Why do some of you UK folk think stuff is more expensive in Oz?

[Guest Locksley]

My wife and I were back in the UK for a few months last year and were shocked at the price of just about everything (except paperback novels).

 

I've been flitting around this forum and someone said that Oz was more expensive than the UK generally speaking.

Well generally speaking a tin of Heinz soup here costs between $2 and $3 bucks, whereas in the UK the same tin of soup was on average 2 quid or above.

When we were there 2 quid was about $4.45 Oz

(Yes we don't have Oxtail soup, pity but it's not that popular here.)

 

Someone also said we don't have the variety of meat that they sell in the UK?

We're really wondering about that, as our large supermarkets have just about every kind of meat and combination you care to name. More than we ever saw in a UK supermarket.

 

We don't have a curry house on every corner, but they never really took off here either, but we have plenty of Chinese and Japanese food places. And again they are cheaper than in the UK.

 

We actually realised that the only way to survive long term in the UK is to be paid in British Pounds, anyone trying to live in Britain on an Aussie wage is going to go under pretty quickly, as our dollar was so weak against the pound.

 

A campsite in Oz averages anywhere between $12 and $20 dollars.

A campsite in the UK averages all the time at about 19 quid. That was over $40 bucks when we were there.

(That's wayyyyy too expensive for what you don't get. No BBQ's. No sun/rain cover. Just a shower and a toilet is all we got at any campsite in the UK, south to north. Many times it's just a spot in a field, campsites here are normally special parks. Although we often just free camp as so much public access land.)

 

Petrol is cheaper here.

Family Resteraunts are in the main cheaper.

Middle range Motels/hotels are cheaper.

B&B is often cheaper, though it's getting more expensive.

 

We don't have any Toby Carvery's...crying shame as we loved Toby's and the price was right.

 

Our local video shop charges $2 a movie for a weekly or an overnight.

I'm guessing no vid shops in the UK charge 50 pence a rental?

 

I saw another person say they had trouble finding the clothes they wanted?

Once again if you can't find the clothing you want in a big Aussie city then you must be wanting something really special.

 

I don't recall I saw people in the UK dressing much different to us here in Oz?

 

Two things we didn't like in the UK:

The McDonalds food tasted funny to us and the crisps were bloody awful compared to the ones we buy here. (Sorry, had to get that off my chest.) :biggrin:

Crisps are chips in Oz, by the way.

 

Okay, had my say, interested to see what new arrivals or people who travel between the UK and Oz on a regualr basis think.

[Guest Locksley]

Not trolling at all mate.

I've read a few posts here where UK people reckon Oz is more expensive on a general basis to the UK.

 

I'm genuinly curious to see why.

 

What part of my post do you think is trolling?

[fleabo]

My wife and I were back in the UK for a few months last year and were shocked at the price of just about everything (except paperback novels).

 

I've been flitting around this forum and someone said that Oz was more expensive than the UK generally speaking.

Well generally speaking a tin of Heinz soup here costs between $2 and $3 bucks, whereas in the UK the same tin of soup was on average 2 quid or above.

When we were there 2 quid was about $4.45 Oz

(Yes we don't have Oxtail soup, pity but it's not that popular here.)

 

Someone also said we don't have the variety of meat that they sell in the UK?

We're really wondering about that, as our large supermarkets have just about every kind of meat and combination you care to name. More than we ever saw in a UK supermarket.

 

We don't have a curry house on every corner, but they never really took off here either, but we have plenty of Chinese and Japanese food places. And again they are cheaper than in the UK.

 

We actually realised that the only way to survive long term in the UK is to be paid in British Pounds, anyone trying to live in Britain on an Aussie wage is going to go under pretty quickly, as our dollar was so weak against the pound.

 

A campsite in Oz averages anywhere between $12 and $20 dollars.

A campsite in the UK averages all the time at about 19 quid. That was over $40 bucks when we were there.

(That's wayyyyy too expensive for what you don't get. No BBQ's. No sun/rain cover. Just a shower and a toilet is all we got at any campsite in the UK, south to north. Many times it's just a spot in a field, campsites here are normally special parks. Although we often just free camp as so much public access land.)

 

Petrol is cheaper here.

Family Resteraunts are in the main cheaper.

Middle range Motels/hotels are cheaper.

B&B is often cheaper, though it's getting more expensive.

 

We don't have any Toby Carvery's...crying shame as we loved Toby's and the price was right.

 

Our local video shop charges $2 a movie for a weekly or an overnight.

I'm guessing no vid shops in the UK charge 50 pence a rental?

 

I saw another person say they had trouble finding the clothes they wanted?

