bcworld

Just got our latest quarterly electric bill. $270 - huge increase from last year!

That's with gas heating, gas hot water & gas for cooking!

Rambi

I've noticed saffron has become expensive. It was $1240/kg in Woolies the other day.

bcworld

That's cheap then...I saw it Tesco Express last time I was over there for GBP6500/kg!

northernbird

70 quid for every 10g on Tesco website today!

Rambi

Yikes. Maybe I should start exporting it

Unless it was $12,400/kg

itxrd

Its a rip off here. In the UK with the recession prices are low. Just ordered loads of stuff off M&S - dirt cheap. 15 pound to ship here. Its more expensive to order off an oz website (if they have one). I like football. Its cheaper for me to subscribe to 442 in the UK and get it sent here than to buy the same magazine here. Mags here are $9 btw!! That says it all

Here Ozzies are used to paying top dollar for everything. They don't know any better. Coming from the UK I do know better and have found this difficult. Ask anyone who comes here on holiday - they all will say its horrendously expensive. The good thing is you earn more here and there is lots of work. So thats the upside. This is normal I suppose if one country is buoyant and the other is in recession. It doesn't take a degree in economics to tell you these things work in cycles. In 15 yrs it could be the other way around. But a lot of people here thing Oz is immune to a recession

As I have said a few times for people coming over multiple your UK wage by 3 and if you will earn that here you will have an equivalent standard of living. I seriously doubt anyone coming here now would be doing so for financial reasons. Its more for a better quality of life - food and weather is better.

Pollyana

I've just done my first mail-order from M&S, soooo cheap, and so much better quality than the stuff here. I'm sat at work listening to girls moaning about how the suit they bought last week is falling apart, while I still have two from M&S that I bought 10 years back! Crazy......

the troubadour

A rip off indeed.Coming from most places here is expensive. Just perhaps the message may be starting to get through with a decline in retail sales as it is only when folk keep their wallets in their pockets that the insanity may abate.

the troubadour

Quality sadly lacking in so many areas. Certainly declined over the years. The girls hopefully are going to return the faulty product?

Turban Explorer

Me too! Just ordered 300 quid worth of M&S goodies. Just a shame they don't send food and wine over here. Can't remember when I last bought anything other than food in Oz... All the Aussies we know are all over M&S online like a mad woman's dinner. The poor guys are used to the junk in Big W!

the troubadour

It'll be a very brave government that takes on the NHS. Thatcher thought about it, but it does appear quite sacred to the average Britisher and if messed around with will result in great peril to the sitting government.

the troubadour

Never yet done it more fool me but agree only way to travel.

itxrd

Nice one. Expect it soon. Only takes 3-4 days!!!

Weebie

Australians aren't used to get ripping off it's more that money isn't a problem. Many Australians live in million dollar homes whilst in Britain it's a small minority.

BadgeIsBack

The message appears to be getting through, and has for some time. Noone I know pays top dollar anywhere unless they want a top dollar experience if you know what I mean...I can only guess the average Aussie doesn't know any better.

What annoys me is the way manufacturing has gone to China - in this case, the 'Chinese don't know any better'. There has been a marked decline this last 10 years. I was looking at higher end stuff in Melbourne, and even the 'high-quality' Italian (the 'Italians know how to do it!') stuff was poor quality.

In London you need to pay over a grand, and about 2-3+ in Australia to get something good resembing a suit. There are some good independents here in Melbourne.

Not much choice in FNQ...M&S is dreadfully middle-class though..sorry tis true. You'd have to be desperate...