Dollars = Pounds: what am I missing?

[Marisawright]

We're considering moving back to the UK in our retirement. We know we're going to take a tax hit on our super/investments/pension - but if the cost of living is cheaper in the UK, then things should even out.

 

I see people advising migrants to Oz that they need double their UK salary to have the same standard of living in Australia. So that suggests that yes, the cost of living is much cheaper back in the UK. But then I see contradictory threads, like this one:

 

"So many things seemed to be the same price in dollars as it was in pounds, ie we've been pricing up a theatre room suite here in Perth, say we would pay $2000, a similar suite in the shops there would be £2000. That was the case for so many things, the most shocking by far though was the price of fuel, again what it costs me in dollars to fill my car here, it cost the same in pounds there."

 

I remember having exactly the same experience on our holiday 2 years ago - I was looking forward to shopping for undies in good ol' Marks & Sparks, then found the prices were comparable to David Jones here! Meals out were the same - pounds for dollars, for a similar quality meal to what we're used to in Sydney.

 

Pounds for dollars means these things cost almost double in the UK. So what am I missing?? What is cheaper in the UK, apart from housing and rental?

[wolvesaussie]

where in the UK are you going to live? I just got back from two weeks in the UK (West Midlands), it seems much cheaper there for me for things a tourist would do, I had a great time on 7.99 pub meals and 2 pound pints of beer . Bottle of coke is 1.10 instead of $3, beer 2-4 pounds a pint compared to 8-12 dollars. Had this nice mixed grill and a pint for 6 pounds in weatherspoons. London might be a different story but rest of UK defo cheaper..

[Lynne78]

I agree that there is a lot of contradiction. Fuel has always been more expensive in the UK and I think gas/electricity is similar, but I think a lot is more expensive. I make a lot more here but am not really any better off as I find a lot more expensive. My parents were over last year and found everything really expensive. They were really shocked by a lot of things (possibly as they are also fans of Weatherspoons!). When we went back in 2012 we found clothes shopping much cheaper and eating out very cheap in comparison. We went to see Jersey Boys in Perth last year and it was well over $100, just bought my folks tickets to go in Edinburgh and the most expensive were £53. Big cities are always going to be more expensive, but I'd agree that Uk is cheaper.

[Rupert]

We're considering moving back to the UK in our retirement. We know we're going to take a tax hit on our super/investments/pension - but if the cost of living is cheaper in the UK, then things should even out.

 

I see people advising migrants to Oz that they need double their UK salary to have the same standard of living in Australia. So that suggests that yes, the cost of living is much cheaper back in the UK. But then I see contradictory threads, like this one:

 

"So many things seemed to be the same price in dollars as it was in pounds, ie we've been pricing up a theatre room suite here in Perth, say we would pay $2000, a similar suite in the shops there would be £2000. That was the case for so many things, the most shocking by far though was the price of fuel, again what it costs me in dollars to fill my car here, it cost the same in pounds there."

 

I remember having exactly the same experience on our holiday 2 years ago - I was looking forward to shopping for undies in good ol' Marks & Sparks, then found the prices were comparable to David Jones here! Meals out were the same - pounds for dollars, for a similar quality meal to what we're used to in Sydney.

 

Pounds for dollars means these things cost almost double in the UK. So what am I missing?? What is cheaper in the UK, apart from housing and rental?

 

I have never seen anyone say that it is pounds for dollars before, although of course everyone knows that fuel is expensive in the UK, but the rest no, this is not something that is often said. Maybe take that one post with a pinch of salt?

.

[Guest]

£2000 for a sofa suite is excessive. You can get good deals for far less than that. Tbh most UK houses don't have room for a 3 piece suite these days.

 

Seriously, you can get some amazing stuff on Gumtree (I know, I sold my much loved antique dining table on there). Also places like Ikea are much cheaper in £'s and can easily fill gaps.

 

I'd think you'd be fine with furnishings and so on in the UK. Curtains, bedding, all that is well priced. End of the day it's how much your budget is. There will be something falls within it I am sure.

[Marisawright]

where in the UK are you going to live? I just got back from two weeks in the UK (West Midlands), it seems much cheaper there for me for things a tourist would do, I had a great time on 7.99 pub meals and 2 pound pints of beer . Bottle of coke is 1.10 instead of $3, beer 2-4 pounds a pint compared to 8-12 dollars. Had this nice mixed grill and a pint for 6 pounds in weatherspoons. London might be a different story but rest of UK defo cheaper..

