2023 Cost of Living Comparison

[Parley]

I am getting the strong feeling FWP doesn't want to come. All these posts inviting people to highlight all the bad things possible about Australia.

My advice is to change mindset, look for the positives or fear end up like Bug Family.

I am serious about this. Go with the flow a bit more and embrace the adventure. While planning is good to an extent all this inviting everyone to moan about the cost of things, the dangerous wildlife, the cold houses etc. It is not going to end well.

[InnerVoice]

7 hours ago, Parley said:

I am getting the strong feeling FWP doesn't want to come. All these posts inviting people to highlight all the bad things possible about Australia.

My advice is to change mindset, look for the positives or fear end up like Bug Family.

I am serious about this. Go with the flow a bit more and embrace the adventure. While planning is good to an extent all this inviting everyone to moan about the cost of things, the dangerous wildlife, the cold houses etc. It is not going to end well.

Or maybe he's just getting his ducks in a row? It's what I'd do in his situation.

[InnerVoice]

10 hours ago, rammygirl said:

Not exactly true. Good insulation can keep heat out of your home in summer, that and good shading can allow sun in in winter and keep it out in summer. Our sons rental is two storey and upstairs is very hot in summer as the sun simply boils it as pitiful insulation.

English houses have more carpet traditionally and little overhang on roof.  If it gets hot it stays hot, so closing curtains and letting in cool air at night is important. 

Insulation will slow down the rate of heat loss or gain, but ultimately you will need some form of heating or air-con depending what the external temperature falls/rises to. We have good insulation in our loft which slows down the rate our house heats up, so in summer we don't need to stick the air-con on until mid-afternoon (or early evening if we're at work). Our property is also slightly elevated so it catches the ocean breezes when there's a decent easterly.

[Marisawright]

50 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

Insulation will slow down the rate of heat loss or gain, but ultimately you will need some form of heating or air-con depending what the external temperature falls/rises to.

Depends where you live though.  When I lived in a beachside suburb in Sydney, I had no heating and no air con.  I was lucky that the unit had windows on both the east side and the west side.  In summer i'd come home and it was a hot box, but I could open the windows on each side and get the through breeze, and it came down to a pleasant temperature in no time.  

I lived in Africa for three years with no heater and no air con, either.  

[InnerVoice]

17 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Depends where you live though.  When I lived in a beachside suburb in Sydney, I had no heating and no air con.  I was lucky that the unit had windows on both the east side and the west side.  In summer i'd come home and it was a hot box, but I could open the windows on each side and get the through breeze, and it came down to a pleasant temperature in no time.  

I lived in Africa for three years with no heater and no air con, either.  

Physics is the same wherever you live unless you're at the centre of the galaxy, but I'd agree that every location has a microclimate that makes it more or less liveable.

I lived in a room in Bangkok for a year and a half without air-con, but I wouldn't use that as my benchmark for comfortable living!

[FirstWorldProblems]

12 hours ago, Parley said:

I am getting the strong feeling FWP doesn't want to come. All these posts inviting people to highlight all the bad things possible about Australia.

My advice is to change mindset, look for the positives or fear end up like Bug Family.

I am serious about this. Go with the flow a bit more and embrace the adventure. While planning is good to an extent all this inviting everyone to moan about the cost of things, the dangerous wildlife, the cold houses etc. It is not going to end well.

Not at all.  It's quite the opposite actually.

I've been very upfront that I have two concerns about emigrating again back to Australia:

• that there are aspects of my lifestyle that are a better fit to the UK 
• I'm concerned about the cost of living on my children.  The decision we make to move doesn't just impact me and my wife

Now that we are just 2.5 years away from the move I'm really getting into planning mode.  It's who I am - it's about feeling in control.  Far from looking for reasons not to make the move, I'm focussing on the positive reasons to make the move.  Getting excited about where to live, researching house prices, imagining living the Aussie lifestyle again, spending more time with the family etc.   

Part of my planning process is identifying potential downsides and then

1. coming to terms with them so you don't focus on them later
2. finding ways to mitigate

My recent posts are an attempt to contribute more to the forum than in Chewing the Fat.  I'm hopeful that as I am considering and researching these topics, that others who come afterwards (and people who like to read, but not post) will find them useful.  If you look at my posts again through a more positive lens, you'll see that I'm trying to gather information so that I can plan.

