Taff Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 For those who have moved back after living in Aus for a period, how expensive to your find the UK compared with Aus? I was having a debate with a mate online, who said I'd find living in the UK very expensive compared to what I am used too. We've been back there regularly, (last time, Nov 2015,) and never found it expensive, but there again, we were on holiday and had saved up sufficient cash to enjoy ourselves. Our planned budget for our return is £24,000 pa for a retired couple, mortgage free, are we going to need to scrimp and save? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Petrol and public transport are more expensive, about 50% more. Food is a lot cheaper but eating out can be about the same. Alcohol is about 30% cheaper. Services such as vets, dentists etc about the same. Utilitues are less, about 50% less. Council tax is double the rate bill Depends of course on the exchange rate, I always use 50 p to $1 as that's the long term average. It also depends on where you live, housing outside of London is substantially cheaper. I would say 24k is a realistic budget for a comfortable lifestyle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 The thing is you have to stop comparing one to the other. There will be swings and roundabouts but you can't control the relative differences or f/x rates so they become irrelevant. What you can control is your budget and spending so can you have the lifestyle on you want on 24k GBP pa (with no accommodation costs)? No idea as I don't know your lifestyle or the cost of stuff in where you live. Build a bottom up budget for the main categories eg below Utilities, Groceries & household stuff, Insurances, Health, Leisure, Car expenses, Travel, Holidays etc. Track your spending for a few weeks or months and you will get a pretty good picture where your money is going. Whether it was more or less in Australia becomes irrelevant (although interesting) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 2 minutes ago, Collie said: TBuild a bottom up budget for the main categories eg below Utilities, Groceries & household stuff, Insurances, Health, Leisure, Car expenses, Travel, Holidays etc. Track your spending for a few weeks or months and you will get a pretty good picture where your money is going. Whether it was more or less in Australia becomes irrelevant (although interesting) Which when you are living in Aus will be in Aussie $ so you need to know the rough UK equivalent to plan ahead. I did what you said and build up a bottom up budget but getting UK costs was an issue. Plenty of sites give you an average but the average is often very different to a single person or a retired couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Yep but if you track your spending in a spreadsheet, you will get a good picture after a month or 2 and that will help you frame a budget going forward. I've been doing this for years. I try to pay for nearly everything by card (credit card or debit card), then you can download your transactions into a spreadsheet easily and categorise them. Pay off you credit card in full by the due date though. I am an accountant, though so like my spreadsheets It doesn't have to be exact but will give you a good idea. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I also track my monthly spending but it was in Aussie $ as I was living there so you need to know the equivalent cost in the UK to convert to a UK budget. That was the hard part, getting that info. There have been a few surprises the main one was council tax, my mum pays twice the amount I did in Sydney for a house less than half the size. Vet and dental fees were the other.I thought they would be cheaper. The other potential discrepancy is energy bills. It varies considerably in Aus depending how much you use. I know people who paid twice as much as me because they ran their heater all day, I just rugged up. My mums heating bills are around the same as mine but her house is much better heated ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 It will vary a lot according to where you live and I can give some examples that vary from above dramatically. Our vet in Australia now charges $180 for a consultation - I know because my wife accidently called them the other day thinking it was our new vet (she just looked at the contacts and saw vet). Our vet here charged me £23 for a consultation on Saturday. Dentists we find hugely cheaper. My wife had a complex crown replacement in WA and even with the highest level insurance we were out of pocket over $3000. She is probably going to need it done again and we are looking at a fraction of that. Food, we find a lot cheaper, though WA is the most expensive part of Oz for that. Eating out varies a lot. Petrol is a lot more - about double Oz, but, we don't drive as much. For us, rent is a LOT less. We have a similar lifestyle to when I was earning about $110k but am now earning £30k 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 4 minutes ago, VERYSTORMY said: It will vary a lot according to where you live and I can give some examples that vary from above dramatically. Our vet in Australia now charges $180 for a consultation - I know because my wife accidently called them the other day thinking it was our new vet (she just looked at the contacts and saw vet). Our vet here charged me £23 for a consultation on Saturday. Dentists we find hugely cheaper. My wife had a complex crown replacement in WA and even with the highest level insurance we were out of pocket over $3000. She is probably going to need it done again and we are looking at a fraction of that. Food, we find a lot cheaper, though WA is the most expensive part of Oz for that. Eating out varies a lot. Petrol is a lot more - about double Oz, but, we don't drive as much. For us, rent is a LOT less. We have a similar lifestyle to when I was earning about $110k but am now earning £30k $180 for a consultation! Nothing like that here. That is a rip-off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I am thinking of driving to Scotland next time my dog is ill! Seriously the comment about location is spot on. I moved from Sydney to Birmingham. Excluding the cost of a house/rent I would say it is cheaper but not as cheap as some posters suggest particularly those moving from WA which seems to cost a fair bit more than other parts of Aus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wa7 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 That vet must have mugs for customers, I have only ever paid between $65 - $80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 12 minutes ago, Wa7 said: That vet must have mugs for customers, I have only ever paid between $65 - $80 Given the time zone difference it may have been the cost of an emergency appointment. I have paid over $100 on a public holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wa7 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 16 minutes ago, ScottieGirl said: Given the time zone difference it may have been the cost of an emergency appointment. I have paid over $100 on a public holiday. My reply is in response to very stormy's vet now charging $180 for a consultation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinbjulieb Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I would say it is cheaper here on the whole. I was spending up to $300 per WEEK for a family of 4 in Perth and now I am spending between £80-£100 per week, including wine. Utilities are cheaper, most definitely electricity! Mobiles and internet are a fraction of the cost here with unlimited broadband. Rates, yes a bit more expensive as is petrol, but I don't drive as much as the kids get the free school bus from the village and we have local, very competitively priced