Is Oz much more expensive than the UK

[byrned]

to cut out arguments look at this site which does price comparisons on everything look at other catagories for online shops and you will see a food and drink catagory give prices for uk www.ciao.co.uk

[Guest siamsusie]

[/color]

 

They said on the news last week that we are all set for less than a $1 a litre soon as there is going to be some sort of price war....lets hope its true :jiggy:

 

S1.25 today in our area in Tasmania:biggrin: I am sure yours will be cheaper than ours though lol x ps pleased you found your mayo xx

[Quinkla]

If you don't want to stick that 2nd loaf in your freezer, or shop when and where foods are cheaper then that is your personal choice, but that does not mean tha food in Australia is 3 to 4 times dearer.

That's exactly what it means.

[byrned]

to cut out arguments look at this site which does price comparisons on everything look at other catagories for online shops and you will see a food and drink catagory give prices for uk www.ciao.co.uk

 

 

Sorry the website is mysupermarket.co.uk and this is just for supermarkets, not the cheap places like costco and poundland, kwiksave etc

[Guest guest30038]

That's exactly what it means.

 

:goofy: :swoon:

 

So you agree with the poster that said food is 3 to 4 times dearer? Can you provide like for like figures prices from asda compared to coles and still say that?

[tracy123]

You have 2 options,

 

- change

 

- or try and do the same as you did in the UK,

 

 

Now if you pick option 2 and carry on that way, you can't really whinge about it because there is another way.

[calNgary]

We have been here 4 years and yes prices have risen in that time. When we arrived my supermarket weekly shop was approx $150 pr week , considering it was costing 150gbp before we left i was on a good thing. Nowadays my approx supermarket bill is $250, yes alot more but still not bad compared to what it was in the UK 4 years ago.

I think at first (and for a year or so) you see the price tag and because it is in dollars and a higher figure you automatically think OMG how much?????? It used to take me an age to do a supermarket shop at first because of this, i had to keep converting everything,lol.

 

Someone mentioned property is expensive, i disagree with this, especially at the moment with the market so slow, some homes are $100,000 cheaper than they were this time last year.It is definately a buyers market right now. You do get more your money here too, we had a 3 bed semi in the UK and here bought a 4bed on acerage which we added a pool too with the money we had from our UK house sale. Yes we were lucky and got a good exchange rate at the time but bargains like we got can still be found.

 

Overall some things are dearer , second hand cars being the first thing that springs to mind, but many things are cheaper or at least better value for money.

 

Cal x

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Hi everyone

 

another thing to take into account is the cost of other major things which i will post below. You have to remember that wages are based on a rate of about $2.2 to £1, the current rate has only just happened in the last year and isn't a relevant figure to base costs on, unless you are on holiday to Australia. Kev will tell us what he pays on the following items, that we pay in the uk, we live in a smaller similar detached house as kevs.

 

Rates/ £1450 per year/ $3300 is it the same kev?

Gas/electric/ £1600 per year/ $3500 - how much do you pay kev?

Petrol/ £1.18/ $2.50 how much kev?

car insurance/ £500/ $1100 kev?

water rates/ £400/ $850 kev?

Houses - a big 4 bed detached bungalow, 220sq's feet costs about £400,000 in the uk and you can get it for about $450,000 in oz.

 

Just a few major outgoings that i am sure will mostly cost alot less in Australia, let us know kev.

Every country in the world is dear to visit at present because the pound has plummetted to an all time low because we have been in a very long recession and we were nearly bankrupted by the banks.

[calNgary]

Hi everyone

 

Rates/ £1450 per year/ $3300 is it the same kev? approx $1600

Gas/electric/ £1600 per year/ $3500 - how much do you pay kev?approx $1900

Petrol/ £1.18/ $2.50 how much kev? diesel - $1.20

car insurance/ £500/ $1100 kev? incl Rego & fully comp approx $1300

water rates/ £400/ $850 kev? $416

Houses - a big 4 bed detached bungalow, 220sq's feet costs about £400,000 in the uk and you can get it for about $450,000 in oz. around here approx - $420,000

 

 

I know i'm not Kev,lol and without paperwork to hand i have added my approximate yearly figures. Hope they help

 

Cal x

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Rates/ £1450 per year/ $3300 is it the same kev? approx $1600

Gas/electric/ £1600 per year/ $3500 - how much do you pay kev?approx $1900

Petrol/ £1.18/ $2.50 how much kev? diesel - $1.20

car insurance/ £500/ $1100 kev? incl Rego & fully comp approx $1300

water rates/ £400/ $850 kev? $416

Houses - a big 4 bed detached bungalow, 220sq's feet costs about £400,000 in the uk and you can get it for about $450,000 in oz. around here approx - $420,000 I know i'm not Kev,lol and without paperwork to hand i have added my approximate yearly figures. Hope they help

 

Cal x

__________________

 

 

Hi cal and cheers for the figures.

