Cost of living - Australia
 

According to the latest cost of living survey, Sydney is ranked 7th most expensive city to live in the world, and Melbourne 8th. Both those cities, as well as Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane are more expensive than places like London, New York, Hong Kong and Berlin.

No surprises there, eh?

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

"Exchange rates have been the greatest influence for the Australian cost of living, with the Australian dollar seeing its value relative to the US dollar double in a decade, although local price inflation, especially last year, has also played a part," Mr Copestake said.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Exchange rates play a massive part. These surveys do not take wages into account at all and articles are totally misleading when they say they compare cost of living.

Almost totally worthless as a cost of living ranking.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

It's the cost of bananas that does that.. :rofl:

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I thought it was lettuce?

Seriously, we find it more expensive here, especially now the carbon tax and medical health levies are going to put prices up. The medicare refunds don't keep pace with what the doctors etc are charging- had 2 consults, physio and an MRI scan this week- out of pocket by over $300. Now my neurologist tells me I might have to have a very expensive medicine for my nerve pain. i said I couldn't afford it, so he has given me a free sample to try for 10 days to see if it helps. I'm hoping it doesn't. Looks like I'll just have to get used to the pain.
MEH.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Might as well use a banana index...it would be just as accurate as this survey. :lol:

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And it's only going to get a lot worse. typical capitalism is intelligent greed. Australia took the intelligence out of it.

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Nothing sensible to add (no change there then!) as living in the UK but good luck and hope you find a cheap solution.

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We have seen a massive increase in the COL in Australia in the last 10 years and things will get worse. Of course for some wages have kept pace but for many others they haven't. There are also more utilities rises soon and the carbon tax could have implications for many families. All in all Australia isn't the cheap country it used to be.

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I find it hard to believe that living in adelaide is more costly than living in new york or hong kong... :D

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Is it my imagination or is food a bit cheaper these days?. But electricity will soon be a luxury item::ohmy:

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It's your imagination :lol: some stuff seems to have leveled out but generally appears to only be going one way...up.

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:ohmy: I must just be getting better at the supermarket shop than i used to be.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

What a load of bollocks!

Doing a straight conversion with the current exchange rate I'm on a lower salary than when we left the UK 4.5 years ago yet we have a 3 bedroom house (Adelaide hills) 2 cars and a nicely comfortable lifestyle.

We had no chance of buying a house in London and it wasn't worth owning a car.

Yes lettuces may be more expensive (good reason not to eat rabbit food) but overall our personal experience (sorry, no random surveys) is that financially we're much better off in Adelaide than we were in London.

Cheers

LG

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Not living in Oz, but from what I gather from friends, forum etc, that to save money you need to go out of town to markets and steer away from supermarkets as much as poss and convenience food is very expensive. Also, buy in bulk and freeze (bit like anywhere I guess).

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Thank you so very much....you have just answered our question :D

Oh and had to say....if its luttuce you want....much cheaper and tastier to grow your own :p

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Food is definitely more expensive here no matter what exchange rate you use and utilities are continuing to go through the roof. Of course some people come here and earn more but that isn't what these surveys are about.
I should add that you only have to read these forums to realise that some come here and earn more (in real terms) and other earn less. Some find it cheap and have a lifestyle they couldn't have had in the UK and for others it is the opposite. You also have to remember that for many of the people who come here as skilled migrants they are earning much more than the average Aussie. The average man/woman in the street is struggling and we should remember that.

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Trouble is not everyone has the time or the transport to spend hours shopping around and getting little bits here and there.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Hmmm not everyone can do that either! lack of space and no garden available can be limiting factors in lettuce production! I solve the problem by not eating the stuff!

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So you moved from a world class city to Adelaide not exactly a fair comparison is iit? You could achieve the same by moving to a small city in the UK or get a better comparison by comparing London to say Sydney.

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Unfortunately comparing apples to oranges is very common on here and makes the comparisons meaningless. If I moved from inner city Birmingham to a village in Somerset i would be better off in every way imaginable.

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I moved from london to sydney. Do the same job, earn more, save more, live in a nicer flat, have a better standard of living, pay more for lettuce.

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You wouldn't get as good a curry!

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For me, overall COL is roughly the same with the UK slightly cheaper.

More expensive groceries here are offset by cheaper fuel and other stuff.

At $3/GBP or $1.45/GBP, I earn more than I did in the UK.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Don't you believe it, our local made THE best curry I have ever had :)

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So did I then I moved back to London and earn even more live in a house save several thousand pounds per month have more holiday have a better standard of living and pay less for lettuce. I'm also willing to bet your flat in Sydney isn't as good as mine was.

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What a flucking arrogant statement.

Suggestion ... take your head out of your arse.

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Jealous are you? Never mind I'm used to it water off a ducks back to me.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

:lol: I think hes around the age of 10

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Kind of smacks of "my dad's stronger than your dad" doesn't it :D

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

O

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The proportion of my take-home income to my COL is quite higher in local currency terms than what probably would have been had I not emigrated. And I feel healthier and more energetically robust living in Syd.

I reckon higher quality of living often means higher cost of living.

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

For you it obviously works and your job at the Tourism Board obviously suits you well but for many others of course that isn't the case. Many in this country are struggling to make ends meet, just like In most other developed countries.

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I don't work for the Tourism Board. I work for an American company's Sydney branch which is now making a lot of money here because of the exchange rate. :rofl:

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Oh sorry, I don't know what made me think you worked for the Tourism Board :)

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You need not be part of the tourism board to express your appreciation of the beauty of Sydney. ;)

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The purpose of these surveys is to provide information to multinational companies about the pay and allowances they should give their staff located in various cities.

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LOL - thats exactly what I thought, especially when I saw his reply :D

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

You do realise that nobody believes a bloody word you say?

Re: Cost of living - Australia
 

Yes him/her and many, many more:lol: