5 years time you'll all be spending Euros

I spent ages writing a reply but then realised,

Well said the exchange rate shouldnt really come in to it when thinking about your on-going cost of living.

Wow, thanks for all the replies. I have read through all of them and have come to the conclusion that, financially, we are going to have the same amount of disposable income after all the necessities are paid. On the plus side though, I have been a student for 3 years and have therefore been used to living on a tight budget and for the past year since I started working my OH and I have been saving every spare penny to help us get set up in Oz! When we are bored in the UK we end up going to the cinema/pub/out for a meal which easily costs £30 but in Oz we can just laze on the beach, surf and have a bbq with friends in the garden- PERFECT (and not as expensive)!!

Beach life is over rated, with the cancer blazing sun shining down on Aus you'll find you will have to avoid it or pay for it later in life. Also sun sets earlier in Aus so same options, pub, cinema etc will all still cost, as not much fun going to the beach & surfing in the dark

But with good bbudgetingand not going out of your way to find UK products you should be fine

Don't be a misery...as the Australians say slip, slop, slap!

You are in dream land the beach soons wears off and ozzies dont bother as they are scared of skin cancer, surfing just hurts and you will pack it up after a few trys, and belive it or not it rains in oz a lot and Barbies are a pain with the mozzies and cold nights. sorry to burst your bubble, but best tell you the truth.

I love spending time at the beach, I take a good book and sit under the pier if it's too hot - and the beaches aren't crammed with people out to get a tan so there's plenty of room

I went last week and we spent about 2 hours there then went to a restaurant for lunch. Cost $36 for me and two kids (kids had meal, drink and ice cream for $10), so eating out is not always expensive either.

It's a hard life, but someones got to do it

But is that a good thing if it reduces the value of the pound and makes imports more expensive and therefore the cost of living.

At least in Oz the australians realise that sun = skin cancer, not like the Brits I used to see on the beach and at sports events pink as lobsters asking for cancer in later life.

Oh my god, seems like someones got to chill out and start to enjoy life! Firstly, lazing on the beach with family and friends is one of the best things in the world I could think of possibly doing. Secondly, you obviously haven't got the right technique if surfing hurts, or you need to toughen up- my husband was actually a state champion in South Africa so just watching him out there having a fantastic time will make me happy. Thirdly, obviously I realise it rains, otherwise the whole country would be classed as a desert, which it isn't. Fourthly, yeah of course it gets cold but how many people on the Gold Coast have had to scrape the ice off of their car in the past year? Very few I'm sure. Lastly, cover up and wear mozzie repellant and the buggers should leave you alone! Please don't try to rain on my parade, I see moving to Oz as a wonderful and amazing adventure. I'm obviously not stupid as I wouldn't have posted the original thread. Those who chose to move to another country and especially those who gain a visa for a country such as Australia are very fortunate and should make the most of it. I feel that maybe you didn't think it through fully before you left the UK and therefore became disappointed with what you discovered in another country and culture.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy it but it does not work for a lot of people.
I can only go by my experience as a young single bloke in Perth who managed to find plenty of female company which was greatbut no soul in the place...much prefer Kwa Zulu Natal, Empangeni and the wonderful beaches up the east coast

Well the Brits you have seen must have been very stupid then.

They sure were you never seen them at cricket and the like...pink lobsters.

I take it you were the exception to the rule?

Sorry but can't put a nation into one pot as everyone is different

A lot of what you get out of OZ, is reflected by what you are prepared to put in.

I find the whinging old farts who moan about everything, everybody etc.. were just as frigging miserable in the uk.

They will whine on about this that n the other, and blame everything and everyone, except... themselves !

Migration is like a marriage !

100% effort..
Take the good with the bad
For better or worse..

As with many marriages/divorce... migration doesnt work for everyone. Shame but a fact.

Ste