Once again if you can't find the clothing you want in a big Aussie city then you must be wanting something really special.

 

I don't recall I saw people in the UK dressing much different to us here in Oz?

 

Two things we didn't like in the UK:

The McDonalds food tasted funny to us and the crisps were bloody awful compared to the ones we buy here. (Sorry, had to get that off my chest.) :biggrin:

Crisps are chips in Oz, by the way.

 

Okay, had my say, interested to see what new arrivals or people who travel between the UK and Oz on a regualr basis think.

 

Take a read through

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-gossip-chat/80962-ok-so-what-expensive-cheap-australia.html

 

and

 

http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/western-australia/82891-australia-expensive.html

 

or even add your comparisons to these threads...

[janine the party queen]

Not sure what campsites you have been staying on here in Oz but we have been paying between $20---$40 a night and up to $60 a night for an en suite.All the ones we used in the UK had hot showers,laundry etc.

Here in Caringbah we have 4 Indians.

I love Oz but Im not blind to its faults.Most things I have found cheaper but Im comparing the prices to where I used to live in Edinburgh.I think it really does depend on where you live to what things cost.

[Guest Locksley]

Hey Fleabo

 

I checked those two links and it's seems to be about 50/50 in regards to Oz being cheaper or not than the UK.

I will say the Aussie dollar was not real good against the pound when we were there last summer.

 

It's interesting that some UK folk have suggested people in the south of the UK pay more for stuff than people further north.

We actually spent most of the months we were there in the south.

I never gave a thought to Cornwall being more expensive than say, Cumbria or Carlise.

The cheapest hotel we stayed at was the Portsmouth Etap. 35 quid a night.

The cost of every B&B we looked at was 30 quid each. (At least I hope it was each and I didn't make the mistake of not realising it was for two people???)

 

Cheapest camp site was 12 quid, but every other one was 19 quid.

We're big into camping, so that was a bit of a shock, also we're used to being able to camp pretty much anywhere outside of a city, so we sometimes struggled to find a camp site as we travelled around.

 

I'm sure I paid just under or just over 2 quid for most of the tins of soup we bought, including Oxtail.

And that was in a small supermarket in Tilbury...yes we stayed in sunny Tilbury for a while, lucky us.

Actually we enjoyed riding bicycles all around the estuary region and across to Gravesend.

 

Pubs...we don't drink beer and seldom anything alcoholic, so can't compare those prices.

The one thing I will agree on with a few other posts I read in those links...Aussies pubs are no way like UK pubs, especially UK country pubs.

Aussies go to pubs to drink.

Brits go to pubs to socialise.

 

Petrol is of course much cheaper than in the UK.

Car rego?

Don't know, don't own a car.

 

The one thing that Aussies must love when going to the UK is that the car rental companies don't charge for mileage.

That's not usual here. You get about 300 kms free and then it's about 5 cents a kay after that.

 

I'm getting the impression that Perth might be a more expensive place to live than Sydney. Didn't know that.

 

On the clothes subject...I just bought a winter polar fleece jersey from K-Mart for $10 and a pair of cargo pants for $15. You can't argue those prices.

[Guest Locksley]

Not sure what campsites you have been staying on here in Oz but we have been paying between $20---$40 a night and up to $60 a night for an en suite.All the ones we used in the UK had hot showers,laundry etc.

Here in Caringbah we have 4 Indians.

I love Oz but Im not blind to its faults.Most things I have found cheaper but Im comparing the prices to where I used to live in Edinburgh.I think it really does depend on where you live to what things cost.

 

What campsites where have charged you between $20 and $40 bucks?

 

$60 bucks for an en-suite cabin in a park is okay, depending on where and time of year. But 20 to 40 bucks for a campsite???

 

We travel as a pair on two motobikes. No kids, small tent. Unpowered.

Are they charging you more because you're travelling as a family?

 

I must confess we normally get a discount of a few dollars because of the NRMA discount or the Ulysess Club discount. So what might be 20 for most who don't drops down to about 15 to 18 for us.

 

I've just done a Google search on caravan sites around the Blue Mtns and points west, found a few for 18 to 20 bucks for an unpowered tent site, (without any discounts) but none anywhere even close to 30 bucks, let alone $40.

If someone charged you 30 to 40 bucks for an unpowered tent site I'd really like to know who it was and what the circumstances were.

 

4 Indian food places in Caringbah huh?

I didn't know that. You know there's a video shop near the railway station that does any movie for 2 bucks a night, yes?

[Petals]

W are in UK presently have been here for over a month now and renting cottages different one each week. So we self cater.

 

Meat in supermarket is about the same price or a little cheaper

Fish is cheaper

Veges do not last as long as they do in Aus. Seem to give up the ghost very quickly

Cannot find any decent Rye bread which I eat

OH eats porridge every day and he says none of the oats are natural oats all too fine for him.

Bacon has too much salt and fat I find. Not a fan of non smoked.

Sausages are nice but they have more bread I believe, in Aus sausages can only be made with a certain ratio of meat and bread.

We can spend 80 dollars no problem on this and that at the supermarket so would say dearer.

Clothes good ones and cheap ones just the same.

Electricity is much more expensive here.

Petrol well it is very expensive.

Not enough petrol stations around.

Lack of shopping centres is a problem for me.

 

This is objective view as we are looking after ourselves and we know exactly what we are spending on food.

 

Pub meals are cheaper here and we tend to go to them.

 

Grog is cheaper for some things and same or dearer for others.

 

Just like new people coming to Aus cannot find what they want in the supermarket I have found the same for me, my toothpaste is not avaiolable, my shampoo, vitamins not such a good range of type and price as in Aus.

Mobile internet is woeful, slow and half the time cannot get access which surprised me being such a small country and having so many tourists thought it would be super dooper now.

 

I am finding it very interesting as I read many posts that say Aussies are so obsessed with Australia well its just the same here obsessed with UK and soccer. Where is the culture only culture is soccer in my view. Not that its a bad thing whatever floats one's boat. We cannot find out any Australian news, no cycling, no baseball etc things we are interested in so its all personal point of view and depends on what one is interested in.

 

Only programme I love is spring watch but then we are a couple of would be if we could be twitchers.

[Guest Aldo]

you aussies can't arf whinge

[PontePom]

I for one replying to the post believe that there isn't that much between the prices when you compare a wide variety.

I've seen loads of posts about how expensive it is compared to over here.

Well all I can say is that when we went on our Reccie 2 months ago we were very happy when we saw some prices and shocked at others. But it's something we'll have to get used to cos it's what we want to do.

 

My views

 

Howard

[fleabo]

Hey Fleabo

 

I checked those two links and it's seems to be about 50/50 in regards to Oz being cheaper or not than the UK.

 

 

I think likewise - on the whole it probably balances out. The retailers know how much of your hard earned you will part with on a weekly basis, whether you be earning and spending in Australia or earning and spending in the UK. The difficulty arises when you earn in the UK and spend in Australia or vice-versa (and this also depends on the exchange rate).

[Guest Aldo]

Ok so it's allowed then...

 

So anyone else is also allowed to get drunk and say whatever they want on this forum and it'd be allowed?

 

Strange that

 

Howard

 

chill:cool:

[PontePom]

chill:cool:

This kinda proves my point that some members do exactly what they like and I don't see much moderating going on to keep the peace.

 

Why should I chill BTW

 

I'm very chilled but h8 to see bullying

 

Plus I will be in Australia very soon chilling out by a pool :biggrin:

[Guest Gollywobbler]

chill:cool:

 

Hi All

 

Aldo is right. The best thing that people can do is to chill.

 

The offending post has been reported several times but the only moderator in the UK is me.

 

What I might or might not have done about it is nobody else's business except that of the member who made the post.

 

So Aldo is right. The solution is to chill, I suggest.

 

Cheers

 

Gill

[BritChickx]

I love how my post was ignored - because it is true.

[Guest guest36187]

Your posts have NOT been ignored Britchickx. It hadnt been read as there was one mod on line. Gill cannot possibly read all the forums independantly.

 

Howard - I do apologise but the Australian moderators were all in bed! Please remember taht there is a time difference. Also please remember that moderating is a voluntary thing and we have no obligations to be on here 24/7.

 

I`d like to remind you ALL if you have any issues with moderating, moderators or someone else on the forum that you deal with it via PM or email. The open forum is not the place to air your dirty laundry.

 

I`d also like to remind you all that there is a report button. If there is an issue please report it (as you did here!) and we will deal as soon as we can. It may not be dealt with as quick as y ou`d like or as quick as you`d think it should be but it will be dealt with following a moderator discussion on appropriate action

 

Your issues have been addressed now lets get back on topic.

[Guest chris955]

I don't this to turn into one of those *** for tat threads and I am sure you have your reasons for quoting the prices you have.

A tin of Heinz soup in supermarkets is 51p or cheaper, unless their websites are lying to us.

A very quick Google search revealed that camping is very reasonable, in Cornwall which would probably be the favourite county for camping a tent site seems to vary between 5 and 10 pounds a night. Camp sites seem to routinely offer everything from a basic pitch in the woods to indoor and outdoor pools but the whole point of camping is to keep it basic I would imagine.

