Living and working in Australia vs UK

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just wondering if any1 had any thoughts over living and working in australia vs the UK. taking into account quality of life, housing, cost of living, salaries, income tax etc?

bit of a random question but never know what might come of it!
 
I'll try and give you a serious response, unlike the numptys who generally spam GD. :p

I moved out here a year ago... I would say that cost of living is higher on the west coast than the east. Compared with the UK some things are more expensive - other things are cheaper, I think overall the cost of living is about the same (unless you're from London then it's probably much cheaper).

Things that are worse / more expensive in Australia
Some things are much more expensive though, such as 2nd hand cars & house prices - oh and beer!

If you're bringing money across from the UK you'll find this even worse now as the exchange rate is 1pound (no pound symbol on this bloody keyboard!) = ~ $1.95 - which is the worst it's been in a long long time.

TV & radio - just complete and utter Fully star swearys! , actually I think it has a lot to do with the Australian sense of humour - which I find a little obvious, by that I mean I can predict exactly what joke they're going to make about 15 seconds before they do. Thank god for UK nova that's all I can say.

Things that are better / less expensive in Australia
I reckon food is cheaper here, and the meat is better quality.

As jobs go, there's not the same unemployment problem as the UK - although things are still a little cautious. I found the wages to be much higher in Perth than the North of England.

Obviously the weather is better if you're into outdoor activities - even in winter the temperature during the day is around 16 degrees. The summer is just ace - on a weekend I can go diving in clear warm water, chill out on a beach, making use of clean free bbq facilities, I honestly feellike I'm on holiday durring the weekends and I bloody love it!


If you want to know any specifics just ask.
 
I am currently in my 2nd week of working in Sydney, just moved over from London.

So far i am loving it!, GBP goes a long way here! going out on a night out is just as expensive here as home, Taxi's are pretty cheap and so is accomodation out of the city.

Ask any questions i will try and answer them. oh and the 'vat' is only 10% here, havent been paid yet so not sure how much i will be raped there.

Dude
 
I've been in Sydney for 4.5 years now after living the first 26 years of my life in a London suburb.

Summer is practically 9 months of the year. We're 11 days into Spring and it's going to be 30c this weekend after a week of 22c weather.

Cost of living is about on a par with London. If you convert your salary to pounds then you'll probably be earning less here but it'll cost you less to live.

The taxation system is much more transparent than the UK.

All I can say is that I love it here.

I love where I live (1 minute walk from the beach), I love the people here, I love the no bull **** attitude most aussies have. I've even grown to love the footy. Go the Sea Eagles!
 
...and you'd better had like the beach., because unlike England, you're very much out on your own. City breaks or day trips to other countries are impossible (think trips to Rome / weekend in Amsterdam / lunch in Paris).

I'm guessing here, but I'd of thought that thanks to this proximity to so many different cultures, you will find much more diversity in England in terms of food / music / events than you might find in Aus.

Also, history. Of course Aus has a history (I'm not saying it hasn't) but if you've ever admired a gothic cathedral or enjoyed a pint of ale in a pub built in 1705, those things just don't exist in Aus.
 
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Positive: People are happier/friendlier

Negative: The trains are slower

I'd move to Sydney in a flash, bro lives in the Blue Mountains. Much better quality of life than London - even though its still a city.

BB x
 
Two words; Beer, Sausages

The Aussies can't do either.

More seriously the standard of living in Australia is good and the cities are all vibrant places. Aussies seem more proud of their country and treat the place better. Downside is the weather, if you don't like the heat you're boned. If you're job is not in an airconditioned office you better be comfortable sweating because you will.
 
Never wanted to go to Australia but I know someone who has and loves Sydney, I'm not a hot weather person, which is why Canada pips Oz for me.
 
The best thing about Australia is that Dominos Pizza is $9 normally and $4.50 on Tuesday.

This is £4.50 and £2.25 respectively and makes a mockery of £16 for the same thing over here :p
 
I hear it's hot. Like, all the time. Occasionally you get massive storms, but mostly it's just hot.

It wont be **** hotness like this country where you're sitting at the computer desk with a puddle of water forming below you, in Australia I'm betting the heat will be much more pleasant and you get to have BBQ at christmas.
 
I'm an Aussie who went the other way - spent 26 years in Hobart, Tasmania (population 200k) and have been in London for about 2 and a half years now.

Basically London wins in every category. Even weather wise, the temperature in Hobart is very similar to London, except a lot more windy. If I'd moved to a similarly sized UK city, I'd probably feel differently.

Two words; Beer, Sausages

The Aussies can't do either.

Agreed. :(
 
Some good posts here.

As an Aussie who's lived in the UK for nearly 6 years, I've come to realise that it's all about swings and roundabouts.

Australian tv is pretty abysmal (though the ABC manages to produce some excellent material that I can't help noticing is wildly popular in the UK) but the flip side is that you don't need the government's permission to watch tv, so there's no tv license. :D

Used cars are more expensive in Australia; new ones are cheaper. The UK's VAT is 17.5%; Australia's GST is 10%. Groceries are cheaper in the UK, but takeaways and restaurants are cheaper in Australia. Certain professions pay more in the UK than they do in Australia, but Australians have the benefit of long service leave. The UK has National Insurance; Australia has employer-contributed superannuation at a basic rate of 9%. Income tax is roughly equivalent, but Australia has a greater number of tax bands. The NHS is cheaper than Medicare, but Australians receive a 30% rebate on private health insurance.

And so on, and so forth.

:)

It wont be **** hotness like this country where you're sitting at the computer desk with a puddle of water forming below you, in Australia I'm betting the heat will be much more pleasant and you get to have BBQ at christmas.

That depends very much on where you live. Australia has tropical heat and dry heat. Both can be utterly gruelling.
 
I would imagine considering the number of Italian immigrants that went to Australia that you can get much better Pizza than Domino's.
 
Lived in London for 33 years & been in Melbourne for the past 18 months, I find it very expensive & the price of cars in particular is shocking. As for the weather well it usually falls into the following - Too hot to go outside, Warm but very windy (like today), Cold but very windy, Cold & not being able to warm up because reverse air conditioing is No Swearing! & expensive.

On the other hand the women are hotter & in some states its legal to grow weed.

I miss London :(

also Dominos pizza's are way too small
 
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