Hi,

We are in the throws of getting our visa (176), pending ok medicals, and I have been speaking to people who moved to Adelaide and returned to the UK one year later. They implied that the cost of living was much higher than the UK, and this involved many hidden extras (for car raod tax etc). This along with not being happy in Adelaide forced them back to the UK.

Can someone who has recently moved to Oz please give me an indication as to what the basics cost (food, utilities, running car etc) when living in QLD?

Thanks,

Rob

 

Hiya
First off the cost of living does vary state to state. We have been here 4 years and i find most things a little cheaper than i did when in the UK. One of the main things that is more expensive is the cost of second hand cars, they really hold their value here and people seem to hold onto a vehicle for longer.
Below is a comparrison between my approx household bills and those of a gentleman in the UK, these figures where put together in the last few days on another forum (i don't think theyd mind me 'borrowing' them,lol) My figures are in red and as you can see many things are cheaper here.

Rates/ £1450 per year/ $3300 approx $1600
Gas/electric/ £1600 per year/ $3500 - approx $1900
Petrol/ £1.18/ $2.50 diesel - $1.20
car insurance/ £500/ $1100 incl Rego & fully comp approx $1300
water rates/ £400/ $850 $416
Houses - a big 4 bed detached bungalow, 220sq's feet costs about £400,000 in the uk and you can get it for about $450,000 in oz. around here approx - $420,000


Cal x

 

Hi,

Welcome to BIB,

I think you will find that Cals figures are pretty accurate and should give you a good idea of general living costs. I think you will find that a lot of people who return to the UK "need" a reason to return and cost of living seem to be a popular one. When you arrive here it is normal to compare prices with the UK, to do this you will use the exchange rate that was around when you exchanged your money, at the moment that makes Australia look expensive due to the weak value of the £. The best way to compare prices is to think of it as a % of your income. What % of your income in the UK is spent on food, and then compare to what % of your income will be spent on food in Australia, same for utilities. (Hope that makes sense).

I live out in the middle of nowhere and as such I expect to pay more for food and white goods due to the transportation. We do not have big supermarkets ( but I avoided those anyway, they are expensive), so I use the local shops, This week our butcher has Prime T bone Steak at $11 a Kilo, Black Angus T bone at $15 a kilo and if you spend $100 to fill your freezer he gives you $20 worth of meat free. When you shop for white goods or furniture you ‘must haggle with the store, they expect it and no one pays the”ticket" price.

I do not normally mention my personal site but if you click on my link below you will find on my site a list of comparisons to show what the prices are here. I have not updated it for a couple of months but you may find it helpful:biggrin: