Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Until they come down, I ain't buying them. I'll probably be eating them in North America before I get to here though. We're heading off soon, in a month or so. Hubby's retired early and he says he can't do that here. It's not just coz of bananas either. It's everything here.
Sounds like you are ready to make the move and have been for a while.
In a few years, I might make the move for 2-3 years to have the Australian experience and just to further my motorsport interests that I have down under. But I wouldn't be surprised if I come back to the USA after that. Ideally I like to work 7-8 months here in the USA and then do 4-5 months in Australia or NZ.
re: the price of food, some have mentioned labor wages, taxes, agricultural protections, etc. There are also two other key factors:
-market size and distribution: Australia has to ship its fruit and vegetables thousands of kilometers to a country with a population density of 3 people per square kilometer, the US in contrast is 33 (canada geographically is an extension of the US since 90% of its population live on the US-Canada border)
-oil prices: developed economies run on this, the US has some of cheapest in the western world. Each time America goes into the middle east, they secure themselves cheap oil which makes their economy run more cost effectively.
Also, keep in mind that this $10-20/kilo prices for bananas are an unusual event. They're usually $2-5 / kilo when in season.
From my experiences of food in Aus and the US, I found fruit and vegetables to be much the same but processed food, restaurants and takeaway to be cheaper in the US.
Why buy an expensive fruit salad, unless you love every kind of fruit in it?
I'm usually not impressed with honeydew or rockmelon, which most fruit salads load up on.
That and apple. Apple's are all right, but I'd rather have tastier fruits like plum, pineapple, strawberries and cherries.
A regular veggie salad, or salad with egg, tuna or ham pieces are usually cheaper than fruit salads, often bigger too.
I usually just munch on whole pieces of fruit or veg when I'm not on the run.
I think part of those prices you see are a premium they charge in parts of Perth.
Places like Cottesloe you see a 5-20% higher price on menu items, possibly to compensate for business property taxes.
Yes I can't imagine the average Australian doing that...In over 20 years of living here we barely have any contact with the neighbours.
Samething here and have lived in three different states. But this lack of contact for want of another way of expressing it seems to cross all areas of life out here.
Only speaking today with regards to bailing out next year and return to Europe. Wouldn't wish to get old here that's for sure.
I live about 1500 km from where they grow acutally, its a long way from Brisbane to Tully and its hard to get them because the cyclone wiped out virtually the entire crop this year.
Anyway i agree with Trimac, we are the biggest bunch of whingers on earth, thats pretty unique to Australia.
The biggest rip of in Australia, is the high salaries we pay our unskilled labourers, where else in the world can a person working 40hrs a week flipping hamburgers at maccas earn a salary of around $34,000 US p/a plus a 9% a complusory pension contribution, and pay income tax at a rate of less than 9 cents in the dollar on that income. Thats pretty unique to Australia to
Actually Aussies don't complain enough. At least not where it would make a difference. I would argue that nobody is overpaid in such an expensive country that Australia has become.
I think it one of Australia's better boasts in having one of the worlds highest minimun wages.
Having already one of the greatest disparities between the top and the bottom probably just as well.
To me it seems like a never ending cycle...higher salaries cause higher prices which in turn demand higher salaries... which I guess is good for Aussies internationally.. because it makes most places abroad incredibly cheap.
Only if you consider that rising salaries are keeping up with increased costs which they clearly aren't if you look at the increases.
House price inflation for example our house has inflated some 300% since 2000. No way has my salary increased to anything like that.
Power Bills up close to 50% in a short period of time along with all the other things.
Plasterers charge $100/hr. Now there's a supreme rip-off. They use the excuse "oh but you know we could get more up at the mines".
Nothing wrong in "whinging" about extortionate prices, sorry. It's not whinging per se, as it's proper criticism. There's a difference.
There is a lot of rip offs taking place in this country in recent times and i'm pleased to say I whinge and complain like hell.
Even taking my former lawyer to the Legal Complaints Tribunal for charging the earth for a task I could have conducted with far more competance but service here is shocking most of the time.
not exaggerating.
The fruit salad was from some place on St George's Terrace - although might have been $7 or so.. I remember it being more expensive than Sydney (and I work in tourist central, where everything is a rip off!), and the hotel I stayed at was, up market (thru work, they have arrangements with these hotels) was either Hilton or Duxton.
Wouldn't surprise me in the Centre. Usually pay around the $35 mark which I find excessive for usually something not too extraordinary.
Although it's been several months since going to a middle of the road place so prices may well have inflated again.
Afraid that's the price for living in Perth. Seems they get away with it though.
not exaggerating.
The fruit salad was from some place on St George's Terrace - although might have been $7 or so.. I remember it being more expensive than Sydney (and I work in tourist central, where everything is a rip off!), and the hotel I stayed at was, up market (thru work, they have arrangements with these hotels) was either Hilton or Duxton.
Hotel meals are always much higher in hotels, more so at upmarket hotels. Though 50 bucks for dinner doesn't seem bad, at least compared to the Radisson Tahiti where I once stayed.. they wanted 50 dollars for brekkie. I got in my little Fiat hire car and drove into the local village and had it for much less.
Hotel meals are always much higher in hotels, more so at upmarket hotels. Though 50 bucks for dinner doesn't seem bad, at least compared to the Radisson Tahiti where I once stayed.. they wanted 50 dollars for brekkie. I got in my little Fiat hire car and drove into the local village and had it for much less.
Oh I know.... when I go interstate for work, we always stay in those types of hotels. Perth is by far the most expensive ~ even comparing like for like within Australia.
I remember the $50 as for work we get $50 for food expenses to cover the entire day.
That is impossible to do in Perth, unless you're eating Mc donalds.
$50 for breakfast! I could have gone somewhere else, but after working 14 hr day combined with the time difference, couldn't be bothered.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
