Quoll Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 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... Boots Protect and Perfect or Lacura (Aldi) face serum would be my vote of the week, along with packets of Ainslie Harriott's stilton and broccoli soup - cant get any of them here at all. There's a whole load of other stuff, mainly perishable which wouldnt last in your container - proper strawberries for starters. I buy up stationery (so much choice, excellent quality), sock wool (much cheaper) and some medications which I cant buy here at all. Having spent a month in UK in Feb/March I saw a different scenario from some quoted here - apart from petrol I thought pretty much everything could be got cheaper from comparable places. 3 nights in a nice motel in Newquay for L19 a night for example - sure, off season but the same goes for here you can get off season prices but not quite that low. Pub meals were significantly cheaper and considerably better than anything I can get here and even taking my mum for a facial (the price made her hair curl - she thought it was very expensive) was well cheaper than the one I had yesterday. Even posh meals are slightly cheaper to about the same as the ones I have here - mothers day 3 course lunch with excellent food in classy establishment nr Cambridge L25 a head. You would be lucky to get 2 courses in a similar class of restaurant here for that price. I found more in my shopping basket at Waitrose than I get for the same cost at the big supermarket chains here and well more than the local grocer chains and of course I buy the same sort of things. I guess you see what you want to see to bolster your impressions of whatever it is you want to believe in and usually I dont bother with prices I just pay up however this time when I came back I did some real comparisons and was gobsmacked at how some of the things I had been taking for granted in UK were so much more expensive here - just getting lunch on my first day back was enough to make me blink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 My OH was in UK in Feb and things were considerably cheaper there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Quoll if you are ever in Tasmania do please try Josef Chromy (Vineyard) very classy , and for $30 you are able to get a wonderful 2 course meal with wine http://www.josefchromy.com.au/assets/files/Josef%20chromy%20Menu%20Update%20Feb10.pdf apologies to OP Susie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janine the party queen Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 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? OK I agree unpowered sites are cheap.We are a couple with a trailer tent and use powered sites and yes we get discount with Big 4.We have used some of the council run sites which we found expensive and not that clean to be honest. While I agree petrol is cheaper because of the distances we travel we use a heck of a lot more. Yes I use the video store near the station. Over the past year we have had a lot of visitors, family and friends staying from the UK ,and all of them have been shocked at the cost of food here. We are off to the UK in July and will be visiting Liverpool,Preston and Exeter so I will be able to check out prices for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 This is what I don't understand at times, with something like where are pubs better it is a personal preference but when the facts and figures are there for all to see it makes no sense. The majority seem quite adamant that alot of things are cheaper in the UK and figures seem to back that up. My OH was in UK in Feb and things were considerably cheaper there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Each to their own eh Chris! Depends if they sop in Tesco, ALdi, M&S or Harrods!! lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Yeah I guess so, it's just weird. I suppose a tin of soup might be 2 quid in Harrods :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest famousfive Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I don't really know much about prices in Britain so I won't comment on that one,but.....after moving to Oz last year my Oh and I have both come to a few conclusions regarding cost of living here. 1~A lot of things are cheap here compared to Ireland. 2~Comparing cost of goods here to the cost in Ireland is pointless because you have to take wages into account. 3~Our weekly rent in Ire cost 20% of my OH's wage,here it is nearly 40%. 4~Individual items when compared to Oz were often more expensive but our grocery shop was only another 15% of wages max. 5~my OH's wage was E900pw and here it's $875,but 875 here gets you nothing compared to 900 there. What I am trying to say is that it's all relative to what you earn and if you return on holiday it is just impossible to make a reliable comparison[just my own wee opinion mind you]. When we visited Romania we found it to be extremely cheap,thru our eyes,but for those living there it was expensive because the wages were woeful.Same for anywhere really. Now if we could just convince the hubbies employers to pay him 875 euro's HERE then life would be sweet!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo_uktooz Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Well I can only talk from my personal experience,I find that shopping here in Austraia is cheaper than the UK,when in the UK I shop at Sainsbury and regularly spend £100 yet when I shop here I get the same things for about $130.00 (£80.00?),perhaps I shop more carefully here and maybe I am buying more discounted items and home brand things but I genuinely feel things here are nowhere near as expensive as others seem to think,there are definetly some things that are more expensive here but I find many things either roughly the same here or cheaper,I'll use chicken as an example,the other day I bought a fresh chicken from a local supermarket for $4.00 a kilo,it was nearly 2 kilos and came to $7.53,it looks good quality (not free range though) Sainsbury website indicates that they are selling chickens of 1.45kg at £4.00 each which is about $6.90 so in that example the UK would be slightly cheaper (Yes I could probably get a cheaper price at another UK supermarket but there isn't that much difference I don't think),for some things Australia is definetly more expensive but I'm happy with the general cost of living and if I was here permanently I wouldn't have a problem with it,I also think that if you are happy with your lifestyle then you will probably not be concerned with the cost anyway,if someone was unhappy in Australia and wanted to return to the UK then I'm sure that even if the cost of living there was very much higher than here they would still rather be where they are happiest-and that is very understandable. To be honest I haven't seen many people here on PIO saying that they were migrating to Australia because they think it's cheaper,I think most people do it as a lifestyle choice-and isn't that what they should be doing it for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyyu Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 i dont care what the prices are in the UK i live in Australia and if i add airfares it would be definately dearer in the UK:biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byrned Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Living in australia with children for us is a lot more expensive then it was in the UK, I think if you dont have kids here and two working it is easier, I know a family of 6 mum dad 4 kids went back to uk as they could not afford to live in oz and husband was an australian (carpenter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest famousfive Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 i dont care what the prices are in the UK i live in Australia and if i add airfares it would be definately dearer in the UK:biggrin: nice one,LOL. the airfare to UK would certainly tilt the price comparison in Australias favour:laugh::laugh::laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Oops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Yes I can believe that. There is a story in todays Courier Mail about 'average' Brisbane families and how tough it is for them with high property prices, rents, groceries and ever increasing electricity and rates. Living in australia with children for us is a lot more expensive then it was in the UK, I think if you dont have kids here and two working it is easier, I know a family of 6 mum dad 4 kids went back to uk as they could not afford to live in oz and husband was an australian (carpenter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfordy Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 You have to forget about what you paid for stuff in the UK and just get on with it here in OZ, otherwise you spend all yer time stressing.The cost of living like in the UK will never get any cheaper. Many things seem a lot more expensive, for example a pack of 8 Mach 3 razor blades here will set you back $25, compared to the £11(ish) in the UK. But then many 'more' things work out cheaper. It all balances out nicely..:yellow_guy_smiling_ And ultimately you get more of a life per dollar than you would ever in the UK.. You cant compare really, you shouldn't.And cant.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 It doesnt bother me where it is cheaper. Like you, I live here and I dont intend on going to UK to live again so Im ok!! We did (just for our curiosity) a comparison shop one day online with Asda! Asda was cheaper by quite a bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo_uktooz Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 As I said in my previous post surely the only thing that matters is where you are happiest?if you are not happy in Australia then it wouldn't matter if you were a multi millionaire and the inflation rate was 0.00001 % you would still be unhappy and unfullfilled (but rich lol) whereas if you are happy with your life then as long as you have enough money to put food on the table and clothes on your back then the cost of living surely would not be as much of an issue,obviously people need to know what it is going to cost them to live here and that's why there are posts asking "whether x amount of salary will be enough for a family of x" but I'm sure that people who move here do it for what they think would be a better lifestyle for them and their family (whether that turns out to be the reality is a topic for another thread).and for some people even if you told them that moving bcak to the UK would cost them more money each week (I'm not saying that is always the case)then they would still choose the UK because that is where they want to be,for others Australia is where they want to be and the cost of living is secondary to their happiness,surely that is what matters? Take nigel,he has always wanted a BMW M5,he can't afford one in Australia but in the UK on his salary he could easily afford one,but he always says he wouldn't be happy driving it there because Australia is where his heart is. Having enough money to clothe and feed yourself is vital,but being happy within yourself is just as important-at least that is my view.:yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janine the party queen Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 To be honest Im not really bothered whether its cheaper/dearer to live here.All I know is I am HAPPY.As a couple we have grown closer we now seem to be singing from the same song sheet we both want the same things.For the first time in our married life we can afford nearly everything we want without having to budget. O/Hs working hours are a bit erratic but Im lucky that I can work around him so we can spend lots of time together.He earns just a bit more than he did in the UK I earn twice what I did !!! Its not been easy to achieve this there was a lot of compromise on my part and a hell of a lot of soul searching,but we got there in the end. I was a chef for a long time so cooking meals from scratch was no problem.Bulk cooking and freezing saved us a fortune.I buy when things are on special offer and if that means I have 10 x 18 loo rolls so be it .One less thing off my shopping list for a while.Lots of the shops have clothes sales on.As we are moving to QLD I have managed to stock up on summer clothes in the winter sales.I use a bulk billing doctor and my glasses are free from Specsavers on my medical insurance.Dentists are an issue but as I am off to the UK in July I will get my check done there. I brought enough bedding and towels to last us a life time !!!!! However M and S deliver here should I need anything. Utility bills seem a lot less here but we are careful about turning things off and not leaving them on stand by. During the summer most of our cooking was done out on the BBQ so the only cost was $36 for a bottle of gas.My house gas bill ( mainly hot water ) was only $56 !!!. You learn to live within your means pretty quickly here no mum and dad to help out till pay day. Life here is what YOU make it.Come with no expectations and you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 lol Janine! Im like that too! When my coffees on special I stock up! My hall closet is filled with loo rolls!!! A psychologist would have a field day!! lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 To be honest Im not really bothered whether its cheaper/dearer to live here.All I know is I am HAPPY.As a couple we have grown That about sums up what I feel as well. We use the Gas outside for all our cooking my electricity bill for the quarter was a pittance , bulk buy on offer and like you cook from scratch. Nothing is wasted and our birds and wild life love us.:biggrin: Susie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aldo Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 That about sums up what I feel as well. We use the Gas outside for all our cooking my electricity bill for the quarter was a pittance , bulk buy on offer and like you cook from scratch. Nothing is wasted and our birds and wild life love us.:biggrin: Susie x But the gas bill was through the roof:biglaugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 But the gas bill was through the roof:biglaugh:l bottle of gas 35 bucks:laugh: lasts over a month ..not bad at all:biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I agree with what is being said, the issue really is if someone starts a thread about the comparative costs it should at least be accurate which I think is fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aldo Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 l bottle of gas 35 bucks:laugh: lasts over a month ..not bad at all:biggrin: it was a joke:dull: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siamsusie Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 it was a joke:dull::skeptical:really:wub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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