Things you miss about Oz?

[jimmyay1]

2 hours ago, beketamun said:

Are electronics more expensive here?  Last time i checked the UK was more expensive, especially for things like TV's and computers, they're far closer to the place of manufacture here.

Here's virtually the same Samsung TV.....4595 UKP, or 4995AUD?  The UK is about 60% more, and they have lower wages anyway...thus far more expensive ?

https://www.harveynorman.com.au/samsung-85-inch-qn85b-neo-qled-4k-smart-tv.html

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/samsung-qe85qn85batxxu-85-smart-4k-ultra-hd-hdr-neo-qled-tv-with-bixby-alexa-and-google-assistant-10236983.html

I just bought a 75 inch Samsung Frame for around $3,500 dollars - the same model in the UK goes for about 3,500 pounds.  much cheaper in oz. 

[MARYROSE02]

When I lived in England, near Southampton, I went to London to watch Tottenham Hotspur but on every scale of costing it made better sense to watch Southampton - easier to get to, much shorter travelling time and much cheaper to buy a ticket, but I support Spurs not Saints so all those costs are irrelevant.

Isn't that the same comparing the UK with Australia? It might make better economic sense for me to live in the UK especially with the bulk of my income coming from the UK, but I want to live in Australia. So even if the pound crashed against the dollar, slashing my income I'd still stay in Oz.

I spent $100 in Woolies on Sunday. I've still got the receipt. Should I go thru the items one by one comparing them with the cost of the same items at ASDA? But then surely I have to take into account that I'd have to spend 20 minutes each way driving to ASDA and factor in the costs of running a car when I can walk to Woolies? (I couldn't think of anything sadder then doing that).

I paid $139 for a jacket at Zara in Broadbeach factoring in $2.50 for the tram cost though I could have got the free bus to Pac Fair. If I took a photo of the jacket someone could go to Zara in England and see if they can find the same jacket.

Someone with a better grasp on budgeting a life will explain how and why I'm wrong?

 

On 09/07/2022 at 05:44, Richie2022 said:

What I feel a lot of people in the UK don't realise when they move to Australia is that you can't compare wages to wages. The reason for this is the high cost of living in Australia. Food, electronics, furniture etc are all more expensive than the Uk. To register my car here nothing fancy costs $850 per year and we have 2 cars which are a necessity because public transport here is useless. Housing is incredibly expensive especially here to buy. Almost everything is sold by auction which pushes the price up, unless you plan to build which has its own costs and risks. Also being so far from USA, Europe etc makes holidaying there incredibly costly. You also get slightly less holidays here with work getting 4 weeks whereas i believe you get a little more in the UK. There is also a massive drug problem in Australia and it has plenty of crime. Anyone looking at Australia with rose coloured glasses id say just really think about what it is you want. If you also haven't guessed currently living in Melbourne and planning on moving back to the UK with my wife and Daughter.

[ramot]

1 hour ago, MARYROSE02 said:

When I lived in England, near Southampton, I went to London to watch Tottenham Hotspur but on every scale of costing it made better sense to watch Southampton - easier to get to, much shorter travelling time and much cheaper to buy a ticket, but I support Spurs not Saints so all those costs are irrelevant.

Isn't that the same comparing the UK with Australia? It might make better economic sense for me to live in the UK especially with the bulk of my income coming from the UK, but I want to live in Australia. So even if the pound crashed against the dollar, slashing my income I'd still stay in Oz.

I spent $100 in Woolies on Sunday. I've still got the receipt. Should I go thru the items one by one comparing them with the cost of the same items at ASDA? But then surely I have to take into account that I'd have to spend 20 minutes each way driving to ASDA and factor in the costs of running a car when I can walk to Woolies? (I couldn't think of anything sadder then doing that).

I paid $139 for a jacket at Zara in Broadbeach factoring in $2.50 for the tram cost though I could have got the free bus to Pac Fair. If I took a photo of the jacket someone could go to Zara in England and see if they can find the same jacket.

