Anyone else think Oz is more expensive than the UK?

[Guest thebaddeleys]

Hi everyone,

 

Well me and my husband have been here since October and we loved it when we first got here but as time has gone on we have found Australia to be increasingly expensive, especially as the wages are much lower than in the UK!

 

Is anyone else feeling this too?

 

I think we would stay here if the wages were more in line with the cost of living... but right now we are contemplating going back to the UK.

 

Any advice or experiences would be grateful x

[Guest Libby1971]

Some things are more expensive but I think others aren't. Overall, I think things are cheaper here than in the UK epsecially when you consider things like rates.

 

You don't say what profession/ trade you are in and wage is difficult to determine. However you have been here presumably only a very short period of time and I would say that you should wait longer before maiing the decision to go back. You may find that you want to give it another 6 months and see how you are feeling then.

[Guest chippie74]

Swings and roundabouts i think ,meals out are cheaper here but the beer dearer. buying cars dearer,but petrol half the price.Sun, blue sea and golden sand free here you have to travel to spain for that in the uk

[Guest cornish Busdriver]

Think it depends on what your used to and your outlook on life and i find its much on par with living in Cornwall.

Some things are more expensive and some thing are cheaper but overall you get what you pay for.

If you like food thats traveled for weeks all round the world to get to you, then its cheaper.

Personaly i will always pay the extra for fresh.

Some say cars are dearer and i agree but try and find a 15yr old car thats not a rust bucket in the uk. I got a 13 yr old car here, its spotless and low milage for $3500.

House rent is rougly the same as Cornwall so over all i feel that i am doing ok.

Theres plenty of work out there if your willing to try something new. Hell im even tempted to become a copper.

I have no intention of ever moving back to the uk but if i ever did i would just think about what a crap state its in and the future is bad for it.

 

Matt

Christies Beach

[Guest Django]

Back in the UK we struggled to pay the bills and that was with both of us working. Here at the moment only Tracey is working and we actually have money left in the bank come payday. Unheard of in the UK. Deffo cheaper here overall BUT it depends on your lifestyle and what you spend your money on.

 

 

Pete

[Liz and Kris UK]

Swings and roundabouts i think ,meals out are cheaper here but the beer dearer. buying cars dearer,but petrol half the price.Sun, blue sea and golden sand free here you have to travel to spain for that in the uk

 

 

Couldn't really put it better than Lee the poet from Manchester but I agree that somethings are dearer and some cheaper. We have certainly found the choice of activties we can do that don't cost much far greater here and often spend weekends on the beach and it dosn't cost a penny.

 

Kris

[Lazy Cow]

I guess I can't really comment because I don't know how much things do cost in the UK now...but it certainly seems expensive here! For me it's the extra things that we pay for, such as (state) school fees, rego is expensive, and generally it seems that everything comes with a price attached...

 

I remember someone telling us that it will all seem more managable after the first couple of years*, partly because you have (hopefully) put your life back together in terms of buying the larger items and partly because it no longer comes as a surprise! I pay all our bills -with the exception of rego - on a monthly basis which helps heaps.

 

We don't seem to be able to save, but with two kids and their continual 'needs' I don't expect that would be easy wherever we lived. However hard it's been for us financially (and there have been many times I have had to juggle our finances like mad to get to the next pay date with food!) we would never go back. As long as it's not stressing you out so much that you can't enjoy your life, I would certainly hope you can go with it for a while and see how it pans out here. Life should be more than bills - where possible!

LC

 

*It has!

[Guest graandjac]

:)Agree with all the above , we have less cash left at the end of the month , but its the "free stuff that makes all the difference" you cant put a price on lifestyle.......and right now going to the beach for a swim , surf, fish or just a walk in the sunshine makes a whole load of difference.

[Guest rich]

I'm not living there just yet, but i feel that (and it may be me being simplistic... i don't know) if i could be earning more in the UK etc and things being cheaper it's so bloody cold i'm not going anywhere to spend the money i would earn/spend. If it does work out more expensive in Oz, as someone said above, golden beaches, sunshine etc are free.

 

Plus moving back you'd lose a lot in currency exchange and costs of doing that...