shop/post office!Car insurance and home insurance definitely much cheaper for us. Eating out varies, but on the whole cheaper than Perth. Clothes/household shopping much cheaper and much better quality. Vets bills are cheaper and so are the flea tablets and the like that you buy from pet shops in Australia. Our vet actually does a payment plan where you pay £9.50 per month (for a dog under 10kg) and this includes all boosters, 6 monthly check ups, flea tabs for the year and worming tabs for the year and a discount off other services. Rent is about the same but we are living in a Grade 2 listed farmhouse, by choice, but it is our dream house and hopefully will buy it!! And don't get me started on the price of school uniforms!!! I know this doesn't apply to the OP but others maybe interested. I just bought my two children uniforms for September, including blazers for about £150, for both! Nothing like the around $600 we spent on our son(so just one set of uniforms) for his first year in high school in Australia!!! Sent from my iPhone using PomsinOz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinker78 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I do find a lot of things cheaper, it's just a case of more competition for your business. I find I walk more here, with more local facilities, so although petrol is more expensive, i use the car less for long distances. Trains are awesome- yes, expensive but if you book in advance you can get some real bargains. Cheap flights are in abundance. Dentists- absolutely- still can find NHS ones and although you pair it's minimal. Basic medicines much cheaper. Vets- i too paid around 30 quid for a consult. Eating out- some real bargains in pubs and whatnot- kids eat free in a lot of places. High end- take your pick. Can live as madly or cheaply as you want. Schooling yes- everyone can get uniform in local supermarkets which is cheap as chips. Days out- lots of free things to do if you look for them. We do a lot of museums, parks and fetes etc in the summer- take picnics etc. Booze- variety better and cheaper. What's different? Petrol yes- council tax yes- rent- outrageous in some parts of the country but same goes some parts of Australia. Stuff like mobile contracts and internet- loads of competition for your business so yes, more options. BBC still churns out decent TV so the licence fee isn't a biggie. I'd say a few things are more expensive but are counteracted by other cheaper things such as food. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinker78 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 PS. a lot of families are living on a lot less than 24K, so for a retired couple that sounds fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patphillips47 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 If your retired prescriptions are free , a bus pass means free travel at certain times and to be honest we used the car far less in the UK as public transport was so easy Rates are much more expensive as is petrol but because we did not use the car as much we were not using as much Swings and roundabouts in lots of ways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Well this has been a very informative thread for me - I shall be doing some vet shopping ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BacktoDemocracy Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 5 hours ago, Taff said: For those who have moved back after living in Aus for a period, how expensive to your find the UK compared with Aus? I was having a debate with a mate online, who said I'd find living in the UK very expensive compared to what I am used too. We've been back there regularly, (last time, Nov 2015,) and never found it expensive, but there again, we were on holiday and had saved up sufficient cash to enjoy ourselves. Our planned budget for our return is £24,000 pa for a retired couple, mortgage free, are we going to need to scrimp and save? It's very difficult because everyones lifestyle is different, but we have just gone thro a period when we were managing on 75% of that and we weren't managing to live within it, one thing is rates on housing which for us was over 1500 on a 4 bed detached and we were running 2 cars until recently and paying for 450 miles of commuting each week, having stopped one of the cars and commuting I think we are just about close to living within the figure. You need to change provider for pretty well all your major suppliers for gas electric insurances yearly to get the best deals and although it's a pain if you shop at places like Lidl for some things you can get weekly costs down, wi-fi, phone and tv packages are cheaper here and there is a lot more competition than in Australia for pretty well everything. On 24k you will be fine, but don't forget that in your first year you will have a lot of set up costs and you will have to establish a credit history to get the most beneficial deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 If you are in Scotland, prescriptions are free for everyone! A major save for me as I take three medications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amibovered Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 In England you can get a PPC £104 for 12 months, covers the cost of all prescriptions, quite a saving on our medication costs compared to Australia. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tea4too Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said: If you are in Scotland, prescriptions are free for everyone! A major save for me as I take three medications. 3 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said: They are few for everyone in Wales too, and Northern Ireland I believe. Only England's residents pay for prescribed medication...unless they claim an exemption. T x Edited July 31, 2017 by tea4too Stormy's post quoted twice, for some reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BacktoDemocracy Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 4 hours ago, tea4too said: They are few for everyone in Wales too, and Northern Ireland I believe. Only England's residents pay for prescribed medication...unless they claim an exemption. T x Prescriptions are free for OAP's in England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 Many thanks people for confirming what we thought to be true, it's a game of swings and roundabouts. ScottieGirl pretty much nailed our dilemma here: Quote Which when you are living in Aus will be in Aussie $ so you need to know the rough UK equivalent to plan ahead. I did what you said and build up a bottom up budget but getting UK costs was an issue. Plenty of sites give you an average but the average is often very different to a single person or a retired couple. I also track my monthly spending but it was in Aussie $ as I was living there so you need to know the equivalent cost in the UK to convert to a UK budget. That was the hard part, getting that info. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Yeah - you'll just have to have a couple of months experience to get a feel for things. Worth tracking it though (there are apps you can use, I like my excel spreadsheets though), after that you can make a budget/plan for going forward. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergiep Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 My partner earns around 55k a year and i am self employed working just about 10 hours a week so my income pays for little bits and pieces like kids shoes and school uniforms, trips to cinema. We never have any spare cash!! Our biggest expenses are a loan, our mortgage and nursery fees for our youngest whilst i study.Sent from my GT-I9505 using PomsinOz mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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