I am very confused!

[Que Sera Sera]

There are so many people saying they are coming back to the UK because their standard of living has been greatly reduced in Oz.

It does worry me now as I don't understand why. I have spent hours on here and on the web and have acertained that the natonal minimum wage is far more in Oz the rents in the areas that I have been looking at are far less than anything that I could afford here. The cost of food is on a par, days out may be slightly cheaper. There are more public holidays is Oz and my OH's job is advertised and far better paid than over here.

Even basic supermarket work is better paid that over here, so why is it so expensive. Our Gas and Electric has soared at the moment we are paying £125 per month on Gas and Electric combined.

Our council tax hs shot throught the roof and is now £110 per month.Our petrol just to get to work and back is £200.00 per month. More if we go further afield.

Why is it so much cheaper in England what am I missing?:wideeyed:

[Guest kdal]

I dont know either and you do worry when you read the messages, I'm sort of expecting to be very poor in Australia LOL

 

I know looking at the websites that my Husband is defiantely not going to earn anywhere near the money he earns here in the UK, although some trades do earn more depends what you do. So for us yes it is going to be harder.

 

We shall await your answers

[Guest adey]

We find it like for like to our living in the UK, maybe some families struggle more because in some states you have to pay school fees, dentists can be expensive especially if your kids need braces, you have to pay to see the doctor but can claim some of the expense back but not all of it...guess little things add up and aren't quite what people expected when they got here. We haven't got kids so those costs don't affect us.

 

I remember sitting in a seminar and they said it was half the cost for shopping in Oz, but to be honest haven't found it that cheap and have to cook everything from scratch as no microwave meals here, which is not a bad thing. The good thing is that everything is so much fresher and of much higher quality than say Tesco's or Asda's our fruit/veg lasts ten times longer than back in the UK.

 

Think alot of people are told a lot higher salaries and when they get here they find out that the reality is different. The trades used to be able to pick and choose jobs when the boom was on but its quieter now so think the salaries have dropped now that the boom is over.

[Guest pottsy]

Totally understand your concerns,feel exactly the same! Two really good friends have moved to Perth,our desired destination,with two very different experiences.One couple built their dream house but cannot afford to live in it as the cost of living has gone up so much,the other family say its very similar to England and they are managing perfectly so am finding it really difficult to gage.

One worry is how much we will lose,house prices dropping here,prices relatively high there,the strenght of the dollar.

My biggest worry is not getting the chance to try!!This is not a rushed decision,my husband and I have discussed this for years,if it goes wrong ,we are determined to try to make it work before we admit defeat and return to the uk.

Sometimes you just have to take the risk.We are 40 and have plenty of hard working years ahead to try to regain any losses,my parents tried emigrating to spain when they retired and it was a bigger blow at their age when it went wrong(of course they are trying to talk us out of it!)

Maybe naive,but I hope the solid relationship I have with my husband and the strong desire to give my young girls an out door lifestly will be enough to keep us going and if not we will come back,but not without a damn good go at it first!!!

When I originally went it was tough times,Australia had just gone into recession and finding work was hard as a backpacker.We ran out of money and I lived in a tent for 6 weeks on a grass verge,not something I would recommend,especially now I have children,but it was a wonderful experience and everything changed,I ended up with a great job and now just want to return.

 

I think you have to change to live accordingly,but its always nicer in the sunshine!!!

Lol pottsy xx

[calNgary]

It is definately harder to get the cheaper way of life,we have been here nearly 2 years and if we moved now we would probably not be mortgage free or both working part-time.

Saying that it depends what you want your standard of living to be? moving here will be like starting adult life all over again ,just like when you bought your first home in the Uk,what you have to think was,,were you rich then? did you have all the luxurys then? .

You do get folks saying 'its so expensive,all the bills are in ,etc etc,foxtel normally being one bill,if you cant afford it dont get it! I also know a few poms who have arrived and gone and bought the big fancy 4 wheel drives,,why??? its not necessary,live within your means ,shop around and dont try and keep up with the jonseys,if you do you'll be ok.

Save every penny you can before you move out here and when you arrive and its converted into dollars ,dont blow it thinking your rich,use it wisely,when setting up home them dollars soon disapear!!!!

Also even though we have a fair few members returning to the Uk for one reason or another ,the amount of us who are happy and staying sure outweighs them.We have recruited soo many more members on this forum this last 6 months its only normal to have an increase in unhappy posters.

 

Cal x

[magikliz]

Thanks Cal for putting a balanced view on things!

