What is cheaper in Aus then in the UK !!!!!

[Guest Kazzarazza]

Just to annoy everyone as well I do not touch the water it is disgusting like drinking out the pool. Adelaide is known to have the poorest water in Australia, safe but very chemical and the taste yuk!

 

Adelaide's does not have the poorest water in Australia and hasn't had for many years. The taste is probably not so great because the water is often warm - try chilling it in the fridge, or install a filter tap. Sydney's water, in comparison, has had regular outbreaks of E-Coli and Giardia in recent years.

 

The tales of 30-40 years ago about ships not refilling with Adelaide water were just that - tales. Unfortunately they stuck and people, to this day, still believe there is some truth to it. There isn't.

[Guest Barney Rubble]

Agreed, need to shake that bunny off of our backs

 

In saying that we , like probably 90% of forumites, do have a water filter.

 

Would disagree strongly with the Adelaide water being the worst, not that i's drink out of the Torrens mind you !

 

nor The Yarra or the Swan rivers either

[Sallyh]

I even drank rainwater without complaining the other week.

 

(is that why half my house are now ill??!! A friend messaged me on fb - she's English but been here 20 ish yrs) and asked if my DD had drunk the tapwater!! I didn't reply. No, more like got to close to some other kid at the park who had a virus and gave it to us all for Christmas.

[Guest cbeeb]

wages are poor in SA for qualified people, schools are chepaer but they not private but independant and still recieve govt funding and are religious based we alot worse off but still working so no recession yet, mortgages alot more expensive. once you here a while you do stop comparing. food alot more expensive, lifestyle outside better but alot more isolated. come and see if you like it!

[sueoc]

Yep,

 

 

Expenditure is the second most important factor for those about to migrate here IMO.The most important factor though is quality of life for the Family.It really is better here now to bring your Family up,and after all,that's what it's all about.

[Guest Rachael Reeve]

Someone say something nice PLEASE!

[minty]

Someone say something nice PLEASE!

 

Lots of good bits in there. You just need to have a good read through and look between all of the bad bits.

 

The way i look at it, if it was unworkable then why has everyone not come back. It all depends on circumstances as with everything in life.

Do your research and remember there is no right or wrong time, there is just your time

 

 

Chris.

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

It's not cheap to live in Oz.

But...despite the cost, it's the best move i made.

 

Everything is relative. My OH works at a local hardware store. The salary is $20 per hour on a contract and $25 as a casual. How much is it per hour at B&Q?

The people are great...really friendly. My children have opportunity...whatever they want to be if they put in the effort.

 

Tamara

[Pommyspark]

Someone say something nice PLEASE!

Koala's there nice, so is wine! check out the girly night out thread x

[bill]

when i was over in the uk a few weeks ago, everything in the shops was so cheap compared to here

 

stevo

 

So was I. I take it you don't eat steak or roast beef then? Can't think of anything else though!

[jimmyskinner]

Fuel is very cheap, its not 90p a litre its $140 ish, a litre of of Petrol is 30 cents cheaper than a packet of tic-tacs or a Mars bar, in the uk its more than double the price of the same items. Fuel in the UK was one of our main outgoings it cost more a month than all our Utillities and a £70000 mortgage put together. As i have said before if the exchange rate was 5 dollars to the £ everyone would be saying its cheap, forget about the £ its got nothing to do with anything when you live here.

[Guest Barney Rubble]

Fuel is very cheap, its not 90p a litre its $140 ish, a litre of of Petrol is 30 cents cheaper than a packet of tic-tacs or a Mars bar, in the uk its more than double the price of the same items. Fuel in the UK was one of our main outgoings it cost more a month than all our Utillities and a £70000 mortgage put together. As i have said before if the exchange rate was 5 dollars to the £ everyone would be saying its cheap, forget about the £ its got nothing to do with anything when you live here.

 

Think you meant $1.40 a litre

 

Everything else is spot on with my recent trip back, Oh and don't forget car parking, didn't find a single free one whilst there

[coolerking]

Someone say something nice PLEASE!

 

We love it, here

 

If you look around and don't just buy straight from the supermarket shelf, you can get excellent bargains. We got a phone call on the Friday before Christmas from our neighbour asking if we wanted red gum smoked turkey breast @ $10/kg.

