Will Living in New South Wales Cost You?

Australia By Elizabeth Rozas Nov 2, 2022

 

If you are a French citizen considering moving to Australia, you may be wondering why the most popular state for French immigrants is New South Wales, with most living in Sydney. As the capital of New South Wales, Sydney is a vibrant city with an abundance of sophisticated restaurants, theatre, and music offerings. In addition, the climate and the incredible beaches also draw people from all over to this southeastern state.

Which cities are the most affordable in NSW?

The population of Sydney (as of 2021) is around 13 times greater than the next biggest city in NSW, Newcastle, boasting a headcount of almost 5.3 million. The other popular NSW cities include Wollongong and Maitland with a combined population of around 300,000.

As you might expect, Sydney is an expensive city for buying or renting property. Job opportunities are typically more plentiful in Sydney than other cities and towns in NSW, which increases demand for accommodation. Living costs, such as groceries, transport, utilities, and entertainment are all higher in the capital than in smaller NSW locations. However, against a comparable French city, such as Paris, purchasing power in Sydney is better. That’s because wages are higher in this area of Australia than in France.

When it comes to deciding where in New South Wales to settle, you’ll need to figure out what you can afford and how close you want to be to the major cities and to the amenities that are important to you. Living in a smaller town such as Newcastle can save you money on rent, groceries and eating out, but don’t forget to consider the difference in average wages and job opportunities when looking at smaller towns.

Moving from France to Australia

The French diaspora in Australia increases at a rate of around 1,000 a year [1]. Some of the benefits of moving from France to Australia include:

  • Better salaries – up to 1.5 times higher on average [2]
  • Education – Australia has great schools and top universities
  • Healthy outdoor lifestyle – good for improving your health and bringing up a family

Sending money from Australia to France

If you are moving to Australia from France, you’ll need to convert your Euros into Australian dollars, so you’ll need to look at the current exchange rate to see how many dollars you’ll receive. Similarly, if you are living in Australia and want to send money to loved ones in France, before making a money transfer, you can use our currency converter to estimate the value of your transfer.

Be sure to use Western Union’s money transfer app, which is quick and easy to download and use, especially for repeated money transfers.

[1] https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/australias-population-country-birth/latest-release

[2] https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/interactives/costofliving/compare/paris-vs-sydney/