Rambi

You could buy some decent gear for $85.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

You could indeed. No way would I buy Boddies out here, well maybe a four pack for nostaglia sake, I just noticed, when I was in Murph's the other day, just how staggeringly expensive it was.

itxrd

Funny. Yeah $4 a loaf or 2 for $6 like you say if you want a good deal

Snickers is 1 pound a bar? Or 83p? Maybe in a minibar in mayfair

chris and farideh

I really think it doesn't matter what everyone says that it's so expensive here & still the question gets asked again & again. we don't have the life style we had back in UK in fact we are far worse off here & the OH is paid over average but we still struggling every month this is for family of 5 we don't go out we don't do anything really, when I think about it in my poorest time in UK I was better off than here but sadly we thought we are going to be better off how wrong were we, trust me it's not always about price of milk where your money goes each month, the best thing is come & experience it, it might work for you & your family.

billingham

How much were the swings and roundabouts over there?

Vegemite Kids

Hi Polly,
your post got me thinking so I went and did a search for an old thread I posted in May 2004 about the cost of grocery shopping, then went to coles online (cos the earlier shop had been done at Coles) and price checked the items. There were a couple of items (eg, kaffir lime leaves)that werent available online so I've left them out of the list, but found that the list I posted in May 2004 cost $291.28 and at todays prices costs $439.10 - a 50% increase. Really surprised me as I thought it would have been higher!

here's the list

Item 24/05/2004 24/07/2011 Notes
Kitchen Roll (2 pack)$1.75 $3.50
Toilet roll 9 pack (3 ply quilted)$5.00 $9.50
Nescafe Gold (x200g)$8.99 $15.18
1 lt Milk x2 $2.62 $4.30
Yogurt Natural (x200g) x2 $2.02 $3.04
Flora Pro Active Spread Lite (x375g) $6.05 $7.17
Cling film 30m $1.29 $2.13
Foil wrap (x10m) $1.23 $1.68
Cat food x10 tins $7.08 $9.50
Twn Pck Garlic Bread$1.89 $2.14
Orange Juice x 3ltr $5.48 $6.41
Lemon Barley Cordial (x2L)$3.70 $3.09 (2011 is for only 750ml)
Tinned tomatoes x2 $2.38 $4.22
Refried beans (435g)$2.49 $2.77
Anti pasto sauce (350g)$2.99 $3.37
Sambal Olek (x250ml)$2.50 $4.03
HP sauce (x250 ml)$2.06 $3.14
Pasta (Pennoni x2kg)$1.50 $3.60
Grapeseed Oil (x500ml)$2.72 $5.66
Olive Oil w. Lemon (x275ml)$7.95 $4.91
Sesame Oil (x375ml)$7.30 $7.68
Thai fish sauce (x725ml)$1.85 $2.91
Rice wine vinegar (x640ml)$2.45 $2.13 (2011 is for only 250g)
Ghee (x907g)$7.95 $5.96 (2011 is for only 300g)
Marmite (x125g)$3.30 $3.12 (2011 is for 250g)
Plain Flour (x 1kg)$1.49 $2.65
Cornflour (x300g)$1.29 $2.59
Brown Sugar (x500gm)$1.28 $1.81
White sugar (x1kg)$1.00 $1.92
Sweetner Tablets (x300)$7.12 $9.62
Sanitarium Weetbix (x1kg)$4.60 $4.48 (2011 is for only 750g)
Mature Cheddar (x328gm)$4.13 $6.40 (2011 is for only 250g)
Parmesan (x350g)$7.45 $9.62 (2011 is for only 200g)
Arborio Rice (x1kg)$2.77 $4.70
Basmati Rice (x1kg) x2$5.10 $7.88
Dolmio Pesto w. Garlic$3.15 $4.80
Wholegrain Mustard (x175ml)$1.98 $2.13
Pork Fillet Roast (x1.5kg)$7.10 $18.70
Beef Mince (x600g)$4.94$7.25
Chicken Breast Fillets (-skin) x750g $10.13 $8.18
Bacon (x250g)$3.97 $6.62
Potatoes (x2kg)$3.95 $5.96
Tomatoes on the Vine$3.95 $5.98
Green peppers (per kilo)$3.98 $6.98
Red Onions Organic (per kilo)$2.49 $4.78
Bananas (per kilo)$3.45 $13.98
Continental Lettuce (per kilo)$12.99 $16.98
Mushrooms (per kilo)$8.47 $10.48
Chillies Red Hot (per kilo)$9.95 $22.98
Ginger (per kilo)$9.98 $25.99
Snow Peas (per kilo)$6.98 $19.93
Cucumber (each)$1.65 $2.98
Celery (per bunch)$1.65 $2.98
Spring Onions (per bunch)$1.25 $1.98
Coriander (per bunch)$1.49 $2.98
Dried Chilli (x80g)$1.55 $3.04
Cardomon Seed (x45g)$4.89 $4.28
Tumeric Ground (25g)$2.10 $2.00
Garam Masala (x25g)$2.68 $2.53
Cumin ground (x25g)$2.19 $2.43
Tomato Puree (x150g)$1.99 $0.86
Sandwich bags (x250)$0.74 $1.44 (2011 is for only 150)
Black Mustard Seeds$1.28 $1.87
Tin Sweet Corn (x125g)$0.78 $0.89
Tin Beetroot (x450g)$1.09 $1.56
Tortillas (6 pk) Casa Fiesta$2.16 $2.84
Mixed Grain Bread (x850g)$3.42 $4.48
Soap (2x150 g)$3.45 $4.62
Gillette Venus Razor (4 pk)$12.79 $17.40
Cotton Tips (x100 Pk)$1.35 $2.14
Colgate Total toothpaste$2.80 $3.41
Calamine Lotion (x200g)$3.95 $4.71

