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[EDMW] - Update from a Sinkie quitter in Oz, for those who are thinking about moving to greener pastures

UltimaOnline

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset

https://forums.fuckwarezone.com.sg/...ing-about-moving-to-greener-pastures.6437081/​


Tourister :​


About Me

30 M. I live and work in a large Australian city.

High school - went to an independent all boys school in Singapore.
Uni - BA and Master's, Go8 Australian University.
Relocated to Australia after completing military service about 10 years ago.
High school teacher, 3 years into full-time work.
Parents retired, still in Singapore. They visit me once or twice a year (obviously not this year).

Career Stuff($$$)

Generally speaking, you won't be moving to Australia for the money. Not worth splitting hairs over remuneration especially in an ordinary white collar position; they're roughly about the same.

Based on freely available info, almost all teachers in Eastern Australia will earn about 75-77k early career w/ some experience. You get an additional 9.5% on top of that for superannuation (CPF)

I could not find reliable and freely available payscales for MOE teachers. Best I found was 'GEO3: $3515-5616' which I think is roughly equivalent to where I'm at. Looks like it's heavily pro-rata based on performance and additional duties, but then again I might be wrong.

:smile: What is tax like? I pay 17k in tax. I'm eligible for a tax return of >1k, so all in all 16k. Giving us an adjusted salary of 67k.

:smile: What are the hours like? 38 hours/week inclusive of lunch breaks, which are sometimes taken up by yard duties. About 2-3 hours a week prep outside of school. Yes, these are real working hours, not mandated working hours.

:smile: Any additional duties, extra curricular activities? Officially, none outside of school hours. May spend up to 6 hours a term doing random club stuff.

:smile: What are the holidays like? 12 weeks a year. For most non-leading teachers they will be yours to enjoy as you please.

:smile: Any appraisals? Appraisals are required for promotion to the next pay grade. They are largely a formality if you're competent.

:smile: Working environment? I'm fortunate enough to be in a collegial workplace and just hosted a big EOY party for them.

Lifestyle

Lifestyle is very good. I leave for work about 7.45 and return home between 4.30-5.30. I enjoy running (2x a week) and the gym (also 2x a week), so I'm in the best shape of my life. I mostly dine out, $10-15 Asian places. Nice restaurant once a week, then late nights at bars/clubs. Sometimes dinner dates. Also enjoy weird sports like cricket and live music.

Asian food - SG is better. Everything else - Australia is generally better (YMMV depending on where you live).

It's a 10 min walk to a big park and 10 min drive to the beach. If you get bored of the city, you can escape down to the country.

Property Matters

I own an apartment in a large Australian city, 2 br. Location is equivalent to say, Somerset. Apartment living in the CBD is not very popular amongst Aussie families. It's a very old, spacious apartment in a classic building (think London). Paid 6XX.

Not much left to go on my mortgage. 2% fixed interest.

You can make heaps of money investing in property. Trouble is, almost all freestanding houses within 10 to 15km of the city are over a million bucks. We are generally an asset rich but cash poor lot (not unlike SG).

Is it safe?

Not as safe as Singapore, safer than London/NY/Paris etc. Homeless people are quite visible around the city but are mostly harmless. This is because the cost of housing is sky high.

Lots of ATs around in the city to make you feel at home, if you are so inclined.

Getting Around

The public transport system is certainly not as good as in SG, but it's not terrible either in the inner to middle burbs. If you live in the Western/Outer suburbs, be prepared to drive. If you live in the inner city, a car becomes a luxury. Driving isn't fun during peak hour.


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