[Guest Jaynie]

Great post Cal, exactly what I was thinking but couldn't explain myself properley.

 

You will have to start all over again, if I lived in the same house in the UK, my mortgage would have been gone 4yrs ago, but then I wouldn't have experienced all that I have in the years I've been here, you can't swap that for money.

 

There are going to be big ticket items that you will need to buy and that in itself will eat into your savings, but if you buy wisely you will be fine.

 

Good luck everyone who is coming over, hope all goes well for you and you are all happy with your move to the 'Land Downunder'

 

:wubclub:

[Guest Brickie]

The whingers always let it be know, the ones who are happy are just too busy to be bothered to post or dont know of this forum..

Figure it our, 20 whingers as apposed to 20million living here. :wacko:

[sykestykes]

Thank you Cath for posting this important question, and to the people who have answered it. I too have worried that the cost of things in Oz seems to be catching up with us in the UK.

 

I absolutely agree with Cal that the best thing is for us to live well within our means when we get there, a better way of life does not necessarily mean a bigger house, a better car - we will be starting off cautiously and building up from there.

 

I will be watching this thread as it develops, thanks again:wubclub:

 

Mrs Tyke x

[ali]

I would say that our standard of living is much the same as it was in UK and shopping seems very much on par. We're in Perth and managing very well - we're both doing the same jobs as we did in the UK. Our aim was to live comfortably ... our policy has never been to live for the house - so we've always lived within our means ... we've certainly not bought a mansion but it's bigger than our house in the UK and we have a pool and a garden.

 

You're right Brickie in that a lot of friends Cal and I made in the early days of PIO don't come on anymore, but have settled very well in various parts of Oz.

 

Ali

[Guest beermeister]

Having lived in both Oz and UK for quite a while, I always go back to my underlying assumption: if you do much the same thing in Oz that you do in UK (e.g. work in the same line of work, have a similar standard house, spend on entertainment, buy household goods, etc), then you'll have roughly the same amount in your pocket in either countries.

 

Sure, there are some things that are cheaper in one country compared to the other, but it all roughly balances out, so I don't het hung up on wondering if I'll be that bit better or worst off. If you find something is more expensive in Oz, cut back on it if you can. For example, beer is more pricey in Oz....hmmm......what to do here.....make homebrew. Luckily, most folk are adaptable, so you just have to get on with finding the best way to make your money go further, wherever you live.

 

For those who thought Australia was some sort of mythical place where everything was cheaper......well, I think they're often the ones who are returning and maybe feeling a bit conned. I don't think it ever was.

 

I'm sure there will be heaps of examples of people who disagree with my assumption that you'll be no better or worst off, but this is just my observations and it's worked for me. At least when I run with this, I can stop worrying about finances and concentrate on the more important things in life, like enjoying myself.

[tracy123]

Once again i agree with Cal

But also being new to the country where do you go to find the bargins? in the UK you know where to go to buy what you need at rock bottom prices. You know what store sells what.

 

For instance if you go to the queen vic market on a sunday they are selling meat, fish veg cheaper than any other day of the week as its closed Monday, Tuesday the later you go the cheaper it gets!

How do you know about these things unless someone tells you or you stumble on it! It's the same as Asda go at 9pm loads of discounted items or on a Sunday with the bread etc. By the way all Markets in Victoria that close for more than 1 day sell off there stock at a reduced rate.

Also ask for there best price most will lower the price if you ask or bulk buy!

 

Maybe we should start up a thread where we can go and get good deals?! A state by state guide to bargins ranging from a food shop to a car, holiday deals whatever! I'm sure all members in Oz have found a bargin or a tip or 2 that they can share with the rest of PIO.

 

Geoffrey

[sykestykes]

What an excellent idea, Geoffrey. We need some Secret Shoppers in aus for that, I reckon. I've clicked your chick for that :idea:

 

Mrs Tyke xx

[Smith Tribe]

I think this statement that someone once said sums it up abot O

 

'same sh1t but with a shinier shovell'

 

 

[Guest CosWeCan]

I feel the same, for a while I stopped reading any posts on here as either someone was being very negative or the posts degenerate into slanging matches and get hijacked by the same old people!!

Just read this one, http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/moving-back-uk/40053-woes-england.html if you can be bothered to trawl through the pages of dross. I am bored at work so I did and wished I hadn’t.

Now I feel like having a warm bath and slitting my wrists, as the past god knows how many years/months of work trying to get a VISA, splashing out £1,000's on the thing all seem to be in vain.

