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

Bobogib

Interesting you've said that Col. While I don't live in NZ yet, I've done several like for like shops online at countdown, and overall I don't think we'd spend that much more over what we normally spend in Asda.

I've had several people tell me I'm delusional and it will cost me thousands a month just for food.

MrsFychan

as you say in your post, there is a lot more choice.

spouse of scouse

You might not want to discuss your post, but people are allowed to reply

Actually, I wouldn't have a clue about food prices in NZ, but after having lived in the UK for nearly 3 years I found some interesting differences between food prices here and Oz.

Beef and lamb is far more expensive in the UK, although we've bought legs of lamb in Morrisons on special and they were nice.
Pork and chicken is cheaper in the UK.
Fruit and vegetables are MUCH cheaper in the UK. I especially love the summer fruits here - I guess the harsh weather conditions in Oz is the reason why berries in particular are so expensive there (with the exception of strawberries in season). To be able to buy huge punnets of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries for £1 is such a treat. The last Christmas before I left Oz I bought a tiny punnet of raspberries to decorate a trifle - AU$7!! And they weren't even nice.
Bread and milk, about the same.
Most cheeses are cheaper in the UK, with the exception of parmesan which for some reason is hell expensive.
Toiletries are cheaper in the UK.
Fresh flowers are much cheaper in the UK, and they last about 2 weeks instead of 3 days - that Oz (Perth) climate again.
Alcohol is cheaper in the UK, beer, spirits and wine.
It's far less expensive in the UK to get a tradesman/woman to do a job, you have to take out a mortgage in Oz and even then they don't turn up half the time.
Cars are cheaper in the UK.
Petrol and diesel is cheaper in Australia.
Since I'm on a roll - Council tax in the UK was a bit of a shock, 2 to 3 times more than what I'd been paying in Australia. But UK Councils have to fund many more services, including social care.

scrubbedexpat094

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. Fruit and Veg were cheaper there and much more choice. My friends (1 German, 1 Kiwi) were saying how much better there standard of living is in Australia. Things like cars, food, building/DIY stuff etc. It was heaven to be able to go into David Jones and browse around. My friends miss NZ as it's home to them but they are enjoying the better lifestyle and weather there. If the opportunity came up we'd be off to Aussie like a shot.

I suppose it depends on what choices one is looking for. Here the choice for chicken and tuna in a can with various accompaniments is mind-boggling but it means nothing to me because I don't want it. I'd rather have a greater choice of fresh fruit and vegetables.
NZ beef is fab though, can't beat it (apart from Argentinian but I've never seen that for sale in NZ!) and I'm happy with the NZ stuff!
Oh...fresh flowers! I used to buy a large bunch every week in the UK and swap them around because they used to last so long. Rarely buy any here because they are expensive and last a couple of days. I miss that a lot.

Princess_Buttercup

We've been back in NZ about 10 days and the jet lag etc has worn off. The price of food if you do the exchange rate is relatively comparable according to the husband. However, just on a numbers basis it makes me cringe paying 10 dollars for a coffee and a piece of cake - altho' tbf it was gluten free and dairy free and the coffee had almond milk in it. What I am enjoying is going out to cafes again and being able to order exactly what I want, having good coffee and nothing's a hassle. The sheer number of gluten free options is a joy, given when I left NZ it was almost non existent. I've just seen vegeboys online delivery in Dunedin and the quality and price seem good. I've never really been a flowers kind of person so the price of them doesn't bother me. I always did think it was odd that NZ lamb was cheaper in the UK than Welsh lamb.

j19fmm

Our shopping bill wasn't any bigger over here in NZ, but then I've always been a careful shopper...and dare I say it a hoarder of things on offer :-)

christmasoompa

Why do you think Aldi/Lidl = crap food? If you didn't shop there, it's not a fair comparison IMO as the other UK supermarkets are so much more expensive. I switched from Asda to Aldi/Lidl a year ago, and save around £50 on our usual weekly shop, so nearly £3k a year. And I don't buy any crap food, everything I buy is fresh and I cook everything from scratch including bread.

JaneRiley

I agree! Lidl and Aldi don't sell "crap food". That's silly. I think prices are on a par between nz and UK with some cheaper, some more expensive. I can only manage if I don't compare - that way leads to madness!!

Princess_Buttercup

Aldi has really good vege, meat and dairy from the EU. If you don't think too hard about the production cost cutting, human and/or animal welfare. Kinda wish Aldi would set up shop in NZ but I don't know if it would be financially viable.

Justcol

Think I'll post my next NZ related post in the OZ forum

uk_grenada

Justcol

This thread is about UK and NZ so your comment is irrelevant

However petrol in the UK is more expensive than in NZ

spouse of scouse

You can call for me to be beheaded for thread drift if it makes you feel better. You're doing ok for someone who wasn't going to enter into a discussion

spouse of scouse

Feel free!