beandownunder Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 just a question to all you guys recently settled in Perth. How expensive is life over there in comparison to current uk living costs? I know I need to take into account the salaries too, but on a day to day basis are you finding yourselves better off, worse off or about the same? It's so hard to compare the cost of living in different cities just looking at websites and data.......any comments welcome :-) Thanks Bean xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenPen Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Great question…there are so many threads that talk about cost of living and comparison but bottom line - are you better or worse off?? that is all….any way of doing a poll? xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verystormy Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I am a bit different to most as I live in WA but don't work in Oz and I could do my job if I lived in the UK and would have the same salary. So for me, Oz is a lot more expensive - I would not pay income tax if I lived in the UK. But, it's not just about money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tayloal Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Bean, I arrived 2 days ago so haven't had a major look around but my mate and his wife have shown me around a little bit and prices were certainly of interest. here is my opinion on what I have seen so far. With regards to things like mobile phone contracts, if you have a decent phone and just need SIM only then $30-$35 will get you a pay as you go (or pay monthly once you can provide address proof etc) contract that will suit the average phone user, calls, texts with a bit if data for internet. Meat, fruit and veg, obviously the fruit & veg prices can be affected by floods, drought etc but the prices being charged for kilo's seemed pretty reasonable to me, $3.50 for a kilo of banana's - was slightly more than I would pay in the UK but it is what it is. We went to a farmers supermarket and you can buy 2 large steaks pre packed for around $10, the other option is to by a slab of steak for around $27 and cut it and freeze it and this would have given you around 3-5 decent sized steaks depending on your portion size. Fish seemed around the same price as back in UK, a kilo of tiger prawns was $11 - proper tiger prawns not the small things we get in a curry in the UK. Eggs were around $4 for a dozen, cheese was anything from $2.50 - $6 depending on whether branded or unbranded, I remember thinking it was cheaper than back home but if you want branded you will pay more. As I say this was in a farmers supermarket and not your mainstream coles / woolworths were I was told the items mentioned above were more expensive. My mates wife uses the farmers supermarket for meat, fruit, veg etc and uses the mainstream for the everyday bulk items, canned food, cereal etc. When I've had a proper go myself I will try to draw a more comprehensive list. I all honesty I think it looks like a case of changing your shopping habits and start to shop around, we mixed in a day at the beach with a half hour visit to the above shop on the way home on Saturday. As verystormy has mentioned above, it's not just about the money and I am already seeing how much my life will change over here compared to the UK. There will be routine things I thought were important in the UK that will become a non event over here and I feel there is more time for family time and taking things in your stride here. I think It's all about getting used to your new life and accepting it for what it is without drawing too many comparisons from your old life. As I said, all of the above is just my opinion. Good luck with the move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxboz Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Tayloal where was the farmers supermarket your went to - $11 kg for tiger prawns wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Having been here two years I still remember the cost of stuff in the UK but I've been here long enough to stop doing the mental conversion every time I buy something. At the moment I'm out of work so we're a very low income family. In fact, on the income we have most people would say life would be impossible but we still have a better quality of life than we did in London. Our income goes on a lot of stuff we didn't account for in the UK - child care, after school clubs, holiday clubs, tutoring. Maybe we didn't have these costs in the UK because our children weren't of an age to want this stuff but having access to a dinghy sailing club, tennis club, gymnastics, athletics, music lessons etc means that considerably more of our income is diverted to these. I think the only thing I still struggle with is the cost of cars. An old junker like ours would be worth £50 in the UK (if you could get anything), but here it's $3k. Almost everything else seems comparable but it does depend on how you shop and what you're used to. If those in the UK shop in supermarkets where food prices are unrealistically suppressed, produce is flown in from all over the world and meat is wrapped in plastic they'll likely find it more of a shock. Massive supermarkets are not allowed here, the two biggest, Coles and Woolworths are not allowed to build stores above a certain size to ensure independent retailers still have a fighting chance. The next biggest chain, IGA, is a franchise and owners are allowed to specialise or vary their stock. Consequently some are pretty basic whilst others have a really interesting range. If we were in the UK, on a comparable single income I'd be really worried right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest9824 Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 just a question to all you guys recently settled in Perth. How expensive is life over