Why it's cheaper to live in Australia

[Bronwyn&Co]

Donovan made the following post and I wanted to add to it, then decided to start a new Topic instead...

It's very difficult to explain why though... I think it's because in SA, you receive your income, which is then taxed to death. Then you pay for medical aid in full again (which should be covered by the tax), and then just pay most of your medical costs yourself since the medical aids don't cover much. Then you pay for security again (which should have been covered by your taxes), you pay for schooling again (which should have been covered by... yep, you guessed it, your taxes). The cost of food here is also different. If you convert it to Rand it seems more expensive, but if you compare it as a percentage of your income in dollars it's probably around the same if not even a bit less.

I think I agree with your take on this Donovan. I find it easier to stick to a budget in Aus for some wierd reason. What's cheap and what's expensive is hard to get used to though. Here's some more possible reasons:

-you can honestly drive a $6000 car here and it is perfectly accepted. Safe, reliable and cheap to service. You can take RAA cover for in case.

-if your rent is too high you can look for a cheaper place or share house

-if you are short of petrol money you can use the bus

-life insurance is cheaper

-you don't have to pay the maid. Or give out loans or buy extra sugar or worry about taxi fare increases

-you don't pay ADT

- if your child is young you can probably negotiate work from home days and still get paid

-food is truly seasonal. If tomatoes are expensive I buy carrots. If strawberries are cheap that's what we eat. It takes a while to get the hang of this

- if you are poor you go to the supermarket just before they close & buy markdowns to freeze

-if you don't want to pay high rego, buy a car with a small engine

- no need for new furniture, hit up Gumtree. It's safe and fun.

- you can hold your children's parties in the park or at the public pools.

- you can choose to accept free schooling and healthcare.

-entertainment is free. A safe beach. A play at the park. Use of the free bbq.

-hell you can even brew your own beers, there are kits in the supermarket.

- you can usually get half your children's school uniform at Target.

-bank fees are cheaper. Either zero or $6 a month at my bank, depending on your account.

-much more accountability. In everything.

-there are no Truworths accounts but there is Laybuy

My point is, we seem to have CHOICES here.

Would anyone like to add ideas?

Edited October 23, 2012 by Bronwyn&Co

[Nev]

Petrol is cheaper as a cost of living thing, it actually costs the same as SA however as a percentage if your earnings is a lot less

[OnYellowBrickRd]

EXACTLY what I am needing to hear!!

[RAD]

Hi Bronwyn, I have to agree with what you are saying and add that the life of not having to constantly be on your guard re: safety really is good for the mind.

However I would like to caution newcomers that life is not immediately like this upon landing. When one is using rands in the first few weeks/ months it IS tough and it IS stressfull but it will get better, so stick it out.

I love Melbourne. My children love Melbourne. We love our neighborhood but love don't pay the rent. So we had to do a complete turnabout in our heads to adjust to the lifestyle change in these initial months. However I have to agree with Bronwyn in that her list was able to allow us to make the change in our heads, hence adapting our lifestyle accordingly.

The most important thing I would like to say is, STICK IT OUT, it does and will get better once you get passed the initial weeks.

[Donovan83]

- no need for new furniture, hit up Gumtree. It's safe and fun.

Would anyone like to add ideas?

I know people in SA (especially those hoity toity ones) would probably turn their nose up at this, but you could also just drive around neighborhoods at certain times of the month and pick up peoples discarded stuff. I've seen the following on pavements since I got here:

• An LCD computer screen (not sure if it was working or not, but still!)
  
• Beds and mattresses in pretty good condition of varying sizes and types.
  
• Couches, lounge suites, pillows, coffee tables, dining room tables. Some in great condition, even though they may be a little bit 80s. I saw some really nice modern stuff once, if only I had my own place I would have scooped it all up!
  
• A two door fridge with an ice maker. Even if it's not in working order, it might just need to be re-gassed? It was a fancy one too. One of those mirrored Samsung ones.
  