Someone with a better grasp on budgeting a life will explain how and why I'm wrong?

 

Let’s be honest, if you are happy where you live, you probably just get on with life.

If you are unhappy with life, you probably constantly compare countries and pick on the negative of  the country where you are unhappy.

Sometimes I wonder is it actually a country’s fault if it doesn’t suit you and you are unhappy?

Edited July 12, 2022 by ramot

[Toots]

10 minutes ago, ramot said:

Let’s be honest, if you are happy where you live, you probably just get on with life.

If you are unhappy with life, you probably constantly compare countries and pick on the negative of  the country where you are unhappy.

Sometimes I wonder is it actually a country’s fault if it doesn’t suit you and you are unhappy?

I think that's true.  Can't say I was ever homesick and gave up comparing countries long, long ago.  Whenever I went back to Scotland it was to see Mum and since she died there is no pull at all to go back now.  The thought of airports and long flights leaves me cold.  Our younger son is still overseas and we may go to see him after all the flight hassles (queues, delays etc) have settled down.  In no rush to travel anywhere just now.  Perfectly happy in my wee bubble here in Tassie.

[Marisawright]

56 minutes ago, ramot said:

Sometimes I wonder is it actually a country’s fault if it doesn’t suit you and you are unhappy?

I think "it doesn't suit me" is exactly the situation.  The trouble is that when someone says, "Australia doesn't suit me", other people question why, and push for answers.  It's often hard to put your finger on why a country doesn't suit you, so we all start grabbing for the things that annoy us (which are only surface symptoms, not the whole story). 

[MARYROSE02]

2 hours ago, ramot said:

Let’s be honest, if you are happy where you live, you probably just get on with life.

If you are unhappy with life, you probably constantly compare countries and pick on the negative of  the country where you are unhappy.

Sometimes I wonder is it actually a country’s fault if it doesn’t suit you and you are unhappy?

Before I came to Australia I did hours and hours of research scouring the libraries for books about Australia and subscribing to that newspaper (Australian Outlook?) but it never occurred to me to try to compare the cost of living.

Perhaps I should have done? Perhaps I would have seen the costs of living in Australia and the awful FX rate at that time (1978) and thought, "No, the costs don't add up. The debits outweigh the credits. Australia is not for me. It's just too expensive." And I would have been right!?!?

[MARYROSE02]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

I think "it doesn't suit me" is exactly the situation.  The trouble is that when someone says, "Australia doesn't suit me", other people question why, and push for answers.  It's often hard to put your finger on why a country doesn't suit you, so we all start grabbing for the things that annoy us (which are only surface symptoms, not the whole story). 

Perhaps we are thinking that, between the people who love Australia from day one and the ones who hate it from day one, there are others who are undecided, and we can convince them to stay?

I always remember reading about a couple who went to NZ and they hated it, and decided to go home. But first they had to save up enough to pay for the passage back, and by the time they'd got the money together, they'd changed their minds and fallen in love with NZ 

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Perhaps we are thinking that, between the people who love Australia from day one and the ones who hate it from day one, there are others who are undecided, and we can convince them to stay?

However, if your hope is to convince them, then you need to be very thoughtful in how you respond.  Implying that they're talking nonsense and they've got it all wrong, won't convince them of anything.  It will only get their backs up because you're insulting them.

[MARYROSE02]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

However, if your hope is to convince them, then you need to be very thoughtful in how you respond.  Implying that they're talking nonsense and they've got it all wrong, won't convince them of anything.  It will only get their backs up because you're insulting them.

Well, they might have got my back up by telling me that "Australia is boring and there's nothing to do!"

[Blue Flu]

20 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Before I came to Australia I did hours and hours of research scouring the libraries for books about Australia and subscribing to that newspaper (Australian Outlook?) but it never occurred to me to try to compare the cost of living.

