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Really, without grammar your posts are unreadable. But I'd love to see you buy a week's worth of veggies for $30 in the US. No frozen, not all carrots, and feeding all four people at home every day.
You may want it to be true. You may live on a diet of coke and TV dinners and therefore think that's what normal people do, but no, the facts are that normal food is way way cheaper in Australia. It just is.
You may want it to be true. You may live on a diet of coke and TV dinners and therefore think that's what normal people do, but no, the facts are that normal food is way way cheaper in Australia. It just is.
Bosshog, could you please use conventional grammar and punctuation? It's painful to try and read with those crazy ellipsis/comma hybrid things.
You shouldn't be drinking soft drinks and gatoraid, so yes, it's right to tax them. It helps everyone have a better diet, and raises money. Same reasoning behind taxing cigarettes and alcohol heavily.
For a start, you obviously haven't clued in to buying locally popular foods for a better deal. Turkey is a seasonal food in Australia, don't attempt to buy it every week. There isn't the market. Also, comparing Maggi 2 min noodles to the junky base level ramen is dishonest.
Secondly, your supposed comparison of chicken neglects the exchange rate. It also neglects taste and animal welfare. That "cheap" chicken in the US tastes like polystyrene and is raised in an unsustainable system of indebted farmers and minimum wage workers. For the 20 cents per pound difference (assuming 1:1 exchange rate) the Australian product is doing amazingly well. I actually think you were surprised yourself at how close those two prices were. It's hard to remember a kilo is 2.2, not 2 pounds, isn't it? My first supermarket trip in the US, I just bought whatever because the prices looked low. Until I saw the $80 price tag for fruit and veg. And then, of course you discover that even carefully watching the price you'll never have that experience you have in Australia of walking into the fruit and veg shop with $30 and walking out with a week's worth of food.
I notice you include mostly processed food in your comparison. How about comparing real food, a real shopping list of bread, fruit and veg and dairy. Cheese, for example...
The problem with claiming economies of scale for food is that with a very limited growing area in the US and a massive population to feed, the US is forced to move food massive distances to supply people, and that's expensive. No matter how much asparagus or grapes you squeeze into a plane from Chile it's still going to have to sell for enough to cover the cost of the fuel. In Australia the climate is more conducive to growing, so transport costs are way lower and the number of mouths to feed is lower.
I'll vouch for that. When I'm in the US I ONLY buy organic chicken. The regular stuff is plain weird tasting and has a rubbery texture. It's gross.
Cigarette packs are also covered front, back and sides with pretty graphic health warnings and cannot be on open display in any retail outlet. Further, tobacco products cannot be advertised and smoking is banned in all public buildings and some outdoor spaces. And over the last few decades rates of smoking and the incidence of tobacco related health issues have steadily and sharply declined. Do you see the the connection?
I'll vouch for that. When I'm in the US I ONLY buy organic chicken. The regular stuff is plain weird tasting and has a rubbery texture. It's gross.
oooh, oh, you don't have to buy organic! Look for air-processed chicken. There are several national brands. You do have to go organic for the milk, though.
For example a big city like Atlanta...lots of opportunities for low and mid-level work and you can buy a house for less than 100K.....in Australia??
exactly. if you want less than 100k in oz, you have to be looking at a run down piece in the middle of bfe - services next to none..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish & Chips
Interestingly, Australia has a higher homeownership rate than the United States. Homelessness is also less prevalent.
usa has more unemployed people than Australia has citizens.. the state of texas has more people than australia does in a country roughly the size of the lower 48 states.
this wildcolonialchick seems to always be pro aus and anti murica... either she is an aussie in the usa and is home sick or an american living in some high col city/state and is just hating life..
both countries have their pros and cons, but i can step back and at least be neutral about it. my biggest issue with Australia is the cost of living, its just how it is.......you deal with it..
rather than complain, we decided to combat food costs here.. we started producing some of our own food indoors and out.. i grow high cost chemical free crops (spinach, kale, asparagus, fancy lettuces, pumpkins aka squash in oz, blueberries, lemons, herbs etc etc etc) and we breed and raise trout. we might try some barramundi in the future.. they are known to eat their young so our system will have to differ some..
i even set up a low cost LED system for the garage and sun room to expand on grow area.. we save thousands a year by growing our own food. we actually have surplus and sale some here and there.. if we maximize our grow areas we could probably make several grand a year... this is on roughly 1/6 of an acre btw.
we still buy veg though... generally the cheaper stuff like onions and carrots.. we rather use that space for more expensive crops
anyway..
cheers Y'ALL
Last edited by bossh0g; 06-23-2016 at 09:59 PM..
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