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Australia is expensive, but you are exagerating a bit.
Regular aussie beer is about $10-$12 per 6 pack depending on what you are buying, in a regular suburban bottle shop if you wanted to buy the most premium imported beer you could possibly find you might pay $20
If want to live in the inner city of Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Brisbane, its going to cost an arm and a leg. You could however move say 30 minutes west of Brisbanes down town to ipswich and $300k will get you this, a 4 Bed 2 Bath Place, on 700 square meters of land.
I was back in Oz last month and every bottle shop was selling full strength beer for $16-17. Anything 1/2 decent was $19-20. To be fair though, wine is as cheap or cheaper than the US. But I like to drink beer in Oz due to the climate.
Obviously living in Ipswich is going to be cheaper than living in Brisbane since it's out in the boonies and it's an industrial town.
But tit for tat, houses in the US are 1/2 to 1/3 the price you'd have to pay in OZ. Then there's the 4% (fixed for 30 years) mortgage rate vs the 7% ARM in OZ. Then you factor in the cost of cars and gas... I'll let you do the math.
What kills me is I paid 8.00 USD for a 6 pack of Coopers Pale Ale last time I bought it in New Jersey. I don't understand why its cheaper here than in Adelaide, where its made! When I have mates visit from Oz I like to show them how cheap Aussie and Kiwi wines are in the states. I remember this one bottle of Sauv Blanc that I bought at David Jones when it went on sale for 18.00 AUD (and I thought that was a good deal), found the same bottle in New Hampshire for 10.00 USD.
Remember the Holden Monaro. Made in Oz and sold for $80K or so, but here in the US they sold for $35K.
$20 for a six pack of beer . But don't worry because after paying for your 7% mortgage on a little 3 bed 2 bath house (that cost $400K) you won't have any money left for beer anyway.
There is a lot to love about Australia, but you better be sure you like it, because you'll be paying for it over and over and over.
Yeah, the cost of beer, now that's something very important to consider.
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Originally Posted by danielsa1775
Taxes, higher rents, higher wages paid to low skilled workers, higher retail mark ups are all likely answers.
With a $15/hour minimum wage, it's no wonder the COL is higher.
I was back in Oz last month and every bottle shop was selling full strength beer for $16-17. Anything 1/2 decent was $19-20. To be fair though, wine is as cheap or cheaper than the US. But I like to drink beer in Oz due to the climate.
Obviously living in Ipswich is going to be cheaper than living in Brisbane since it's out in the boonies and it's an industrial town.
But tit for tat, houses in the US are 1/2 to 1/3 the price you'd have to pay in OZ. Then there's the 4% (fixed for 30 years) mortgage rate vs the 7% ARM in OZ. Then you factor in the cost of cars and gas... I'll let you do the math.
Yes Australia is expensive, but you are still exagerating.
Maybe you should shop around a bit more next time, my local Dan Murphy's sells xxxx gold (Australias best selling beer) at $10.50 a six pack, just about all the light to mid stength beers go for $10-$12 a six pack. As for 1/2 decent that depends on how you define 1/2 decent, i like a bit of little bit of boags premium, it goes for $15, but that is still well short of $20, and before you present any sort of discount voucher.
I have a mortgage through a non back lender called Fast Lend, the current interest rate on our mortgage is 5.38%.
Interest rates also work both ways , how easy is it to get a CD paying 5% plus in the USA?
As for the Mornaros, they were manufactured between 2001-2006 when the AUD bought between 45-65US cents, of course it will be cheaper when buying it in US dollars, also lets not forget that of the $85,000 selling price of the manaro in Australia, at least $16,000 of that amount would have gone to the government in tax .
I knew before I traveled to Australia that the land down under would be expensive. It wasn’t until I’d spent a couple weeks there — and watched my bank account balance plummet faster than it ever had — that I really understood just how much it costs to travel in Australia..
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Overall, I’d say I got accustomed to spending around $50 per day on food in Australia, which takes into account the fact that water in Australia is priced at $2-3 for a small bottle, a cost that’s slightly lower in supermarkets. On the subject of supermarkets, you shouldn’t expect a huge amount purchasing groceries and cooking them in your hostel or friend’s home — all food in Australia is exorbitantly priced, in my experience. ...Regardless of the underlying cause, the fact remains that Australia is among the most expensive places I’ve ever traveled. Although it’s possible to travel in Australia without going completely bankrupt, you shouldn’t count on any aspect of your Australian holiday being cheap
For those considering an escape to a less-unfriendly business climate such as Australia, an important caveat: the Australian dollar is very expensive and the U.S. dollar is very cheap. Selling here to move there is therefore an extremely expensive proposition.
Last edited by Colorado^; 01-12-2013 at 11:47 AM..
Yes Australia is expensive, but you are still exagerating.