Perhaps I should have done? Perhaps I would have seen the costs of living in Australia and the awful FX rate at that time (1978) and thought, "No, the costs don't add up. The debits outweigh the credits. Australia is not for me. It's just too expensive." And I would have been right!?!?

The Australian Outlook was in fact a propaganda journal published  I think monthly. That in fact did give comparisons in cost of certain items as a pitch to sell Australia. But coming in early twenties, akin todays Back packer it would be hardly a major concern surely? Besides Australia was still The Lucky Country in those days, with low costs compared to UK and a very obvious higher standard of living for working people.

The Australia of today is different in most every aspect from those days. Especially cost. 

[MARYROSE02]

8 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

The Australian Outlook was in fact a propaganda journal published  I think monthly. That in fact did give comparisons in cost of certain items as a pitch to sell Australia. But coming in early twenties, akin todays Back packer it would be hardly a major concern surely? Besides Australia was still The Lucky Country in those days, with low costs compared to UK and a very obvious higher standard of living for working people.

The Australia of today is different in most every aspect from those days. Especially cost. 

It didn't seem like "The Lucky Country" to me (A ironic term if I recall). I went from a secure and well paid job and a pleasant life living with my parents, to living in hostels, scrabbling for parc jobs, watching every penny, and travelling huge distances in buses. I'd run out of money after 3 months and was going home but my Dad persuaded me to stay and he sent me more money 

One thing I did not do was spend my by time comparing prices in Oz with UK. I had no common measure. I was doing it tough in Oz because I couldn't get a job not because Oz was dearer or cheaper for that matter. Once I got a job my financial problems disappeared.

Australia seems much better to me now because I don't need to work and I've got no debts. I imagine if you've got a mortgage, other loans, school fees etc, it doesn't matter where you live or when you live(d). My mortgage interest rate in 1987 was 18 per cent(?)

Was Australian Outlook "propaganda?" I can't remember. Was it an arm of the Australian govt? Whatever. It was one of the few ways I could find out about life in OZ, along with books from the library and maybe trips to London to the state govt houses.

Isn't it usually other aspects of life in Australia that make people unhappy? Homesickness, unable to settle, not getting on or fitting in with Australia, loneliness. The cost of living might be another strand, the "straw".

[Blue Flu]

6 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

It didn't seem like "The Lucky Country" to me (A ironic term if I recall). I went from a secure and well paid job and a pleasant life living with my parents, to living in hostels, scrabbling for parc jobs, watching every penny, and travelling huge distances in buses. I'd run out of money after 3 months and was going home but my Dad persuaded me to stay and he sent me more money 

One thing I did not do was spend my by time comparing prices in Oz with UK. I had no common measure. I was doing it tough in Oz because I couldn't get a job not because Oz was dearer or cheaper for that matter. Once I got a job my financial problems disappeared.

Australia seems much better to me now because I don't need to work and I've got no debts. I imagine if you've got a mortgage, other loans, school fees etc, it doesn't matter where you live or when you live(d). My mortgage interest rate in 1987 was 18 per cent(?)

Was Australian Outlook "propaganda?" I can't remember. Was it an arm of the Australian govt? Whatever. It was one of the few ways I could find out about life in OZ, along with books from the library and maybe trips to London to the state govt houses.

Isn't it usually other aspects of life in Australia that make people unhappy? Homesickness, unable to settle, not getting on or fitting in with Australia, loneliness. The cost of living might be another strand, the "straw".

You need to consider the age you were at the time. I as an example, knew full well, London was far more expensive than Perth, but London was so many more times interesting in most all aspects that the cost was secondary. I could still eat out most nights in London , as it was great for cheap but good meals. All places from that era gone. Most a long time ago. It wouldn't be the same these days, nor would it have been for some decades. 