 

Now listen folks it is different in every state, some places are warmer, for longer and some places you will need the heating on more, or the air con on more, but the above figures are quite staggeringly less than the uk apart from the car insurance. My opinion is that it is slighly dearer overall in Australia, not much, things like second hand cars are dearer, food overall, slightly dearer as is furniture, tvs and white goods, dentistry is costly and you might want to pay for extra schooling and medical cover, but most of us are going for the fantastic weather and lifestyle, swimming in the warm sea and playing on the beaches and all that is free.

[Guest guest30038]

Hi everyone

 

another thing to take into account is the cost of other major things which i will post below. You have to remember that wages are based on a rate of about $2.2 to £1, the current rate has only just happened in the last year and isn't a relevant figure to base costs on, unless you are on holiday to Australia. Kev will tell us what he pays on the following items, that we pay in the uk, we live in a smaller similar detached house as kevs.

 

 

 

Rates/ £1450 per year/ $1000

Gas/electric/ £1600 per year/ $3500 - how much do you pay kev? $3600 but I have a pool. fish pond with pump and 27 fish tanks (which also affects the water below)

Petrol/ £1.18/ $2.50 how much kev? Buy on the right day $1 09

car insurance/ £500/ $1100 kev? $394 for a 4x4 land cruiser prado fully comp

water rates/ £400/ $850 kev? $880 but see above

Houses - a big 4 bed detached bungalow, 220sq's feet costs about £400,000 in the uk and you can get it for about $450,000 in oz. correct but in the suburbs 600000

 

Just a few major outgoings that i am sure will mostly cost alot less in Australia, let us know kev.

Every country in the world is dear to visit at present because the pound has plummetted to an all time low because we have been in a very long recession and we were nearly bankrupted by the banks.

 

Mine, but others will vary according to state and suburb

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

Mine, but others will vary according to state and suburb

 

Hi kev

 

it is similar to cals, your rates are cheaper and also your insurance, its probably cos women cause more accidents.lol

 

Your gas/electric and water is dearer but as you say your pools massive and your fishtanks are incredible.

[BobinOz]

I have written quite a few articles about the cost of living in Australia compared with the cost of living in England. Here's a bit of what I found.

 

Australia is cheapest for: petrol, houses, wine.

 

England is cheapest for: cars, telephone calls, beer, spirits, childrens toys.

 

Not much in it: groceries, electrical goods, electricity, income tax.

 

But all of these cost comparisons involved directly exchanging English pounds for Australian dollars to see what you can buy. In the last three years the pound has tumbled badly against the Australian dollar. Three years ago you could buy $2.50 AUD for one pound, now it is around $1.70.

 

So some of my comparisons are now a little out of date because as the pound has fallen more than 30% against the Australian dollar, then this country starts to look more expensive.

 

But that is not what's important, not once you are living here and earning AUD. And that is a big difference. Because I also did a comparison of wages between England and Australia and I found that salaries here are on average 24% to 31.7% higher than they are in the UK.

 

I've been living here for three years and my conclusion is, taking into account the swings and roundabouts, there really isn't much in it. The cost of living in both countries is about the same. But as salaries are higher here you can expect a slightly better standard of living than you had back in England...... probably.

 

I say that because some jobs are lower paid here than they are in England and, of course, it depends what you spend your money on.

 

But I do think it's a mistake to compare prices directly with out taking into account the higher salaries you may be getting here.

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

I have written quite a few articles about the cost of living in Australia compared with the cost of living in England. Here's a bit of what I found.

 

Australia is cheapest for: petrol, houses, wine.

 

England is cheapest for: cars, telephone calls, beer, spirits, childrens toys.

 

Not much in it: groceries, electrical goods, electricity, income tax.

 

But all of these cost comparisons involved directly exchanging English pounds for Australian dollars to see what you can buy. In the last three years the pound has tumbled badly against the Australian dollar. Three years ago you could buy $2.50 AUD for one pound, now it is around $1.70.

 

So some of my comparisons are now a little out of date because as the pound has fallen more than 30% against the Australian dollar, then this country starts to look more expensive.

