[larac]

Your questions are not boring just normal and they have been covered many times on this forum becasue everyone asks them..

Check out the serviced apartments tab up the top to get you started or try moveandstay.com. The big plus is that they are all inclusive so you know exactly how much it will cost you. Some people stay a month others a year or more. On the plus side of staying a long time you have no set up costs and can easily move out again on the down side there are often alot of rules especially about visitors and it never quite feels like home - totally depends on how much time you will spend there as to how long you could stay there.

On average I pay $1,000pm on bills over the year thats power/water/phone/gas/broadband tv & internet but in the height of summer just my power bill comes close to that b/c of the air con that you can't live without and it would be way higher if we were home during the day. You need to pay around $2k in deposits and set up fees for all that some of which you get back. I would pay more than $1k per month at home just for the tv so yes bills are a bargain in my opinion.

For rent you need to pay 2 months deposit plus a month in advance plus stamp duty plus half a month to the agent and rent can vary from $5-$50k pm or way more if you have the cash. On average I think people pay 25-35% of their income on rent.

Most places come void of furniture except a fridge and washing machine but some are fully furnished and you don't need to buy a thing. If the place is empty you are looking at anything from $10-30 or more, depending on what you need and your taste, to kit it out plus the bigger the size the more you need. Most places have no storage so you need to buy drawers/wardrobes etc. Check out the Ikea and Pricerite websites and register to see the prices.

Do some searches on this forum for some other posts for lots of opinions and advice on costs.

Good luck