2tigers Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Australia: From lucky country to land of rip-offs Love Australia, but can't argue with the above. A query that always puzzles me - but why is Australia referred to as the 'Lucky Country'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozziepom Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 A query that always puzzles me - but why is Australia referred to as the 'Lucky Country'? I always assumed it was - Great weather - Amazing scenery - Terrific beaches - Wide open spaces - Massive natural resource - Beautiful wildlife - Small population etc. etc. Just a shame that these days its so bloody expensive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 We took the Mother-in-law to Hillarys the other week for Sunday dinner. That's where you are going wrong she could have had 3 courses at Maccas for $7, a coke followed by burger, followed by fries and if you really want to push the boat out you could stretch to a 50cent ice cream cone :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Can’t really argue with it. Same as previous posters, love Oz, hate all this nonsense.We’ve only been here 4 years but have watched the cost of living shoot up. There’s no way we’d have been able to make the move with the way things are now. The houses that were up for sale with ours 4 years ago, half still are and are 40k less. And they won’t be going up again any time in the next 5 years. We just wouldn’t have bothered; the exchange rate only compounds it. That said, I am obviously fantastically grateful that we missed all that, I just feel for anyone starting the process now that isn’t absolutely minted. As for the great Oz rip-off, I genuinely think some retailers just take the mickey. We have shopped for everything possible online for about 18 months now. Obviously, food, petrol etc. you can’t. I picked up some small bits for Chrimbo a couple of weeks ago but, as for going shopping centres etc. I think I’ve been about 3 or 4 times in the last 2 years. Eating out and drinking in Perth is criminal. But, have to say, I refuse to give it up. We earn enough so we deserve it, we enjoy it. I don’t worry about the cost because it’s our treat. We took the Mother-in-law to Hillarys the other week for Sunday dinner, the fish main course I had was $48 (32 pound). The whole thing, for bread & dips, 3 mains, 2 desserts, 3 or 4 drinks was over $250. We do earn twice as much over here as we did UK, and it does kind of balance things out, although that is no justification for being ripped off. Above all else, alongside being fleeced, generally service is poor and quality of goods is low. [h=1]Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester Food & Drink Menu (Restaurant/Hotel) The Dorchester Hotel, 53 Park Lane, Mayfair, London, W1A 2HJ (Map)[/h] Cuisine: French Average Price: £110.00 Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritChickx Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Have to agree just from what we've bought (or not bought) travelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpodom Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester Food & Drink Menu (Restaurant/Hotel) The Dorchester Hotel, 53 Park Lane, Mayfair, London, W1A 2HJ (Map) Cuisine: French Average Price: £110.00 Cheers, Bobj. For real bob. Could you not have picked the Dorchester on park lane to make your point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 http://www.gordonramsay.com/thesavoygrill/menus/alacarte/ Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 http://www.gordonramsay.com/thesavoygrill/menus/alacarte/ Fish & ShellfishToday’s selection of rock oysters 6/12 £12.00/£24.00 http://www.lobsteronline.com.au/lobster-seafood/australian-oysters/ Cheers, Bobj Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Just pointing out, Harpo:laugh: Top 10 British restaurants [h=2]We found 10 restaurants in Best British restaurants in London.[/h] Sort by Name Price Location [h=3]Corrigan's Mayfair[/h] Book online£40.00 British Mayfair 28 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1K 7EH, Tel: 020 7499 9943 The critics love Richard Corrigan, fellow chefs love him, & Square Meal readers are also emphatically on his side. After a few early wobbles… more » Write Review Add to my lists [h=3]Dean Street Townhouse & Dining Room[/h]Book online£45.00 British Soho 69-71 Dean Street, London W1D 3SE, Tel: 020 7434 1775 Part old-school dining room, part granny-chic sitting room & part media rendezvous, this commodious yet cosy creation from Soho House Group & Caprice… more » Write Review Add to my lists [h=3]The Goring Restaurant[/h]Book online£74.00 British Belgravia The Goring, 15 Beeston Place, London SW1W 0JW, Tel: 020 7396 9000 London’s trendier dining destinations may have jumped on the ‘regional & local’ bandwagon of late, but it’s never gone out of fashion at… more » Write Review Add to my lists [h=3]Hereford Road[/h]Book online£39.00 British Paddington, Bayswater 3 Hereford Road, London W2 4AB, Tel: 020 7727 1144 Notting Hill’s answer to St John splits readers down the middle: some embrace the nose-to-tail ethos, others run a mile from its ‘grisly carnivore-style’… more » Write Review Add to my lists [h=3]Hix[/h]Book online£49.00 British Soho 66-70 Brewer Street, London W1F 9UP, Tel: 020 7292 3518 Columnist, TV chef, art collector & friend of the celeb intelligentsia, Mark Hix has made Soho a serious, glamorous dining destination again. The… more »[h=5]Offers[/h] Crumpets and tea served daily from £6.75 per person… Pre-Theatre Menu - 2 courses £17.50/3 courses £22… Set Menu - 2 courses 17.50 / 3 for 22.50 Write Review Add to my lists [*][h=3]Hix at The Albemarle[/h]Book online £65.00 British Mayfair Brown's Hotel, 33 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4BP, Tel: 020 3589 2118 Could there be a better home for Mark Hix’s staunchly British cooking than the dining room of Brown’s Hotel? Past meets & greets present… more » [h=5]Offers[/h] Complimentary half bottle of wine on Sunday. Complimentary Hix Fix Cocktail with the set menu on… 2 courses and a HIX Fix cocktail £27.50 Saturday Lunch: Complimentary Bloody Mary Sunday Lunch : 3 courses and half a bottle of wine £37… Write Review Add to my lists [*][h=3]Rhodes Twenty Four[/h] Book online £67.00 British Moorgate, Liverpool Street 24th Floor, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1HQ, Tel: 020 3463 0297 High up on the 24th floor of the former NatWest building, Gary Rhodes’ gastronomic eyrie & gilt-edged ‘corporate haven’ is cherished for… more » Write Review Add to my lists [*][h=3]Rules[/h] £58.00 British Covent Garden 35 Maiden Lane, London WC2E 7LB, Tel: 020 7836 5314 London wouldn’t be London without Rules. The oldest restaurant in town is writ large in the capital’s food heritage, & still lures tourists… more » Write Review Add to my lists [*][h=3]St John[/h] Book online £50.00 British Clerkenwell, Barbican 26 St John Street, London EC1M 4AY, Tel: 020 3589 4518 It’s an odd paradox that St John is lauded as one of the world’s top restaurants, yet it defiantly eschews foams, essences & furbelows… more » Write Review Add to my lists [*][h=3]Wiltons[/h] Book online £93.00 Fish British Whitehall, Buckingham Palace 55 Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6LX, Tel: 020 7629 9955 Suited-&-booted Wiltons is where the gentlemen of St James’s come to be mollycoddled in velvety, aristocratic surrounds, so the appointment of… more » Write Review Add to my lists Look at the prices...:wink: Cheers, Bobj. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I have been here almost seven years and costs of living have massively increased. WHen we got here fuel was 77c per litre. Thats just one thing. Financially we are actually better off for a number of reasons but the cost of living is much higher than in the uk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Since the dollar became so strong I have found myself looking outside of Australia for things. I have ordered a few things from the US on Ebay and it's worked out so much cheaper than buying the exact same product here, even with the international postage. Love Rudi x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 The cost of living has gone up an awful lot in the UK too, ya know It's often forgotten. I get people complaining about $3 for a loaf of bread and claiming it costs £0.80 at home. Not any more it doesn't. More expensive here? For sure. But energy costs and energy related costs (like food, cost of importing goods etc) have rocketed everywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Im the same Rudi. Amazon and Ebay are my BFF`s! Plus all the visitors get a list before they came!! Marks mum came over with 1/2 of Morrisons I think!! Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 When we were delayed in Brisbane a week by that lovely volcano, we had a few meals in the hotel and out in the city and for 4 of us we paid just over $130 each time, we worked this out at costing about £80 using the then exchange rate of $1.68 to £1, but now it would be over £85 due to the $1.5 rate, but when we were in perth in 2006 the rate was $2.3 to £1 and just over 2 years ago it was $2.6 to £1 which would mean the same meal would have cost about £50 which shows you just how silly it is to use exchange rates to cost everything. The only way is to cost it at the average wage rate which equates to roughly $2.2 and i know its boring repeating this, but new members looking in will see people quoting figures using the current exchange rate and get the impression that the cost of things in Australia are extortionate, when in reality when you are living in Australia and earning and spending Australian dollars, the cost of things in general are almost identical to the uk, that was our experience anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 This is something that worries me, that the cost of living will be too high for us. it depends on what sort of wage dave is offered but I think we'll give it a shot anyway if we get the chance. At least there are ways of keeping clothing costs etc down by ordering online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 This is something that worries me, that the cost of living will be too high for us. it depends on what sort of wage dave is offered but I think we'll give it a shot anyway if we get the chance. At least there are ways of keeping clothing costs etc down by ordering online Worry no more gal, thats what i am saying the costs of things are almost identical when you are earning wages in either country, average wages in Australia are nearly 35% higher than in the uk using the current exchange rate, which i wouldn't advise, but this makes the cost of living just about the same, somethings are dearer, somethings are cheaper, its swings and roundabouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I dont expect to be rich over there, just to have a bit of extra money