Anyone Quitting Aus due to High Cost of Living
#541
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Where do you go shopping ![LOL](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/lol.gif)
Even Woolworths isn't that expensive, and they are just about the highest prices for fresh fruit and veg.
Woolworths are $14.90 for a 5kg Red Seedless Watermelon.
Their apples are $3.86 for 1kg of Granny Smith, which is a price I think is extortionate.
Actually I think all of Woolworths prices are way to high.
My shopping at the local fruit market today:
1kg Tomatoes
1kg Bananas
1 sliced white bread
Total $4.05
+ no queues, instant service![Thumbs Up](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif)
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Even Woolworths isn't that expensive, and they are just about the highest prices for fresh fruit and veg.
Woolworths are $14.90 for a 5kg Red Seedless Watermelon.
Their apples are $3.86 for 1kg of Granny Smith, which is a price I think is extortionate.
Actually I think all of Woolworths prices are way to high.
My shopping at the local fruit market today:
1kg Tomatoes
1kg Bananas
1 sliced white bread
Total $4.05
+ no queues, instant service
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#543
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For us it was a shock to begin with. In fact the "retail therapy" of yesteryear is more aptly described these days as "retail trauma". Better to avoid the shops and grab some mountain air instead!
Thanks for the tip.
We've tried some of the local "markets" such as Belconnen, Fyshwick, etc but found that the prices were little different to the supermarkets so came away dissappointed. Will def give Mitchell Farrmers Market a try next weekend.
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Thanks for the tip.
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Something which perplexes me a little is where goods are clearly expensive and yet people herd together and snap them up. For example in Aldi the other day bananas were $1.99 a kilo but few seemed particularly bothered to buy them. We did and they tasted fine. Then yesterday at the Farmers market they were selling bananas (ladies fingers, apparently) which looked identical to the Aldi ones but the price was $4.99 a kilo and people were jostling with eachother to snap them up. Meanwhile also yesterday and to a luke-warm to cold response, larger bananas were selling at Wollies for $2.99 a kilo. Surely there's not that much if any difference between them all that people are so particular as to go for the significantly marked-up ones? ...Maybe I'm not sophisticated/fussy enough to appreciate the difference? ...Or maybe I'm the only sane one??
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#544
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Well, we tried Mitchell Farmers Market yesterday. The prices there seemed pretty much as outrageous and often worse than at the supermarkets.
Something which perplexes me a little is where goods are clearly expensive and yet people herd together and snap them up. For example in Aldi the other day bananas were $1.99 a kilo but few seemed particularly bothered to buy them. We did and they tasted fine. Then yesterday at the Farmers market they were selling bananas (ladies fingers, apparently) which looked identical to the Aldi ones but the price was $4.99 a kilo and people were jostling with eachother to snap them up. Meanwhile also yesterday and to a luke-warm to cold response, larger bananas were selling at Wollies for $2.99 a kilo. Surely there's not that much if any difference between them all that people are so particular as to go for the significantly marked-up ones? ...Maybe I'm not sophisticated/fussy enough to appreciate the difference? ...Or maybe I'm the only sane one??![EEK!](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif)
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Something which perplexes me a little is where goods are clearly expensive and yet people herd together and snap them up. For example in Aldi the other day bananas were $1.99 a kilo but few seemed particularly bothered to buy them. We did and they tasted fine. Then yesterday at the Farmers market they were selling bananas (ladies fingers, apparently) which looked identical to the Aldi ones but the price was $4.99 a kilo and people were jostling with eachother to snap them up. Meanwhile also yesterday and to a luke-warm to cold response, larger bananas were selling at Wollies for $2.99 a kilo. Surely there's not that much if any difference between them all that people are so particular as to go for the significantly marked-up ones? ...Maybe I'm not sophisticated/fussy enough to appreciate the difference? ...Or maybe I'm the only sane one??
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I've never understood why people bang on about them as I've never found them cheaper than anywhere else.
'Lady Finger' bananas have one major plus point over the standard banana you get here... they taste of banana !!
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#545
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Well, we tried Mitchell Farmers Market yesterday. The prices there seemed pretty much as outrageous and often worse than at the supermarkets.
Something which perplexes me a little is where goods are clearly expensive and yet people herd together and snap them up. For example in Aldi the other day bananas were $1.99 a kilo but few seemed particularly bothered to buy them. We did and they tasted fine. Then yesterday at the Farmers market they were selling bananas (ladies fingers, apparently) which looked identical to the Aldi ones but the price was $4.99 a kilo and people were jostling with eachother to snap them up. Meanwhile also yesterday and to a luke-warm to cold response, larger bananas were selling at Wollies for $2.99 a kilo. Surely there's not that much if any difference between them all that people are so particular as to go for the significantly marked-up ones? ...Maybe I'm not sophisticated/fussy enough to appreciate the difference? ...Or maybe I'm the only sane one??![EEK!](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif)
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Something which perplexes me a little is where goods are clearly expensive and yet people herd together and snap them up. For example in Aldi the other day bananas were $1.99 a kilo but few seemed particularly bothered to buy them. We did and they tasted fine. Then yesterday at the Farmers market they were selling bananas (ladies fingers, apparently) which looked identical to the Aldi ones but the price was $4.99 a kilo and people were jostling with eachother to snap them up. Meanwhile also yesterday and to a luke-warm to cold response, larger bananas were selling at Wollies for $2.99 a kilo. Surely there's not that much if any difference between them all that people are so particular as to go for the significantly marked-up ones? ...Maybe I'm not sophisticated/fussy enough to appreciate the difference? ...Or maybe I'm the only sane one??
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I cannot comment on the banana issue, I don't think I have eaten a banana since we moved here.
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#546
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Welcome to my world, where the 'cheap' farmers markets... aren't. ![Big Grin](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
I've never understood why people bang on about them as I've never found them cheaper than anywhere else.
'Lady Finger' bananas have one major plus point over the standard banana you get here... they taste of banana !!
![Big Grin](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
I've never understood why people bang on about them as I've never found them cheaper than anywhere else.
'Lady Finger' bananas have one major plus point over the standard banana you get here... they taste of banana !!
![EEK!](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif)
What is supposed to be so special about them besides the price of course? Which is probably why I have never bought them, with them being 3 x the price of normal bananas.
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#547
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Another one here who doesn't generally find markets & greengrocers any cheaper than supermarkets. I do remember thinking that the Paddy's market in Sydney was pretty cheap though.
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#548
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We are both old enough to remember when all the UK's banana's came from the Windward Isle's and tasted of banana.... well the Lady Fingers remind me of them.
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#549
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The $1.99 ones that we bought in Aldi the other day tasted pretty good and looked very much like the Lady Finger variety.
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#550
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Well, we tried Mitchell Farmers Market yesterday. The prices there seemed pretty much as outrageous and often worse than at the supermarkets.
Something which perplexes me a little is where goods are clearly expensive and yet people herd together and snap them up. For example in Aldi the other day bananas were $1.99 a kilo but few seemed particularly bothered to buy them. We did and they tasted fine. Then yesterday at the Farmers market they were selling bananas (ladies fingers, apparently) which looked identical to the Aldi ones but the price was $4.99 a kilo and people were jostling with eachother to snap them up. Meanwhile also yesterday and to a luke-warm to cold response, larger bananas were selling at Wollies for $2.99 a kilo. Surely there's not that much if any difference between them all that people are so particular as to go for the significantly marked-up ones? ...Maybe I'm not sophisticated/fussy enough to appreciate the difference? ...Or maybe I'm the only sane one??![EEK!](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif)
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Something which perplexes me a little is where goods are clearly expensive and yet people herd together and snap them up. For example in Aldi the other day bananas were $1.99 a kilo but few seemed particularly bothered to buy them. We did and they tasted fine. Then yesterday at the Farmers market they were selling bananas (ladies fingers, apparently) which looked identical to the Aldi ones but the price was $4.99 a kilo and people were jostling with eachother to snap them up. Meanwhile also yesterday and to a luke-warm to cold response, larger bananas were selling at Wollies for $2.99 a kilo. Surely there's not that much if any difference between them all that people are so particular as to go for the significantly marked-up ones? ...Maybe I'm not sophisticated/fussy enough to appreciate the difference? ...Or maybe I'm the only sane one??
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If you want cheap then the best place is the Belconnen or Fyshwick markets at 3pm on a Sunday where you can get boxes of stuff (on the point of rot) for next to nothing. Unfortunately you usually end up buying more stuff than you actually need so spend the same amount but have to toss away more than half of it because it has gone off by Sunday tea time.
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#551
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"Fyffes offer a full range of bananas, from loose to prepack. The bananas are sourced in the Tropics from countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Belize, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Honduras. The invention of steam ships, and a little later, of refrigeration, allowed marketable volumes of bananas to survive the long voyage to Northern Europe."
Last edited by Beedubya; Jan 15th 2011 at 11:44 am. Reason: not enough f's
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#552
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I only remember the Fyffes sticker on banana's and have only today found out where they came from, such matters never entering my head before. ![LOL](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/lol.gif)
"Fyffes offer a full range of bananas, from loose to prepack. The bananas are sourced in the Tropics from countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Belize, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Honduras. The invention of steam ships, and a little later, of refrigeration, allowed marketable volumes of bananas to survive the long voyage to Northern Europe."
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"Fyffes offer a full range of bananas, from loose to prepack. The bananas are sourced in the Tropics from countries such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Belize, Ivory Coast, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Honduras. The invention of steam ships, and a little later, of refrigeration, allowed marketable volumes of bananas to survive the long voyage to Northern Europe."
I would guess that the Windward Island banana's are now the same as anywhere else, as they lost the exclusive, and favourable terms, contract with the UK because of the EU and WTO. They most likely had to switch to the fast growing/big fruit/no taste type of tree to be able to compete on the world market.
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#553
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Fyffes is an Irish company? I think they have a lot of their own plantations in Brazil.
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#554
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Fyffes banana's are similar to the type grown here in Australia, large fruits, that grow quickly and always, to me at least, has a slightly tangy/metalic flavour to it. The Windward island banana used to be a different banana tree, one that ripened slower and had smaller fruit.... but tasted a whole lot better.
I would guess that the Windward Island banana's are now the same as anywhere else, as they lost the exclusive, and favourable terms, contract with the UK because of the EU and WTO. They most likley had to switch to the fast growing/big fruit/no taste type of tree to be able to compete on the world market.
I would guess that the Windward Island banana's are now the same as anywhere else, as they lost the exclusive, and favourable terms, contract with the UK because of the EU and WTO. They most likley had to switch to the fast growing/big fruit/no taste type of tree to be able to compete on the world market.
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