Coming back to my two concerns above

• narrowing down where we live is so I can still get to spend time trail running and cycling on quiet roads, despite living in a big metropolis
• my post about the cost of living is all about how it seems to have gone up in the UK and thus there might not be much of a delta any more, so perhaps not such a big thing after all and nothing to be fretting about

So.....nope, it's the opposite.  I welcome all the helpful responses, both those highlighting things to avoid and things to embrace.  They really help

Edited August 14, 2023 by FirstWorldProblems

[InnerVoice]

7 hours ago, FirstWorldProblems said:

• narrowing down where we live is so I can still get to spend time trail running and cycling on quiet roads, despite living in a big metropolis

That's something I really miss about Australian life - quaint country lanes to jog and bike along. It doesn't stop me though as this unflattering photo will testify (my wife's favourite pastime!) Fortunately Sydney has an excellent network of bike tracks, and there are some great places to visit no too far from the city, so you'll have plenty of options.

[Bulya]

On 13/08/2023 at 19:25, Cheery Thistle said:

I have yet to see anything advertised for sale that remotely resembles anything ‘Uber cool’. Everything has a distinctly 70’s vibe haha! Do Aussies just not do up their homes? 

Nearly everybody around here does..

[Amber Snowball]

On 13/08/2023 at 10:25, Cheery Thistle said:

I have yet to see anything advertised for sale that remotely resembles anything ‘Uber cool’. Everything has a distinctly 70’s vibe haha! Do Aussies just not do up their homes? 

I always had the impression that houses were built to last 20-30 years and then be knocked down and rebuilt and that was what happened.

 

[Toots]

19 minutes ago, Amber Snowball said:

I always had the impression that houses were built to last 20-30 years and then be knocked down and rebuilt and that was what happened.

 

Our house was built 70 years ago.  It has been renovated over the years but it's a good well built solid house and it would be a shame to bulldoze it and replace it with a brand new one.  There are many houses near us which are over 100 years old.  I think houses were better built then.  An old weatherboard in the next street was bulldozed last year and the new house still isn't totally finished after 12 months.  Watching it being built though, you can tell it's a quality build and it blends in with the older houses in the same street. 

[Skani]

1 hour ago, Amber Snowball said:

I always had the impression that houses were built to last 20-30 years and then be knocked down and rebuilt and that was what happened.

 

That's laughable!  One of the joys of GoogleEarth is being able to "revisit" all 17  houses I've lived in (in 3 different states) in Australia.  The most modern would be at least 40 years old  now,  the  2 oldest would have been built around 1880. 

[InnerVoice]

2 hours ago, Amber Snowball said:

I always had the impression that houses were built to last 20-30 years and then be knocked down and rebuilt and that was what happened.

 

1 hour ago, Skani said:

That's laughable!  One of the joys of GoogleEarth is being able to "revisit" all 17  houses I've lived in (in 3 different states) in Australia.  The most modern would be at least 40 years old  now,  the  2 oldest would have been built around 1880. 

There are some gorgeous old houses in the southern states. That was the first thing we noticed when we got off the plane in Launceston, earlier this year - you wouldn't dream of knocking them. But here in Queensland there are plenty of houses, constructed mostly from wood, where consideration wasn't given to rainfall and the humidity. There are many that are so rotten it's surprising they don't collapse under their own weight.

The cost of demolishing and rebuilding a property in the UK is significant because of the materials used, but that's not the case over here, which is why it's more frequently the preferred option.

[Toots]

5 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

 

There are some gorgeous old houses in the southern states. That was the first thing we noticed when we got off the plane in Launceston, earlier this year - you wouldn't dream of knocking them. But here in Queensland there are plenty of houses, constructed mostly from wood, where consideration wasn't given to rainfall and the humidity. There are many that are so rotten it's surprising they don't collapse under their own weight.

The cost of demolishing and rebuilding a property in the UK is significant because of the materials used, but that's not the case over here, which is why it's more frequently the preferred option.

@Amber Snowball probably means more modern houses that have been built on the cheap.  Not made to last.

[Ken]

On 13/08/2023 at 19:25, Cheery Thistle said:

I have yet to see anything advertised for sale that remotely resembles anything ‘Uber cool’. Everything has a distinctly 70’s vibe haha! Do Aussies just not do up their homes? 

Not if they're planning to sell them. They leave it for the buyer to modernise to their taste. 

[Toots]

2 hours ago, Ken said:

Not if they're planning to sell them. They leave it for the buyer to modernise to their taste. 

We get younger people buying an older house here.  They live in it for a few years while renovating then sell for a good profit.  Like this one not far from us, built in 1910.  They did a good job at renovating.  The house sold in less than a month.

https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-tas-devonport-140603403

 

[Cheery Thistle]

I think I might be over refurbs. Have done 4 flats and 2 houses in the last 7 years! Wouldn’t mind just buying out of the box this time maybe!