" I am currently a Senior Programmer with 12 years experience in Foxpro/Visual Foxpro and 3 years experience with HTML, ASP, Powerbuilder and MS-SQL Server. I also received a bachalor''s degree in MIS in 1991. I have looked at Australia''s point-system for a work permit and I believe I qualify for a skilled independent visa. My major concern is the cost of living in Australia. I understand I would probably have to take a paycut for this adventure, but I don''t want to have trouble making ends-meet. I believe Australian taxes will take about 50% of my salary. How much does housing, food, transportation, utilities, etc. cost in Australia? Could my children go to Australian public schools or do I need to send them to private school? (if private school, how much does that normally run for elementary aged children? We are all Americans and English is our mother language. My children can also speak Chinese.) I would likely need a place big enough for a family of five. Any help would be appreciated. Phil "

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" We are currently living in Australia for a one-year project from the U.S. My family and I love this place and would be interested in returning permanently in the future. The salaries are pretty good (Don''t look at USD, A$ conversion rate), and even though taxes will take up 40% (48% is the highest incremental rate) - keep in mind that the facilities provided for your taxes are much more than in the U.S. (And in the U.S. the taxes do take up 40% or more of the salary once you add state tax, sales tax, SS, Medicare taxes). The schools are pretty good - the private schools are very good and generally cheaper than in the U.S. The best schools charge around A$10K per year. The universities are top notch and much cheaper than in the U.S. The cost of living is comparable to the U.S. Most local goods cost less here, imported goods will cost the same as in the U.S. (It feels more since you pay in diluted A$.) An imported item costing US$1 will cost A$2 or a little more here. Our advice - go for it. Best of luck to you. "

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" You ask a lot of questions, most of which it is difficult if not impossible to answer! Take real estate for example: A newspaper article this weekend outlined two international surveys, one of which stated that Sydney is ""one of the most affordable major cities in the world for first time buyers"", the most expensive being San Francisco. The second survey concluded that Sydney is ""one of the top 10 most expensive cities in the world to live in""! Top spot in this survey was London, San Francisco was second. A lot will depend upon where in the US you are coming from, and where in Australia you intend to come. Other Australian state capitals eg Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane are considerably cheaper than Sydney. We emigrated from Liverpool in the UK to Sydney 4 years ago. I also work in the IT industry and perceived a cut in salary, but without any noticeable impact on living standard (but with a marked improvement in quality of life!). Note that this was from one of the poorest parts of the UK to the most expensive in Australia. IT jobs are plentiful, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, but Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane provide a base for some significant IT firms. I work for a systems integrator with aggressive growth plans, and should Sydney be on your list we''d be interested in talking with you. I can also put you in touch with others who may be able to help. Feel free to e-mail me at andyzaple@bigpond.com. Regarding your other questions: Fresh food, eating out, public transport, fuel etc are all very affordable. Yes, children of Temporary and Permanent Residents (in non-citizens) can attend Government Schools. We have 2 boys (aged 6 and 8) doing just that, and we are very happy with the quality of Australian State Education. Having said that, Private Education is very accessible (relatively cheap) and popular. It is probably best suited to academic or athletic high achievers. I hope this helps. Andy "

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" Having just read everyone''s thoughts, Australia sounds great. We live in Canada and have been looking at Australia as one of the places we would like to move to this year. My husband and I are actively looking at the moment and if there is anyone who maybe able to give us any advise, job leads etc we would love to hear from you. I work in the IT industry, software/hardware senior support analyst and at the present time I manage our company learning centre. My husband is in the sheet metal fabrication side of things, with NDT courses under his belt. We have 3 kids and are ready, willing and able to move. Hope to hear from anyone soon...Thanks Sally "

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" Sally, happy to help: I just tried to e-mail the following to you, but it got returned to me by the qmail-send program at blazer.intergate.ca. after a ''permanent error''. Try mailing me at andyzaple@bigpond.com Andy NOTE FOLLOWS: Sally, read your message on Expatexchange. You will have seen the reply I posted to an earlier enquiry. Here are the ''bones'' of an e-mail exchange that followed that. Read it, and then perhaps send some more specific questions of your own and I''ll try to answer them. Have you determined where in Australia you''d like to go? There is plenty of steel related activity in and around Sydney, Melbourne and Perth where IT jobs are pretty plentiful too. ""Re job opportunities - we have a shortfall in IT skilled people. Re salaries & living costs - my guess would be that moving from NYC to Sydney would not be financially painful. Like I said in my response on expatexchange, I found no financial trouble moving from a poor part of the UK to here. One thing I didn''t say was that I have bought our house (my wife is not a wage earner) less than a 30 minute drive or train ride from Sydney''s CBD. Houses get considerably cheaper as you move further out of town, especially inland (as I guess they do in NYC too). Some good sites to begin any Net surfing to explore these areas include the Department of Immigration at www.immi.gov.au (try www.immi.gov.au/settle/index.htm), the Sydney Morning Herald (our local broadsheet - I have been guilty of assuming that you intend to move to Sydney. If you are thinking about Melbourne there is a sister paper there called the Age) at www.smh.com.au, News International at www.news.com.au and ninemsn.com.au. Re tax - the tax system is reasonably straightforward. Income tax is on a sliding scale, but the highest rate (about 48.5%) cuts in at a fairly low level (when compared to the UK at least). There are no additional income based taxes for Medicare or other Social Security and welfare benefits. There is a GST (VAT, Purchase Tax) levied at a flat 10% on most goods and services. For detail visit the Australian Tax Office site at www.ato.gov.au."" "

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