Guest guest36187 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 When I got here in 2005 I got $2.53 to the pound. Petrol was 77c per litre.......look at how we have moved on! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamjar Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Hi everyone, I have been here in Australia (Sydney) for approaching 4 months now.Even though I did research before I came, nothing could prepare me for the punch in the face that some of the prices here gave me. It's bloody expensive in comparison to the UK. I thought I'd give a few comparisons for the same items so you can see how different certain prices are. I have included links to the items also. The prices in brackets are the currency converted prices at todays rate on XE.com of just over 1.60 to the pound : UK Price. Australia Price Difference MOTHERCARE : Maclaren Techno XLR Stroller. £290 ($465) $599 (£373). + £83 ($133) in Aus http://www.mothercare.com/Maclaren-Techno-XLR-Stroller---Black/Champagne/447401,default,pd.html?cm_sp=ProductFeatures-_-Category%2520landing-_-Maclaren%2520Techno%2520XLR%2520Stroller%2520-%2520Black%252FChampagne https://www.mothercare.com.au/p-21755-maclaren-techno-xlr-stroller-persian-redgrey.aspx UK Price Australia Price Difference IKEA : Mongstad Mirror £85 ($136) $299 (£186) +£101 ($161) in Aus!! http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?query=MONGSTAD+Mirror+brown http://www.ikea.com/au/en/search/?query=MONGSTAD+Mirror+brown UK Price Australia Price Difference Pumpkin Patch : 2 pack short sleeve bodysuits £10 ($16) $22.99 (£14) +£4 ($6.41) in Aus http://www.pumpkinpatch.co.uk/flatshot/S1BB15015/col/RVE/listing/152990/categorypath/baby/baby-boy/new-collections/space-explorer/ http://www.pumpkinpatch.com.au/search?searchFullText=S1BB15015 UK Price Australia Price Difference Coca Cola (at Supermarkets) £1.98 ($3.17) $4.11 (£2.56) +£0.58 ($0.93) in Aus Milk ( Semi Skimmed/Rediced Fat) 2L £1.58 ($2.53) $4.99 (£3.11) +£1.53 (2.45) in Aus! These are only a few prices that I can compare as I am trying to find stores that are in both UK and Aus so to make it a fair comparison. The IKEA and Milk prices certainly are shocking. Hope this helps someone. Sorry but that comparison means absolutely nothing, what you have to do is work out how many hrs you need to work using your after tax net pay hourly rate for each country and see if you have to work more hours to pay for the same item in Australia - if so, then yes you are worse of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamjar Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 'Twas only $104 last week... Cheers, Bobj. But hold on - you dont have to pay for fish from what I gather :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamjar Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Possibly a different way of looking at it is what percentage of your income goes/went on what in the UK/Australia. Looking back over my accounts, this is what it looks like for Birmingham and Melbourne on a monthly basis for a single person with no dependents (a luxurious position to be in financially, I know). Income figs are approximate and shown net. Birmingham (£2280/month net) Housing (rental, 2 bed terrace): 23.3% Utilities (gas, water, electric): 3% (I was a very low user) Council tax and contents insurance: 3% (including simple person discount) Car running costs: 6.7% (tax, 3rd party fire and theft insurance, petrol, breakdown cover, annual service and MoT) Public transport: 5.6% (including travel to/from/in London due to partner living there) Groceries (including lunch at work, excluding eating out and alcohol): 13.6% Clothing, shoes, toiletries: 8% (budgeted, not always spent) Internet, telephone, mobile: 2.1% Savings: 32.8% TOTAL: 78.1% Available for non-essentials/entertainment: 21.9% Melbourne (AU$4680/month net - health insurance of $54/fortnight paid by salary sacrifice) Housing (rental, 2 bed townhouse in zone 2 eastern suburb): 32.5% Utilities (gas, water, electric): 4.3% (water estimated as no bill yet, electric estimated to allow for seasonal variation) Council tax/rates and contents insurance: 0.7% (contents insurance only; renting, so rates paid by landlord) Car running costs: (rego, comprehensive insurance, petrol, annual service): 5.1% (you may also wish to budget for a traffic fine given how steep they are...) Public transport: 2.7% Groceries (including lunch at work, excluding eating out and alcohol): 9.6% Clothing, shoes, toiletries: 8% (budgeted, not always spent) Internet, telephone, mobile: 2.2% Savings: 25% TOTAL: 90.1% Available for non-essentials/entertainment: 9.9% I'm slightly surprised by the figures as I don't feel "worse off" in terms of non-essentials income - I can afford to eat out once or twice a week, do buy alcohol regularly, go to the cinema, etc. At the same time I've never been a big drinker, buy in bulk where possible, buy meat and fresh fruit and veg at butchers/grocers rather than in supermarkets - and the contents of my shopping basket at the supermarket reflects current offers. I am also quite strict about budgeting for known expenses and savings and sticking to it - so my budget reflects the cut of the cloth, as it were. The other aspect to look at is pensions and future earning potential, and on both of these points I'm