Maybe you should shop around a bit more next time, my local Dan Murphy's sells xxxx gold (Australias best selling beer) at $10.50 a six pack, just about all the light to mid stength beers go for $10-$12 a six pack. As for 1/2 decent that depends on how you define 1/2 decent, i like a bit of little bit of boags premium, it goes for $15, but that is still well short of $20, and before you present any sort of discount voucher.
I'm not going to waste my vacation time (not to mention the cost of gas) trying to save a few bucks on a six pack. Besides your $10-12 examples are not full strength beers. Here we can buy boutique full strength micro brew 6-packs for $6.99 in any liquor store. To get close to that quality in Oz it's $20 a six-pack. Cheap crappy mid strength Bud/Coors is $16 for a pack of 30. Something like Keystone lite is even cheaper - $13 for a 30 pack.
Quote:
Originally Posted by danielsa1775
I have a mortgage through a non back lender called Fast Lend, the current interest rate on our mortgage is 5.38%.
Interest rates also work both ways , how easy is it to get a CD paying 5% plus in the USA?
The stock market allows you to invest in any world market you choose. On the other hand, you have to secure a mortgage rate that is local to your country, unless you live in a tent. Go plug some numbers into a truth in lending calculator and get back to me.
I've lived in both countries so maybe I'm a lot more in tune with the cost of living. Americans think Australia is some sort of paradise (and in some ways it is) but they have no freaking clue just how much it cost to live there.
Australia doesn't have much of a middle class. You can go to uni/college and still be no better off than the plumber or brick layer next door.
I'm not saying the OP shouldn't move to Australia. But they should be aware of the extreme difference in the cost of living if they are middle class IT workers. If they were minimum wage earners, then that would be a different story.
As for the Mornaros, they were manufactured between 2001-2006 when the AUD bought between 45-65US cents, of course it will be cheaper when buying it in US dollars, also lets not forget that of the $85,000 selling price of the manaro in Australia, at least $16,000 of that amount would have gone to the government in tax .
Too bad Holden did not adjust their prices as the AUD gained in strength. Car manufacturers in Canada actually lowered their prices when the CAD started going on PAR with the USD you even saw adverts on newspapers where they announced lowered prices. I never saw that living in Oz.
Too bad Holden did not adjust their prices as the AUD gained in strength. Car manufacturers in Canada actually lowered their prices when the CAD started going on PAR with the USD you even saw adverts on newspapers where they announced lowered prices. I never saw that living in Oz.
Thats the heart of the problem in my own opinion, things are getting cheaper for importers but the prices are not being adjusted down accordingly.
The problem could well be due to geography, obviously Australian's dont have the luxury of being able to jump in the car and drive to the USA to look for cheaper alternatives like Canadians do.
At least we have the internet these days, and the oppotunity to travel, Its being many years since I purchased a major item of clothing in Australia.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 01-13-2013 at 04:40 PM..
Australia doesn't have much of a middle class. You can go to uni/college and still be no better off than the plumber or brick layer next door.
I'm not saying the OP shouldn't move to Australia. But they should be aware of the extreme difference in the cost of living if they are middle class IT workers. If they were minimum wage earners, then that would be a different story.
I never understood why someone going to uni for three years should automatically feel as though they should earn more than someone who did an apprenticeship and learnt a trade. Your average plumber/electrician/carpenter has far more employable skills at the end of their apprenticeship than the average uni graduate.
To say Australia doesn't have much of a middle class is completely wrong.
Plumbers in the US aren't exactly "working class" either.
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That said, a plumber's earnings vary widely depending on the region in which they work and whether a plumber owns a business that employs others. Journeymen in cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston are in higher demand and command higher prices — up to about $250,000 a year.
...
Paul Abrams, a spokesman for Roto-Rooter, the nation's largest plumbing and drain service provider, says he has seen evidence of that. "We've had some people who owned businesses close up shop and come work for us," Abrams says. He notes that some master plumbers (about five to seven years experience) at the Cincinnati-based company make in excess of $100,000 a year. "A good plumber can pretty much write his ticket and make a good living with a good amount of experience,"
I never understood why someone going to uni for three years should automatically feel as though they should earn more than someone who did an apprenticeship and learnt a trade. Your average plumber/electrician/carpenter has far more employable skills at the end of their apprenticeship than the average uni graduate.
To say Australia doesn't have much of a middle class is completely wrong.
Plumbers in the US aren't exactly "working class" either.
Not looking to argue that one . Just saying that in comparison to America, tradesmen earn comparatively more. The middle class in the USA is considerably more pronounced than in OZ. That's not just my observation either. Every Aussie I've meet over here has observed that same thing. The low cost of living is a source of never ending amazement.
None of this makes one place better than the other. But lets face it, money is usually a big factor in relocation and folks should go in with eyes wide open.
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. Just saying that in comparison to America, tradesmen earn comparatively more. The middle class in the USA is considerably more pronounced than in OZ. That's not just my observation either. Every Aussie I've meet over here has observed that same thing. The low cost of living is a source of never ending amazement.
