is it much cheaper to live in the States or australia?

[myermay]

We have been thinking of emigrating for ages now. Cannot believe how expensive the UK has become, fuel, food etc etc.

But is it like it everywhere??? we've looked at house prices and you do seem to get more room for your money than here. But once earning either us$ or aus$, do you find life more manageable?

For expats who have made the move, have you noticed much of a difference or do you find it all relative?

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We considered moving to the States and housing, food, petrol, childcare etc were MUCH cheaper.... but health insurance was really expensive so finding a job with insurance benefits was really important. And of course those are the jobs that everyone wants. So if either of you have a degree and a good career here you stand a better chance there and better quality of life IMO.

Have lived in both places...I think some things are cheaper, others things are more expensive. It probably depends what you normally spend your money on. Plus, salaries/wages are often lower than the UK.

You would also have to factor in the cost of trips back home...

My brother lives in NZ and while eating out, clothes, etc seems cheaper (not sure about housing) his wages are a lot lower than they are here. Toys and books are more expensive and flights cost more going from there to here than vice-versa...

Where do you live in the UK?

I recently moved to America from London. Housing is definitely less expensive here, and you get much more for your money (would NOT be the case if we'd moved to NYC or California where housing is generally comparable to UK). Also, property tax can be a significant budget buster so look into rates for the sort of property/area you'd want.

Apart from housing, our monthly budget runs approximately the same - largely, I think, because of costs associated with owning a car. In London, we walked or used public transport with the occasional taxi. You really must own a car here and petrol/insurance costs are increasing dramatically. Also, ime distances are greater (American cities/suburbs sprawl), so am using a tank of petrol a week on average.

Agree about insurance costs being a factor here.

Think it's fair to say, that I don't actually have more money left at the end of the month here due to cost of living, but we generally have a higher standard of living. Life is more pleasant (and certainly easier), but also more bland somehow. I miss the excitement/diversity of a big city, but don't miss the crime/dirt/crowds.

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hi thanks for this. We currently live in Farnham, surrey, which is a lovely town, very pretty and green and lots to do with teh kids. It's not dirty etc But we'd love more than 3-4 mths of sunshine a year, to enjoy the outdoors lifestyle with our kids. A friend of mine lives in florida and says we could easily get a 4 bed with pool house for under £200K. But she often moans that it is too hot! and the americans drive her nuts - but she said food, petrol etc are alot cheaper but insurance costs the earth. So swings and roundabouts.

We're just really worried about how hard it'll be for our children to get a home etc when they are older and want a better lifestyle

Sorry about mistake at the beginning that was my cat!

We've just moved to the States and are finding it expensive, especially food (for example a smallish bagette costs almost $4 in our local supermaket). But we are in NYC, and we have dropped one income to get here. A lot of what looks like good value is more to do with exchange rates and not cost of living. However more importantly you should note that the US is very difficult to get into, and then very difficult to stay in.

We moved to NYC a couple of years ago and it's VERY expensive, even compared to London where I used to be. My rent is about twice the price (3500 dollars a month for a 2 bed apartment). Weekly grocery bill about 200 dollars, but I do like to buy decent quality meat/fish and do most of my cooking at home. We don't have a car over here (you don't need one in NYC but you would in Florida) - petrol is cheaper but like an earlier person said, you'd definitely drive more over here so would go through it faster.

It is very hard to get a visa to live or work here though - you'd have to prove that you were going to be doing a job that no American is able to do.

Depends where you want to go in Australia - Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are fast closing on London prices.

As MM says about the US, the same is true of Australia. If you don't have a profession that's in demand and a job offer, you can pretty much forget about it.

Forgot to say, if you think mortgage rates in Britain are a bitch, they're 9% in Australia now.

Cali - know just what you mean. My LA based friends paid $1M for a not-very-nice old 3 BR house with a tiny 1950's kitchen. And they were thrilled to get the house for that price! But those are East Coast/West Coast prices.

This is my first time owning a house (as opposed to a flat), and I am stunned by how expensive it is to maintain. Last week, had to have the rain gutters replaced on one side of the house as they had rusted through. This week, the wood deck is due to be repainted as it is peeling badly. And in June, the garden fence will be sprayed with a water resistant product for protection of the wood. Obviously had none of those sorts of costs with a flat, so whatever I may save in petrol and other living costs are used up by maintaining the house. So, not really cheaper to live here.

Living in the US is not necessarily cheaper. Food is expensive. Good food can be extortionate.

Petrol is far cheaper, but you need to drive a lot more often and a lot further.

Housing will depend completely on where you live. And entertainment too - I pay $12 to go to the cinema. My friends, 25 miles away, are up in arms over having to pay $7.

Then there is sales tax (almost 10% here) on almost everything you buy.

I think the cost of living is probably comparable to the UK, your money just goes on different things.