Na sod that, I am still going. The doom and gloom merchants are NOT going to put me off

[Guest Jaynie]

I feel the same, for a while I stopped reading any posts on here as either someone was being very negative or the posts degenerate into slanging matches and get hijacked by the same old people!!

 

Just read this one, http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/moving-back-uk/40053-woes-england.html if you can be bothered to trawl through the pages of dross. I am bored at work so I did and wished I hadn’t.

 

Now I feel like having a warm bath and slitting my wrists, as the past god knows how many years/months of work trying to get a VISA, splashing out £1,000's on the thing all seem to be in vain.

 

Na sod that, I am still going. The doom and gloom merchants are NOT going to put me off

 

 

Good on you for reading between the lines, if you took it to heart you would never move on in life, these are only the comments from a few people, most of the comments on this thread tell it how it is.

[Guest Working to fish]

I'd like to tell it how it is for my family and myself.

Financially we are alot worse off, just telling it how it is.

But i would like to say we were lucky enough in England to have what we would call a good standard of living, have money left over at the end of every week to spend however we wanted.

I was self-employed back in the uk, money and work wasn't an issue. Now i'm going to be totally honest again both Tina and myself certainly had rose tinted glasses with what it would have cost to live in oz. I think the main thing for us was our visa from start to finish took about 2 years as we didn't rush the application after passing the tra. Within those 2 years property prices and basic living costs in oz have risen quite alot, which we blanked out as we were on such a high about getting to oz.

So getting back to what i was saying, yes, we are financially alot worse off and i know i could earn more cash in the uk but you just have to live within your means.

We had dreams, a couple of years ago, after trauling through websites looking at beautiful houses that we would be living in one of these houses, mortgage free, sipping plenty of beers by the pool. Now we're here in oz and we have seen the way prices have risen along with the cost of living this is not possible for us, but it won't be sending us home.

We have to watch what we spend week to week to be able to live here, unlike life in the uk where we had money to waste.

Basically, yes life here is tougher than we expected but we're enjoying the ride.

 

eddie,tina

 

Hoping not to put any of you off this is purely our personal circumstances.

[ErmintrudeMcMoo]

For what it`s worth we both worked full time in UK, huuby a PO in Navy me a civil servant,we didn`t own our home, we didn`t go out that much either yet we never seemed to have anything left at end of month - dunno where it went. Here we have bought our own house - nought fancy but what we could afford without stretching ourselves, I only started work 2 weeks ago and yet we have managed quite comfortably on one wage - much to my suprise. Some stuff dearer than UK, some stuff cheaper but so what - we live in Oz, we earn dollars not pounds, so it really is irrelevent what stuff costs in UK now. We haven`t bought a big fancy house house and a big fancy car - but we are happy with what we have, we are happy with our lives, we do stuff on a weekend as a family not just traipsing round bloody shops buying crap we don`t need just because it`s the new must have!!

[tracy123]

I'd like to tell it how it is for my family and myself.

Financially we are alot worse off, just telling it how it is.

But i would like to say we were lucky enough in England to have what we would call a good standard of living, have money left over at the end of every week to spend however we wanted.

I was self-employed back in the uk, money and work wasn't an issue. Now i'm going to be totally honest again both Tina and myself certainly had rose tinted glasses with what it would have cost to live in oz. I think the main thing for us was our visa from start to finish took about 2 years as we didn't rush the application after passing the tra. Within those 2 years property prices and basic living costs in oz have risen quite alot, which we blanked out as we were on such a high about getting to oz.

So getting back to what i was saying, yes, we are financially alot worse off and i know i could earn more cash in the uk but you just have to live within your means.

We had dreams, a couple of years ago, after trauling through websites looking at beautiful houses that we would be living in one of these houses, mortgage free, sipping plenty of beers by the pool. Now we're here in oz and we have seen the way prices have risen along with the cost of living this is not possible for us, but it won't be sending us home.

We have to watch what we spend week to week to be able to live here, unlike life in the uk where we had money to waste.

Basically, yes life here is tougher than we expected but we're enjoying the ride.

 

eddie,tina

 

Hoping not to put any of you off this is purely our personal circumstances.

 

 

Good for you Eddie & Tina. I hope things will get easier for you both as your time rolls on.

 

Geoffrey

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest JoanneHattersley]

We have been here three years and have seen a huge price difference in that time! Petrol was well under a $1 a litre when we arrived back in `05! Food prices have changed dramatically too!

 

We had no rose glasses on! We were quite methodical and researched our way round QLD!!! From my posts as people know , we are a "take as you find couple" and we had no expectations. I think that was the crux of it! We didnt expect anything so everything was a bonus!

