The true cost of expat living in Australia

StevieJ

Looks like good ole Chilli Con Carne is off the menu for Gen :eek:

Only a few days ago, I went to the local supermarket searching out some chilli peppers for the week ahead. At nearly 43 Australian dollars per kilo (£28), I chose to walk out empty-handed as, once again, prices in the food shops were spiralling out of control.

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/The-true-cost-expat-living-tele-2203039224.html?x=0

Generali

StevieJ wrote: »

Looks like good ole Chilli Con Carne is off the menu for Gen :eek:



http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/The-true-cost-expat-living-tele-2203039224.html?x=0

It's ok. Supermarket chillies here are terrible. They have no heat, literally. I thought I'd omitted them first time I used them. I get a bag of about 20 or so from one of the excellent Asian supermarkets here for a buck.

Veggies are expensive here, red meat is cheap. Cigarettes are expensive and petrol is cheap.

Generally the cost of living in Aus is probably higher than in the UK but then wages are higher.

StevieJ

Generali wrote: »

Generally the cost of living in Aus is probably higher than in the UK but then wages are higher.

But what about that $6k monthly mortgage for a average sort of house :eek:

and a little under $6,000 to pay an excessive monthly mortgage payment on a fairly regular size house

ruggedtoast

Generali wrote: »

Generally the cost of living in Aus is probably higher than in the UK but then wages are higher.

Really, I'd always assumed it was the other way around.

What would an unskilled job pay for example?

FTBFun

Generali wrote: »

It's ok. Supermarket chillies here are terrible. They have no heat, literally. I thought I'd omitted them first time I used them. I get a bag of about 20 or so from one of the excellent Asian supermarkets here for a buck.

Veggies are expensive here, red meat is cheap. Cigarettes are expensive and petrol is cheap.

Generally the cost of living in Aus is probably higher than in the UK but then wages are higher.

Is bread still expensive? I remember paying $4 for a loaf when I was there (and this was 2003/04 when the ex rate was $2.5:£1!)

chewmylegoff

StevieJ wrote: »

Looks like good ole Chilli Con Carne is off the menu for Gen :eek:



http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/The-true-cost-expat-living-tele-2203039224.html?x=0

TBF, before the massive shift in the exchange rate recently, that would only have been £18 or so, which is roughly twice the price they are here its not that relevant to quote the price in £ as people earning AUS$ have not taken a 40% pay cut in line with the movement in the exchange rate.

chewmylegoff

Bread and milk costs a bomb there regardless of the exchange rate. But they have drive through off licences so that makes up for it.

PasturesNew

Generali wrote: »

....but then wages are higher.

I used to watch that telly programme where a family went to Aus for a week to try it out. The show would take them to look at houses to buy, get them a job for a week, get them to go shopping.

Many found that the wages were significantly lower than their UK jobs had been paying .... and the only ones who could afford to buy a house were those that were selling one in the UK.

Many said they'd not go because the wages were so much lower than they felt they needed.

Most felt supermarket shopping was higher.

Most said they'd not go as they'd miss family/friends once they were shown video messages from them.

I know minimum wage is higher as I have a 20 year old student friend in Sydney who has a shop job part-time.

olly300

PasturesNew wrote: »

I used to watch that telly programme where a family went to Aus for a week to try it out. The show would take them to look at houses to buy, get them a job for a week, get them to go shopping.

I watched that as well.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Many found that the wages were significantly lower than their UK jobs had been paying ....

It wasn't just the wages that were the problem though.

Many in the construction industry found their qualifications and experience weren't recognised, so had to do a less senior level job. The nurses and NHS staff found that the job they did in the UK didn't exist there so they either had to do a job they had already done or a job they didn't want to do at the same level.

Though having worked abroad I always find it amusing that people insist on exactly the same food as at home. If the bread is different or expensive then find out what the locals eat instead and eat that. You do learn how cheap UK food is particulary junk.

vivatifosi

PasturesNew wrote: »

Many found that the wages were significantly lower than their UK jobs had been paying .... and the only ones who could afford to buy a house were those that were selling one in the UK.

The £/Aus $ exchange rate has changed a lot over the past few years with the Aus $ gaining significant strength. I got about $2.35 to the £ as a tourist rate when I was last there about 5 years ago, you'd be lucky to get $1.5 now. As a result, what would have previously been a poorly paid job (in comparative terms) is now closer to par if not in some instances better. However it is much harder now to cash in a house here and buy there. Which is probably why they don't make many of these any more.

Generali

The price of food, especially fruit and veg, is high. I pay probably $2-3/kg for spuds, $2 for 2l milk, $2.xx for a loaf of bread. Then again I pay $1.30/l for petrol and $3.70/kg for a half lamb, butchered.

My rent on my new place, 4 bed house with a nice big garden in a great suburb 30 mins from the City is a little over $600. In the UK that would be £800 I reckon. Buying it would be out of my league but I guess the same could be said for the house in London. If I can't afford it the price is moot!

Wages tend to be good here at the lower end of the scale. A shop worker can expect about $20/hr. a barman similar. A hairdresser or accounts clerk would be on about $23-25/hr. I make $80,000 for a job that would pay about £30,000 in the UK.

The big bonus here is lifestyle. Twice after work last week I picked up the kids from school and went to the beach for an hour or so. It's only a 30 min drive from my place so why not?

Taxes are a lot lower here as Government spending and debt are both much lower than in the UK. Also, the pension system is mostly funded so they are likely to stay lower.

It works for me as a place to live. It's not for everyone. I've found the secret to ex-pat living is to focus on making the best of where you are, not compare it all the time to your homeland.