 

Any calculations are always going to be generalised, but this site gives an indication:

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp

 

As a guide, my brother lives in Swizterland and it is way more expensive there. He often buys goods in UK and my dad posts them on and he gets his cars serviced and tyres etc when visiting.

 

A lot depends on your occupation, some seem to pay much better than the UK - that's what some people tell me about their pay.

 

 

Cooler

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

Dentists are double UK .

 

But we have awful teeth in the UK as we've been used to cheap NHS dentistry, which was never intended to be the entire dentistry service, just emergency use. However, as the UK has gotten used to the welfare state, we've come to expect health, including teeth to be free or very low cost, so got used to paying very little - for very little service, hence the terrible teeth we all have. This is a little personal bug bear of mine - no idea how good or bad dentistry is in Oz, and SA specifically, but all my ozzie friends have beautiful teeth, whereas I can't think of a single UK friend that has anywhere half decent teeth, which kinda tells me that you may have to pay for it over there, but then we really should be paying for it here (over NHS costs anyway), but we don't.

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

Koala's - there, nice

 

Nooooo - Drop bears! Not nice, not nice at all!

[minty]

But we have awful teeth in the UK as we've been used to cheap NHS dentistry, which was never intended to be the entire dentistry service, just emergency use. However, as the UK has gotten used to the welfare state, we've come to expect health, including teeth to be free or very low cost, so got used to paying very little - for very little service, hence the terrible teeth we all have. This is a little personal bug bear of mine - no idea how good or bad dentistry is in Oz, and SA specifically, but all my ozzie friends have beautiful teeth, whereas I can't think of a single UK friend that has anywhere half decent teeth, which kinda tells me that you may have to pay for it over there, but then we really should be paying for it here (over NHS costs anyway), but we don't.

 

Thats also depending on if you manage to get a place at a NHS dentist in the first place. Where we are from there was no chance so all private and therfore the costs were comparable with the Oz costs.

 

Chris.

[minty]

Nooooo - Drop bears! Not nice, not nice at all!

 

What about peeled like a chicken and on a barbie :huh:is that allowed ?

 

Ehm, eucalyptus based drop bear !!!!!

 

 

Chris.

[minty]

What about peeled like a chicken and on a barbie :huh:is that allowed ?

 

Ehm, eucalyptus based drop bear !!!!!

 

 

Chris.

 

 

And just before anyone faints, yes that was a joke

[Guest James]

Just for info I was comparing private dentists in UK to costs here, they are still much cheaper as more competition there. NHS dentists may not be great but pity poor people here with only access to dental hospiital students or charity, there is no real safety net here. I know Australians have beautiful teeth but the dentists can be very interventionist at a cost. I had three dentists here quote my family needing an operation at $5000, when we went back home the private dentist said nothing was needed a second opinion from an Irish dentist in Adelaide agreed. the dentistry here is interventionist and I think sometimes driven by dollars. Some of the private dentists in Adelaide also have very old machinery for children, no low radiation x rays etc. So shop around with dentists.

 

In general though sorry if some of us sound depressing but it is better to come out here with a clear idea than be all bouyed up and then disillusioned and for some people it works really, some do well financially, you will not know until you get here so you just have to try it. As others have said for some the qullaity of life is better especially if you come from bits of UK with big issues. For me I do not think that is true as I cane from a pretty village in Kent borders and I do not think quality of life is better but if I was from Willesden I would do. You just have to try it for yourself but come with realistic expectations. Both countries are great compared to many parts of the world that is why people go back and forth. I believe 40% of the Uk immigrants return now and i am sure I will be one, if I can arrange it practically, some day.

 

Finally the exchange rate does matter if you can not get a job quickly or it si not well paid and you are using English savings as they are then devalued.

 

You just have to try it and find out if it is for you

[soo_the_panda]

Really interesting thread! Thanks for all your viewpoints. Things I find cheaper here: petrol, good wine, meat, fine dining, music lessons, sunscreen (good thing considering how much more I use her!) admission fees for 'days out' type activities, perfume, admission for things like public swimming pools.

 

Things I find more expensive here: cars (I know, been said a million times), toiletries (I miss Boots and buy 2 get 1 free!), books, chocolate and domestic flights seem a lot compared to cheap European flights - but think that's also cos of the sense of 'why isn't it cheaper - I'm not even leaving the country - when in fact the actual flight length may be longer than popping over to eg Paris.

