Sydney
Australia · Oceania
Sydney pairs world-famous beaches like Bondi and Manly with a polished, safe, English-speaking metropolis built around its glittering harbour. It's an expensive, premium base where remote workers trade high rents for excellent infrastructure, outdoor lifestyle and a deep startup and creative scene. Expect fast internet, abundant coworking, and a culture that revolves around surf, brunch and the outdoors.
Wealth migration
Inflowing+2.5kSydney still pulls millionaires net-positive, but golden-visa scrap and looming super/CGT hikes cut 2025 inflow to a record low.
Tax regime
High-tax regime tightening: new 30-40% super tax + CGT discount cut
45% top rate (+2% Medicare); SIV golden visa scrapped Jan 2024; super >$3M taxed 30%, >$10M 40% from Jul 2026; 50% CGT discount replaced by 30% min effective rate from Jul 2027
Golden / investor visa
No residency-by-investment programme.
Why the wealthy are moving, 2025-26
- Significant Investor Visa (golden visa, A$5M) abolished January 2024, cutting the main legal channel for wealthy migrants and helping push 2025 net inflow to a record-low +1,000 (from +2,500 in 2024 and +4,000 in 2023)
- Superannuation tax hike from July 2026: balances $3-10M taxed at effective 30%, above $10M at 40% (extra 25%) including unrealised gains, prompting HNWI restructuring and relocation interest
- CGT overhaul from July 2027: 50% CGT discount to be replaced by a 30% minimum effective tax rate and pre-1985 assets brought into the net, eroding a key wealth-holding advantage
- Broadened foreign-resident CGT regime (TARP expansion, 365-day principal-asset test) raising tax exposure for inbound foreign investors in Australian real property
- Loss of share to 0%-tax UAE (+9,800 in 2025) and Singapore family-office boom, plus high cost of living, slowing Australia's once-strong wealth magnetism even as it stays net positive
More of Sydney
Monthly cost breakdown
$3,010solo nomad · mid-rangeClimate
Humid subtropicalPros
- Native English and very high safety
- Stunning beaches and outdoor lifestyle
- Fast, reliable internet plus plentiful coworking
- Vibrant food, arts and startup scene
Cons
- Very high cost of living and rent
- No dedicated digital-nomad visa
- Long-haul flight times from Europe and the Americas
Where nomads stay
Hip inner-city hub of cafes, bars and creatives, walkable to the CBD
Iconic beach suburb for surf-and-work types, busy and pricey
Bohemian, diverse and affordable-ish with great food and nightlife
Harbourside business district packed with coworking and fast transit
Coworking
- WeWork (Barangaroo & George St)
- Tank Stream Labs
- Hub Australia
- Spaces
Annual events
- Sydney FestivalJanuary
- Vivid SydneyMay
- Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi GrasMarch