• Washing machines and tumble dryers (again, not sure if working or not).
  

People just dump this stuff out on their pavement... literally, a pavement special. You could pretty much furnish your home for free (personally, I'd at least buy a new fresh mattress though). It might not be the nicest stuff but it didn't cost you anything and you'd have a place to sleep, somewhere to sit and maybe even an old CRT style TV to watch.

This whole cost of living thing was the most difficult to get over for me. I'm still not over it... $1 is not R9. It's $1 which has a completely different value here. When I visited on holiday every $2 I paid for the bus felt like paying a fortune... here it's a small amount. Feels the same as spending R5. I remember saying how expensive public transport was in Perth, but actually, it's dirt cheap.

[deroche]

Nice to know

My mother is forever telling me her friend from work (having visited Australia twice this year already) that it is very expensive there.

[OubaasDik]

Let's see. My wife never buys new jeans. There are charity shops where she buys second hand (like new) jeans at $2 - $5 per pair. My daughter buys her T-shirts there at $1 - $2 each.

Charity shops - Good Sammy's, Salvos, Vinnies.

Go to Woolies late on Thursday (that's when it was in our Woolies at the time we were dirt poor), and a lot of their meat will have reached the "sell by" date and be marked "priced to sell" so you can get a leg of lamb for $2.

You can choose to pay car rego half-yearly or yearly.

You can go into Coles and come out with the makings of a dinner for 4 for $10 (or Curtis Stone is a liar).

I'm still not saying it's CHEAPER, but there are ways to stretch the $.

Edited October 24, 2012 by OubaasDik

[Donovan83]

I'm still not saying it's CHEAPER, but there are ways to stretch the $.

I think it might very well be cheaper, but not in the conventional "flat" definition of cheap. In absolute terms compared to Rand it's much more expensive in Australia, but, if you adjust for:

• the cost of everything in Australia that you'd buy on a regular basis, including consumer and durable stuff,
  
• the things you get here for free that you'd ordinarily pay for,
  
• the purchasing power of your after tax salary,
  
• etc
  

Then I think there's a possibility that Aus may be somewhat more affordable/cheaper. Just a tiny bit. Unfortunately things like rent and high property prices kill off a lot of the benefit of "cheaper" things.

[MarcK]

It's not cheap if you convert to Rands !!! And for the first few weeks before work was secured it was SCARY!!!

But once you settle and start earning AUS $$$ your point of reference changes and you actually start thinking in $$$ and then things do not seem/feel expensive.

But parking remains bloody expensive even in dollar terms!!

[AllisonW]

The first couple of weeks when we were using our rands was difficult financially but i agree with other comments, that once you are earning dollars, your money goes very far, We are living very comfortably off one salary with little change to our lifestyle, except a smaller house that we rent, versus a larger house that we owned. Everything else is pretty much the same.

First off, when you leave SA you are likely to do some financial spring cleaning and clean out unnecessary expenses. So when we arrived we had no short term debts, contracts etc. This meant that our budget was and still largely is pretty simple - rent, food, petrol, utilities, insurances etc. Through necessity we have expanded and got cell phone contracts and internet but we find the cost of these to be very low and good value for money compared to SA. The only real luxury for us is that we got foxtel. We have three kids and are often at home and enjoy having good entertainment. But while $90 sounds a lot in SA, its actually very little here in terms of your bigger salary.

If i look at my SA budget we save a lot on costs like the maid, the nanny, the creche, the after school care, the school fees, the life insurance, the gardener, which in SA was costing me a combined R10 500 per month. Also our private health insurance is cheaper here - $210 versus R3500 pm. I find some things cheaper. When i convert them they are not cheaper but they FEEL cheaper and i think that is linked to the percentage of our income. There are good sales here and good retailers such as Aldi, where i find food to be well priced.

