Let’s learn how can your decision to migrate to a city in Australia affect your property portfolio down the track.
Imagine you are in India (or overseas) and have received your visa or permanent residency, and now you must decide whether to migrate to Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane or Adelaide or Perth. Several things may be going on in your head, and you are wondering what some of the things to consider are. How your decision will affect your property portfolio in few years will be the last thing in your mind.
- The first thing will be affordability. If both partners are working, then it makes sense to migrate to Sydney. If only one of the partners will be working, then Sydney is a tough place to live. Sydney is highly competitive, and couples are in some sort of a mad race here and if only one salary is coming, then over the years you will start to compare with others and will feel left behind and frustrations will take over.
- Weather is another thing to consider. Melbourne is generally very cold, and Brisbane generally has a lot of floods over a period of time. Sydney’s weather is nice and balanced thus properties here are best for making a good property portfolio.
- If we take Sydney as an example, properties are costly in Sydney and generally over a period of time, appreciate in value. As properties appreciate in value, Sydney people generally use that equity and buy property in other areas of Australia. People in Melbourne/Brisbane/other parts will generally not have enough equity to buy anything in Sydney. You will normally see Sydney people buying investments in Melbourne/Brisbane, but you will seldom see Melbourne/Brisbane people buying in Sydney though exceptions may be present. A 10% rise in Sydney with an average price of 1 million will mean 100k, while a 10% rise in Melbourne with an average price of 600k will mean 60k, thus affecting your property portfolio tremendously.
- Schooling of kids is another criterion. Sydney has OC/selective schools, and kids usually prepare from year 2 for this competition. There are other non-public schools also with fees ranging from 10k to 50k per year. Melbourne kids generally go to non-public schools with fees average of 15k per year. Melbourne also has selective schools, but that is in higher classes and not like Sydney. Thus this small saving can boost your thoughts toward growing your property portfolio.
- Childcare is another criterion that u may want to consider. Childcare fees are roughly the same, about 120 AUD per day. Thus it doesn’t affect your property portfolio goals much.
- Another point that I wanted to put is that land is a scarce resource in Sydney, while there is an abundance of land in Melbourne and Brisbane. Thus properties in Sydney add additional value to your property portfolio.
- Traffic and public transport are other criteria to consider. Sydney people generally go via train, buses, and public transport to office, while Melbourne/Brisbane takes a mixed approach with public transport and own car to office.
- Your social life. This is another thing to consider. Life in Sydney is very fast. It is hard to find any time outside of daily chores. Hence having a social life and friends is another investment and asset. One has to invest time and effort to have a social life here. Social life is more of a give and takes here in Sydney though that may also be true in the case of Melbourne/Brisbane. Every migrant lands at Sydney airport with 2 suitcases, and then a mad race starts. A lot of comparisons happen over a period of time. One suggestion after living for 15 years here in Sydney is to be careful when you make friends. Try to make resourceful friends and people who can motivate and encourage you and take you forward in life. Because building strong property portfolio demands motivation and discipline in your life.
- The social life of your parents if they come to meet you. This is another major criterion. When you buy the property or rent a property, you will have to consider the social life of your parents in case they come to visit you here. Parents generally get bored within the first week due to a non-happening lifestyle and lack of self-independence here in Australia.
- An abundance of jobs in your field is another criterion. Your decision to move to Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane also depends on how many companies and jobs are there in your field of work. For example, if you work in IT, then you will want a few switchable companies in your city. As salaries only adjust by inflation here in Australia, you will have to ultimately switch jobs to have a substantial salary hike here in Australia. This will be possible only if you have many different companies and options to make a job switch. If your city only has one or two companies in your chosen field, then you will get frustrated and demotivated to enhance your property portfolio over a period of time.
Disclaimer: – Articles in this blog are just the personal opinions of the author or authors.
It may or may not be correct. Pls do your own due diligence and pls seek professional advice according to your own personal circumstances. The author or authors cannot be held responsible/liable for any content in this blog.
