rsg2369 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Hi is it really that expensive or is it the old pound dollar compare ? Any one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum of 5 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I think it's all comparative. If you look at the average UK income, to the cost of living, you can survive ok. If you look at the Perth's average income to cost of living it's about the same. If you compare the UK average income to the Perth cost of living, then yes it is expensive. But you won't be earning a UK wage in Perth, so that is really a moot point. If you expect to live in the lap of luxury, you have same chance of that happening irrespective of where you live. If you want to live and make your pound or dollar go further, you will. How you live is the biggest factor in weather a place is expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I work interntional and so i have always been payed in US dollars, so for me the comparisson is easy. Yes Perth is very expensive. I took my wife and son out for a decent meal for lunch the other week. $600 for 3 and none of us were drinking. To buy a half decent house in a half decent area is going to be a lot more than the cost in the UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surflen22 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I work interntional and so i have always been payed in US dollars, so for me the comparisson is easy. Yes Perth is very expensive. I took my wife and son out for a decent meal for lunch the other week. $600 for 3 and none of us were drinking. To buy a half decent house in a half decent area is going to be a lot more than the cost in the UK Paying $600 for 3 people for lunch is ridiculous! And no, that is by no means normal. You could have had a 7 course degustation menu in Perth's best restaurants for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Me my wife and youngest son went out on Fathers Day, starters and main meals (we would have had desert but were full) including drinks and the bill was $130. That was at a nice restaurant overlooking the sea, so we could have gone somewhere a lot cheaper. We have a great time at weekends, doing some form of sport, mostly down the beach and it costs us nothing, not even for parking. Only expense is coffee with a group of friends after we've finished. So much you can do for free in Perth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flag of convenience Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 (edited) It is rated ninth most expensive city in the world for those that follow ratings whicg I don't necessary but gives you an idea. In my view Perth is very expensive. I have lived here with a few breaks since 1995 and have witnessed it go from a very affordable city,to in my view a rip off, there is no other way to term it. Regardless of earning dollars or not it is expensive. There are indeed cheaper alternatives that avail themselves owing to weather factors such as a picnic in the evening by the river or beach, but to go anywhere out to eat or drink is usually over the top. Edited September 4, 2012 by flag of convenience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Paying $600 for 3 people for lunch is ridiculous! And no, that is by no means normal. You could have had a 7 course degustation menu in Perth's best restaurants for that. I agree, I have been to a few of the top Perth restaurants and not paid that for dinner, let alone lunch!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 It is rated ninth most expensive city in the world for those that follow ratings whicg I don't necessary but gives you an idea.In my view Perth is very expensive. I have lived here with a few breaks since 1995 and have witnessed it go from a very affordable city,to in my view a rip off, there is no other way to term it. Regardless of earning dollars or not it is expensive. There are indeed cheaper alternatives that avail themselves owing to weather factors such as a picnic in the evening by the river or beach, but to go anywhere out to eat or drink is usually over the top. Agree Flag of Convenience - I have lived in Perth since 1991 and agree that things are now excessively expensive compared to how it used to be compared to income. When prices started to go up at first, I thought it was the cost of transporting everything from the other side of the country as the cost of fuel was rising .... now I just think we are being ripped off by the multi-nationals in all areas of consumerism. The dominance of Woollies and Coles in so many areas in WA has a great deal to do with the situation too. But one of the worst overpriced items in Perth has to be a cup of coffee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukchris Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Did you loose your wallet or something!! "I took my wife and son out for a decent meal for lunch the other week. $600 for 3 and none of us were drinking." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Agree Flag of Convenience - I have lived in Perth since 1991 and agree that things are now excessively expensive compared to how it used to be compared to income. When prices started to go up at first, I thought it was the cost of transporting everything from the other side of the country as the cost of fuel was rising .... now I just think we are being ripped off by the multi-nationals in all areas of consumerism. The dominance of Woollies and Coles in so many areas in WA has a great deal to do with the situation too. But one of the worst overpriced items in Perth has to be a cup of coffee! Is $4 for a large flat white expensive? I just wondered what the cost is in other places as I don't pay much attention when away on work trips. I think Perth is expensive for drinking out in decent pubs. There are pubs that have happy hour and are not too badly priced but the ones that attract a younger crowd or are anywhere near the beach or decent suburb are a rip off. The Breakwater in Hillary's won Australia's best pub award last year, should have been Australia's most expensive pub. Still a nice place to go for one beer and a drink for the missus and sit there for a while. Make us cut down on the drinking I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JK2510 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 (edited) Is $4 for a large flat white expensive? I just wondered what the cost is in other places as I don't pay much attention when away on work trips. I think Perth is expensive for drinking out in decent pubs. There are pubs that have happy hour and are not too badly priced but the ones that attract a younger crowd or are anywhere near the beach or decent suburb are a rip off. The Breakwater in Hillary's won Australia's best pub award last year, should have been Australia's most expensive pub. Still a nice place to go for one beer and a drink for the missus and sit there for a while. Make us cut down on the drinking I guess. It is nice there....the prices are huge there because it's a tourist haven....the food is nice....average price really $20-$25....A lovely place to take family and friends when they're visiting from uk.... Im sure I paid $6 for a large vanilla latte in muffin break. Edited September 4, 2012 by JK2510 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hels Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 The breakwater is insanely overpriced try $18 for a bottle of cider! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Depends where you go Paul1Perth I suppose. I object to paying over $4 for a normal sized cup of coffee, but a mug sized would be acceptable at $4. Agree about the Breakwater though - nice venue but so overpriced and food so average I wont be going back there again in a hurry. But that applies to so many places I find these days. Maybe I am getting old and pernickerty.