Sassy Duck

Why? You've lived in Oz and so obviously hated it judging by your constant posts about how awful and expensive everything is and post about how the little pocket you live in is utopia. I haven't posted about how wonderful Oz is and how awful the UK is! I'm just realistic about the cost of living in the UK and not living with rose tints...same with Oz.

It depends what you call decent quality.

Why am I not surprised by your reply!

I wish I lived in the part of the UK where you can buy chicken at £3 a kilo or a steak for £6! The price of a lot of things depends on what quality you like. Yes you can eat out on a budget if you like cheap pub grub..pie & chips(frozen), scampi & chips, lasagne etc and pay less than a tenner, but if you don't want typical pub grub...which to be fair..a lot of pubs do, then you'll pay for it. Average around £13 to £18 for main, £15 for a bottle of wine and this isn't including starters..average £5 to £6 and desert...same again. There are cheap places to eat but they're cheap for a reason. Clothing is cheap if you like to shop at primark, matalan, asda and the like but if you don't...you'll pay for it. I work in retail and our average price for a skirt/top is around £40ish, dress £55 and men's shirts £50, so comparible to prices in say Country Road in Oz. Imo the quality is worse here for the price and I find this a lot with clothing in the UK unless you pay a lot more. Retail in the UK is suffering and has been for quite a while now. Obviously the weather hasn't helped trade right now. People just don't to seem to be spending and as a lot of shops are offering discounts left right and centre, people don't want to pay full price. They'll wait for sales or the chance a discount may arise...human nature, but unfortunately it effects trade and the knock on effect is reduced hours for staff and job losses. I don't believe the day to day living costs are much different between Oz and UK when you weigh it all up. One of the things I see crop up a lot is how cheap it is to travel to Europe, flights for £39.99 etc. Not in my experience! If you do manage to get a great deal it usually involves travelling at night, arriving late at night and leaving in the middle of the night to come home. This may be ok if you're retired or not having to worry about work and can afford to spend £600 plus on a couple of nights away. Lets be realistic about prices in the UK, it's cheap if you like cheap...but you'll pay for quality...simple.

Last summer was pretty good I agree...but long warm summers no. April was fantastic but a very disappointing May. Let's hope the predictions are correct!

Perthbum where do you live cos I want to move there!! May has seen below average temps so where are you getting the idea we've had record breaking warm and sunny May?? Warmest and sunniest May on record??? Where and when?? Every year we're "set for a heatwave" according to the press. Does it happen? Rarely...apart from where you live obviously.

We've been back in the UK since 2011 and it's not cheap to eat out unless you're eating in a weatherspoons pub which is very basic...get what you pay for food. We've found most food below average to be honest...pub grub...lasagne, sausage & mash, fish & chips etc etc. pints on average around £3.20. We've been to some nice restaurants & had some great food but you pay well for it! The average price for a main course is around £15..$29. Add to that a bottle of wine around £15 and this is without starters & desert. There is cheap clothing if you like primark, George at Asda, Tu at sainsburys and the like. Quality any better in the UK? Imo not really! I work in retail, ladies clothing. Our average price for a top is £40, skirt £50 and I work for a pretty good brand but the quality isn't fantastic for the price you pay. I find it hard to agree that the quality is worse in Australia...it's really the fact that we have more choice in the UK. We visited Perth in December and apart from alcohol being expensive we found the food was of good quality & the choice was great. We ate out for breakfast a lot whilst there & I've yet to have a breakfast here to top any we had there unless I was eating a full english!