better off here than in the UK. Fantastic post - One of the most useful I have seen on here. A PROPER comparison. Thanks for that 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joebloggs Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 (edited) Peach is right You are only thinking about ££ because you are fresh of the boat, same thing happened to me back in 2004 when I arrived in Sydney I went for a schooner (3/4 Pint) of beer and it cost me $4 and I near crapped myself because I only got $1 change from a fiver. At that time I was used to paying £2.30 for a pint so I could expect at least 2 of those out of a fiver and I was slightly shocked until....... I sat down and worked out that the beer was only £1.65. Shock number 2 was about 3 weeks later when I got my first job $36 ph, It was equivalent to 9 schooners (6.75 pints) with that ....where as few weeks earlier I was earning equivalent to 4.5 pints with an hours pay. (I work on a beer economy) It's true prices have went up in the last 7 years but so has my pay. Best forget about ££ unless you live in the UK, have savings or own property there. Edited May 13, 2012 by Joebloggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 If the £ hadn't collapsed in value $299 wouldn't seem so expensive to you. When I came to Oz in 2002, I got 3 $ to the £ - so everything seemed really cheap (when I converted to £). In 2004, the value of the £ had dropped to 2.5 so everything seemed cheap, but no so much so. Since then the £ exchange rate fell off a cliff and $ prices converted back to £ are now seemingly expensive. It is something you just have to get over. ) Using the current exchange rate to work out costs, is plain silly to me, like someone said in no time it might go up above $2 to £1 and as for using the average wage system, its as near as you can get to drawing a true comparison, even though not everyone earns the average wage, but neither do people here in the UK. The average wage in Australia compared to the UK, has now gone up over the last 3 years, because Australians have had good pay rises on average and with hardly no pay rises in the UK, it is now approximately at $2.4 to £1 so thats the figure prices should be worked out at to assess the cost of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stereotongue Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 No. You are wrong. My comparison still stands. I know that if you go back to visit the UK you will still convert from Aus to GBP and say 'wow that's cheap'. It's inevitable. Sydney is in the top 6 most expensive cities in the world - just accept it. When I got offered a job here, I converted the salary to pounds and calculated what percentage raise that was. Incidentally it came in at 42% increase in pound terms. So then it stands to reason that if things are more than 42% more expensive in Sydney on average then I would be worse off. This makes converting to pounds essential so that the calculation works. Simple really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CXW Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 (edited) But it's not about absolute figures - it's about what your purchasing power in each place, which isn't a direct comparison. Sure I did the same calculation as you did when I got offered my job, but then I worked out what that salary would actually cover. This involved doing a fair amount of research about the cost of living, but meant that I knew that despite my initial sticker shock, I was confident that my salary would afford me a comparable standard of living. Unless people do this, comparisons are meaningless except as very loose rules of thumb. Edited May 13, 2012 by CXW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stereotongue Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 By the way, the whole percentage of your wage spent on items is of course flawed. I am assuming most people who come here are going to be earning more than in the UK, and the percentage changes depending on what your salary is. The only way I can compare is by using like for like: i have seen houses here that are the equivalent of my house in the UK. The mortgage here works out 4 times what I pay in the UK. Now in no way can I see many people coming here with a 400% salary increase. This tells me that you get less for your money here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 No. You are wrong. My comparison still stands. I know that if you go back to visit the UK you will still convert from Aus to GBP and say 'wow that's cheap'. It's inevitable. Sydney is in the top 6 most expensive cities in the world - just accept it. When I got offered a job here, I converted the salary to pounds and calculated what percentage raise that was. Incidentally it came in at 42% increase in pound terms. So then it stands to reason that if things are more than 42% more expensive in Sydney on average then I would be worse off. This makes converting to pounds essential so that the calculation works. Simple really. I don't know who you are talking to be everyone already knows that Sydney is dearer than other places, just like London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stereotongue Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 (edited) Another example is flights. A return from UK to AUS is cheaper than the