Hi All,

Still trying to find out what the gap is between the cost of living in the Oz & the UK.

Do you find it "more expensive" "cheaper" or "over all the same"

Thank You

Overall a bit cheaper here in England, food shopping seems noticeably cheaper, other stuff the same or cheaper so yes a bit cheaper here.

sorry comparing price for price uk v au is nonsense and a waste of your time

yes most items in the shopping basket on a direct comparison will be dearer in au but then most people earn more per hr in au that uk

so the more accurate comparison would be how long does it take to earn the cost of a trolley full of shopping or a weeks rent, a tank of fuel and then compare that country for country

regards Steve

Its impossible to say most people earn more, I have never seen any figures that back that up. Some earn more, some less and some the same.

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/natio...s/default.aspx

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employme...ge/DG_10027201

OK, so that is showing us the minimum wage in each country. Judging by the poll it seems clear that it is the same at best.

sorry i dont agree

from my own experiences in the construction industry ( sparkies joiners plumbers tilers etc )

au rates

cards in 25 to 38 dollars an hr plus allowances = 16 to 24 pounds an hr at todays rate

subbies 35 to 60 dollars hr = 22 to 36 pounds an hr at todays rate

contractors 60 to 85 dollars hr= 36 to 54 pounds an hr at todays rate


uk rates

cards in 10 to 15 pounds an hr

subbies 12 to 20 pounds an hr

contractors 30 to 50 pounds an hr




i would again say that wages rates in au are on the whole higher which is what said earlier

and again its pointless exercise the only real way to assess costs across the two is to work out how long you have to work to purchase the same thing in both countries

Not this again. 2.5 rule. That's all you need to know.

so your arguments based on the votes of three people ?

Thanks for your responses to this Chris & Steve,

I see both your points & really all I am trying to find out is a like for like difference on a week to week basis. so if our income here in the UK is 30k & in AU it will be the equivalent income (say 2.5x) then how does that income compare with the weekly cost of living.

If you see my point

Cheers

If you can get $75000 in Oz then you're in front. Of course that won't ring true if you have a passion for buying lots of luxury european cars - the UK is the place for you. You can see why there's no set answer on this. Everyone has different needs.

As Steve rightly said, it's about how long you need to work in order to buy the things you want, and in my case I can save the same amount, on current exchange rates, in 6 months in Oz where it would take me 1 year in the UK. Of course that figure might be completely different in 5 years time as it was 5 years ago.

Posting a black and white poll like you did will not provide you the answers you are looking for.

Point taken & really i would not include buying cars, holidays, or having the latest iphone as "cost of living" as those type of things are away from the basics. Basics being Rent, Food, Bills etc that are needed to live.

Cheers

I earn far less in Australia. I have changed fields, but I did work in my field when I first got here and it is still much less than the uk.
Hubbie probably earns about the same now, but took about four years to get up to that.

When I can get work, I earn more in Oz. Hubby about the same. spending power here signficantly reduced - especially when it comes to holidays (I just can't afford Oz holidays, but used to go on holiday 2-3 times per year in UK). What kills me is rental ($500 per week for a dump) health costs (about 7-8K pa from full private health cover + 'out of pocket' expenses) and education costs (state school, but still about 3-4K per year. This has changed a lot in the 6 years I've been here - when I came out to Oz, we were quite flush but cost of living has soared and wages remained the same

Just goes to show how different it can be for different people in different situations. It sounds really tough for you. Do you know if would be any different in the UK for you in your situation? As for wages, Mrs Beoz got a 9% pay rise a few months back. We both didn't see a pay rise in the UK between 2008 and 2011.