RELEVANT INFO TO HELP OTHERS

[Moose001]

Hi guys

This is info that will really help me - and I'm sure allot of others too. Please can people already living in Aus fill this in?

Thanks!!

[Leon/Lou]

Not there yet, so can't vote, but WOW...it really gives a good idea of where we are in the big scheme of things eg about 35% of voters earn around what my offer is, and lots in Victoria, so we will manage ok, especially when hubby gets a job.

Thanks a mil.

Lou

[Enrica]

What happen to the self employed people in this poll please?

[Moose001]

Hi Enrica

Under the " How many working/employed? (breadwinners)" section i suppose it counts as working or breadwinner cause you bringing in money for the fam..

I did put a option under occupation for self employed.

Ils

[Guest San]

Great, it cleared up the rent and groceries for me, so our budget seems about right

[billabong]

Nice! Thanks!

[Enrica]

Thanks for clearing that up

[lyall]

for all the beer drinkers....beer is very very expensive...!!! groceries no problem..we eat better than we did in south africa, but the BEER!!!! Thank heavens for happy hour on friday night!!!!

[Moose001]

Thanks for the tip!!! We cant live without beer now can we??

[Ebreyten]

Hi,

All the beer drinkers don't have to worry too much about the beer issue. You can brew your own beer in Oz. Just go to www.westbrew.com.au and get ready to start brewing.

Some of our friends is doing it and it sounds like it is better than the ones you buy in store.

Just try it.

Cheers

E

[GerhardinOz]

Beer is not that expensive. You just have to stop thinking in R. That’s all.

[zorba]

Beer is not that expensive. You just have to stop thinking in R. That’s all.

I agree with this. And there are ALWAYS specials on, eg buy one case get the 2nd half price.

One thing we have noticed is that if we buy a case of beer and a few bottles of wine then people ask if we are having a party - they can't believe that it will last us the whole month! My husband's colleagues say that if there is beer in the house you HAVE TO finish it all?! First time I've heard of this!

And so many new wines to try too... !

zorba

[Jitterbug]

Thank you this is quite useful. We will certainly add our vote once we get there

This kind of poll should be done maybe once a year so that is kept accurate and up to date. The moderators can possibly pin it up to the top of the section.

People are always asking these questions, we know we have

[calibrated]

who spends $600pw on groceries

[lyall]

wow..I agree!

we spend about 100 on basics once a week, there are only two of us, and then approx another 50 on things like coke, bread, lollies, milk and so on for daily use throuhgout the week...

but i am not counting things like entertainment in, so maybe they have added things like eating out/alcohol/dvd rentals/petrol and so on in this weekly amount...

or maybe its a big family...

[AndreaL]

who spends $600pw on groceries

We aren't far off that amount!

We live in a mining town and have one supermarket, it is the most expensive Coles in Australia.

Compare what you pay for the same items.

Lettuce $3.98

Leek $2.78

Brussel sprouts $12.98 kg

Grapes $15 kg

Cauliflower $5.98

Dry goods etc are around 25% more than in our closest large town of Mackay.

A case of 4x costs $35 compared to $26 in Mackay.

I can't complain because we enjoy a good standard of living and my husband is now back in the same field as he was in RSA and is much happier.

[lyall]

gosh andrea, some of those are more than double what we pay..but then i think salaries are also lower in tasmania, we have both been offered jobs on the mainland doing similar work for a higher salary, ...I suppose its all relative...how much is the average rental where you live..here you can rent a four bedroom house for 165 a week...

[zorba]

gosh andrea, some of those are more than double what we pay..but then i think salaries are also lower in tasmania, we have both been offered jobs on the mainland doing similar work for a higher salary, ...I suppose its all relative...how much is the average rental where you live..here you can rent a four bedroom house for 165 a week...

What, a 4 bedder for 165 a week...?! You lucky fish!

zorba

[AndreaL]

gosh andrea, some of those are more than double what we pay..but then i think salaries are also lower in tasmania, we have both been offered jobs on the mainland doing similar work for a higher salary, ...I suppose its all relative...how much is the average rental where you live..here you can rent a four bedroom house for 165 a week...

We are lucky that we have a company house, there is not enough housing here for the amount of workers and with 3 new mines kicking off next year, there will be around 5000 looking for accomodation, most men drive in and out and stay in dongas or compounds during the week.

The odd rental that does come up will easily go for around $1500 per week.

This time last year when I did a search for my brother-in-law before he left RSA it was around $800 per week for a 3 by 1.

These mining towns are not representative of the real Australia- it's all a bit like living in a parrallel universe.