other way around. Try booking a flight from LHR to SYD return from UK and then SYD to LHR return from Australia and see the difference in cost. They are the exact same flights - 1 flight in each direction, yet a lot more expensive in Australia. Just did a search on same dates. LHR/SYD 29th May Return 14th July with Qantas UK price is £849 ( $1358). AUS price $2653 ( £1658). Now tell me that's fair. Someone going on hols could be sitting next to someone returning home but has paid almost double for the same thing. Edited May 13, 2012 by Stereotongue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockola57 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 It's dear 'ere,boy is it dear!I don't give two Shiites though,'coz i refuse to be ripped off unless necessary,and save by not buying unnecessary things!:biggrin:And,lest ye forget,the lifestyle is better here!:yes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CXW Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 By the way, the whole percentage of your wage spent on items is of course flawed.I am assuming most people who come here are going to be earning more than in the UK, and the percentage changes depending on what your salary is. The only way I can compare is by using like for like: i have seen houses here that are the equivalent of my house in the UK. The mortgage here works out 4 times what I pay in the UK. Now in no way can I see many people coming here with a 400% salary increase. This tells me that you get less for your money here. Why is it "of course" flawed? It's one way of comparing things that gives an indication of what one's income goes on in different countries. Your assumption that people will be earning more might be correct in terms of the figure of the pay slip, but as a vast number of posts of this forum indicate, this isn't much use in practice. As for your mortgage being 4x what you paid in the UK, that tells me you decided to max out your borrowing in the pursuit of a comparable standard of living to what you had in the UK without the corresponding income increase. Your premise is that houses, groceries, flights etc. have a fixed value (not price) regardless of location, which isn't true. In a free market, the value is dictated by the price people can/will pay, which in turn is affected by a whole range of subjective factors. In the case of flights, demand, local taxes, airline pricing structure, fuel prices and local wages all affect the price, as well as holiday patterns for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PomPrincesses Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 My salary in Australian dollars has gone up 50% since I left in 2000. It's gone down by £5,000 in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 The uselessness of using exchange rates to compare cost of living can be shown by the fact that Australia's currency could strengthen against one countries currency on the same day it weakened against another countries. So what happened.....did it get dearer to live in Australia that day AND cheaper - on the same day? Of course the answer is it did not change at all. The exchange rates are irrelevant - the % of your salary it costs to buy something is the only true measure - hence the 2.2 approximate rate which is roughly the difference between the average salaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 (edited) To give another perspective I've changed the OP's figures using the approx 2.2 rate which takes into account the percentage of an average wage spent to buy something: UK Price. Australia Price Difference MOTHERCARE : Maclaren Techno XLR Stroller. £290 ($638) vs $599 = $40 dearer in the UK UK Price Australia Price Difference IKEA : Mongstad Mirror £85 ($187) vs $299 = $112 dearer in Aus!! UK Price Australia Price Difference Pumpkin Patch : 2 pack short sleeve bodysuits £10 ($22) vs $22.99 = 99 cents dearer in Aus UK Price Australia Price Difference Coca Cola (at Supermarkets) £1.98 ($4.35) vs $4.11 = 24c dearer in the UK Milk ( Semi Skimmed/Rediced Fat) 2L Difference £1.58 ($3.46) vs $2 = $1.46 dearer in the UK Edited May 13, 2012 by fish.01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perthbum Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Problem is that rent is so expensive in oz that you ave very little left at the. End of the month, I was far worse off money wise in z. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 No. You are wrong. My comparison still stands. I know that if you go back to visit the UK you will still convert from Aus to GBP and say 'wow that's cheap'. It's inevitable. But it only seems cheap because the dollar is now the stronger of the two currencies. Aussies used to complain how expensive it was to visit the UK when the exchange rate was the other way around. When the Pound was strong, it was cheap to visit pretty much anywhere (spending GBP) - since the GFC those days are over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Problem is that rent is so expensive in oz that you ave very little left at the. End of the month, I was far worse off money wise in z. Errr...rent in London for a 3 bedroom house: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/London/3-bed-houses.html Rent for a 3 bedroom house in Sydney: http://www.property.com.au/rent/property-house-in-sydney,+nsw+2000/list-1 Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakeboard1980 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 3 bed townhouse 30 mins south of Sydney $2200 per month. 