Others may disagree with me on this but this is my experience - there is less of a pressure to spend cash, bling it up and live large than in JHB. Could just be the burbs where i am living. I lived in middle class randburg but could fall over a BMW at every house (Including my own ) but have seen far less big fancy cars here. I live in a smaller house here so it costs less to run, to clean, to heat, for electricity. In SA my son would come home every day asking me for the latest cool toy. I was constantly fighting the blackmail for every new toy, the only toys that he has asked for at school was a $6 pack of four square balls from kmart. I would ask him what the kids play here and i was told - footy. Now its heading to cricket!

In Jhb when we were at a lost end we went to the mall and spend cash. Here we go to the park and we go to the beach and save money. Also i bough year passes to the museum (all three in melbourne) and the zoos (all three). Cost me about $150 but now i can take the kids as many times as i like for a year. The libraries are great and i buy very few books whereas in SA books were my luxury and i spent plenty at exclusive books.

For the first time in my life i am at home with my kids. This means that when my son needs cupcakes for kinder, i dont pay R150 at the home industry or worse the woolworths garage shop because its after hours. I bake them and it costs me $5. I plan my meals and we largely eat good cooked food. My one big complaint here is that the take out is terrible. Shocking. So you have the amazing larney restaurants and the worst greasy fish and chips joints and nothing in the middle. So we eventually got to the point that we just get frozen pizzas at $4 each because they taste basically the same as the crappy local joint at $12! I might as well pop a box of frozen fish in the oven for $5 then pay $20 for nasty fish. I have the time here to garden and have a great veggie garden. So already my herbs, spinach, lettuce are ready for use, sweetcorn, tomatoes, peppers following soon.

Not all Australians lives are simpler or less bling, but mine certainly is and it is great.

Edited October 24, 2012 by AllisonW

[Sunnyskies]

AllisonW, if you want well priced meals then you should pick up a copy of Cheap Eats. Basically an annual food bible for all good foodies in Melbourne.

We have worked out that living in the 'burbs make cheap meals out more difficult to find. So we make an outing out of going to our favourite Chinese restaurant in town. There are great places all over town and the inner city suburbs where a $10 meal is possible and really good.

Yes I also agree that you can have a day out that doesn't cost a fortune because you are safe and amenities are good. But going to the movies, art gallery or a show is expensive.

I'm not sure that I would agree that Australia is inexpensive. I am certainly not picking up my next bed from the pavement! The reason they are left on the pavement is that there is no market for second hand beds.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Sunnyskies

[Fish]

As many of you have already said, the exchange rate is largely irrelevant when comparing cost of living between two countries.

If you use the exchange rate to compare then the Rand dropping one day would make Australia seem more expensive the next. But clearly the percentage of my wage I spend on my morning coffee would be exactly the same regardless of what happened in South Africa the day before.

It makes even less sense using exchange rates when you consider the scenario where the Yen rises against the Australian dollar on the same day the Rand drops. If using exchange rates you would have to argue that Australia got cheaper and dearer on the same day.

The only real way to do country wide comparisons is to get the median wage from both countries and divide the two and then use this ratio to compare. Of course when spending Rands in Australia none of this applies.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Fish

[Bronwyn&Co]

AllisonW, if you want well priced meals then you should pick up a copy of Cheap Eats. Basically an annual food bible for all good foodies in Melbourne.

We have worked out that living in the 'burbs make cheap meals out more difficult to find. So we make an outing out of going to our favourite Chinese restaurant in town. There are great places all over town and the inner city suburbs where a $10 meal is possible and really good.

Yes I also agree that you can have a day out that doesn't cost a fortune because you are safe and amenities are good. But going to the movies, art gallery or a show is expensive.

I'm not sure that I would agree that Australia is inexpensive. I am certainly not picking up my next bed from the pavement! The reason they are left on the pavement is that there is no market for second hand beds.

Lol @ Sunnyskies I have to tell you... I have picked up my last two bedframes off the pavement and they are perfect Also, I picked up a chair and sold it online for $60 last month, haha!