 

But that is not what's important, not once you are living here and earning AUD. And that is a big difference. Because I also did a comparison of wages between England and Australia and I found that salaries here are on average 24% to 31.7% higher than they are in the UK.

 

I've been living here for three years and my conclusion is, taking into account the swings and roundabouts, there really isn't much in it. The cost of living in both countries is about the same. But as salaries are higher here you can expect a slightly better standard of living than you had back in England...... probably.

 

I say that because some jobs are lower paid here than they are in England and, of course, it depends what you spend your money on.

 

But I do think it's a mistake to compare prices directly with out taking into account the higher salaries you may be getting here.

 

 

Hi mate and great post.

 

Heed the info above.

 

If you compare wages in Australia at the current exchange rate of $1.7 to £1, and you get a job with a wage that looks similar to your own in the uk using this rate, it WILL spell disaster for you, because the true cost of living is based on wages of a rate not less than $2.1 to £1 and probably up to $2.2 to £1.

 

Everyone visting Australia at present knows that prices are extortionate due to the pound slumping against the dollar, it isn't Australias fault that they didn't go into recession like the uk. Similarly anyone visiting the uk from Oz will think it is really cheap here, but its just a sign of the uk's current ongoing financial problems.

[Graemsay]

I was went over to Australia on a recce a few months back.

 

My general feeling was that anything that's imported is expensive. So that's most cars, clothes, furniture, electronics, etc.

 

Cars are a special case, as there's a massive amount of tax on imported vehicles that aren't particularly fuel efficient. I've got a feeling that it's on the order of 40%, which is why something like a big BMW can be $100,000 or $200,000.

 

I understand second hand prices are higher, meaning that there's less depreciation on a new car. So it's not all bad news.

 

Someone mentioned cheese as being extortionate. That's because it's sometimes flown in from Europe.

 

Other groceries don't seem too bad. Meat and fish can be very cheap, but bread is very pricey for some reason. I didn't pay that much attention to vegetable prices, but they didn't seem scary.

 

House prices are very high, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, and rents are expensive. I'd characterise them as being close to London levels, though (at the current exchange rate) most salaries seem to be lacking the weighting for the capital.

[JayBone]

You are right, people quote well you can buy cheaper if you are willing to shop around away from coles and woolies, this is also true of uk, loads of cheap shops cheaper then asda, sainsburys, poundland for one, pound shops, for a family with kids and older kids as well it is more expensive in oz, people forget all the hidden costs like schools, dental, doctors, communication, clothes (rip off here for crap) shoes, runners (rip off) houses even living away from CBD you are talking now 400,000 plus so yes of course its more expensive here then uk, if you take every thing into account. I know a lot of ex pats just coming over, or been here for a while, everybody I speak to say the same they did not realise how quickly their money went, and how expensive it is. so you are right, it is dishonest to try and sugar coat the subject, it is fact oz is more expensive then uk if you have kids, and lets face it most people who decide to come here do it for the kids.

 

Quite the opposite for us actually!! Our friends have started knocking kids out left right and centre:err:, so we're buggering off!!:jiggy:

[JayBone]

This argument is un-resolvable.

 

It stems from peoples un-willingness to ignore exchange rates, which has nothing to do with it in reality!

 

If the exchange rate goes to $4 to the pound, will Australia be any cheaper? Will your weekly shopping bill decrease? Will the UK have become more expensive?, the answer to all the above is NO!

 

Earn dollars, Spend dollars

 

If you earn 25k in the UK you should aim to earn $60-75k in Australia to be on par, it's all relative.

[Quinkla]

If you earn 25k in the UK you should aim to earn $60-75k in Australia to be on par, it's all relative.

Fair enough - but that is a significantly below average UK salary (avg is £28.5k) with an above average looking Australian salary (avg is $64k).

 

As for housing and wine being cheaper - I just don't think this is true. Compare a basic two bedroom box unit on the very outskirts of Melbourne (travel time over an hour) at $400k+ with something comparable (maisonette) over an hour's travel from a UK city centre and the difference should be obvious.

 

As for wine, my colleagues and I seem to think the starting point for drinkable wine is well over $10 a bottle. Of course bargains can be had, but so they can in the UK.

[JayBone]

Fair enough - but that is a significantly below average UK salary (avg is £28.5k) with an above average looking Australian salary (avg is $64k).

 

As for housing and wine being cheaper - I just don't think this is true. Compare a basic two bedroom box unit on the very outskirts of Melbourne (travel time over an hour) at $400k+ with something comparable (maisonette) over an hour's travel from a UK city centre and the difference should be obvious.

 

As for wine, my colleagues and I seem to think the starting point for drinkable wine is well over $10 a bottle. Of course bargains can be had, but so they can in the UK.

 

But im not too far off the mark, 2.5 to 3 times your GBP salary is what you should be getting in AUD$ for a like to like job is all im saying.

 

And i know this because i have been offered 4 jobs, all on 2.5 to 3 times GBP equivalent.

 

$10 for a basic bottle of wine is same as UK, if outogings are used (not exchange rate) - that would be 4.40 gbp per bottle (using your salary figures) - i would be happy paying over $10 for a decent wine.

 

I got a case of awesome wine from a small producer in Barossa valley for abotu $8 a bottle and it was fantastic!! something i had never tried before too, it was a sparkling Merlot, served chilled it was amazing, we used it on our retun to UK to celebrate the sale of our house!

[Guest yorkielass]

I have to agree with girlwhizz99, without researching exact food prices, food is much more expensive. A decent loaf of bread is anything between $3.50 and $4. Have you seen the price of yogurts!! I nearly fell over in the aisle of Coles! I also find alot of toiletries very expensive. I agree if you stick to buying whats on special or whats in season it saves you alot of money but if you want something else its crazy!

I think the two major supermarkets here have a total monopoly on prices - and you don't get the price wars you have in the UK with 4 or 5 major supermarkets.

 

The cost of cars here is also rediculous - a cheap run around thats over ten years old, with loads of kms on the clock can cost you $5000!!

 

I would point out that some fast food can be much cheaper - but thats not really a good thing!

 

Still, I'd rather be here in the sun, even if I do pay through the roof for stuff sometimes!

[JayBone]

I have to agree with girlwhizz99, without researching exact food prices, food is much more expensive. A decent loaf of bread is anything between $3.50 and $4. Have you seen the price of yogurts!! I nearly fell over in the aisle of Coles! I also find alot of toiletries very expensive. I agree if you stick to buying whats on special or whats in season it saves you alot of money but if you want something else its crazy!

I think the two major supermarkets here have a total monopoly on prices - and you don't get the price wars you have in the UK with 4 or 5 major supermarkets.

 

The cost of cars here is also rediculous - a cheap run around thats over ten years old, with loads of kms on the clock can cost you $5000!!

 

I would point out that some fast food can be much cheaper - but thats not really a good thing!

 

Still, I'd rather be here in the sun, even if I do pay through the roof for stuff sometimes!

 

Those prices are very similar to UK, for a decent loaf of bread as you say. a decent loaf costing 1.20 to 1.50 pound

 

And as for cars, $5000 is equivalent to around 2000 quid. That can get you a decent run around in UK, but your road tax is gonna be steep (180 a year), petrol costs 6 pound a gallon, insurance premiums have shot up because of fraudalent claims and you have to MOT. Plus a 10 year old car in Australia is not as rotten (potentially) as a 10 year old UK car, no salt on roads etc. People are buying Australian cars everyday and shipping them back to the UK for this reason ( and dare i say it, they're much cheaper in OZ....sshhh):goofy:

[Quinkla]

Those prices are very similar to UK, for a decent loaf of bread as you say. a decent loaf costing 1.20 to 1.50 pound

 

And as for cars, $5000 is equivalent to around 2000 quid. That can get you a decent run around in UK, but your road tax is gonna be steep (180 a year), petrol costs 6 pound a gallon, insurance premiums have shot up because of fraudalent claims and you have to MOT. Plus a 10 year old car in Australia is not as rotten (potentially) as a 10 year old UK car, no salt on roads etc. People are buying Australian cars everyday and shipping them back to the UK for this reason ( and dare i say it, they're much cheaper in OZ....sshhh):goofy:

I'm sorry, you're simply not on the same planet as me.

 

$5,000 is not equivalent to £2000. Road tax may be steep in the UK, but I have just paid $700 rego for my clapped out ($6000) car for a year. My car insurance is way expensive, principally because I haven't been resident for at least 2 years. People are not buying Australian cars and shipping them to the UK; they are way more expensive in Australia and adding shipping and import duty on top would be stupid. Cars come the other way. Petrol may be cheaper, but I find I have to drive much further here. And as for bread being the same price - a pretty ordinary loaf costs nearly $5 in my local supermarket. A similar loaf cost less than £1 in the UK.