 

I'm a real big city girl, and I've been in Oz over 30 years so I'm worried about going back to cold weather - so I'm considering Bristol. I spent a year there in the 80's and loved it, though I'm not expecting it to be the same now!!

[flag of convenience]

The pound dollar analogy was indeed a rather common comparison in times long past. I haven't heard it for quite sometime and doubt if it would apply today. Having lived in Central London in 2010, I did indeed find eating out and going to the pub cheaper. Supermarkets not too much difference in my area, but to my mind it showed how much prices has escalated in Perth in recent times. London in the past was generally clearly way ahead of Perth in so many things with regards to costs.

 

 

A retirement in UK without the asset test could be a clear advantage over Australia if you've paid up on NI. Doubt if I'd personally do it but have been tempted to look a range of retirement for future reference. Malta possibly being top European destination but Asia also enticing.

[starlight7]

I think you also need to factor in heating costs and medication costs for the inevitable cold weather and bronchitis medication when you succumb!

[Marisawright]

I have never seen anyone say that it is pounds for dollars before, although of course everyone knows that fuel is expensive in the UK, but the rest no, this is not something that is often said. Maybe take that one post with a pinch of salt?

.

 

It struck a chord with me because as tourists, that's exactly what we experienced. We can holiday in Oz country motels for under $150 a night, but touring in the UK in similar quality B&B's, we paid over £100. We also struggled to find inexpensive meals out, except in grotty pubs. Gastropubs were far more expensive than the equivalent in Sydney - the pounds for dollars comparison was true.

 

Obviously I realize that as a tourist, we were eating out and staying in holiday places all the time which is no guide to how much it costs to actually live there. Some people claim supermarket shopping is much cheaper in the UK, but someone posted a spreadsheet comparing supermarket prices and surprisingly, on balance they came out about equal.

 

One thing we have to factor into the equation is the cost of holidays. If we stay in Oz, we'll want to visit the UK/Europe every couple of years. So there's $6,000 we'll save, every time we don't have to travel half way around the world to get there! Add that up over a few years and it helps sway the equation (I hope).

[VERYSTORMY]

I think you also need to factor in heating costs and medication costs for the inevitable cold weather and bronchitis medication when you succumb!

 

This is the worst post i have seen outside of CTF in the years i have been on here

[Marisawright]

A retirement in UK without the asset test could be a clear advantage over Australia if you've paid up on NI. Doubt if I'd personally do it but have been tempted to look a range of retirement for future reference. Malta possibly being top European destination but Asia also enticing.

 

If we stay in Australia, we'd pay no tax on income from our superannuation, or (thanks to deductions) on my rental property. My oh wouldn't pay tax on his investment income because it's under the tax free threshold. Eventually, we'd qualify for the Australian pension, also tax free. On that basis, we can afford to retire early - but it is borderline!

 

If we move overseas, we'll be taxed at full rate on all of that, with NO tax-free threshold. The only solution is to cash everything in, but then we'll pay capital gains tax on the profits (and if we wait until after we've left Australia, it will be calculated on 100%). Either way, it's a substantial hit on our retirement nest egg.

 

My oh isn't a Pom so he won't get any British pension, and he won't be able to collect his Australian pension either, unless he comes back to live in Australia for a year when he's eligible to collect it.

 

I do have a small British pension and I believe I can use my Australian work record to boost it, but the British pension is low compared to the Aussie, and I'm not eligible till I'm 67 anyway.

[ramot]

I'm a real big city girl, and I've been in Oz over 30 years so I'm worried about going back to cold weather - so I'm considering Bristol. I spent a year there in the 80's and loved it, though I'm not expecting it to be the same now!!

 

There was an article about Bristol in the Australian this weekend.

We don't come from there but our UK son lives in Westbury on Trym, so we go most years for a few months. I really like Bristol, there seems plenty going on, and must admit enjoy the shopping as well, but have no desire to move there, we have too good a life here.

We have tried to mix when we are there, eg we play bridge, husband golf, but were not made at all welcome by any one which really saddened us, as we are very used to moving around during our working lives and don't have much of a problem usually making friends. I found most people had lived there for a long time, so had no concept of how a new comer felt.

