Originally Posted by spartacus

Agreed. There can't have been a worse time, financially, to migrate than now, and its likely to only get worse in the short term.

Is a Greggs' sausageroll recognised as a standard method of measurement for comparing relative living costs?

Originally Posted by geordie downunder

The chillies have gone mad,loads of them.The cook is ringing Thai restaurants up to see if they want any .

Originally Posted by johnknight001

i live in the uk, i filled up with fuel yesterday at 8 am, on my way past the garage at 4 pm it had gone up by 2 pence per litre, i think all in all 12 p per litre in a few months, cost of food going up by the week, cost of beer always going up, cost of cigs always going up, cost of holidays always going up, cost of owning your own home always rising, weather still cold ,wet , dark , i persoanlly can not see why any one thinks it is better here than anywhere else, oh and by the way in case people forget it is still going up and the weather is still sxxt. so i dont think it is better here than anywhere else. this is however just my opinion.
john

Originally Posted by geordie downunder

Seems a bit of a no brainer to me.

Originally Posted by johnknight001

average fill up with petrol in the uk now £60 how much does this equate to in dollars, there is one of the many reasons people are queing up to leave, and i know some things are expensive there but i would like to see a total cost comparison between the two, i bet aus is cheaper. hear in the uk we just love getting screwed by the govt.

Originally Posted by youngy73

i think you will be in for a shock if you think the grass will be greener. australia is simply not as cheap as it once was. i will take that bet as i have lived in both countries.

Originally Posted by onceinalifetime

As far as housing goes, it depends what you're looking for. I won't buy at this point in time, a $350000 mortgage will cost just under $4000 a month, according to a mortgage adviser we saw recently, and the interest rates are predicted to raise further.

Originally Posted by Vash the Stampede

Given the relatively cheaper costs of living in the UK, I think the petrol thing balances out pretty well, so I don't see Australia having a huge advantage there. It's swings vs roundabouts.

When you consider the high costs of food & housing and the immensely strong Aussie dollar, Australia is definitely not the cheap option for Poms anymore. This is certainly the worst time to be emigrating Down Under.

The question is: do you go now while it's bad, assuming that later it will be even worse? Or do you gamble that it will get better later on, and delay your move until then? Or do you just call the whole thing off? It's a tough call.

If I wasn't an Aussie going home, I probably wouldn't be emigrating to Australia at all.

Originally Posted by @boy

Strike that mortgage advisor off your list.
They have their figures completely wrong there (unless they have quoted you a loan repayment period over just 12 years !)

350k loan over a 25 year period @ current available interest rate on a normal full featured mortgage product is approx 2,800 p.m.

It would only be 4k per month if you were paying it in half that time !

Originally Posted by tillysmum

I am astonished that people have mortgages for between £148,000 and 170,000 (depending on exchange rates) and consider living in Australia as cheaper

As for being shafted by UK government it happens here too.

Originally Posted by LayaboutSi

Firstly, Youngy73 - that's my name and birth year; you got to it first.

Secondly, I am in the North East of the UK and am keeping an eye on as many of the major financial differences between the UK and Oz before we (hopefully) migrate next Summer.

I have no worries about groceries costing a bit more, especially when fresh fruit will happily take the place of Greggs stodge. I see the move as an opportunity to eat better as the local produce should make it an easy choice.

Grocery prices over here are relentlessly moving up. All the essentials have gone up significantly over the last twelve months and continue to rise. Tescos, and others, continue to keep them down by removing any profit the supplier earns but this will eventually buckle under the strain.

The big concern now if the property prices in Oz; they appear to have gone barmy. Hopefully, we will still be able to get a nice little pad to make our home, and still be able to afford some sort of social life.

Is it becoming a struggle financially for Aussies?