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Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Old Apr 19th 2010, 3:05 pm
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Default Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Are you amazed to find substantial Child Benefit, free dental care for kids, free NHS, free visits to your GP, low cost prescriptions and free prescriptions for children, less working hours in the week and less travel time to see interesting places??? Also free nursery (kindie) places for all children from the age of 3 for 5 sessions a week in some places and Catholic Education all free and paid for by the government?? Interested to know what you think because its all costing a small fortune in WA.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 4:17 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by evelyn oneill
Are you amazed to find substantial Child Benefit, free dental care for kids, free NHS, free visits to your GP, low cost prescriptions and free prescriptions for children, less working hours in the week and less travel time to see interesting places??? Also free nursery (kindie) places for all children from the age of 3 for 5 sessions a week in some places and Catholic Education all free and paid for by the government?? Interested to know what you think because its all costing a small fortune in WA.


Hello and welcome to BE.

I think you'll get a better response to your question in The Barbie forum...so I'll move this thread.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 8:35 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by evelyn oneill
Are you amazed to find substantial Child Benefit, free dental care for kids, free NHS, free visits to your GP, low cost prescriptions and free prescriptions for children, less working hours in the week and less travel time to see interesting places??? Also free nursery (kindie) places for all children from the age of 3 for 5 sessions a week in some places and Catholic Education all free and paid for by the government?? Interested to know what you think because its all costing a small fortune in WA.

Well, I am impressed with the dental aspect of things, especially in regards to braces. Also the short distances between interesting places - I love that. I think the child benefit is about the same though, as is the NHS because effectively you are paying for it through your NI contributions (and we pay loads into this!). We don't do pharmaceuticals so cannot comment on that. The schools in our area are 'crappish' so it costs us a bomb to send our children to private schools. Council Tax here is much higher and you pay for any property you rent or lease - in Australia it is the landlord who is responsible for these rates. I do think the cost of groceries is substantially dearer in Oz but then it is easier to grow your own fruit and vegies so it can be counteracted to some degree.
Overall, I think it probably evens out, but it does depend on your lifestyle and expectations. It can take a while to adapt.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 8:57 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by Tuxtrip
Well, I am impressed with the dental aspect of things, especially in regards to braces. Also the short distances between interesting places - I love that. I think the child benefit is about the same though, as is the NHS because effectively you are paying for it through your NI contributions (and we pay loads into this!). We don't do pharmaceuticals so cannot comment on that. The schools in our area are 'crappish' so it costs us a bomb to send our children to private schools. Council Tax here is much higher and you pay for any property you rent or lease - in Australia it is the landlord who is responsible for these rates. I do think the cost of groceries is substantially dearer in Oz but then it is easier to grow your own fruit and vegies so it can be counteracted to some degree.
Overall, I think it probably evens out, but it does depend on your lifestyle and expectations. It can take a while to adapt.
NHS is not paid for by NI contributions. Income Taxes pays for the NHS. National Insurance contributions pays for unemployment benefits, social security benefits, pensions etc...it has nothing to do with the National Health Service.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 8:59 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

if you do your homework before you head out here or to any other country you shouldnt really be shocked at any of the costs
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 9:00 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

My apologies. We also pay loads of Income Tax, so either way, NHS is well covered.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 9:32 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

no i find it way way way more expensive in the UK. i can't wait to get home. as soon as flights resume i will be on one.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 10:10 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by moocow
no i find it way way way more expensive in the UK. i can't wait to get home. as soon as flights resume i will be on one.
I am in Sydney. It is way, way, way more expensive than anywhere I have lived in the UK.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 11:03 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by evelyn oneill
Are you amazed to find substantial Child Benefit, free dental care for kids, free NHS, free visits to your GP, low cost prescriptions and free prescriptions for children, less working hours in the week and less travel time to see interesting places??? Also free nursery (kindie) places for all children from the age of 3 for 5 sessions a week in some places and Catholic Education all free and paid for by the government?? Interested to know what you think because its all costing a small fortune in WA.
I think some things are better and some are worse:

- Child Benefit in Australia gives me thousands per year - not sure what UK gives
- Free dental care for kids - I imagine this is better in the UK - though are you aware that Australian schools have free dentals vans and childrens vouchers to go the dentist - so while not as good there is some support.
- Australia has a free public hospital system too - you just have to use rather than going private? As the GP (bulk bill one) to send you to a public specialist. Australians live 2 years longer than British so I do have some faith in it.
- Prescriptions are half Australian price so that is good.
- Less working time I never noticed this - seemed the same to me. I find nature and cities interesting so both countries do it for me.
- The free kindie from 3 is good - I think they are looking at introducing here.
- Catholic schools are partially funded by the govt like all private schools but they are classed as private schools and are treated as such - not sure why the govt would fully fund one religion - surely that's what govt shools are for?

I actually found the UK more expensive, but things may have changed.

I think either way nothing is free. All paid for - just different ways of taking it in and handing it out.
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Old Apr 19th 2010, 11:34 pm
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by fish.01
I think some things are better and some are worse:

- Child Benefit in Australia gives me thousands per year - not sure what UK gives
- Free dental care for kids - I imagine this is better in the UK - though are you aware that Australian schools have free dentals vans and childrens vouchers to go the dentist - so while not as good there is some support.
- Australia has a free public hospital system too - you just have to use rather than going private? As the GP (bulk bill one) to send you to a public specialist. Australians live 2 years longer than British so I do have some faith in it.
- Prescriptions are half Australian price so that is good.
- Less working time I never noticed this - seemed the same to me. I find nature and cities interesting so both countries do it for me.
- The free kindie from 3 is good - I think they are looking at introducing here.
- Catholic schools are partially funded by the govt like all private schools but they are classed as private schools and are treated as such - not sure why the govt would fully fund one religion - surely that's what govt shools are for?

