods that you need for cooking. If in any case you need to buy good food for lunch/dinner but want it cheap, there's a food court in china town that serves good food.

rjlim · January 2020

@Jacraye said:
Hi @jenn24 your expenses will depend on the location you will be staying.
But staying closer to CBD does not necessarily mean it will be more far more expensive than living further away. Rent will definitely be expensive near CBD but sometimes there will be cheap ones. Transpo is not that significant but will be cheaper if your destination is near CBD. For food, it can be very cheap or it can be very expensive specially if you are alone. If you are able to prepare your own food it will be less expensive than buying cooked ones. Also, don't buy all your food stuff in groceries if possible and go to the nearest public market. If in sydney, there's a good and cheap market place in the CBD where you can buy your meat, fish, vegies, etc. and there's a big asian grocery where you can find some of the common PH goods that you need for cooking. If in any case you need to buy good food for lunch/dinner but want it cheap, there's a food court in china town that serves good food.

@Jacraye saan yung asian grocery sa city na mura? sa experience kasi namin mahal upto almost double yung price sa Ashfield and West Ryde compare mo sa Rooty Hill.

Jacraye · January 2020

@rjlim said:

@Jacraye said:
Hi @jenn24 your expenses will depend on the location you will be staying.
But staying closer to CBD does not necessarily mean it will be more far more expensive than living further away. Rent will definitely be expensive near CBD but sometimes there will be cheap ones. Transpo is not that significant but will be cheaper if your destination is near CBD. For food, it can be very cheap or it can be very expensive specially if you are alone. If you are able to prepare your own food it will be less expensive than buying cooked ones. Also, don't buy all your food stuff in groceries if possible and go to the nearest public market. If in sydney, there's a good and cheap market place in the CBD where you can buy your meat, fish, vegies, etc. and there's a big asian grocery where you can find some of the common PH goods that you need for cooking. If in any case you need to buy good food for lunch/dinner but want it cheap, there's a food court in china town that serves good food.

@Jacraye saan yung asian grocery sa city na mura? sa experience kasi namin mahal upto almost double yung price sa Ashfield and West Ryde compare mo sa Rooty Hill.

@rjlim madals sa paddys market (vegies, fruits, seafoods), tapos sa first floor may malaking asian grocery pero limited lang yung mga goods. sa labas, across the street, yung meatshop naman. the prices are fairly cheap comparing it to nearer suburbs pero cyempre wala pa din tatalo sa mga prices sa far west.

I live within north sydney area so ang cheapest option lagi na malapit lang is either chatswood or cbd. pero medyo may kamahalan sa chatswood. ang advantage lang sa chatswood may filo store dun. Kung sinisipag naman ako, sa flemington market, dun talaga mura may ukay-ukay pa. hahahaha!

rjlim · January 2020

@Jacraye said:
@rjlim madals sa paddys market (vegies, fruits, seafoods), tapos sa first floor may malaking asian grocery pero limited lang yung mga goods. sa labas, across the street, yung meatshop naman. the prices are fairly cheap comparing it to nearer suburbs pero cyempre wala pa din tatalo sa mga prices sa far west.

I live within north sydney area so ang cheapest option lagi na malapit lang is either chatswood or cbd. pero medyo may kamahalan sa chatswood. ang advantage lang sa chatswood may filo store dun. Kung sinisipag naman ako, sa flemington market, dun talaga mura may ukay-ukay pa. hahahaha!

ahh kala ko kasi merong ka price ng sa west. Ako naman walking distance lang ang flemington market, so dun bili ng fruits, veggies and seafoods. Yung meat mas mura pa din sa local butcher yung mga chekwa, then pag Sunday mura pamasahe sa train, nag Rooty Hill for filo goods.

Jacraye · January 2020

@rjlim said:

@Jacraye said:
@rjlim madals sa paddys market (vegies, fruits, seafoods), tapos sa first floor may malaking asian grocery pero limited lang yung mga goods. sa labas, across the street, yung meatshop naman. the prices are fairly cheap comparing it to nearer suburbs pero cyempre wala pa din tatalo sa mga prices sa far west.

I live within north sydney area so ang cheapest option lagi na malapit lang is either chatswood or cbd. pero medyo may kamahalan sa chatswood. ang advantage lang sa chatswood may filo store dun. Kung sinisipag naman ako, sa flemington market, dun talaga mura may ukay-ukay pa. hahahaha!

ahh kala ko kasi merong ka price ng sa west. Ako naman walking distance lang ang flemington market, so dun bili ng fruits, veggies and seafoods. Yung meat mas mura pa din sa local butcher yung mga chekwa, then pag Sunday mura pamasahe sa train, nag Rooty Hill for filo goods.