We retired to Oz, with no family here then, but because we moved to an area lots of people retire to we were made so welcome and never had a problem, so as with renting choose your area carefully.

We find renting difficult because we only want a short term rent, actually it's a night mare, but there is plenty on offer if you rent for 6 months +. Be careful of the area, I know some are a bit dodgy, and don't forget that you pay council tax in UK when you rent, + I think electricity is more expensive than here, so it might be more expensive than you think.

Having said all the above, we never regretted moving for an adventure and a new experience when we retired, didn't know how long we would stay here, but have no intention of moving again it's worked for us, so if you go for it, hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

[ramot]

I think you also need to factor in heating costs and medication costs for the inevitable cold weather and bronchitis medication when you succumb!

 

Not sure about the poster, but medication is free over 60's in UK, and hopefully they qualify. You might find this a strange concept, but you get ill in Australia as well!!! and probably have to pay for medication here.

[ramot]

If we stay in Australia, we'd pay no tax on income from our superannuation, or (thanks to deductions) on my rental property. My oh wouldn't pay tax on his investment income because it's under the tax free threshold. Eventually, we'd qualify for the Australian pension, also tax free. On that basis, we can afford to retire early - but it is borderline!

 

If we move overseas, we'll be taxed at full rate on all of that, with NO tax-free threshold. The only solution is to cash everything in, but then we'll pay capital gains tax on the profits (and if we wait until after we've left Australia, it will be calculated on 100%). Either way, it's a substantial hit on our retirement nest egg.

 

My oh isn't a Pom so he won't get any British pension, and he won't be able to collect his Australian pension either, unless he comes back to live in Australia for a year when he's eligible to collect it.

 

I do have a small British pension and I believe I can use my Australian work record to boost it, but the British pension is low compared to the Aussie, and I'm not eligible till I'm 67 anyway.

 

Marisa I don't claim to know anything about the rules about you moving back to UK, but from your post you are a UK citizen?, but you mention your husband isn't a pom? but it might be worth checking his right of abode in UK? Honestly only trying to help, but I seem to think another poster's husband can only stay 6 months at a time? Hope I'm wrong.

[Marisawright]

Marisa I don't claim to know anything about the rules about you moving back to UK, but from your post you are a UK citizen?, but you mention your husband isn't a pom? but it might be worth checking his right of abode in UK? Honestly only trying to help, but I seem to think another poster's husband can only stay 6 months at a time? Hope I'm wrong.

 

He will apply on a partner visa and we have enough savings to get him over the line!

[ramot]

that's great, sorry if I was out of line, but was just a bit concerned. Probably understand the concerns more than a lot of posters as we also took a chance. Good luck with it all.

[Marisawright]

Probably understand the concerns more than a lot of posters as we also took a chance. Good luck with it all.

 

What prompted you to retire to Oz and how did you find the cost of living compared?

[Gbye grey sky]

You can certainly live relatively cheaply in the UK if you stay away from the south east or other hotspots. I saw that you were looking at saving on UK/EUR holidays but factor in that you may well want to escape the winter each year and get some sun and that can be costly. To get anywhere really warm it is long haul. Even the Canary Islands in winter is only mid teens C.

[Guest]

I loved the comment about liking the weather in Oz and so they went to Bristol haha

 

Pension:

 

Just get it paid in to your ozzy account and transfer it, same if you were British, why bother telling anyone you have moved or whatever.

 

Exchange rate:

 

Things in Australia and especially Perth due to its remoteness is costly, you do get a little more in pay but you spend it due to higher costs of living. Thats only when you are working, there are a lot of skint pensioners as a result over here just like the UK so I do not think the grass is greener on either side.

However the exchange rate has changed recently with 1 dollar being about 56p where it was about 80p a year or so ago at one point. When shopping in perth now I see prices not way off what you would pay in the UK.

Now the thing is you get a bit more pay on average in Perth but you still pay more tax so I still think you come out with less but that depends on what you do for a living.

 

I wouldn't want to retire in either country, both are similar systems and not great for a pensioner

[ramot]

We hadn't lived in UK for over 9 years before my husband retired as we had been expats in Brunei.

