Cheapest Cities to Live Instudentcities.com.au
/cheapest-living-costs.html
Student Cities Australia
Hobart Mall
What is the cheapestAustralian city to live in? Ifwe're talking
about universitycities, the answer is Hobart.
The most expensive Australiancity to live in? For students
andnon-students, it is Sydney.
The ranking of major universitycities from cheapest city tomost
expensive is: (1) Hobart,(2) Adelaide, (3) Newcastle, (4)Brisbane,
(5) Wollongong, (6)Gold Coast, (7) Melbourne, (8)Perth, (9)
Canberra and (10)Sydney.
Cost of LivingComparisons
The cost of accommodation is the major cause ofdifferences in
living costs across Australian cities.In turn, living costs
significantly influence theoverall quality of living.
In Sydney, the median house price is upwards of$600,000. In
Hobart, it's less than $350,000.Disparities in housing prices flow
through to rentalcosts - the cost of renting in Sydney is also
close todouble that for Hobart.
The costs of non-housing goods and services areactually similar
across Australian cities. Statisticsindicate there is no more than
a few percentagepoints difference in non-housing costs between any
two cities.
While there may be significant differences for certain types of
goods and services, especially those thatare costly to freight,
across a basket of consumption items the differences tend to cancel
out.
Price differentials are also small for spending categories that
cover many items - such as Food,Clothing & Footwear, Household
Items & Services, Transportation, Recreation and Financial
Services.Even comparing the most expensive city for a category with
the cheapest city, the price difference isalmost always under 15
per cent (NATSEM).
Student BudgetsExample BudgetWeekly CostsRent: $200Food:
$175Public transport: $40Energy, phone, etc:$35Spending money:
$100Total: $550 per weekAnnual cost: $28,600Source: UWA
Students generally have tight budgets and try hard to minimise
spending. Expenses tend to be reducedto essential items - such as
accommodation, food and electricity - and some spending money for
socialactivities.
A fairly typical budget for an Australian student might add up
to around $500-$600 per week and closeto $30,000 per year. Students
who live frugally - or at home - could live on less than $20,000
however.
Accommodation typically accounts for 30%-40% of living costs for
students living away from home. Forexample, a student might spend
$200 pw (per week) sharing a $400 pw flat with another person
(orsharing a $600 pw house with two other people). This works out
to $10,400 per year.
Cost of Living City IndexUsing a budget method, we've calculated
an index of living costs by city. The base-case budget is for
astudent who lives in Melbourne and spends $480 per week, including
$180 on rent.
Accommodation costs are the main cause of differences in overall
living costs, so the budget isadjusted to account for housing
prices. If the student lived in similar accommodation in Hobart, he
orshe would pay more like $124 per week instead of $180. If he or
she lived in Sydney, rent would becloser to $226.
Weekly rent Other costs Weekly spend Annual spend Cost
indexHobart $124 $300 $424 $22,026 88Adelaide $145 $300 $445
$23,155 93
Newcastle $156 $300 $456 $23,737 95Brisbane $164 $300 $464
$24,144 97Wollongong $166 $300 $466 $24,221 97Gold Coast $177 $300
$477 $24,803 99Melbourne $180 $300 $480 $24,960 100Perth $190 $300
$490 $25,461 102Canberra $198 $300 $498 $25,919 104Sydney $226 $300
$526 $27,345 110
Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics 6416.0 House Price
Indexes: 8 Capital Cities ,HomePriceGuide.com.au
Overall, the cost of living ranges from $22,000 per year in
Hobart to more than $27,000 in Sydney. Thisshows that choice of
city can significantly impact on living costs. Choosing a cheaper
city means youcan save money, live in nicer accommodation, or have
more money (up to $5000 or so) to spend onother things.
More about the cheaper cities ...