Wala pa din tatalo sa west at mas kumpleto gulay dun. marami ako kakilala sa canberra sa west pa namamalengke. It actually boils down to which ever is convenient to you. For me, siguro for 3 people or more living together, it might be worth it going to west areas and spending a bit of a time travelling just to get cheap goods. lalo na sunday at $2+ lang ang pamasahe. pero kung magisa mo lang, i dunno kung worth it pa. depende pa din siguro kung sanay ka gumala.

anyway just my two cents.

mumofLiam · January 2020

Hi everyone. Hingi lng sana ako ng opinion nyo about this; I received an offer from 2 universities:
1.) Torrens Uni in Adelaide (MBA & Master of Public Health) double degree po, and
2.) University of Canberra in ACT. (Master of Information technology and systems)
BS Business Admin po degree ko sa pinas. I'm currently working here sa SG po under accounting dept.
Saan po sa tingin nyo mas okay? In terms of expenses, opportunities, pathway to PR etc..

Thank you in advance!

frisch24 · January 2020

@mumofLiam uhm... honestly, probably kung aling course ka magiging masaya since change of career for both cases.

Pero kung pathway to PR paguusapan, ok ang IT. IT and Accounting or Business Admin is a good mix. Pero sa IT kelangan mo matuto mag program/code. Kung ala ka interest dun, bka mahirapan ka. For work opportunity, maraming businesses dito sa Australia, meaning malaki ang need sa IT. Yung location mo nga lang, ACT. Not sure the job availability for IT sa place na yun.

As for Adelaide, mas ok yung place as maraming businesses dun, meaning maraming possible work, not sure with MBA and Public Health related work though. And even bigger question is yung pathway. Not sure if there is a PR pathway for MBA and/or Public Health. Magsasayang ka lang ng pera kung wala naman.

athelene · January 2020

@mumofLiam Hello. I kind of agree with frisch24, with some additional notes. Is your work in SG more related to business admin or accounting? You'll have to consider (as early as now) yung plan mong i-nominate na occupation for PR, since you don't want to waste your years of experience overseas; ideally what you nominate for your occupation is directly related to your current experience, and then your next degree will contribute to that same occupation.

If the occupation you wish to nominate for PR is totally unrelated to your current work experience, you'll be starting from scratch (as in hindi maccount yun for skills assessment), so you would need to acquire more points after graduation. Nominating Accounting as occupation will require really high points (not sure if 90 or 95 na sila at the moment); I'm also not sure if MBA has a pathway. You'll have to do more research on your own regarding which occupation best suits your interests.

UC is a public uni while Torrens is a private one, so I don't know how big a difference yung tuition fees nila. Some private uni might cost more than the public uni, so compare that as well. I study at a public uni too, and I feel like they a lot of good industry links and university services (24/7 library, student centre, career fairs). Check if Torrens has similar services or industry links, since they can potentially help to make you more employable after you graduate.

As for location, my friend lived in Adelaide for half a year (she's ComSci graduate), sabi nya mas mura daw living costs in Adelaide than Melbourne (where she's currently based). Canberra is kinda nice naman, I think it's still a developing city but not as crowded as Sydney or Melbourne. Check Indeed or Seek job websites for opportunities at the moment for both cities, and see which one has more options in the occupation you want.

mumofLiam · January 2020

Hi @frisch24 and @athelene. Really appreciate your informative response. Ang gagamitin ko sana na pathway sa Torrens ung Public Health (listed as Service Worker); and sa UC naman, as per my agent, Business analyst or System analyst. Based from my research, yan yung mga nasa list for both state. Pero I do appreciate ung mga inputs nyo para sa decision making ko na din. Ang tuition kasi ni UC, $52k while Torrens $32k. Quite huge diff hehe. Pero still considering kung anong mas makakabuti sa future, for PR and job opportunities.

mumofLiam · January 2020

@athelene would you be able to share kung saang Uni ka? Are you currently studying? Malaking factor ba pag public uni ka nag grad? Hehe sorry ang dami ko tanong.

auyeah · January 2020

Hello just wanted to ask your advice lang po, we’ll be having our big move in Sydney next month and so far based on my research and others suggestions okay sa Chatswood and Ryde areas. We have been in Sydney but only within the CBD and Blue Monuntains area, appreciate if you can give us advice on which areas okay din mag scout kami ng place to stay. We are a couple and no kids yet. Important for us yung accessible sa public transpo/close to a train line since we don’t have a car yet, safety and proximity to markets. Thank you in advance

athelene · January 2020

@mumofLiam I'm studying at Sydney Uni. I don't exactly know how big a difference it makes when it comes to hiring/finding a job, but from my experience so far, when I meet someone/alumni from the same uni, there's that feeling of "community" hahaha.

Malaki pala difference ng tuition ng UC from Torrens (siguro kasi magkaibang course sila?). A private uni I was looking at (in QLD) before was roughly same price kasi ng public uni, so it probably depends din sa location or program. I've visited and seen campuses ng mga public uni, and they have really big campuses/buildings, open spaces. I'm guessing the higher tuition cost is due to the extensive facilities and services available to students and staff. For me, the upside of going to a public uni would be the access to a large library database (super essential for research and assignments), computer labs, learning workshops, career workshops. I'd say students are well-supported naman, that is, if you actually go and actively attend them.

