verystormy

We arrived in Oz in early May and before we came out i did lots of research on here which was great and we learned a lot. However, during that period people warned us that Oz is expensive, but i didnt listen, i mean afterall the shows on Chanel 4 show it isnt!
Well we arrived in Sydney and set about our new life down under. Well before i add the next bit, i want to say we love Sydney even though we are moving to Perth, but thats a work thing and we love Oz and will never go back to the UK - in fact i am not bothered about even going back for a holiday. BUT i think those of you thinking of coming should know a couple of things:
1) Housing - forget what you see on tv, housing here is VERY expensive and often pretty dire. We looked at over 40 places all over the city, (we arent limited to where we live by work) and most were over $500 per week and i wouldnt have housed a rat in them. We eventualy found something at $600 for a two bed appartment. Lets put that in context, it is almost what i was paying in the UK for a 3 bed house.
2) Living costs - Food and things are also very expensive and you can find yourself paying a small fortune
3) Household bills - Cant say much about gas / elec. But telephone, mobile and internet are about 4 times what we paid in the UK and the internet is crap
4) General - You can get most things that you would get in the UK even the same brands, though i have struggeled to find black pudding
The Oz things such as cloths, household good and food generally is good and no different in quality and price. Eating out is probably a little cheaper than the UK we think, though you can pay big $$$ as well
5) I still cant put my finger on what it is, but even with the above we love it. Oh, and yes the weather is great - Sydney has just had the coldest winter in 40 years but most days it was still good enough to swim outdoors under a blue sky!

I hope this helps those thinking of coming. I would encourage anybody to try Oz, but be aware that it is very different to what you think it will be like

noofie

Thanks for sharing such an honest account of things.

Glad you are still loving it though despite the drawbacks.

Jackie x

bcworld

They sell it in Woolworths (Safeway) here in Brisbane. You buy the whole u-shaped pudding. It's actually not too bad. It's more like Scottish style than English style (full of white bits) - so maybe try Safeway.

ABCDiamond

Sydney City is expensive. If anyone is looking at Sydney, then compare it to London City area.
The outer suburbs of Sydney are cheaper. We rent out a decent 3 bed house for $270pw and a two bed house for $190 pw just East of Penrith. (1 hour train to Sydney CBD)

Your $600pw for a two bed apartment, would get this in my area near Brisbane, (well $560 actually, as I couldn't find anything higher)

http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin...&tm=1220745530

4 Bedrooms, 2 Bathroom, Rumpus Room , Family Room, Study, Ceiling Fans, Pool, Fully Fenced, Combined Kitchen & Dining, Alfresco Area, 719m2 block with room for the boat, Water Glimpses from the balcony, Walking distance to the water.

$560 pw

I moved from Sydney to QLD a few years ago

comet555

I wouldn't assume that you'll find things just as expensive across Australia as they are in Sydney.

We were in Sydney briefly when we first arrived. We found everything more expensive there. It was a relief when we left and found that things were a bit cheaper elsewhere.

Hopefully you'll find prices to be a bit more reasonable in Perth.

29palms

Supermarkets are are a rip off and the quality of Fresh food is poor. We go to South Melbourne Market for our fresh food which is 10 times better and less the cost! We only use the supermarkets now for tin stuuf and household which i agree is pricey. They need more competition here like the Uk to push prices down, they are behind in that factor! But it is worth finding a good market and it makes buying food shopping a bit more interestind as well!

E3only

I agree to all of it, except housing. It just comes down to what individual taste is. Outer suburbs are cheaper...and definitely not 600 a week. But it's expensive to live here. Also not been to London, but I have lots of friends tell me for the same price in London you get a very crappy place..i.e. its very small bedrooms and rooms in general.....the point is 600 a week is not a true sample of the accommodation available...

joho

I am glad you can see from the financial things but there a couple of things that I would add to what you say. Purely from my own perspective.