 

My brother was in the UK about 6 months ago on one of his regular trips, his words "Yet in recent years I get the impression that prices in general are no longer ahead of Australia. Most things seem very reasonable. Eating out in a pub, for example - so much more enjoyable than here at any price - is very reasonable in comparison. And as for the supermarkets - they make Aussie ones look very shabby and sparsely stocked in comparison. One thing Australians deceive themselves about is that there is a better variety of better, fresher produce and other food available here. Not so! "

 

I think people tend to see what they want to see, it is one thing to have an opinion but nowadays with the internet it is very quick and easy to get accurate prices for anything. I can't imagine any supermarket charging 2 pounds for a normal can of soup, was it a corner shop or a little convenience store ?

 

My wife and I were back in the UK for a few months last year and were shocked at the price of just about everything (except paperback novels).

 

I've been flitting around this forum and someone said that Oz was more expensive than the UK generally speaking.

Well generally speaking a tin of Heinz soup here costs between $2 and $3 bucks, whereas in the UK the same tin of soup was on average 2 quid or above.

When we were there 2 quid was about $4.45 Oz

(Yes we don't have Oxtail soup, pity but it's not that popular here.)

 

Someone also said we don't have the variety of meat that they sell in the UK?

We're really wondering about that, as our large supermarkets have just about every kind of meat and combination you care to name. More than we ever saw in a UK supermarket.

 

We actually realised that the only way to survive long term in the UK is to be paid in British Pounds, anyone trying to live in Britain on an Aussie wage is going to go under pretty quickly, as our dollar was so weak against the pound.

 

A campsite in Oz averages anywhere between $12 and $20 dollars.

A campsite in the UK averages all the time at about 19 quid. That was over $40 bucks when we were there.

(That's wayyyyy too expensive for what you don't get. No BBQ's. No sun/rain cover. Just a shower and a toilet is all we got at any campsite in the UK, south to north. Many times it's just a spot in a field, campsites here are normally special parks. Although we often just free camp as so much public access land.)

 

Petrol is cheaper here.

Family Resteraunts are in the main cheaper.

Middle range Motels/hotels are cheaper.

B&B is often cheaper, though it's getting more expensive.

 

Our local video shop charges $2 a movie for a weekly or an overnight.

I'm guessing no vid shops in the UK charge 50 pence a rental?

 

Two things we didn't like in the UK:

The McDonalds food tasted funny to us and the crisps were bloody awful compared to the ones we buy here. (Sorry, had to get that off my chest.) :biggrin:

Crisps are chips in Oz, by the way.

 

Okay, had my say, interested to see what new arrivals or people who travel between the UK and Oz on a regualr basis think.

[heyyu]

if your buying in a large super chain,you pay less,if a small country store you pay more. i suspect the poster was buying from village shops where as any where you"ll pay a premium

[Guest chris955]

Exactly my point.

[BritChickx]

If you go to Asda or Tesco or another supermarket the soup (Heinz) will be cheap, I'm sure I bought one the other day for around 60p.

[Parley]

I noticed when I was in UK 6years ago that fast food outlets eg McDonalds and places like that tasted very different to Australian equivalents. The fries all seemed a lot greasier.

 

Do others agree? or has that changed.

[RJBingham]

£2 for a can of oxtail soup, were you shopping in Harrods

 

Heinz Classic Oxtail Soup (400g) in ASDA | mySupermarket

 

78p even at today's rates is only about $1:35 :eek:

[BritChickx]

I've never had greasy McDonalds chips. (in the UK)

[Guest siamsusie]

Not sure what campsites you have been staying on here in Oz but we have been paying between $20---$40 a night and up to $60 a night for an en suite.All the ones we used in the UK had hot showers,laundry etc.

Here in Caringbah we have 4 Indians.

I love Oz but Im not blind to its faults.Most things I have found cheaper but Im comparing the prices to where I used to live in Edinburgh.I think it really does depend on where you live to what things cost.

We took 3 children camping in the summer here in Tasmania $53 for a night in a Tent!:biggrin::rolleyes:needless to say I dug out my books on "free camping" pretty smartish:laugh:

[Guest futuretaipan]

Can anyone suggest stuff which is a great deal in the UK, but expensive to buy in Oz as I have a wee bit of room in my container...

[Guest siamsusie]

Can anyone suggest stuff which is a great deal in the UK, but expensive to buy in Oz as I have a wee bit of room in my container...

Bed linens... good cashmere sweaters mens and womens ( M&S @ 50 quid) Le Creuset Pots & Pans ....have a good trip Susie x