Unfortunately the streets in Wollongong are not paved with gold. Photo: alicat.
Cost of living got you down? Wollongong residents are actually sitting pretty, according to a study from Stand Out Resume using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The study rated the ‘Gong as the fourth most affordable city in Australia, claiming the average resident on a salary of just more than $59k would have about $25k in the bank each year after essentials were paid for.
That’s just under $500 per week.
If that makes you go, “Hang on a minute” – us too.
Region Illawarra took at squiz at the numbers on the ABS website and they paint a different picture.
The median income for Wollongong is in the $55k range, not $59k. The median weekly household rent is $390, $15 more each week than the Australian average.
The average monthly mortgage repayments for Wollongong are $2167, compared to the national average of $1863.
We’re not sure where the study authors got costs for electricity, gas, public transport (a personal car or bike is not included in the expenses), internet and food from, or if those were individualised for each city at all.
If we go off the base rates they use for each it comes to $11,312 per year for the lot. Please note – using the data the authors provide, the average weekly grocery spend is $116.
If we take Wollongong’s actual annual rent – $20,280 – and add it to the utilities cost – $11,312 – it comes to $31,592.
We’ve forgotten one more thing – tax. Once you’ve paid tax on your $55k you’re taking home $46,786.
Take your living expenses away from your post-tax income and you’re left with $15,194 per year, or just shy of $300 per week.
Lucky you don’t have to pay for a car.
The “study” was conducted by a company called Stand Out Resume, to highlight the better cost of living in regional cities like Wollongong, Townsville and Rockingham in comparison to state capitals.
But in addition to being, well, just plain wrong when it comes to the numbers, the study compares apples to oranges.
You might pay more for an apartment in Sydney, but you probably could get away without a car.
I don’t know how much groceries cost in Townsville, the city rated as most affordable, but I’d be willing to bet you they’re more than the $116 a week you might get away with spending at the markets in Melbourne.
It doesn’t take into account people’s individual needs, either. Regular medications cost money out of that “spare” $300.
A gym membership, a new pair of shoes, a haircut – it all adds up, especially if you’re trying to save for a big-ticket purchase like a home, or even if you just want to enjoy a coffee or meal with mates through the week.
Stand Out Resume has an office in Adelaide, but their main office is in London, and their cost of living comparison was written by founder and CEO Andrew Fennell.
Maybe the main takeaway from their cost of living study is that understanding how people live on the other side of the world takes a bit more than some dodgy figures and your imagination.