We have moved constantly since we married and although all 3 of our children were in UK, they all lived miles away from each other and we didn't really call any where home.

so when retirement loomed we didn't feel the pull to go back to UK, + we were very used to a warm climate.

it was easier to retire here 11 years ago, and we thought why not! we weren't ready for the cottage with roses round the door.

we knew OZ quite well as we had spent a fair bit of time here, so just decided to live here for a while, enjoy another country, and stay or move to UK if it didn't work out. Struck very lucky with our move to the Sunshine Coast. We can never say we won't move back but have no plans to at the moment.

i can't compare UK prices I'm afraid as haven't lived there for 20 + years, but we manage cost wise fine here, but all our UK retired friends manage equally well, so it's depends on individual circumstances, but we do get more discount help here on bills.

you can I think still get a free bus pass in UK over a certain age, that's a good thing, but our seniors card here gives a good discount on lots.

where you retire is a very personal decision, and I would be lying if the fact that 2 of ours have followed us here isn't a bonus, but lots of our friends live apart from children and grandchildren so for us it wasn't unusual originally to not live near them.

good luck with your decision.

[MovingtoTasmania]

Read this thread with interest. As Snifter pointed out, you can buy things cheaply in the UK, if you shop for clothes in Primark or buy your food from Aldi, but then Primark is getting a bit more costly, certainly in line with Matalan, so it depends on what you are looking for quality wise. Gas and electric prices are rising, but then you can get good deals for phone/broadband/pay TV and mobile. Water charges can be hefty, there's a TV licence to pay also. Council tax is definitely a consideration to be added in to your costs. Depending on where you live, you might not need a car, but fuel is expensive. This last winter has been very mild so we've hardly had the heating on at all and the gas bill was very low but we've had to use the tumble dryer a fair bit and the electricity bill was really high! As far as food shopping is concerned, leg of lamb from the supermarket is between £7.99-9.99 per kilo I think but if you go to the halal butchers, you can buy for about £5.99 a kilo. Same with chicken fillet, halal butchers are about £2.99 per kilo, smartprice from ASDA, pumped full of water is about £6.00 I think. You can buy a lot of smartprice/own brand products in the supermarket and those will keep costs down, for instance smartprice flour for baking for 79p instead of Macdougalls or Hovis for £1.50. It depends on what lifestyle you want and how important branding is to you but you will find that meat/chicken/lamb are more expensive compared to Australia.

 

I did a comparative shop in Coles online and bought a week's normal shopping and it came to $239 for the five of us. I spend about £150 per week at the moment in the UK. I think it's all swings and roundabouts.

 

My sofa suite cost me £1700 for a 3 seater chaise sofa, an armchair and an pouffe/ottoman, so the price for the sofa suite at £2000 is about right if you go to a store.

[Gbye grey sky]

I smile when people say they have not had the heating on all winter because it has been mild. Ours is still on but the I suppose that is why we are moving somewhere a lot warmer.

[MovingtoTasmania]

We have had a mild winter up here, with the temperatures during the day rarely falling below 3 or 4 degrees centigrade, so really, a couple of jumpers, thermal socks and fur lined slippers have been fine for me, but on days when the temps have got to freezing, the heating does go on for 2 hours maximum. Luckily, the house is very well insulated and a fairly new build (we bought it off plan) so it retains the heat quite well (thank goodness).

 

ETA: We had a winter, the year of 2011-2012 where the temperatures got to -20 regularly and the snow drifts were massive. Most winters up here a lot colder than this one, so it has been very warm in comparison and adjusting hasn't been as hard this winter.

Edited April 22, 2014 by MovingtoTasmania

[fifi69]

I have never seen anyone say that it is pounds for dollars before, although of course everyone knows that fuel is expensive in the UK, but the rest no, this is not something that is often said. Maybe take that one post with a pinch of salt?

.

 

That was me that the OP was quoting, and having just got back from the UK a couple of days ago, I can assure you that what I saw was many things being the same in dollars as pounds. What reason would I have to lie about such things. So does this mean Moving to Tasmania is lying too, because she lives there and said more or less the same thing.

 

Stop believing that only your opinion counts, and everyone else is wrong.

Edited April 22, 2014 by snifter

[Gbye grey sky]

Ours is 80 years old and not so well insulated but we tend to feel uncomfortable much below 20C. My OH is worse than me but I am feeling the cold more as I get older. I see people in t-shirts and shorts when it is under 15C and shudder but then console myself that they are probably better adapted to life in the UK than are we.