Pictured: Victor Harbor
What if you could swap one of Australia’s most expensive postcodes for a South Australian lookalike, without giving up the lifestyle that made you love it in the first place?
New research suggests you can, with several South Australian council areas emerging as affordable “doppelgängers” for some of the country’s most expensive locations.
The research, from Muval, analysed every local government area in Australia across seven lifestyle categories, matching areas with similar amenities, services and lifestyle offerings before comparing housing costs.
And SA has come out looking particularly good.
One of the biggest findings is the huge potential saving available in Mount Gambier, which has been identified as an 87.9 per cent lifestyle match for Sydney’s Woollahra.
The South Australian city scored 98.1 out of 100 for shops and retail, 97.3 for parks and recreation and 97.2 for healthcare when compared with Woollahra.
But the price difference is where things get seriously interesting.
Median weekly rent in Mount Gambier sits at $276, compared with $871 in Woollahra, a saving of $595 a week, or more than $30,000 a year.
According to the research, that could also translate to thousands in monthly mortgage savings.
Then there’s Victor Harbor, which has been dubbed the affordable lookalike for Sydney’s famous Bondi lifestyle.
The Fleurieu destination is an 88 per cent match with Waverley Council, the Sydney LGA that includes Bondi, scoring 99.9 for entertainment and culture, 98.8 for healthcare and 98.7 for transport and connectivity.
Yet while Waverley has a median weekly rent of $840, Victor Harbor comes in at $364, a difference of $476 every week.
For those craving a little more city convenience, Marion has also emerged as a cheaper alternative to Sydney’s harbourside Mosman.
The City of Marion is a 91.5 per cent lifestyle match with Mosman, including strong similarities across education, healthcare and transport and connectivity.
Rent sits at $414 a week in Marion compared with $740 in Mosman, representing a 44.1 per cent weekly saving.
The research also found Onkaparinga and Prospect repeatedly appearing as affordable alternatives to some of Sydney’s premium lifestyle areas.
Rather than simply comparing property prices, Muval’s research matched locations based on the lifestyle they offer first, with housing costs considered afterwards.
That means the idea isn’t necessarily to swap a luxury lifestyle for a cheaper one, but to find somewhere that offers a surprisingly similar experience for considerably less.
“For most Australians, the biggest barrier to moving somewhere more affordable is the fear of giving up the lifestyle they love. What this research shows is that for the vast majority of the country, that trade-off is a myth,” said Muval CEO James Morrell.
Interestingly, Adelaide itself proved difficult to match.
The City of Adelaide was found to have no genuine lifestyle doppelgänger anywhere else in Australia, with Perth its closest match at just 59.2 per cent.
The two cities were relatively aligned when it came to shops and retail and food and drink, but differed significantly in areas including transport, connectivity and healthcare.
Adelaide’s second-closest match was Hobart, with a lifestyle similarity of just 32.7 per cent.
For anyone considering a tree change, sea change or interstate move, however, the research suggests SA could be worth a serious look.
And according to James, the savings could be substantial.
“Someone renting in Sydney’s eastern suburbs can find an almost identical lookalike area in regional South Australia and keep more than $30,000 a year in their pocket, while mortgage holders stand to save even more.
“We hope this gives Australians weighing up a move the confidence that their perfect match might be somewhere they’ve never even considered.”
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