Yes. Australian Outlook was most definitely a government published propaganda journal. I picked it up every time passed Australia House . The library inside Australia House was indeed good. I recall when all the Australian states had houses in London as well. One could read the local newspapers to get a better idea of the state one was interested in. There was even old newspapers you could take home. 

There's a range of issues that make people unhappy. Misrepresentation  (in over glamourization) would likely be a feature along with the issues you raised. These days economics would feature higher with the demise of certain better economic outcomes for most all.  

[Toots]

12 minutes ago, Blue Flu said:

You need to consider the age you were at the time. I as an example, knew full well, London was far more expensive than Perth, but London was so many more times interesting in most all aspects that the cost was secondary. I could still eat out most nights in London , as it was great for cheap but good meals. All places from that era gone. Most a long time ago. It wouldn't be the same these days, nor would it have been for some decades. 

Yes. Australian Outlook was most definitely a government published propaganda journal. I picked it up every time passed Australia House . The library inside Australia House was indeed good. I recall when all the Australian states had houses in London as well. One could read the local newspapers to get a better idea of the state one was interested in. There was even old newspapers you could take home. 

There's a range of issues that make people unhappy. Misrepresentation  (in over glamourization) would likely be a feature along with the issues you raised. These days economics would feature higher with the demise of certain better economic outcomes for most all.  

I think I would have been living in London maybe 10 years before you did??  I do remember lots of really good places to eat at a cheapish prices.  One of them was called The Hotpot.  I remember going there at least once a week with OH.  There were a couple of them round about the Cromwell Road area.

I don't recall Australian Outlook at all but I do remember going to the library inside Australia House with my husband as he used to read a few of the Aussie newspapers there.

[MARYROSE02]

1 hour ago, Toots said:

I think I would have been living in London maybe 10 years before you did??  I do remember lots of really good places to eat at a cheapish prices.  One of them was called The Hotpot.  I remember going there at least once a week with OH.  There were a couple of them round about the Cromwell Road area.

I don't recall Australian Outlook at all but I do remember going to the library inside Australia House with my husband as he used to read a few of the Aussie newspapers there.

I only went to Qld House and WA too I think after I decided to fly to Singapore and get a ship to Fremantle/Freemantle (I confuse it with the suburb of Southampton). I don't think I ever went to NSW House if there is one as I had no intention of going there, but spent most of my life in Sydney.

I spoke to a young mum from Newcastle upon Tyne today in the Laundromat in Surfers. I told her I was born in South Shields. She lives in Northern Beaches of Sydney - Elanora Heights so we had that in common as I lived in Narrabeen.

I said to her, "Is life in Australia better than in England?"

"100 per cent - everything lifestyle, weather". What about your parents? I said ."They're ok, come out to see me." I didn't ask her any leading questions!

[FirstWorldProblems]

1. getting the ferry to and from work - it doesn't matter how tough my day was being on that boat with the great scenery and generally blue skies would invariably mean I got home relaxed and in a good mood.  At least until the first interaction with my ex
2. Everything was so cheap.  It was 2002, $3 to £1 and I was on secondment and being paid in £'s.
3. Food courts.  In Sydney CBD it seemed like every street had a building with a foodcourt underneath.
4. Kebab's.  The australian Kebab wrapped in lebanese bread is superior
5. Public BBQ's.  
6. Light beer.  I don't drink these days but when I did I enjoyed spending all day supping but not getting hammered.  Light beer was everywhere and tasted ok
7. Verandah's
8. Twisties
9. Bunnings.  I brought a few caps back from my last visit and wear them regularly.  I assumed I'd be mobbed by Aussies as I meander through the supermarket, but so far no interest
10. Aussie fish and chips.  So much nicer than in the UK

[Skani]

On 09/07/2022 at 05:44, Richie2022 said:

To register my car here nothing fancy costs $850 per year 

I remember a discussion about this on PIO some time ago.  I think  it was concluded that  car ownership was actually cheaper in Oz because in all (except NSW?) compulsory third party insurance is included in the registration fee and in the UK required insurance in addition to the rego fee is considerably higher?   My rego (including compulsory third party) is $455.