there in comparison to current uk living costs? I know I need to take into account the salaries too, but on a day to day basis are you finding yourselves better off, worse off or about the same? It's so hard to compare the cost of living in different cities just looking at websites and data.......any comments welcome :-) Thanks Bean xxx Not a newbie bean so I don't compare anymore, but wanted to answer your question...but I think Porty has answered very well. I would say that petrol is a lot cheaper here, although perthites are enraged at how expensive it has become, as it was extremely cheap a few years ago, still cheaper than the Uk though. Second hand stuff seems to hold its value more here, like cars as Porty says. Sometimes I get peed off at some of the prices for fruit in Coles, I love mangoes and they are 4.98 each st the moment...my problem as I should shop at the farmers markets more often...I find cosmetics more costly,although some of the products I used to use in the Uk like touche éclat were $75 when I first arrived (paid 21 quid In the uk) are now about $50 so have come down in price considerably. I stopped using it, now have a cheaper alternative, and more money for other treats. Porty i I hope all goes well for you this new year, and that your income gets better, I am taking some leaves out of your book and looking into ways of saving money this year and not being so carefree with spending, need to budget better just in case... hope this helps bean. peax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Forgot to mention that we do still shop online quite a lot. M&S do free delivery to Oz and those who only offer free UK domestic delivery we get stuff shipped to my mums place and then, when we have a decent sized box ready, organise to have it shipped here through Parcelmonkey. I've never really bought clothes here as they seem expensive and I like unbranded. A lot of my clothes come from Op shops but when I last did a big, new clothes shop I had undies, suits, shirts and shoes delivered free to my mum and then shipped to here. I know I spent around $1800 and doubled the size of my wardrobe and the same stuff here would have probably cost twice the amount. Toiletries I buy online too, from UK or US sites. I use a DE safety razor and a pack of five blades was $12 here but the same ones in Bali were 60c so I bought twenty packs to last me into retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redsquare Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 We've been here just over 3 months now. When we first arrived I thought everything was very expensive here.. And it is when you're spending savings you've brought over. Thankfully we've both got jobs and we're earning dollars now. When you compares the costs to how much you get paid an hour, it's not too bad. As has been said before, cars and housing are expensive. Petrol costs are rising but still nowhere near the rip-off it is in the UK. I've not bought any clothing yet (will have to soon, starting to look a bit threadbare) so I can't comment on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkabout Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hi, We have been here for just under 8 weeks now and are starting to find our feet. Food can be expensive, and when we first arrived it was expensive! partly because we did as we had done in the UK and shopped in the one supermarket for everything and partly because when you first get here you have to start from scratch again (you have an empty store cupboard!). We have learnt where things are cheaper now and shop in a combination of places, farmers markets and supermarkets to get the best prices, we also have a better idea of when something is a 'good deal' or not which helps with knowing when to stock up on things. This all helps to save the pennies. Meat is generally cheaper, but strangely I have yet to find a place to get cheap fish - my guess is you catch it yourself! Bread can also be rather pricey. Cars are expensive, as is rent (although not as bad as it was at one point I believe), petrol is cheap comparatively as is public transport (comparatively). Brace yourself though for school uniform, it is a small fortune! Mostly you have to buy the tops at least through the school and ours were about $18 each, when you have 3 kids and even only getting them 2 each (wear one wash one) it is still expensive, a school dress for my daughter was nearly $50 I think (I stopped looking in the end, it wasnt going to change and they needed to have it!) you can get some bits cheaper from the shops but it is still not as cheap as the likes of Tesco or M&S! Landline phones also seem to be an expensive luxury, we have stuck with mobiles for now as we figured we could live with that! (mobiles we just needed sims and as has been said thats not too bad around the $30 mark per month) For us I think it is still to early to say whether we are financially better or worse off. We have just started the job hunting phase as we had always planned and budgeted to have a couple of months off as a family when we arrived especially with the christmas / summer slow down, I think a lot will depend on what work we can get and how well paid it is. We were comfortable in the UK, but right now even if we cant get anything as well paid as before I wouldnt go back, it was always about the lifestyle for us and I am sure we will find jobs somehow to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Apart from cars and out of season food i think it's similar to the UK and some thing like electronics are way cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beandownunder Posted January 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 wow, fantastic replies thanks everyone. gives us a little insight into the realities and for that I am very grateful. the people on this site are fab :-) cheers J xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rendleroo Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hi guys this is all really interesting. My family and I are moving out in four weeks or so I'm now getting terrified about the cost of living. I will be living off a student stipend of around $25,000 per year so mu hubby has GOT to get a well paid job. He is a carpet fitter and from our research, the wages don't look too bad so long as he can find work. We are looking for cheaper rentals but like you say, they're not cheap either. Can I ask how you managed get phones sorted (payg) if you were in holiday/temporary rental housing? We will be in a holiday let for a few weeks but need to find a proper long term rental for when our furniture arrives in March. I can feel a whole heap more questions coming on now! thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Getting phones on payg (pre paid) is easy, plenty of places to get them ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redsquare Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hi Rendleroo. I've no idea about carpet fitting but mobiles are pretty easy to get sorted if you bring your own phone. The cheapest I found was an online company, Amaysim. http://www.amaysim.com.au You can pick up a sim in a few shopping centres and electrical stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chardy Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hey Rendelroo, I'll be looking for a good carpet fitter in March to retrim our new build carpets once I've put in the skirting. If you will be SOR please PM me your details ;-) Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odies Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 great reading all these answers, please keep them coming the main answer is to shop at farmers markets can i ask do they appear like in the uk a once a week on a friday in the town sq. ? or are they something different ? only been to Coles/Woolies/IGA and will be north when move over. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rendleroo Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Massive massive thanks for your replies. I am worrying about little things when I still have to source the big things, like somewhere to live and where to send the kids to school. Can ask advice on that one from those of you in the know? Did you wait til you got there before you found a school or did you find a house near to the school that you want your child to go to? W are going SOR as I need to be in very close proximity to Murdoch Uni, so looking at Willeton, Kardinya etc but the schools all try to sell themselves and I could do with some personal experiences to work form if you could share them please? Again, massive thank you to you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkabout Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hi Odies, Farmers markets is a bit of a loose term here to be honest! they are kind of spit and sawdust supermarkets, the one we use most (we are up north) is in Wangara called spud shed, its open from 7am to 9pm I think every day, we have found them to be good for fruit and veg, milk and basic cheese, some of their meat is good value and they sometimes have other special deals on that are worth it, oh and they do bread for $1 per loaf. The other place to look for is Farmer Jacks - fairly similar, although I find for what we buy they tend to be a bit more expensive, although they do sometimes have good offers on meat and until recently had a good deal on chocolate. They are in tin type buildings and only have what they have ie you cant guarantee that they will always have something. I am sure there are others, but this combination has worked for us so far! great reading all these answers, please keep them coming the main answer is to shop at farmers markets can i ask do they appear like in the uk a once a week on a friday in the town sq. ? or are they something different ? only been to Coles/Woolies/IGA and will be north when move over. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkabout Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Massive massive thanks for your replies. I am worrying about little things when I still have to source the big things, like somewhere to live and where to send the kids to school. Can ask advice on that one from those of you in the know? Did you wait til you got there before you found a school or did you find a house near to the school that you want your child to go to? W are going SOR as I need to be in very close proximity to Murdoch Uni, so looking at Willeton, Kardinya etc but the schools all try to sell themselves and I could do with some personal experiences to work form if you could share them please? Again, massive thank you to you all. Hi Renderloo, Choosing schools is sooooo hard isnt it! I am sure everyone has their own way of doing it for us I did as much research as I could from the UK, read the websites, the government results, asked for peoples opinions etc, kind of made a short list of those that I liked the sound of and fitted in an area that we thought we could afford the rents, then we went around and had a look at the schools, checked out what housing was available and went from there, we were fortunate that we were able to get a house in the catchment for the school that we liked the best, but we did ask as we went around if they were accepting out of catchment applications and some were, so we could have had a rental somewhere else and still got them to some of the schools. We are NOR so cant help with your suggested areas, but I am sure there will be someone along soon enough that can help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Having been here two years I still remember the cost of stuff in the UK but I've been here long enough to stop doing the mental conversion every time I buy something.At the moment