Is an hourly wage of $30-$35 enough to live comfortably in Sydney or Melbourne?

That's about $1100 to $1300 a week before tax. Rent for a decent one bedroom flat should not be more than $300 a week. Sydney is more expensive than Melbourne for accommodation but there is not a lot in it these days. Apart from accommodation, prices for everything else are comparable in each city. There are many websites that will help you find somewhere to live, here's one for Sydney that offers furnished one bedroom units.

http://www.furnishedproperty.com.au/accommodation-...

but use Google to find others and similar sites for Melbourne. If you have your own furniture, unfurnished flats are cheaper than furnished.

@Cal - This works out to about the average wage in Sydney Manhattan is no longer the most expensive city - Sydney is up in the top 5. That is because accommodation is around $400-450 a week for the most basic you can find which is more than 1/3 of what your take home pay will be.

Maybe. If you are prepared to live further out of the city and commute and if you don't have a family in the city to support and if it is part of a permanent salary package then its OK. You should be able to live and save somewhat. Otherwise, its not a great contract rate, depending on how experienced you are. Sydney is incredibly expensive to live in. Not just rent, but food costs are spiraling out of control, petrol prices change daily and are currently approx A$1.30/lt.. Cars are not cheap and incur stamp duty. Many roads have tolls. Bureaucracy is rampant and fees and miscellaneous taxes are charged on anything and everything. On the plus side, if you qualify as a permanent resident you will get a Medicare card which rebates about 60% of all medical bills.

You would probably manage but you would need to be a little frugal. Rent is expensive so may I suggest that you find shared accommodation?

Are you able to live in another city? The cost of living is similar but rent is a bit less.

Yes...

Why is it stupid people that always make the most money? $30-$35 is enough to live comfortably anywhere in the world. Stop asking stupid questions. Most people make nowhere near that much even in Manhattan and Tokyo.

edit:

you're not stupid for assuming the cost of living is much higher, you're stupid for assuming that ANY CITY ON EARTH would cost that much or more just to live in the city. As I said, there is not a city on earth that you can't live comfortably for that amount. It's not stupid to assume a city might be higher, it's stupid to assume it would be THAT high. You might as well say "Is an hourly wage of $1 million -$2 million enough to live comfortably in Sydney or Melbourne?"

That's how ridiculous it looks, though not quite on that level. If you were making $15 an hour, then the question would be credible as there's some cities on earth where $15 just doesn't cut it. But $30 - $35? As I said, there is no city on earth that you can't live comfortably on that very large amount. Manhattan and Tokyo are about as expensive as it gets, and even in those places you're living pretty damn good on that amount.

Many live on far less & support families , pay mortgages etc .....