jimbo_d

All forms of insurance (WA at least, I know Eastern states it's more)
Petrol
Electronics
Public transport (free in Perth CBD)
Quality and really cheap (goon) wines - I know plonk like Jacobs Creek is cheaper in Britain, but for superior tasting stuff like the WA/SA boutiques you can't buy there and have to pay a lot more than $20 for a good bottle
Pay as you go mobile phone use

Beoz

Sunsceeen, train tickets, thai food, eating out at BYO, energy, windscreen wipers, milk, and if you shop around and negotiate there is a whole lot more.

the troubadour

The fact that the casualisation of the Australian workplace should be considered to be of far more importance than wages being more or less than UK.
Casual workers do/should earn more but have few rights and are easily disposed off for whatever reason unscrupulous employers may deem fit.
As for should earn more it is not unknown for folk who complain they are not being paid casual rates, suddenly find their names are no longer rostered.
A hell of a lot of working folk with mortgages are doing it tough. Very little if anything works out cheaper than UK. As a rule factoring a high dollar it has been claimed to be 30% more expensive.
Social life like pubs and the like all very expensive.

the troubadour

Higher and ever increasing. Wonder at what stage it will impact on the housing market? How they expect folk to take out loans not knowing in a year if they'll still be in employment?

calliope

And not only are houses expensive but interest rates are much higher, so bigger monthly expenditure servicing the $500,000 debt at 7% where the repayments could easily be $3000 every month if not higher.

the troubadour

Very much so. This rather nullifies the higher wages which in all fairness sound far more than they would be if the dollar was at a more historically normal rate.
Considering the high dollar the profiteering by importers I often find amazing.
Unless in employment in a few choice areas concerned with mining or gas and the like it is all pretty ordinary.

Wendy

Red meat and cheap wine (well free in my case ) works for me!

I'm with you Jen. I earn more here (based on a 2.5/1 basis) for the same job, and I mostly have more disposable cash too.

It does depend what you do. But it is possible to live here without it costing the earth.


I liked being casual, meant I got more money. I only went permanent because I got a better offer.

Wow! $1300 a week Mines that a month! (3 bed with a granny flat. A Woolies at one end of the street and a pub at the other!)

I couldn't find any drinkable Aussie wine when I went back last year! Despite looking in 2 different Morissons and 4 Asda's.

Cheetah7

Stopped comparing years ago but I know my husband prefers doing food shopping here, going to the markets for veggies and stuff.

He has never been into convenience foods/sauces and likes making his own, I dont cook so I dont know half of what the shopping bill is but I know he prefers it.

We get far more for our council tax, someone tagged our fence the other week, we reported it and the next morning the council sent someone out to remove it free of charge. Our rangers are excellent and all in all we are more than happy with that.

I used to pay about 45 pounds a week for my all zone Oyster Card, I find public transport cheaper here. Never had a car in the UK but $40 will fill up my Yaris with premium unleaded and last for a month roughly although I dont drive long distances, it is still economical to run even when I did.

Medicines get to me a bit, in the UK I liked the fact that you could buy a pre payment certificate for prescriptions so that was my asthma sorted but here you cant.

Veterinary medicine is cheaper here, I pay $40 for my dogs hip injection with no consult fee, in the vets in London it would have been 50 quid to even walk in the door with the jab on top of that.

I cant remember anything else as I say, I stopped converting long ago and dont even think about it now.

Beoz

Me too. I think people tend to forget the spare cash thing and focus on the comparison thing.

I get paid monthly and live in the heart of Sydney and my spare cash is so much greater than it was in London.

Bermudashorts

People were focussing upon "the comparison thing" because OP was specifically asking about what items are cheaper in Australia. Hard to answer that question without comparison.

Personally, I think far too many people get too hung up on comparing the cost of lettuces. So long as salary is about 2.2 - 2.5 X GBP salary then standard of living will be comparable.

verystormy

If we decide as orginaly planned to go back to the UK next year for a year or two i should be able to a good comparisson as i will be doing the same job in the same place for the same money. Will be interesting to see how it goes

Pomster

Eating out (pretty expensive here in UK)
Importing stuff- limit into UK is 20quid, Aus is 1000.

NI is cheaper in Aus!
Commuting
supermarket shopping- as they don't have clothes, CDs, DVDs etc to add to the basket.

Fuel bills- here we put out heating on 6 weeks ago and I guess it will be on for another 3-4 months. In Oz our heating was on June, July, August and that was all (Melbourne)
Going out with kids- mostly free, here we have to find more indoor thing to do.

Pomster

we are doing the same and are in the run towards a return to Oz. It is very attractive thought when it is cold and miserable and you have spent a day with commuter's armpits in your face

Family of 3

Although, to be fair, that's even worse when it's hot

JR230898

Sunshine.