I agree shows can be expensive, but we go very very rarely. Maybe once in 2 years. GOMA (Gallery of modern art) is free here though, and I go to movies on cheap Tuesdays or use my movie club card at the arthouse movies so it's $11. I even smuggle in my own can of diet coke which costs me 40c. Sigh. My life has changed 360 degrees.

[Fish]

People pick up a lot of good stuff from the pavements. Often suburbs have designated weeks where the council does pavement pickups and people zoom around these suburbs early looking for all the good stuff..some have trucks...I suspect these days some stuff gets cleaned up and ebayed. The wealthy suburbs are popular targets.

[Fish]

Lol @ Sunnyskies I have to tell you... I have picked up my last two bedframes off the pavement and they are perfect Also, I picked up a chair and sold it online for $60 last month, haha!

I agree shows can be expensive, but we go very very rarely. Maybe once in 2 years. GOMA (Gallery of modern art) is free here though, and I go to movies on cheap Tuesdays or use my movie club card at the arthouse movies so it's $11. I even smuggle in my own can of diet coke which costs me 40c. Sigh. My life has changed 360 degrees.

There are 4 cinema complexes in Brisbane where the full adult price is $8.50 in case you don't them?

Edited October 24, 2012 by Fish

[Fish]

While there are plenty of expensive shows to blow your money on there are also a lot of free and cheap performances when you look. It really is amazing when you have a dig around. The galleries, museums and libraries also have lots of free events and exhibitions.

Edited October 24, 2012 by Fish

[Sunnyskies]

People pick up a lot of good stuff from the pavements. Often suburbs have designated weeks where the council does pavement pickups and people zoom around these suburbs early looking for all the good stuff..some have trucks...I suspect these days some stuff gets cleaned up and ebayed. The wealthy suburbs are popular targets.

Yes hard collection is a national past time. We are just launching into hard collection season in my area. I've never seen so many TVs - as long as you like the box type (some even still have feet) or plasmas - mattresses, broken office chairs, smelly carpets, rusty garden furniture, bits of wood, old washing machines and junk. People are pretty good about putting the decent stuff to one side, usually with a sign that it is working - but good stuff is the exception not the rule.

Bronwyn - bed frames are one thing but mattresses?

[Gl!tter~Sm!tter]

Lol @ Sunnyskies I have to tell you... I have picked up my last two bedframes off the pavement and they are perfect Also, I picked up a chair and sold it online for $60 last month, haha!

Clever girl you!

I would also say pass on a bed or mattress but sure as heck not to anything else perfectly useful.

[Bronwyn&Co]

I also use the library now and I never buy books any more. If I see a great review of a new book I want to read, I reserve it at the library (online) and they email me when it comes in. It costs 80c to reserve books.

I think because we are close to China, electronics are cheap. Things like flatscreen TV's and even memory sticks and software are much cheaper than SA, even if you convert to Rands.

BMW's are sadly very expensive (as all European cars are here). No nice BMW plant or VW factory down the road means we drive less 'exotic' brands here. Hmmmmm.

[Bronwyn&Co]

Yes hard collection is a national past time. We are just launching into hard collection season in my area. I've never seen so many TVs - as long as you like the box type (some even still have feet) or plasmas - mattresses, broken office chairs, smelly carpets, rusty garden furniture, bits of wood, old washing machines and junk. People are pretty good about putting the decent stuff to one side, usually with a sign that it is working - but good stuff is the exception not the rule.

Bronwyn - bed frames are one thing but mattresses?

Agreed Sunnyskies! A matress off the kerb is a step too far! I'm talking about solid wood stuff (just pine but nice), that I am refurbishing a little. It's a bit of a hobby

[Sunnyskies]

I also use the library now and I never buy books any more. If I see a great review of a new book I want to read, I reserve it at the library (online) and they email me when it comes in. It costs 80c to reserve books.