Did either unis offer any scholarship? Some uni kasi automatic ka na i-cconsider, may iba kailangan separate application. Check if there's any opportunity for you to get scholarship even if partial. I know public uni usually would have them, even for international students.

athelene · January 2020

@auyeah said:
Hello just wanted to ask your advice lang po, we’ll be having our big move in Sydney next month and so far based on my research and others suggestions okay sa Chatswood and Ryde areas. We have been in Sydney but only within the CBD and Blue Monuntains area, appreciate if you can give us advice on which areas okay din mag scout kami ng place to stay. We are a couple and no kids yet. Important for us yung accessible sa public transpo/close to a train line since we don’t have a car yet, safety and proximity to markets. Thank you in advance

BM na po kayo, not on student visa? Have you found a job yet? If not yet, book some temporary accommodation until you can secure a job, then find a place where that job is. For example, if you find a job in Parramatta, no point of living in Chatswood or Ryde when you can live in Parramatta. If you're keen on working in the CBD, Chatswood and Ryde are okay naman, since accessible naman ang CBD via trains. As for markets, I've heard Flemington (Paddy's/Sydney Markets) in the west is one of the cheapest markets there is, so maybe you can find a third option that's along the T2 line, so you can have access both to Flemington and CBD.

auyeah · January 2020

Hello @athelene we are on a PR visa but still looking for a job. Thank you for your advice, I guess mas okay nga na temporary place muna until we find a stable job and just transfer in the same / nearby area where our job is. also we’ll check the areas covered by the T2 line.

@athelene said:

@auyeah said:
Hello just wanted to ask your advice lang po, we’ll be having our big move in Sydney next month and so far based on my research and others suggestions okay sa Chatswood and Ryde areas. We have been in Sydney but only within the CBD and Blue Monuntains area, appreciate if you can give us advice on which areas okay din mag scout kami ng place to stay. We are a couple and no kids yet. Important for us yung accessible sa public transpo/close to a train line since we don’t have a car yet, safety and proximity to markets. Thank you in advance

BM na po kayo, not on student visa? Have you found a job yet? If not yet, book some temporary accommodation until you can secure a job, then find a place where that job is. For example, if you find a job in Parramatta, no point of living in Chatswood or Ryde when you can live in Parramatta. If you're keen on working in the CBD, Chatswood and Ryde are okay naman, since accessible naman ang CBD via trains. As for markets, I've heard Flemington (Paddy's/Sydney Markets) in the west is one of the cheapest markets there is, so maybe you can find a third option that's along the T2 line, so you can have access both to Flemington and CBD.

mumofLiam · January 2020

Hi @athelene. Oo nga kalahati difference ng tuition between Torrens and UC. And yes, may approved scholarship na din ako. Pero malaki pa din hehe. Kaya ang hirap mamili between the two uni. WIlling naman ako sa higher tuition fees basta alam kong mas may pathway and malaking adv sa job opportunities. Under SV ka ba or PR ka na?

athelene · January 2020

@mumofLiam Will you be coming to Australia by yourself or with family? Are both unis offering scholarship? Ask the uni offering a scholarship if there are other additional scholarships you can apply for after you get in, like for the second year ganun, para mabawasan yung financial burden. Yes, if migration ang endgoal, it might be a better investment to go for one that is more expensive but can help you migrate faster.

I'm currently under SV, but preparing palang to do skills assessment for future migration.

mumofLiam · January 2020

@athelene sa mga pinag-pray ko parang mas sinasagot ni Lord ung Torrens. Kaya I think I would go for Torrens. Yes sis, 25% scholarship ako kay Torrens. Family of 3 kami. My son is 7months old palang.

Goodluck on your skills assessment
Anyway, ano palang insurance mo?

athelene · January 2020

@mumofLiam then go for Torrens, if that's what you think and feel is best. Wow, super young pa pala baby mo.

Thanks! My health insurance is Medibank. Since you have a young child, I recommend getting to know which clinics or hospitals would have direct/bulk billing with your chosen oshc provider, so that if the need arises, it's less hassle for you. And of course, consider which ones are closest to where you'll live, para less travel to get treatments. I've had bloodwork and imaging done within the past 2 weeks, and it's really convenient to have the some imaging and pathology centres close by (walking or short bus ride lang).

mumofLiam · January 2020

@athelene tama hehe. Thank you sis sa mga advices. Hope to see you in Sydney pag nag visit kami jan.. hehe I claim na ntin kht wla pa visa.

athelene · January 2020

@mumofLiam said:
@athelene tama hehe. Thank you sis sa mga advices. Hope to see you in Sydney pag nag visit kami jan.. hehe I claim na ntin kht wla pa visa.

You're welcome! Hope you get your visa soon! Yes, come visit Sydney when you can!