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Finding after a month in the uk

Finding after a month in the uk

Old May 22nd 2018, 9:25 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

I must admit a lot of the OP post confused me a little to start with as the Costof Living is about net earnings v outgoings for where you actually are.

Most of NZ shops at PaknSave because that is what they can afford. Not sure it is all 'crap' food. It is no frills . Supermarkets peddle on name , brands & packaging. It's a complete nonsense of course & I am actually surprised that Col buys into this.

I then thought it was about choice or lack thereof but it also seems not as there is no doubt that choice, availability, organic and fresh is more freely available in the UK than NZ. That is purely because of supply and demand. Nothing else. It is what it is.

Overall the C.o.L in NZ v wages is expensive these days. It just is. Get over that . Many many people overseas still think NZ is a cheap easy deal compared to wherever they are. It is not. Be realistic is all that is asked. It is about where you come from and where you go to for wherever you leave to emigrate.

The refs to Lidl gave me a moment.

I think our old Col is having a good old poke at our wry humorous BarnsleyMatt with his cucumbers and Lidl posts , all of which were wry good fun.

BM is AWOL at the moment but I have asked him to not be a stranger no matter what anyone says or thinks . After all, BE is free to anyone. It is about care, share, help and a listening ear.
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Old May 29th 2018, 2:42 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by MrsFychan
as you say in your post, there is a lot more choice.
Of what? To a certain degree I think that is really a myth.

I live in central Auckland and find the supermarkets to have a very good range, plus various specialist delis and places like Farro.

i realize it can drop a bit outside of Auckland, but I find the supermarkets better here than the UK - for meat and veg there is no comparison.
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Old May 29th 2018, 2:53 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistix
Having just returned from a couple of weeks in Sydney/Wollongong I'm struggling to resettle into NZ life. Australia is definitely cheaper than NZ. It frustrates me to see how much we pay for stuff in NZ. There's definitely less choice than Oz. I shopped in Woolies in the Gong and usually shop in Countdown or New World here..
Agree on price for many things, but the supermarkets are rubbish in Australia, really poor choice. NZ is actually far better. I had a house in Melbourne the last 9 years and the supermarket quality was one of the worst aspects. Poor and limited choices, a strong focus on their own brands etc. the meat quality was poor, and a lot of tasteless fruit and vegetables. Horrible tomatoes and onions. We shopped at places like Prahran Market to get decent quality meats and veges. NZ doesn’t any decent markets like that unfortunately.

As I mentioned in another post I’m in central Auckland, so maybe that makes a difference.
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Old May 30th 2018, 8:47 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by sr71
NZ doesn’t any decent markets like that unfortunately.
As I mentioned in another post I’m in central Auckland, so maybe that makes a difference.

I take it you've never ventured to the Avondale market then? I think it is Sundays only, but it is massive. The fruit and vegetables is mind boggling. Not sure about meat there though... I don't recall seeing any. A decent butcher will set you right there though - most suburbs have one.
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Old May 30th 2018, 9:46 am
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Smile Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by Justcol
Just back from a month long trip to blighty and have returned with the conclusion that the tales of massive saving and cheap prices are just excuses to either not leave or justify a return. If you"re prepared to eat crappy,cheap brands, or live on an a fairly unhealthy diet, then you can save a bit of money, However, I was never an Aldi / Lidl / Iceland shopper so a saving on crap food from them would never effect me. I did a quick comparison on the things I would normally buy and there's really nothing be saved. I eat fresh meat, fish past, rice and vegetables, and noticed that particularly the meat or fish is far more expensive. Veggies are cheaper, and junk food in supermarkets is cheaper, but as for the rest its all about the same.There is a lot more choice, but for me it doesn't matter if they stock 17 different types of things I dont buy.



I'm not going to get into a discussion about this, these are just the results of the comparisons I made in the major supermarkets I visited around the county
It doesn't matter if supermarket prices are cheaper in NZ or UK and unless you live and work in that specific country/location, comparisons are irrelevant. Even Lidl/Aldi have a complete different product range in different parts of the UK and prices vary. Someone in Cheshire might live right next to a farm shop with the highest quality produce, so doesn't care about supermarkets. And to be honest, even if someone in Liverpool pays 20c less for their Lindt chocolate doesn't bother me either. I can afford to pay that little more if I want it. And if someone thinks Auckland has better veg in supermarkets than Invercargill, doesn't bother the person in Invercargill with a large greenhouse in their garden
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Old May 30th 2018, 9:53 pm
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by bearskin
I take it you've never ventured to the Avondale market then? I think it is Sundays only, but it is massive. The fruit and vegetables is mind boggling. Not sure about meat there though... I don't recall seeing any. A decent butcher will set you right there though - most suburbs have one.
No, haven’t been. But Melbourne has markets like Prahran, Queen Vic, South Melbourne etc. Open 6-7 days a week, fantastic quality butchers, veges and a really good range of delis reflecting the large Italian/Greek population.

You can get a lot of the stuff here, but need to travel to different shops which isn’t that convenient
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Old May 31st 2018, 6:48 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by Moses2013
It doesn't matter if supermarket prices are cheaper in NZ or UK and unless you live and work in that specific country/location, comparisons are irrelevant.
Judging by the number of cost of living threads and posts, it obviously isn't.

