Pozz

Hi again

Are there anythings which are particularly more expensive/cheaper than the UK?


ie... groceries, insurance, council tax, fuel etc etc

Id just like to see what costs have been a pleasant surprise or shock when you have moved.

JenJen

Trust me some things are more expensive and some things are cheaper and to be honest it does vary depending on where you're headed.
In my opinion it all levels out really, ups and downs give a few dollars one way or the other depending on area and lifestyle.

Having lived out there last year and we started off compaing and going omg thats more expensive here and omg thats cheaper here, after a while you get bored of doing that and accept that basically depending on your lifestyle and being able to live within what you can afford comparing will just drive you insane in the end.
Lots of ppl will probably advice, many things like, insurance etc are different in Oz to the UK and can't really be compared.

It's nice to have a bit of a guide if you've not been before though so hope you find the answer you're looking for.

But when you live there it's best not to compare.

Pozz

I sort of thought that would be the case.

Im just trying to work out what sort of lifestyle I can hope for with the salaries on offer.

Australia_bound?

just google the supermarkets, electrical stores etc and do a search for monthly costs, can't really compare as don't earn or spend £ in Australia. Really is swings and roundabouts.

coolshadows

things that are cheaper in the uk:-
Pay-Tv
Phone & Broadband packages
Car tax (though in oz it does include some form of insurance)
electricity bills
gas bills
water bills
cars (you'd be surprised what they ask in oz for an old banger!)
houses (though this depends whereabouts in the uk!)
health insurance
clothing (primark, george/asda etc..., there's no comparison in oz)

things that are cheaper in oz:-
Childcare
petrol/diesel
MOT's (there aren't any)
furniture packages (not all, but there are some good value packages)

Wendy66

Cheaper here in Oz than UK

Water bill by a mile, our bill is $45 per quarter

Fuel

Car & house insurance

New cars seem good value, v happy with one we brought (old cars are more costly)

Meat

Groceries, spend about the same here, the veggies/salad/fruit is huge

Vet costs, just had cruciate op done on one of the dogs much better value and no charge for follow up visits.

Days out mostly lots of stuff is free.


Clothes if you like buying cheap t shirts etc out of supermarkets then haven't found that sort of costing yet, although Rivers seems to do specials latest was t shirts at $4 ish each

norfolkpedlar

Id just like to see what costs have been a pleasant surprise when you have moved.


Not too much if you come to WA!!
Petrol is cheaper, car parking at the beaches(free) and the gas bbqs at the picnic areas.The clean air is also pretty cheap!!

ABCDiamond

Not everyone does

ABCDiamond

So far it seems that cars and water bills are more expensive in Australia
and
it seems that cars and water bills are more expensive in United Kingdom

depending who says it

I find it hard to compare these days, but I do pay a lot less for my telephone and my food bills than my brother in the UK.
However, I have seen others say that both are more expensive in Australia

As JenJen says

JenJen

You have to remember too that in Oz often when you buy things like fridges etc you can haggle the price a bit

You can also haggle car prices too, I would also agree new is better than old, we got second hand car an was totally ripped off by the time we worked out what was wrong the Mazda retailer that sold it wouldn't even speak to us when we brought it up.

Sometimes it's worth shopping around a bit for your food locally jsut check out the supermarkets and independants to see what you can get cheaper where - if its an issue?

You do have to pay for some dr appointments, but if you're fairly healthy this shouldnt be a huge issue.

Honestly i think while you pay more for some stuff you pay less for others so there isn't much in it apart from maybe sorting out any start up costs like buying cars, and white goods, furniture etc which you can haggle at anyway.

We thought the water rates were actually quite good but we were renting and we had the neighbour who was in charge of topping up the pool doing that more or less every other day :$ and leaving the water running for about an hour each time (no joke).
Heating seemed a little more expensive but the property was larger than the one we have here in the UK so ?

Hope it's of some help

homewardbound

Who the heck said cars are cheaper in oz????

NOooo way!

Water is cheaper if you rent as you only pay excess water charges - currently i pay $18 a quarter for me and 2 kids - yes we are very economical on the water despite showering daily LOL

The price of coffee surprised me here - its expensive

JenJen

Didn't say cars were cheaper - better value for money than a second hand car is the point I was making !
An that is just my opinion

AlliF

This might not always be the case - maybe it depends on the state you are in? We are in Vic and renting and we still responsible to pay our full water bill every quarter. (Its not been that expensive so far but is about to practically double soon i think due to the cost of a desalination plant they are building)

Amazulu

COL is roughly similar to the UK, maybe slightly less here but not by much.

Kingseat

The only thing cheaper in WA is fuel. Everything else we have found to be either the same or mostly more expensive.