Cigarettes (20 x Marlboro Lite)$7.80 $13.15

Total$291.28 $439.10

Pollyana

I'm impressed. My food buying is so erratic now (and completely different from back then) that I can't do a comparison, but when I first moved here it was easy - The bloke only bought the same stuff every week, same list, exactly the same amounts, and it used to cost around $50-60 a week in Coles. By the time I left him in 2009 it was costing us at least $150-200 for the same stuff.

Vegemite Kids

LOL, know what you mean. Our shopping & eating habits have changed a lot as well in the last 7 years.

If I hadnt posted that thread way back then, there's no way I could do a direct comparison today. Wonder what it will be like in another 7 years?

I guess the good thing is my wages have increased by more than 50% in the last 7 years so as long as that trend continues I should be OK

Pollyana

I guess I'm more conscious of it now too - my wages were really good for about 3 years, but now I'm back down on half of that so having to watch the pennies again.

ldticp

Thanks for posting this thats awesome and exactly what I've been looking for. Looking through the list most prices are fairly equivalent to UK prices. There are some notable exceptions such as banana's and mushrooms which are much more expensive but over all these prices are fairly equivalent.

I think anyone moving over and not getting/taking a job on at least 2 times would be crazy and to be fair looking at job sites ect salaries are generally 2 times +. Me personally I am going over as a transfer with my company, I am on £30k in the UK and have accepted $70k in Oz.

I understand what people say that prices have risen harshly, they have everywhere but I still think it is unhelpful saying you need 3 times salary to live the same when actual costs are not triple. What am I missing, if someone can post here what those hidden costs are I would appreciate it.

As far as I have seen so far the summary is, food prices are equivalent at 2.2 conversion most other things, gas, electric, rates ect are cheaper.

I just don't see how if everything is cheaper or the same at a 2.2 conversion you would need 3 times conversion in salary to live the same. Please enlighten me.

Sherlock Holmes

I reckon you are already enlightened. You are about right I'd say.

Turban Explorer

Have you looked at the peripheral things like buying a car, dentists, medical fees, school books, Internet, phones etc... Dentists are a shocker. Cars are a big expense too. If you are working on a 2.1 salary conversion I personally believe you will find it tighter here.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Beer and the pokies.

chris955

That is how many find it, of course others dont and they do well. The average Australian family is apparently struggling and seeing 1st hand the increases in just about everything I can fully understand why. An extremely common misconception is that you will automatically, almost magically be better off by moving here, it just isn't the case anymore.

Wendy

That's something I have always found unbelievable, the fact that people think they will automatically be better off here. I never thought that for one minute before I moved here, I just expected it to be normal life just in a different country.