Cape Town Vs Perth

Hi guys,

I am from London and have been given job offers in both Perth and Cape Town. The job in Perth is (50000 AUD i.e. 31000 GBP) and the one in Cape Town is (200000 Rand i.e. 19000 GBP). I really cannot decide where i would prefer to go and was wondering about the cost of living and after tax and other deductables whether i would have more money left over each month in South Africa or Australia? Also where i would have a better standard of living.

This unfortunate problem has arose and has really cluttered up my head as i cant decide, so any advice, help, or guidance would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Lukeyblue!

You wrote:
>This unfortunate problem has arose

You are lucky to be so unfortunate!

Having spent two years in southern Africa - in Francistown, Botswana - and having traveled around South Africa a bit and the general region a lot - and having been to Australia (admittedly NOT to Perth) - I would personally be happy to work in the RSA for half the wages of Perth.

South Africa is a magnificent land. A blend of cultures and peoples that you just won't find anywhere else.

Cape Town: to the east the famous Garden Route - one of the world's most beautiful and interesting drives along the Indian Ocean coastline to Durban - passing through the wine growing regions. To the north Namibia and some of Africa's most stunning game parks - Etosia being just one of many. Botwana and Chobe Game Park to the north and you can even take the train all the way from Cape Town to Victoria Falls - a place you will never forget.

I can't imagine the choice and I am sure Perth is a wonderful place, but . . .

Have you added crime and personal safety into the equation?

If you want to work out what your take home pay woud be, there are tax calculators for Australia and probably for S Africa as well on the internet. Google for info.

You may also be able to find cost of living indices which would give you a comparative cost of living, however these are very general and may not apply to your particular circumstances. For example, they may include school fees, which is irrelevant if you don't have kids.

There may be other factors to take into account, for instance, the high crime rate is an issue for a lot of S African residents and the reason many are leaving - to live in places like Perth.

Personally I think Cape Town would be a fascinating place to live, at least for a few years, and Perth is a little bit dull, but that is purely a personal opinion, and you may find people who have lived in both places who much prefer Perth.

Hey,

I am assuming you are young, with making loads of money not on your priority list. Since you are on Lonely Planet Forums I am also assuming that Travel is your passion and day job a necessity.

If my above assumptions are right,then I would consider RSA high on my priority for the following reasons:
- Africa can offer you a myriad of cultures and experiences that will be difficult to find anywhere else.
- From RSA you are in good shape to explore both African regions and South American regions ( both of very high interest in my book ). Moreover you will be closer to Europe where I believe all the action is.
- Finally as Jools2 above me writes, you do need to figure out your priorities and then compute costs according to that.

Yes i am only 22 and have recently graduated with my masters. I finished my masters thesis by working as an intern in Cape Town for 5 months so already know what it is like. I love love love travelling and my main goals in life are to see the best of what Africa, and Australasia have to offer. Thus i decided i would apply for jobs in both SA and OZ and unfortunately ended up with both being offered.

I dont really have any interest in exploring Europe as i have been around most of it already. As i travelled around SA for a month and did many tourist things i am not sure if i am seeing SA through rose tinted touristy spectacles.

I thought that if i was in SA then i could save up enough money to buy and convert an old land rover and drive back to UK one day when i had enough money, and then move out to Australia. However on the other hand as i have already seen the best of SA i was thinking that perhaps it may be better to go to Australia and be in a position to save more money each year that i can then go travelling around Australasia and then save up money to go on a trip around Africa at some stage before returning to Australia to carry on working. Only problem being if i decline the SA offer then it has pretty much stopped me from being able to get a job in my field of work there considering that it is the only company that really does it there.

Catch 22 or what!!!!

Well presumably you already know that cost of living in Cape Town then, so find a tax calculator, work out what your take home pay would be and decide whether you can save money on your pay.

In Perth you take-home would be about $3400 per month. You should be able to save money out of that unless you go mad. Although I don't live in Perth, so maybe someone who does can comment.

Perth gives you the opportunity to travel in Western Australia and a bit further afield to the rest of Australia, Indonesia, Singapore etc, but that's not as exotic as travelling through the different African nations. I think both cities offer similar lifestyles in terms of outdoor activities, beaches and so on, Cape Town has a reputation for a high crime rate but you know that already.

Rents and cost of living probably a bit higher in Perth.
I'd be moving to SA, but that's the view of a former Perth boy! There's plenty of saffers moving to Perth for safety reasons and for better wages.

Safety is a big factor of Cape Town. I just dont like how you cant really go out of a night time without potential of being mugged etc. In the five months i was there completing my thesis i was mugged once and it has left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Althoough it was my fault partially as i was trying to catch a late night bus from the city centre. I was thinking it may work out that i could save more money in Perth and then have nice holidays in SA and get the best of both worlds. Where as if i was in CT then i would not save that much and would have to go on budget holidays anyway.

Sounds like Perth then. If you're interested, $50,000 was just above the median starting salary for a graduate aged under 25 in WA last year:
http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/ucm/groups/content/documents/document/gca000768.pdf

If anyone is interested... i chose Perth in the end! Will let you all know how it goes and how trying to size up the cost of living goes!

Cheers guys for all your help,

Regards,

Lukeyblueeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Let us know a couple of months in, how you find it.

You should have chosen Cape Town. Perth = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Perth is fabulous and beautiful, and relatively safe. And there really are a lot of great little hidden/hole in the wall places here. Anyone who says Perth is boring just hasn't looked hard enough! I hope you are enjoying our beautiful city so far!