at the end of the month would be nice! to be honest its more just to try out the lifestyle for a few years but of course i want to make sure that we're not going to be completely struggling. Just have to see what 2012 brings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JemGerrard Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Worry no more gal, thats what i am saying the costs of things are almost identical when you are earning wages in either country, average wages in Australia are nearly 35% higher than in the uk using the current exchange rate, which i wouldn't advise, but this makes the cost of living just about the same, somethings are dearer, somethings are cheaper, its swings and roundabouts. Well housing costs in Australia are now huge, especially if you take a look at interest rates compared to the UK. Thats a huge chunk of the average persons outgoings, and at the time of a property bubble supposedly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachael R Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I would like to know where you get bread for 80p? The bread i get is £1.25. We think its rip of Britan. Fuel is £1.44 L for my car. The last time we went to see a film it cost us £25. My food bill a week is £160 but there are 6 of us. Taxs like everywhere are going up. Things cost so much more everywhere now. We are still going to move over, you have to make the best of what you have got. There is so much more for my young family in OZ, nothing left in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JemGerrard Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I would like to know where you get bread for 80p? The bread i get is £1.25. We think its rip of Britan. Fuel is £1.44 L for my car. The last time we went to see a film it cost us £25. My food bill a week is £160 but there are 6 of us. Taxs like everywhere are going up. Things cost so much more everywhere now. We are still going to move over, you have to make the best of what you have got. There is so much more for my young family in OZ, nothing left in the UK. http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?searchBox=bread&N=4294796265 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest36187 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 There were 60p loaves in that link! I remember Tesco used to do a 10p loaf! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest31881 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I often look at these threads about prices and it’s very rare that I would enter the argument (I would like to say debate but that would be lying). However I do think that people who complain that prices have risen in Australian should realise that prices have risen in every country including the UK. I know that I will never own a house and that my income will always be limited, but I am still living a better lifestyle in Australia than I did in the UK. That is my own personal situation. I cannot comment of how families cope or if you are trying to buy property, I just wish that people who comment on these threads would do so and state there situation instead of what a lot do and generalise about everything because it is that way for them, they feel it has to be the same for everyone and I am sorry but its not.... Everyone has different circumstances and life styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest62757 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I would just like to go on holiday! we haven't been on holiday for three years as it costs the same in oz as it does to go to fiji/bali (not that I want to go to bali) and for a family of 5 and two dogs is in excess of $5000. At least in the UK you could get some good deals within the UK or in Europe. Don't get me wrong we earn a good salary but our expenses are high, child care, medical, travel (long commute into Sydney in order to buy a house), elec bills are a shocker at the moment. I personally order my clothes from overseas in the sales as the clothes here are boring and expensive even at country road! The kids I don't worry so much about and go to cotton on as they grow out of them so quickly. For hubby's shirts I am grateful that T.M Lewin deliver out here and still maintain their cheap prices. For me it is different as I married an Aussie who sold me a story but sadly it has changed A LOT since he was last here. I would be better off in the UK closer to family and friends and forgo the extra pay and the NHS you don't know how you miss it until its gone along with central heating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 The major thing i worry about is that i may never be able to own a house over there eventually, thats something id really like but like you colin as long as my lifestyle was good in other ways then i could put up with renting. Thats what we've done here for the last few years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 We booked into a fantastic apartment overlooking the sea at surfers paradise for just over 100 dollars per night, if you live withing a few hundred miles of there then you can have the most fantastic holiday, surfers is one of the best places i have been to and i have been to some great places. I would have thought that most places in Australia have a great place to go on holiday to and at just over 100 dollars per night it doesn't have to cost the earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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