[DIG85]

3 hours ago, Skani said:

I remember a discussion about this on PIO some time ago.  I think  it was concluded that  car ownership was actually cheaper in Oz because in all (except NSW?) compulsory third party insurance is included in the registration fee and in the UK required insurance in addition to the rego fee is considerably higher?   My rego (including compulsory third party) is $455.

Does that take into account the capital cost of the car? Because in my, admittedly little, experience, the cost of a car is far greater on Australia than the UK.

[FirstWorldProblems]

20 minutes ago, DIG85 said:

Does that take into account the capital cost of the car? Because in my, admittedly little, experience, the cost of a car is far greater on Australia than the UK.

Don't used cars tend to hold their value better in Australia though?

[Tulip1]

4 hours ago, Skani said:

I remember a discussion about this on PIO some time ago.  I think  it was concluded that  car ownership was actually cheaper in Oz because in all (except NSW?) compulsory third party insurance is included in the registration fee and in the UK required insurance in addition to the rego fee is considerably higher?   My rego (including compulsory third party) is $455.

My car insurance is £220 a year and that’s full comprehensive.  I expect third party would be much cheaper but why would you want limited cover.  Cars only get registered when new so certainly nothing to pay annually. 

[Amber Snowball]

54 minutes ago, Tulip1 said:

My car insurance is £220 a year and that’s full comprehensive.  I expect third party would be much cheaper but why would you want limited cover.  Cars only get registered when new so certainly nothing to pay annually. 

Rego in Australia is called road tax here.

[calNgary]

3 hours ago, DIG85 said:

Does that take into account the capital cost of the car? Because in my, admittedly little, experience, the cost of a car is far greater on Australia than the UK.

Depends what car, some are cheaper here than the UK if bought new. They hold their value wayyyyy more so second hand prices can seem steep in comparrison.

        Cal x

[beketamun]

3 hours ago, DIG85 said:

Does that take into account the capital cost of the car? Because in my, admittedly little, experience, the cost of a car is far greater on Australia than the UK.

Only for some...I remember Ford Fiestas being expensive in Australia when they're cheap as chips in England. This was years ago though.

But compare Toyotas.   Rav4 Hybrid top of the range AWD.    UKP 49,308.  AUD57,354.    That's about $30,000 Aussie dollars cheaper if you buy in Australia.

 

[Tulip1]

3 hours ago, Amber Snowball said:

Rego in Australia is called road tax here.

I didn’t know that thanks 

[MARYROSE02]

I haven't got a car and don't want or need one but how do I compare the costs of living without a car in Australia with living without a car in the UK?

As I'm over 60 I get a senior's travel card which means a maximum of $2.50 on most public transport, same in Qld as it is in NSW.

I've got a feeling I'd get a free bus pass in England? Does that cover train too?

But then in England I lived in a village with limited bus service whereas in Surfers I've got a wonderful tram but that's only wonderful because of where I live SO how do I compare the two countries?

 

[Tulip1]

5 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I haven't got a car and don't want or need one but how do I compare the costs of living without a car in Australia with living without a car in the UK?

As I'm over 60 I get a senior's travel card which means a maximum of $2.50 on most public transport, same in Qld as it is in NSW.

I've got a feeling I'd get a free bus pass in England? Does that cover train too?

But then in England I lived in a village with limited bus service whereas in Surfers I've got a wonderful tram but that's only wonderful because of where I live SO how do I compare the two countries?

 

I think it’s very hard to compare the two.  I think most people would say some things are better in Australia and some things are better in the UK.  It can also depend on what area you live in.  A dump is a dump in either country.  Both countries have many positives and both can offer people the chance to live a wonderful life.  

Edited July 14, 2022 by Tulip1