33% of salary 2 bedroom flat in Hoole, Chester £650 per month 25% of salary. And I used to save $1000 per month in Sydney compared to only about £150 here in the UK. We were better off financially in Aus. Costs us more here each week for groceries. If you keep comparing everything you are wasting your time. Get out and live life instead of worrying if an ikea mirror cost more in aus or the uk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakeboard1980 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 The fruit is cheaper in the UK supermarkets but it is sh7t quality. Give me Aussie grown fruit anyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wakeboard1980 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Hi everyone, I have been here in Australia (Sydney) for approaching 4 months now.Even though I did research before I came, nothing could prepare me for the punch in the face that some of the prices here gave me. It's bloody expensive in comparison to the UK. I thought I'd give a few comparisons for the same items so you can see how different certain prices are. I have included links to the items also. The prices in brackets are the currency converted prices at todays rate on XE.com of just over 1.60 to the pound : UK Price. Australia Price Difference MOTHERCARE : Maclaren Techno XLR Stroller. £290 ($465) $599 (£373). + £83 ($133) in Aus http://www.mothercare.com/Maclaren-Techno-XLR-Stroller---Black/Champagne/447401,default,pd.html?cm_sp=ProductFeatures-_-Category%2520landing-_-Maclaren%2520Techno%2520XLR%2520Stroller%2520-%2520Black%252FChampagne https://www.mothercare.com.au/p-21755-maclaren-techno-xlr-stroller-persian-redgrey.aspx UK Price Australia Price Difference IKEA : Mongstad Mirror £85 ($136) $299 (£186) +£101 ($161) in Aus!! http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?query=MONGSTAD+Mirror+brown http://www.ikea.com/au/en/search/?query=MONGSTAD+Mirror+brown UK Price Australia Price Difference Pumpkin Patch : 2 pack short sleeve bodysuits £10 ($16) $22.99 (£14) +£4 ($6.41) in Aus http://www.pumpkinpatch.co.uk/flatshot/S1BB15015/col/RVE/listing/152990/categorypath/baby/baby-boy/new-collections/space-explorer/ http://www.pumpkinpatch.com.au/search?searchFullText=S1BB15015 UK Price Australia Price Difference Coca Cola (at Supermarkets) £1.98 ($3.17) $4.11 (£2.56) +£0.58 ($0.93) in Aus Milk ( Semi Skimmed/Rediced Fat) 2L £1.58 ($2.53) $4.99 (£3.11) +£1.53 (2.45) in Aus! These are only a few prices that I can compare as I am trying to find stores that are in both UK and Aus so to make it a fair comparison. The IKEA and Milk prices certainly are shocking. Hope this helps someone. Phil and teds buggy in John Lewis £369 =$590 Same buggy in aus we paid $499 in june last year If you use the 2.2 exchange rate.....god Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stereotongue Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) OK. Did any of you see the Current Affair report on IKEA ? It just proves my point entirely. Here's the link if you'd like to see the report: http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article/8467755/ikea-rip-off The boss keeps saying the prices are comparible to the local market - that just means that if another company is charging $400 for something - then that's the price they will come in at. The fact is that there is a huge mark-up on their products. Here's another handy link to the cost of living index 2012 : http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp Stereo Edited May 21, 2012 by Stereotongue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisher1 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 (edited) Its useful to have a price comparison - it's always going to be flawed in some way but it gives potential migrants a rough idea of the cost of living. Particularly useful for retired migrants joining children - many will continue to receive their pensions in pounds sterling. So don't knock it, it helps with decision making at the outset. Useful tip about books - Amazon have run several special offers where they sent books from UK to Aus. free of postal charges. I sent a package of £40 worth of books to my daughter at Christmas completely free of charge. (deep irony, the Christmas card cost £1+ to post) Worth keeping an eye on, given the horrendous cost of books in Aus. Edited June 12, 2012 by Fisher1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tonyrowe24 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 hi everyone We are moving to oz dec 2012 We had both catalogues from Ikea in england and australia open on our computer. If you look at them both the pictures are exactly the same on most pages and they have prices on them. If you look at them page for page then you can get a really good idea of the cost difference and it ranges from slightly cheaper (not many of these) to 3 times as much to by in OZ. So if you have good furniture then i would really consider shipping if its crap i would leave it. There must be cheaper shops than ikea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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