 

To add to the comparison of utilities, my monthly averages are $50 for gas, $140 for electricity, $20 for water, $70 for council rates. That's in a big 2 bed apartment (comparable to modern 3 or small 4 bed house) in Glenelg.

 

However, I must add that whilst some things cost more here, I earn at least 50% more of what I'd make in a comparable role in the UK, if we are comparing on exchange rates - plus I'd have found it far, far more competitive to get into that role in the UK - here, there was a shortage whereas in the UK friends who graduated with the same degree as me from uni struggled to get into the area in London, even though there are far more jobs advertised. So whilst I'm earning dollars, I'm very happy to be spending them too.

 

I do miss BOGOF though =)

[Guest loopylisa]

I think, personally, that for me its not a question of whats cheaper in the UK that here in oz but where can I get things here in oz which are good value for the money. Imho this would be a useful thread. A lot of places do loyalty cards, e.g. sumo salad- free salad on joining, free salad on birthday, boost juice- free juice every 10 juices and one on your birthday. Priceline (a bit like superdrug) does a point based loyalty system. Chemist warehouse is really cheap for toiletries and perfume. Don't forget when you are talking some of this stuff you can get it online! ​(e.g. books and toiletries)

 

Just a little tale on the dentist note: had a UK wonderful NHS dentist fill a decaying wisdom tooth, skip forward a month or so, it got infected(again!) dentist here in oz had to remove( at a high cost). The NHS dentist should never have filled a decaying tooth, esp wisdom. My experience too are they are highly incompetent. You get what you pay for. Here or back in the UK. NHS dentistry isn't worth the risk, if I ever go back to the UK I;m going private. The NHS is only good if you actually get what you need out of it, for me a young female this was predominantly dental, optical and chrio(office work!), none of which was covered by the NHS/covered insufficiently. Not a fan, personal opinion.

[catherine.c]

You definitely cannot compare $ to £, as someone previously said, the only time this is relevent is if you are going on holiday. Obviously at the moment you could buy more £ to the $ or less $ to the £.

What you have to do is compare your percentage of outgoings to earnings in the UK and the same with you Australian outgoings to earnings. This will tell you if you are financially better off in the UK or Oz.

[Anne B]

You definitely cannot compare $ to £, as someone previously said, the only time this is relevent is if you are going on holiday. Obviously at the moment you could buy more £ to the $ or less $ to the £.

What you have to do is compare your percentage of outgoings to earnings in the UK and the same with you Australian outgoings to earnings. This will tell you if you are financially better off in the UK or Oz.

 

Yes and No.

 

As regards income and expenditure, there is no point in comparing $ to £ as you say. You earn $ and you spend $.

 

However, if you have any assets (house, car, pension, savings) and have to transfer them from the UK to Australia, then the exchange rate is crucial. Those assets were earned in £ and with a weak exchange rate you are worse off.

[Lazy Cow]

I can see why this might be an interesting thread if you are still caught in the process - let's face it, money can be a huge part of the should-we/shouldn't we thing.

 

And there's no doubt that the move costs heaps and no-one wants to lower their lifestyle, you know size of house, dreams for their kids' education etc but really emigrating is so much more than dollar value?

 

I understand what Anne B means about assets, and I guess the cost of items like housing, education ( if private is your dream), medical and uni fees must be factored in, even more so if you have one of the visas that seem to deny you so many privileges we take for granted.

 

Since being here, we've had times with less available income, when my card has been declined, when I've had to juggle to get through till the next pay day but it kinda hasn't spoiled being here. It's just life. Financial challenges can happen wherever and I - and this is only my opinion of course- don't think I would worry too much if things cost more or less than the UK.

 

But hey, that's just me!

LC

[catherine.c]

Yes and No.

 

As regards income and expenditure, there is no point in comparing $ to £ as you say. You earn $ and you spend $.

 

However, if you have any assets (house, car, pension, savings) and have to transfer them from the UK to Australia, then the exchange rate is crucial. Those assets were earned in £ and with a weak exchange rate you are worse off.

 

 

Yes Anne you are right, I had forgotten about transfer of assets - I dont know how as we still have a house over there!

However if you are trying to work out whether things are more expensive here in Australia then you would have to work it out in percentages rather than comparing prices with current exchange rates.