I actually found the UK more expensive, but things may have changed.

I think either way nothing is free. All paid for - just different ways of taking it in and handing it out.
It's all relative to income.
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Old Apr 20th 2010, 12:03 am
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Smile Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by evelyn oneill
Are you amazed to find substantial Child Benefit
Nope. My wife and I already receive substantial child benefit here in Australia. In fact, our total benefit payments are higher here than they were in the UK. I am currently unemployed, but we receive more than enough to cover all our bills and still pay the full amount on our mortgage every month. Can't complain.

free dental care for kids
Yes, that was surprising, considering the average condition of British teeth.

free NHS
Free? As I recall, the vast majority of British citizens pay for their prescriptions. A token amount, yes, and cheaper than Australian prescriptions. But it certainly wasn't free.

free visits to your GP
You mean just like the free visits to my GP that I enjoy here in Australia? No, that didn't surprise me. I simply expected it!

low cost prescriptions and free prescriptions for children
No, that didn't surprise me. I was aware that the NHS is more generous than Medicare. What I didn't expect was the atrocious state of the truly dreadful NHS hospitals. It's a good thing they were free (just like Australian hospitals) because I sure as hell wouldn't have paid for them!

less working hours in the week and less travel time to see interesting places???
Less working hours in the week? Really? I had a number of jobs during my time in the UK. I recall working variously from 08:00-17:30, 09:00-17:00 and occasionally 08:30-18:00. This does not include the 9 months of rotating shift work that I endured while an employee of Telewest Broadband. Nor does it include the countless hours of unpaid overtime that UK employers almost invariably expected from me.

Less travel time to see interesting places... no, that didn't surprise me. I already knew that the UK is roughly the size of a teaspoon. I think most people are, to be honest.

Also free nursery (kindie) places for all children from the age of 3 for 5 sessions a week in some places and Catholic Education all free and paid for by the government??
"In some places." Quite. That didn't surprise me, no. And I wasn't thrilled about the prospect of Catholic education, whether free or otherwise.

Interested to know what you think because its all costing a small fortune in WA.
Well, you have my thoughts. Good luck with your life in WA. I was born and raised there. It's a nice place, though terribly overpriced.


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Old Apr 20th 2010, 12:06 am
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by moocow
no i find it way way way more expensive in the UK. i can't wait to get home. as soon as flights resume i will be on one.
I am in Melbourne and it is way way way more expensive than where I used to live in London.
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Old Apr 20th 2010, 12:44 am
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Originally Posted by evelyn oneill
Are you amazed to find substantial Child Benefit, free dental care for kids, free NHS, free visits to your GP, low cost prescriptions and free prescriptions for children, less working hours in the week and less travel time to see interesting places??? Also free nursery (kindie) places for all children from the age of 3 for 5 sessions a week in some places and Catholic Education all free and paid for by the government?? Interested to know what you think because its all costing a small fortune in WA.
Yes in one word.

In the UK we got child benefit; here we get nothing - we are too "rich"

We had excellent NHS dentists and an orthodontist in the UK. Later this year my son starts orthodontic treatment that is going to cost us $15,000!

Didn't use the doctors much in the UK but yes it was great that we received something back in the form of "free" treatment given the level of taxes you pay in either country. Ditto free prescriptions particularly when my youngest had severe exzema as a baby. The treatment we have had in Australia from the medical profession leaves alot to be desired. Even the children's hospital didn't know the condition my youngest has. It took two private consultations for someone to actually have heard of it. He was diagnosed in the UK some 10 years ago.

My OH is in snr mgmt and in the UK he worked long but not excessive hours; regularly worked from home; was remunerated accordingly including an annual bonus; and 5 weeks AL pa. Here mgmt is expected to work all the hours God sends. Mgmt/professional salaries are lower than the UK. You may be entitled to 4 weeks AL pa here in Oz - but they don't want you to take all of it.

When my children went to nursery in the UK it was before "free places" so can't compare with Oz.

My children went to a fantastic Catholic primary school that cost of GBP39pa for the 3 of them. Didn't have to pay for books etc. Uniform was available in the High Street not some "rip-off" specialist merchant. Here we are paying $13,000 for two boys in a "private" Catholic senior school which locals think is v gd. I have a slightly different opinion.

Yes we used to travel more frequently in the UK. Here the costs of travel both in Australia and abroad are extortionate but we knew that before we "returned".

Grocery shopping is def more expensive here. Yes, you can make some savings by shopping around but as I now work longer hours here I have less time to do so.
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Old Apr 20th 2010, 1:12 am
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

The UK can no longer afford the NHS in it's current form. I think it will change a lot (ie cost the user) over the coming years, although I expect that going to hospital, like Australia, will remain free.
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Old Apr 20th 2010, 1:13 am
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Default Re: Question for Australians who have lived in the uK

Thanks everyone for your replys to this thread - i should have pointed out i lived in a good area of Scotland and the Scottish Government does invest quite well in children with free NHS dental care and free Nursery education. This has made a big difference to my boys education and they are way ahead of Australian children in maths and English, and just overall literacy and reading levels. Not sure if its the same in England. Prescriptions are much much cheaper overall but free for children and that makes a big difference to your budget when paying out for antibiotics etc.
In reply to one of the threads - i don'y think we will be staying but have enjoyed mostly the weather and the brilliant Australian hospitality.
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