Another signing in. Here in Colorado, cost of living is pretty good. I find food in general cheaper although good bread is expensive. Wine is cheaper, milk and gas. Housing here in Boulder people consider expensive - however compared to the Midlands - you get more for your money. Insurance is more but that's the nature of the States - people sue here. I can rent a 4bed house on one salary and manage to survive.

I'm in NZ. If you bring your pounds you could buy a lovely house. But salaries are rubbish and food is expensive (as is fuel etc.) so once you're earning local currency its no cheaper. We have less money here than we had in London .
But there are things here to do for free that are worth it IMO. Beach down the road, gorgeous weather etc.
You need to think really carefully about why you want to move.

We moved from the UK to NYC last year and are actually finding our quality of life much worse. The cost of housing, childcare, and schooling (if you go private, which many in NYC do because the local system is really variable in terms of quality and class sizes), are all higher than in the UK, for lower quality. What is cheaper - running a car, eating out. For us it just doesn't balance out and we are not staying despite loving many things about life here. Also, while we have decent health insurance by US standards, it's become clear that if any of us lost a job or got seriously ill, we'd be bankrupt before you can say Jack Robinson - it's a little stressful living with that hanging over your head, and knowing that once you're elderly and not receiving insurance through a job any more, you're stuffed.

That said, if you are willing to live outside the NYC or LA/SanFran area, you would probably find better weather than the UK and significantly lower cost of living. But then salaries outside those areas are typically lower as well.

I've just moved to Sydney and its seriously expensive here. The only thing cheaper than UK is free range meat (?!!). Bread and milk so much dearer. Believe it or not I actually saw a baguette for nearly $7 in a bakers nearby. With an exchange rate of nearly 2:1 thats £3.50!!! Saying that it was an organic sourdough thingy..but it was so tiny. Rent is astronomic.
Weather amazing though - prospects fab -DH setting up own business over here and getting so much help. Had to go to hospital other day with DD and we were seen in 5 mins and had 3 nurses looking after us. They were all lovely. Try a migration lawyer, explain your circumstances and see if they can find the right visa for you.
Hi Ninedragons! Yup don't think we'll be buying a house just yet!

Hi Brightongirl!

Did you get my email? It's yahoo so it sometimes goes into spam folders.

Depends on where in the US. Some places, like the San Francisco Bay area, are just as expensive as London in terms of housing costs.

Also, you may need to run a car a lot. I needed to buy a new car every 3 years or so. Not cheap to run.

Yes I did - sorry been a hectic week and I seem to watch mumsnet rather than check e-mails, so hope you don't take it personally. Found some great places to meet. I'll CAT you my mobile no.

Mizzan - I know the feeling - we're moving back to the UK in 3 months too, much as we enjoyed our time over here we really don't want to settle down here.

Are there any more NYC based Mnetters? We should have a cocktail evening before all heading back to Blighty!

Hi Myer, I lived in Farnham for 2yrs before moving back to Brisbane in Oct 2006. Loved it and it offered everything we were looking for in a village, out of London. We couldn't get the work/life balance right though, with both our jobs paying a lot more in London, so after dd2 arrived we decided to move back here for dd1 to start school last year.
Some things are more expensive here than in the UK, some things not. You can get a decent 3bed for between $400-450k in good areas, anything less than $400 would generally be either a townhouse or not in a great area. Costs about $70 to fill our car with petrol, and we need to do that once every week or so. dh earns what the govt classes as an above average salary ($70k ish) and I also work 3 days a week ($25k), partly to relieve boredom and also to boost the budget.
Hard to spend less than $200 a week on groceries for a family of 4.
But we are very glad we made the move here, have achieved the work/life balance that we never could in the UK and much nicer for dc to have the outdoor lifestyle that dh and I grew up with it.
Hope this helps your decision

wow, thank you all for all your responses. I think my main reason is for the outdoors lifestyle for us and the kids and the good weather. I love the sunshining, and we do love enland in when the weather is good. We embrace the good weather adn love taking the kids out to enjoy it. I just can't bear the expense in england and the unpredictable dull weather.

Definitely depends on what part of the country you live in. I have lived in US, UK and am an Aussie. US is a lot cheaper.
Australia has become a lot more expensive of late especially if you live in Perth or Sydney. Food is also expensive. If you move to somewhere like Brisbane or outer Melbourne house prices are quite cheap.
UK also expensive but you tend to get paid a lot better.
I am about to become a mother for the 2nd time and what UK does not have is the space and outdoor lifestyle you get in warmer US states and Oz. That is why we will return to Oz in the next year or so.
I also used to be a teacher and I have found the education system in UK quite disappointing and totally test lead - and frankly a bit jackpot - it really depends on where you live. The US system was also incredibly parochial. I was also astounded and shocked by the materialism and waste I encountered in the US.
Obviously my experiences were limited and are not fact based, just what I have encountered and experienced.
Good luck with your decision - I think a lot of it comes down to your outlook and approach on life!