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mum of 5 Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Maybe it's because I am living in The Rip Off Republic (Ireland), but the prices people are quoting here sound ok to me. I pay €3 for a coffee (about $4), and the last night I went out I was charged €2.90 (about $3.55) for a 200ml coke. It's what you make of it, if you want to spend, you will, if you want to doing free stuff you will. At least in Perth you have the choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 I have just watched the first episode of wanted down under and yes it's dear for a lot of things in Australia, but the wages they are paying are incredible, plus they have had big average pay rises over there over the last 3 years, whereas here in the UK most have had no pay rise at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surflen22 Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I have just watched the first episode of wanted down under and yes it's dear for a lot of things in Australia, but the wages they are paying are incredible, plus they have had big average pay rises over there over the last 3 years, whereas here in the UK most have had no pay rise at all. What you are saying is correct. I started out here in Dec 2010 on $48K. And yes, I managed on that fine! Just under 2 years later, I'm earning considerably more (more than 50% more) and I don't work in mining, oil or gas. And yes, somethings are expensive but I do think the higher wages make it balance out. It's like everywhere though, shop around and you'll more than get by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Went out for a meal last night to a really nice restaurant, White Salt on West Coast Highway. Excellent food, 2 of us, 3 courses, 1 pint of heineken and a couple of wines $160. This was good food with an excellent presentation too. I don't think it's too expensive to go out on a special occasion and pay that much every now and then. We don't make a habit of going there but we've been a few times before and have always had great food and it's a nice location. I was over in Sydney a couple of weeks ago and found it a lot like Perth. You can pay high prices and you can find something cheap and cheerful. We had a meal at a restaurant called Onde on Darlinghurst road and the prices would have been about the same as the one we went to last night. We also ate at what used to be the Prague Beer cafe in Kings Cross. Had a great meal (big lamb shanks) excellent beer and good atmosphere but cheap, great value. Probably because it's in a bit of a dodgy street and you have to walk past a couple of gentlemans clubs. There is the same mix in Perth, you just need to know what to expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I don't find the prices too bad in Coles if I use the conversion 2.2. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that we currently live in Spain and we pay an awful lot more for our UK products here than you guys do in Oz. Also here, we don't have the price wars of Tesco and Asda. However, I like to look at the weekly specials catalogue each week to get an idea and have just seen that you can get 2 punnets of strawberries for $5 in WA, but in QLD you can get 4 punnets for $5, quite a bit of a difference!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jckc Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Earn big bucks :biggrin: But, spend big bucks too :grumpy1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest17301 Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Looking at the price of a few items like a cup of coffee, a meal out and a kg of tomatoes is a really shortsighted way to measure the overall cost of living in a country. It's misleading and irrelevant. Perth is no more expensive than the UK overall. The cost of living is highly comparable. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiara Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 When I first got here, I had to lift my jaw off the floor quite regularly at the prices. Now I've been here a while, I'm realising that pricing is completely random. You would be mad to buy anything but petrol in a petrol station, you can pay 4 or 5 dollars for 2 litres of milk in them. IGA should be used for emergencies only (although convenience means I tend to go in there every day). I've seen a bag of apples for 9 dollars in there, 5 dollars for a small bottle of washing up liquid etc... and I've noticed that many items change price almost on a daily basis, for eg, I buy a lot of soda water, today it was 1.29 but last week it was 1.99, next week it might be 1.49, no idea why they change so often. You can buy 2 l of milk in coles for 2 dollars. Again, you can get a loaf of bread for 1.29 in Coles, or you can pay 5 dollars...its all down to brands. My favourite wine costs 11.99 in Dan Murphy's, and 18.99 in my local offie (the oddly and slightly pervily named 'Liquor in the Valley')... my point being, if you shop around you quickly learn where to go. As for rent, well I give up...I'm really struggling to find a decent house that's affordable.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiara Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 And to add, we had lunch in Swan Valley today, in the Mallard Duck. We paid 28 dollars for a tasting plate for two, which was more than enough food for us and we were stuffed at the end of it. Had it been later in the day, we would have ordered a bottle of wine which was 20-22. Not bad at all I think, particularly as it's so beautiful around there. However, when we have the 5 kids with us it gets much more tricky and I find myself fretting at the cost but then with 5 kids, that is always the problem. And 'mum of 5', where in Mayo are you from?? I'm from Newport and hubby from Achill!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonandsarah Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Looking at the price of a few items like a cup of coffee, a meal out and a kg of tomatoes is a really shortsighted way to measure the overall cost of living in a country. It's misleading and irrelevant. Perth is no more expensive than the UK overall. The cost of living is highly comparable. IMO this is true, in doing my research before applying for our visa i did a couple of online grocery shops buying comparable products with my receipt from my grocery shop in tesco and each time the cost came within 10%, not bad when you consider my wages could be up to 400% more in perth. Also the shopping bill woould have been reduced further by eliminating various items such as a bag of grapes which were on offer over here but in perth were $15 a kilo, at this price the would not have gone in the trolly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean and maureen Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Just returned from a quick 2 week visit to the UK. I was all excited thinking that I would be bringing back a suitcase full of goodies, clothes, shoes etc. But no, I got some bargains at outlet shops, but all in all the prices were exactly the same as in Perth if not a bit more expensive. I found grocery shopping a little bit cheaper and with lot more variety, so that was good. The most horrific thing was fuel costs. We pay $1.42 per litre for diesel, it was 1.42 pds per litre, 6.45 pds per gallon!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perthmummy14 Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I did think it at first, but now I'm so used to it it all seems ok. You get a higher wage out here but your not that much better off than the UK. I think averagely in a coffee shop you should look at $5 for a drink. And when out for standard lunch for 2 I'd say between $50 & $60 not too bad really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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