 

I'm not whinging; I came here voluntarily and I have a good job and a great family. But pretending that things are cheaper here or that you will have a massive upgrade in lifestyle is not going to help potential migrants. They will just cripple themselves financially to get here and find they can't afford to move back when they find the dream was missold. All the Poms I know here - and a fair few of my Australian colleagues - complain about the very high cost of living. It was a fairly important issue in the recent Federal elections and will increase with time.

 

Oh, and when I said that decent wine was well over $10 a bottle, I suspect you didn't spot the "well over" bit. Of course you'll occasionally find clearance cases at wineries but if you actually want to choose your products rather than have them choose you, it's going to be a pricey place to live and the difference in average wages does not make up for the difference in cost of living.

 

Forewarned is forearmed.

[JayBone]

I'm sorry, you're simply not on the same planet as me.

 

$5,000 is not equivalent to £2000. Road tax may be steep in the UK, but I have just paid $700 rego for my clapped out ($6000) car for a year. My car insurance is way expensive, principally because I haven't been resident for at least 2 years. People are not buying Australian cars and shipping them to the UK; they are way more expensive in Australia and adding shipping and import duty on top would be stupid. Cars come the other way. Petrol may be cheaper, but I find I have to drive much further here. And as for bread being the same price - a pretty ordinary loaf costs nearly $5 in my local supermarket. A similar loaf cost less than £1 in the UK.

 

I'm not whinging; I came here voluntarily and I have a good job and a great family. But pretending that things are cheaper here or that you will have a massive upgrade in lifestyle is not going to help potential migrants. They will just cripple themselves financially to get here and find they can't afford to move back when they find the dream was missold. All the Poms I know here - and a fair few of my Australian colleagues - complain about the very high cost of living. It was a fairly important issue in the recent Federal elections and will increase with time.

 

Oh, and when I said that decent wine was well over $10 a bottle, I suspect you didn't spot the "well over" bit. Of course you'll occasionally find clearance cases at wineries but if you actually want to choose your products rather than have them choose you, it's going to be a pricey place to live and the difference in average wages does not make up for the difference in cost of living.

 

Forewarned is forearmed.

 

What are you basing your calculation on? you cant base it on current exchange rate, im basing it on that an Australian dollar salary is 2.5 times that of a pound salary, do you disagree? On your own calculations $5000 is equivalent to 2200 gbp, again not much difference??

 

People ARE shipping cars from Australia to the UK, to the tune of 100's a week that i know of. I could buy a car in Australia for $8000, ship it to the UK for $3000 and sell it for 20k gbp....FACT!!!

[Quinkla]

What are you basing your calculation on? you cant base it on current exchange rate, im basing it on that an Australian dollar salary is 2.5 times that of a pound salary, do you disagree? On your own calculations $5000 is equivalent to 2200 gbp, again not much difference??

Well, that's a bit different to your own calculation. But also you need to ask whether you would get an equivalent vehicle for £2200 in the UK and for $5000 in Australia. My guess is that in Australia, you'd get a car that was well over 10 years old with 200,000 kms on the clock. A search for £2,000 cars on Autotrader in the greater Edinburgh area suggests vehicles with well under 100,000 miles somewhere in the 5-10 year old category - quite a lot at about 7 years old. This includes a Land Rover. Nice vehicles. The $5000k Australian vehicles seem to come in at well under £500 in Edinburgh. In a way this is not quite like for like, though, since the UK has a private seller market whereas this doesn't really happen in Australia.

People ARE shipping cars from Australia to the UK, to the tune of 100's a week that i know of. I could buy a car in Australia for $8000, ship it to the UK for $3000 and sell it for 20k gbp....FACT!!!

I'm sure we'd all be interested to know more details about this.

[JayBone]

Well, that's a bit different to your own calculation. But also you need to ask whether you would get an equivalent vehicle for £2200 in the UK and for $5000 in Australia. My guess is that in Australia, you'd get a car that was well over 10 years old with 200,000 kms on the clock. A search for £2,000 cars on Autotrader in the greater Edinburgh area suggests vehicles with well under 100,000 miles somewhere in the 5-10 year old category - quite a lot at about 7 years old. This includes a Land Rover. Nice vehicles. The $5000k Australian vehicles seem to come in at well under £500 in Edinburgh. In a way this is not quite like for like, though, since the UK has a private seller market whereas this doesn't really happen in Australia.

 

I'm sure we'd all be interested to know more details about this.

 

Well my calcualtion was 2.5, yours was 2.25, we're just splitting hairs now:cool:

 

Heres the evidence, this is just one company...

 

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