Advice please!! can any one tell me what the cost of living is like here

[niamh75]

Hi i was wondering if any one could help me i am trying to make sure we go over to Australia with our eyes wide open if any one could tell me how much they spend a week on shopping for a family for food and if you are clothes shopping for the children how much roughly would that would cost too tell me in Australian dollars trying to get in the right frame of mind :)

Thanks so much :wave::wave:

[LilShenanigans]

Groceries highly depend on what is bought (obviously) and where the shopping is done.

At Woolworths I can easily blow $350 on a fortnight worth.
Where as at Franklins I spend about $250 on the same products.
It's also a skill to even bother grocery shopping these days comparing prices, and being bothered to look beyond eye level for the same products, but dollars less.

Clothes is a tough one, depends highly on where you shop again.
Places like Big W and Best and less are great for the casual wear that you don't worry about if they end up covered in spaghetti. Looking at spending under $10 per item.
I'm addicted to Best and Less at summer because they tend to sell singlets and shorts for about $3-$5 each.
They also have nicer clothes there of course, littlies clothes (newborn to size 6 or so) tend to be under $15 per item.
If anything is actually over $15, wait a month and it'll be cheaper :p

Other stores like pumpkin patch/Osh Kosh etc will of course cost more. But good for those perfect little outfits you can't go past.

I also love Cotton On Kids... super cheap stuff pretty much all of the time, and their funky as well :thumbsup:

Is that at all helpful?

[niamh75]

[quote
At Woolworths I can easily blow $350 on a fortnight worth.
Where as at Franklins I spend about $250 on the same products.[/quote]
you have been very helpful thanks,

$350 dollars for a two weeks of food is quite good i would spend $236 on shopping per week and that would be in Aldi if i went to tescos it would be $345 for one weeks shopping

i guess if you can get summer clothes that cheap it doesn't matter if they don't last forever all sounds very good i guess its al about getting used to some were different and accepting your not at home and do as the locals do i hope that sounds ok :)

thanks you have been really helpful
Niamh:wave:

[JenNT]

It works out the same...with the conversion etc


Fuel $1.30 Litre
Bread $3 loaf
Paper $1.30
Magazine average $3.70 - $7.95
Land line phone $90 month
Power $200 month
Registration $25 week
Insurance $160 month for 2 cars and house
Doctors $55 visit, we get a rebate through Medicare of $30
School Fees Public $200 Term
Toilet Paper $6 8 rolls or $4.95 on special avg


Best move you'll ever make...I know we did:smiliedance:

[niamh75]

It works out the same...with the conversion etc


Fuel $1.30 Litre
Bread $3 loaf
Paper $1.30
Magazine average $3.70 - $7.95
Land line phone $90 month
Power $200 month
Registration $25 week
Insurance $160 month for 2 cars and house
Doctors $55 visit, we get a rebate through Medicare of $30
School Fees Public $200 Term
Toilet Paper $6 8 rolls or $4.95 on special avg


Best move you'll ever make...I know we did:smiliedance:

Thanks it all sound positive at least i know what to expect now. we are really looking forward to our move Ireland is really so expensive now and the weather is ****
were abouts in Australia are you :wave:
Niamh

[MrsMiggins]

I reckon our's is pretty much the same as JenNT's. We're in QLD and I have to say that the cost of living can vary dramatically depending on where in Aust you live.

We tend not to do a big weekly/fortnightly shop, so our grocery bill is often quite expensive. Usually about $30-$40 a trip (and I mostly shop every day). If I were to do a big weekly shop, it'd be much less, I'm just an aisle-browsing addict & tend to buy a thousand things when I only went in to buy milk!! :laughing:

Clothes shopping is my forte. I only ever buy bargains and there are certainly a lot of bargains to be had. Most of the major stores such as Kmart, Target, Best & Less, BigW etc. often have big % off sales. I go in & stock up then, or at clearance sales at the end of each season. My kids have far more clothes than they know what to do with!! :o I am forever picking up $2 or $3 bargain outfits for the kids!

[niamh75]

Hi MrsMiggins

i had to laugh my husband is always teasing me about doing that i go in and gets loads of stuff and probably only went in for milk or sugar :laughing:

we do a weekly shopping here so we will probably do the same there our friends go to the markets to get their fruit and veg and meat so im going to try that as well im going to do as the Australians do and not what we do here in Ireland :)

i love bargain hunting so ill be visiting all those shops

thanks Niamh

[leanbh]

Hi Niamh I just wanted to add that as the lifestyle here is different you will be spending your money differently. We have been here 2 years and are definetly much better off. This is a lot to do with the amount of money we were able to bring due to the sale of our house. I have reduced my hours and we have a house twice the size for the same money. Granted the house prices are still rising here and it depends on where you want to live. If you are heading to Sydney you will be in the same boat as you would be with a move to Dublin or London. There are a lot of hidden cost here which you will just have to get used to but I would advise you to pick your bank carefully. Good luck with your move
Maggie

[missie_mack]

Niamh

I lived in Dublin City in 2004 for 6 months. Based on back then what I spent in euros was the same I spent here roughly So if I spent 2 Euro over there it would have cost me $2 here IYKWIM. I found clothes were cheaper over there than here, oh and perfumes. Leather goods were more expensive as was electricals. Cars were cheaper although your driving is insane compared to here :p

Umm thats all I can think of....

ETA I use to do my grocery shopping at the local supervalue

[Lastcenturymum]

Cars in Dublin are much more expensive now than Oz! things are changing rapidly here.

I find the drivers are very polite to pedestrians, will ALWAYS stop to let you go, even at a traffic island but are really quick to jump on the horn if someone misses a red light by 2 seconds, or doesn't do a turn as quickly as the car behind would like

[floggadog]

hi Niamh, I live near a small town (2-4000 people) & shop weekly spending anywhere between $120 & $200. Our fuel is $1.33 & I have a large car so I probably spend $50-$80 a week on that . Having said that I have to drive 24 km a day just for the school bus & a 30 km round trip to the nearest shop plus a 100km+ round trip to the next big town.
As for clothes I'm a bit of a miser. I tend to go to the secondhand shops in the city & find the clothes are practically new. so these plus Ebay plus instore specials are where I shop.
How much it will cost you will depend on where you're moving to. I can remember reading a place.
I'm in WA where rentals are impossible to find & houses to buy are expensive...in the city. But in smaller towns it's a bit better. (oh, not up north, that's impossible for housing)

[Mammy]

Hi Niamh :wave:

Im originally from Ireland and have been here for 2 years. Before that i lived in the UK for 10 years.

Yeah i think that most things here tend to be the same price as at home and as the girls have said it will vary alot from state to state.
One example is petrol which costs more in remote areas like the Northern Terrritory and also costs more in Sydney. I live on the Gold Coast near Brisbane and the average price is around $1.10 a litre.

Clothes seem to be more expensive over here, and you pay heaps more for brand labels compared to at home. Also there is no where near as much choice and variety. I miss Dunnes and Pennys, so stock up before you come over!

Food i guess is pretty much the same, you can definately bargin shop there especially if you stick to the home brands. Theres Aldi here too which is supposed to be really cheap, ive never been however... That may all change in October when bub comes along.

When are you coming to Oz and where will you be living?

[Mammy]

Ah, ive just seen your other thread, you'll be moving to Brisbane.