I'm out of work so we're a very low income family. In fact, on the income we have most people would say life would be impossible but we still have a better quality of life than we did in London. Our income goes on a lot of stuff we didn't account for in the UK - child care, after school clubs, holiday clubs, tutoring. Maybe we didn't have these costs in the UK because our children weren't of an age to want this stuff but having access to a dinghy sailing club, tennis club, gymnastics, athletics, music lessons etc means that considerably more of our income is diverted to these. I think the only thing I still struggle with is the cost of cars. An old junker like ours would be worth £50 in the UK (if you could get anything), but here it's $3k. Almost everything else seems comparable but it does depend on how you shop and what you're used to. If those in the UK shop in supermarkets where food prices are unrealistically suppressed, produce is flown in from all over the world and meat is wrapped in plastic they'll likely find it more of a shock. Massive supermarkets are not allowed here, the two biggest, Coles and Woolworths are not allowed to build stores above a certain size to ensure independent retailers still have a fighting chance. The next biggest chain, IGA, is a franchise and owners are allowed to specialise or vary their stock. Consequently some are pretty basic whilst others have a really interesting range. If we were in the UK, on a comparable single income I'd be really worried right now. Brilliant post Porty.... just lovin your style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 Massive massive thanks for your replies. I am worrying about little things when I still have to source the big things, like somewhere to live and where to send the kids to school. Can ask advice on that one from those of you in the know? Did you wait til you got there before you found a school or did you find a house near to the school that you want your child to go to? W are going SOR as I need to be in very close proximity to Murdoch Uni, so looking at Willeton, Kardinya etc but the schools all try to sell themselves and I could do with some personal experiences to work form if you could share them please? Again, massive thank you to you all. Schools here take children who are in their catchment zone - so as you need to be close to Murdoch Uni, you need to look at Kardinya, Winthrop, Murdoch, Willetton, Leeming, Bull Creek... or at a pinch Riverton or Parkwood. School-wise, any of the schools in the suburbs I have named will be OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 When u get here just google Farmers Markets..... there are a few around. The one in Manning is pretty good on a Saturday morning but I haven't been to any others yet. Cannington Growers is a great place to buy fruit and veg and other locally produced cheese and meats... they are open every day of the year and are on Albany Highway at Cannington (south of the river). Drovers Markets are at the crossroads of Waneroo Rd and Burns Beach Road (north of the river) and are amazing too...... Coventry Market in Morley is very good.... everything from meat to veg and animal food. There are many other small markets around that you will hear about. Some are only Saturday markets, some are open every day... some advertise widely and some don't need to as word of mouth does it for them. Bottom line is once you get here you will find the good markets and best places to shop. Basically though just stay away from the supermarket giants of Coles and Woollies and you will do OK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozzachino Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 There are lots of farmers markets that are not spud shed! Often on the weekends in different areas and well worth looking out for them. Drovers in wanneroo is fantastic though, great quality and well priced. we are definitely better off here. I find everything comparable if not cheaper here as a renter, except for the cost of the rent, which is clearly more expensive than the uk. you don't pay rates as a renter and that is a massive saving. Water usage for two months for our family of three, no pool, was $23. Gas has been around $50 a month, electricity around $60 a month. Our gas bill in the uk was over £80 a month and elec around £50 a month before we left and we were still in debit when we got our final bill. after you start earning dollars it gets a lot easier. Within two months of working we were able to pay off our uk loan, which we would have taken at least a year to save for on our uk earnings, and that would have been without any spare money left over. Here we have started an account for our son, an account for savings, another account for bills, another for general spending, and then we each get our own spending money each month too, something i have not had for years! And we aren't on the super duper fifo salaries either as many seem to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portlaunay Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 South Freo growers market is good on a Sunday morning, we buy most of our veggies there along with our eggs. There are one or two there who look like they stock up at Canning traders markets so we avoid them and shop with the lovely Grace and Albert who have a large farm and only sell what they grow. Freo markets are good at the end of a Sunday when they're trying to clear all their stock, some bargains to be had. Grow your own too. The climate means things that might struggle in the UK just explodes here. Having a lemon tree and a lime tree in your garden is fantastic when you're needing an ice cold G&T. This guide is awesome; http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/hort/veg/cp/veggie_sm_web.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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