When we first moved here 3 years ago we thought the same as you in most things. I do think though that a lot of this is because we have to make quick decisions on things such as telephone, internet etc and maybe not get the best we can. I am on the fusion plan with optus which for $99 a month I get free local, national and free to optus mobiles (us and kids on) and also includes our high speed wireless broadband. Now my phone bill is approx $130 a month (UK calls and other mobiles boost it) and before I was paying $250+ a month phone + $70 broadband a saving of approx $175 a month and I think not bad. Renting in Sydney is a nightmare, we live on the central coast and rents are about $350 a week for a 3/4 bed and commutable. We love it up here. Houses prices are around $500k for a 4 bed with pool which again is quite reasonable. We pay $170 a month for leccy but we have a 5 bed house with 3 teenagers, every gadget on all day and a pool. We have no gas. So comparable, Rates are $1350 a year compared to council tax cheap as chips, house ins comparable, water rates dirt cheap we have tanks and our half yearly bill is about $70, the tanks do our toilets and washing machine. So on the whole I think we pay less. As I said just my opinion.

It took us a while to suss the cheap shops for bits and pieces and to be honest we dont even compare anymore. So for those struggling with the price change, let it go for a while and you will soon get past it and find the Primarks and the pound shops.

Jo

Petals

Sydney is very expensive and has always been hard for finding accommodation. I lived there for a few years when I was young and moved ot Melbourne because it was cheaper and much better rental property.

As far as markets go, yes they are good but you also have to shop canny, I bought brocolli at the market this week and then Safeway had it half the price so Friday is the day to shop at Safeway/Woolies here in Melbourne.

Remember we do not have subsidised food from the common market here in Aus we don't pay farmers to grow tomatoes on Mount Hotham in winter like they do in Switzerland.

mindblower

[/QUOTE]

Can relate to most ofthat, Oz is "real life" in a better climate and environment than UK....it ain't cheap.

ABCDiamond

Jo

Those two bits are very valid points. When we moved back to the UK, my wife didn't know where to buy things and was overspending. The UK was way too expensive for her, because she didn't have the local info.

It takes time to get to know the right things.

Many Australians have never really bothered shopping around, hence the lack of competition. Although that is beginning to change now.

Re the telephones, I get free calls all over Australia, and free calls to the UK and America for $19.95 per month. Plus I get a free totally separate 2nd phone line included. Great for a teenage daughter.

mand8002

When we first arrived we too thought it was expensive, but this due to not knowing where to buy things (as other posters have said).
Over time we discovered that we were changing our eating habits and now actually eat a better diet than we did in the Uk and it does not actually cost any more. There is bound to not be as much competition in the supermarket, internet industry etc as for instance Queensland in total only has around 4.5 million people which is less than live in London. I know which I prefer.

comet555

Not having a vehicle (like the OP) might also make it more difficult to drive around and find better deals. I suspect if the OP was able to get around a bit more then they may find cheaper places to shop.

jam76

SYDNEY IS EXPENSIVE.

You cannot judge Aussie on the whole by living in the most expensive city in that country.

Sydney is comparable with London quite easily.

I lived in Sydney for 5months. I spent 3K (££) in 2 months. (I was backpacking on a budget as well!) Do I regret it?

Hell no!

I would only choose Sydney if I was earning substantially more than what I am earning in the the north of the UK.

I think the more popular a place gets to emmigrate to, the more expensive it becomes. Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane. I've been to them all and I can say that as someone who was on a budget the best place I went to that was cost friendly was Melbourne although the 'british changeable' weather put me off from staying to long.

Maybe I'm being cynical but coming back to the UK, you wouldn't be much better off right now. If ya gonna go back go back in 2010 when people say the credit crunch will ease off somewhat.

Tellyaddict

I am coming over in November and currently researching as much as I can re phone, internet etc. Would you be kind enough to tell me who you use for $19.95 per month as it seems like an exceptionally good deal.

Thanks
Nikky