I used the library and it is great but could never get my books back on time (I'm a haphazard reader depending on how busy i am at work) so too many fines. Finally my husband bought me a Kindle which is great as I can loan a book to my sister in Perth electronically and I no longer have to rehome my books like I had to in Jo'burg when I ran out of space on the shelves. Also, I know that in my handbag I always have at least a book or two but not the bulk and when I need a new book I can get anything in seconds but at only a fraction of the price (also lots of free books online).

[Bronwyn&Co]

There are 4 cinema complexes in Brisbane where the full adult price is $8.50 in case you don't them?

I know of South Bank and it's ok, but prefer to spend $11 at Palace because I often go to 'different' movies that don't go to the mainstream places. Also James Street or Barracks Palace vs. South Bank is chalk & cheese for venue quality. But yes I hear you. I should do that more for mainstream stuff

Edited October 24, 2012 by Bronwyn&Co

[zamunda]

Everything is relative and it is a pointless exercise to convert.

In Oz the currency certainly goes a long way as compared to here.

BUT what is a lot more pleasurable (to me at least) is the value for money. Some friends have said that direct taxes are high in Oz (compared to Botswana). But people's hard earned tax money visibly comes back through free public parks, efficient transport, security, etc.

So even if things were "expensive" in Oz, the value for money is well worth it.

[Donovan83]

Everything is relative and it is a pointless exercise to convert.

In Oz the currency certainly goes a long way as compared to here.

BUT what is a lot more pleasurable (to me at least) is the value for money. Some friends have said that direct taxes are high in Oz (compared to Botswana). But people's hard earned tax money visibly comes back through free public parks, efficient transport, security, etc.

So even if things were "expensive" in Oz, the value for money is well worth it.

I went to the doctor yesterday (have a bit of a chesty cold happening). It was covered out of my taxes - I paid not one cent of after tax money for the consult. And that is why I don't mind paying my taxes here. They aren't used for some stupid "homestead" for some cultural and unevolved retard, or for tenderpreneurs.

The other thing in Australia is that you get what you pay for. A good example of this is internet connectivity. I had ADSL, iBurst, Neotel and others in RSA (sometimes running more than one at a time so that I had my own 'redundancy' because things were so unreliable). My partner has been struggling since before I left to get his Telkom line running properly (it's supposed to be 4Mbit, he gets about 1 or 0.5 and it disconnects every 1 or 2 minutes - Telkom says eh eish hau and gives him eh teekeet numba and that's about all they do). He's tried everything but even other alternatives just don't work. Here - it was simple. We signed up for uncapped with VIVID wireless and it worked from day one.

[AllisonW]

The art museums here in Melbourne are free and we visited them about two weeks ago. Even if you dont want to buy a membership for the zoo, kids entrance is free so you can just pay for yourself. We loved to go to the theatre in SA but the reality of three kids and no baby sitter is that this isnt really possible - so we reframe it as another cost saving!

Thanks sunny skies for the name of the book. I will look it up. It is difficult to travel into the city with the kids but we try and do it regularly as they enjoy the train trip, the older two are pretty good but baby still needs to get restaurant etiquette sorted! I have also struggled to find good spur type steak houses that have a good play area and reasonable family meals. I think its a big gap in the market. But i also find that there is a wide range of easy to prepare meal stuff here, lots of fresh pasta, ready made pasta sauces etc. We go to the local mall, Southland two or three times a month and they have a good food court so we pick up take out there reasonably.

I think that Australians seem to really embrace the global movement towards recycling, reusing, upcycling and there are loads of kids markets where you can buy lovely toys and designer kids clothes at a fraction of the cost. When Lily was wearing one of these recycled dresses and I was picking my son up from kinder, one of the crowd of moms commented on the dress and when i told them where i had got it, there was no negativity. Everyone shared the markets they go to, or their favourite gumtree finds. Can only imagine the SA moms at my sons old school, who thought that second hand clothes were for the help! It might be called retro or vintage but really its about rehoming items that still have value and i think its a great philosophy!

Edited October 25, 2012 by AllisonW