The original post was simply to dispel the myth that everything in the UK is cheaper, and having just returned after 5 weeks there, my observations are that they are not.
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Old May 31st 2018, 8:49 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by Justcol
Judging by the number of cost of living threads and posts, it obviously isn't.

The original post was simply to dispel the myth that everything in the UK is cheaper, and having just returned after 5 weeks there, my observations are that they are not.
I don't know who said everything is cheaper (certainly isn't). However, cost of living is only relevant if you live in that place. Thailand might seem cheap if you are on a NZ wage and go over on holiday, but for someone on average wage in Thailand it's a different story. Cost of living just can't really be observed during a 5 week holiday. You have to look at wages, rent, utility bills, holidays and all costs for goods and services. Price differences are also huge across the UK. While driving through the UK recently, I thought coffee was bloody expensive, but that was because I mainly stopped at service stations near motorways.
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Old Jun 1st 2018, 1:46 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by Princess_Buttercup
I always did think it was odd that NZ lamb was cheaper in the UK than Welsh lamb.
Mass shipping is very cheap, I read an article years ago about this and it’s cheaper, and better for the environment, to send a container ship of dairy produce/beef from NZ to the UK, than it would be to truck the equivalent products from France.
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Old Jun 1st 2018, 6:25 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by sr71


Mass shipping is very cheap, I read an article years ago about this and it’s cheaper, and better for the environment, to send a container ship of dairy produce/beef from NZ to the UK, than it would be to truck the equivalent products from France.
I worked for AP Moller for a while - aka maersk shipping. They hold the contract with the NZ govt to do global logistics for apples and lamb. A reefer container [fridge] from NZ to the UK is about 6k pounds. Container shipping rates are an oligarchy, a few mega companies set the rates in a cozy relarionship, and there are usually inequalities, eg a container japan to the uk is 10k, a container uk to japan is a few hundred because they need the containers in japan [its worth filling them with recycling paper.]. Better for the environment - possibly but bunker oils very polluting, but then divide by 20k containers..
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Old Jun 1st 2018, 7:22 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by Moses2013
I don't know who said everything is cheaper (certainly isn't). However, cost of living is only relevant if you live in that place. Thailand might seem cheap if you are on a NZ wage and go over on holiday, but for someone on average wage in Thailand it's a different story. Cost of living just can't really be observed during a 5 week holiday. You have to look at wages, rent, utility bills, holidays and all costs for goods and services. Price differences are also huge across the UK. While driving through the UK recently, I thought coffee was bloody expensive, but that was because I mainly stopped at service stations near motorways.
In my original post did I mention the cost of living, average wages yadda yadda yadda.

I dont think I did. I commented on things being relatively expensive, that's it,

Obviously I was wrong, sorry about that
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Old Jun 21st 2018, 10:19 pm
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

On the issue of NZ food prices, is it affordable to eat out as much as people do in the UK?
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Old Jun 21st 2018, 10:55 pm
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by scrutinizer
On the issue of NZ food prices, is it affordable to eat out as much as people do in the UK?
We eat out all the time, Auckland is one of the better cities for foodies and there is no shortage of cafes and restaurants.

Prices vary a lot, a main at the average Thai place might be $12-16, for a decent restaurant anywhere from $20-40. Large Pizza Hut pizzas are $5, same with Dominos.

Breakfasts are normally $12-20 at good cafes, $4-5 for coffee

Easy enough to have a look at menus online to see prices. Just having a look at a few UK restaurants we used to go to and I think NZ is generally 2x the £ amount in $, but closer to 1.5 and cheaper in many cases.
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Old Jun 21st 2018, 11:38 pm
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

I'm in Dunedin now. We went out to a nice seafood pub down the road last night - each main was about 25 -28 NZD and dessert was 11-13NZD, We were happy to pay that the atmosphere was nice, the fire was lovely, the service was excellent and the food was fresh that day and cooked very well. Tbh when we lived in Aylesbury we didnt go out to eat all that often as Aylesbury isn't really fine dining kinda place. We'd have gone to a particular local which had very nice food and beer - and we'd roughly spend the same amount. We went to a Korean restaraunt in town and it cost us in total I think like 40 NZD for drinks and all food for two adults. We do brunch now at cafe's on a Saturday which has been nice to get back to having a variety of stuff on the menu, not just a fry up 15-20NZD for food, 3-5 NZD for a drink per person. If you are in Dunners - Modaks Espresso and Morning Magpie are very good cafes.
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Old Jun 22nd 2018, 12:12 am
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Default Re: Finding after a month in the uk

Originally Posted by Princess_Buttercup
IWe do brunch now at cafe's on a Saturday which has been nice to get back to having a variety of stuff on the menu, not just a fry up 15-20NZD for food, 3-5 NZD for a drink per person.
Yeah sure, everyone in the UK would think nothing of dropping the equivalent 25 quid per week on breakfast every Saturday morning.

There's no way on earth I would be paying that much it in the UK ever for breakfast and few can afford to do that on the regular here. If I were paying that amount in the UK I can guarantee we would be getting the best high end home-baked sour dough, organic produce, free range eggs and sausages which would be worth the money on a weekend away or for a treat.

Last edited by Bo-Jangles; Jun 22nd 2018 at 12:14 am.
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