[Que Sera Sera]

For what it`s worth we both worked full time in UK, huuby a PO in Navy me a civil servant,we didn`t own our home, we didn`t go out that much either yet we never seemed to have anything left at end of month - dunno where it went. Here we have bought our own house - nought fancy but what we could afford without stretching ourselves, I only started work 2 weeks ago and yet we have managed quite comfortably on one wage - much to my suprise. Some stuff dearer than UK, some stuff cheaper but so what - we live in Oz, we earn dollars not pounds, so it really is irrelevent what stuff costs in UK now. We haven`t bought a big fancy house house and a big fancy car - but we are happy with what we have, we are happy with our lives, we do stuff on a weekend as a family not just traipsing round bloody shops buying crap we don`t need just because it`s the new must have!!

 

I like this post not just because its positive but realistic. I don't have much now. I own my own house (or should I say the bank owns my house I am merely renting off them in the form of a mortgage!) thanks to my divorce way back when I now have a huge mortgage and I am not bothered about renting in Oz and from what I can see I can get a really nice house in our price range. I don't want to work the hours I am doing. I am a civil servant as well and the jobs not bad but I am out of the the house at 7.50 and back home 6-6.30 ish and I just want to work part time. For the sake of the kids if nothing else. My OH prefers it when I am home more it takes the pressure off him too.But it has to be said we will graft as necessary. I too would have paid my mortgage off in 2 years had I not got divorced and I could have sold it and came over to Oz with £165 grand but it did happen and I can't live with the what ifs so we will be coming with the bare minimum and we will work our way back up again.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts I was beginning to wonder this morning for the first time I might add!:spinny:

[Guest Jaynie]

I'm glad we could put your mind at rest Cath and give you some good information to help you decide for yourself.

[Guest barab]

I think that people hear and read too many romance stories about Australia before they come over.

 

I myself am probably guilty of that,i thought i would be snorkelling the great barrier reef every day after work and then watching a sunset with a beer in my hand.

 

It's not like that.

I can only tell of my experience of what Oz is like and that's where most of the time i get shot down in flames.

 

The first time we arrived at the airport in Brisbane and drove to our accommodation the dissapointment was the same as what can only be described as,when the losers in Bullseye were taken over to see what they could have won,only to find out it was a caravan!!

That was us.

 

But i know people who have settled here and call it their home,never to return to the hell that is the UK,good on them i say,i wish you all the best.

 

But be aware before you come over that you will get stuck in a rut just like the UK,it all boils down to which rut you like best.

[ErmintrudeMcMoo]

We have been here three years and have seen a huge price difference in that time! Petrol was well under a $1 a litre when we arrived back in `05! Food prices have changed dramatically too!

 

We had no rose glasses on! We were quite methodical and researched our way round QLD!!! From my posts as people know , we are a "take as you find couple" and we had no expectations. I think that was the crux of it! We didnt expect anything so everything was a bonus!

 

Johatts you`ve hit the nail right on the head, we were the same - we didn`t have any big expectations so we weren`t setting ourselves up for a fall.:smile:

[Guest Jaynie]

I think that people hear and read too many romance stories about Australia before they come over.

 

I myself am probably guilty of that,i thought i would be snorkelling the great barrier reef every day after work and then watching a sunset with a beer in my hand.

 

It's not like that.

I can only tell of my experience of what Oz is like and that's where most of the time i get shot down in flames.

 

The first time we arrived at the airport in Brisbane and drove to our accommodation the dissapointment was the same as what can only be described as,when the losers in Bullseye were taken over to see what they could have won,only to find out it was a caravan!!

That was us.

 

But i know people who have settled here and call it their home,never to return to the hell that is the UK,good on them i say,i wish you all the best.

 

But be aware before you come over that you will get stuck in a rut just like the UK,it all boils down to which rut you like best.

 

But Barab.......and I am not shooting you down in flames here........but doesn't this boil down to your own needs and wants from life? Yes I would love the ideal of swimming in the Barrier Reef daily, but as you pointed out...this is life, we have to work daily to earn a crust and there will be days if not weeks when we can't go and do what we want when we want for one reason and another, this is just the same as life in the UK.

 

Some people would just be happy with the weather being nicer than the UK or a slightly bigger house, or just to see the smiles on their kids faces, it's not all about money at the end of the day, it's about being happy.......We only get one life....try and make the best of it whether it's the UK or OZ.

 

Just my opinion.