Cost of Living in Australia Compared to UK

Comparing the cost of living in Australia with the cost of living in the UK for would be migrants

One of the main reasons cited by many of those recently surveyed by NatWest Bank and the Centre for Future Studies about their motivations for planning a new life abroad was the cost of living.  The cost of living in the UK is high and increasing as taxes increase, fuel costs go up and the day to day cost of affording to live rises – therefore it is of little wonder that we are all looking overseas for an attractive new destination where we can afford a better quality of life.

When you look at the cost of living in Australia compared to the UK it is easy to see why this is one of the leading destinations for British émigrés – not only is it cheaper to live Down Under, but you can even earn more according to the Sunday Times…

The Sunday Time report into why so many young Brits are heading for Australia for a new and better life states that in the UK you can earn on average GBP 498 a week in the public sector and GBP 439 in the private sector a week – compare this to Australia where the relative comparison equates to GBP 572 a week in the public sector and GBP 523 in the private sector.  We cannot validate these figures but they were published by the Sunday Times yesterday in an article by Paul Ham and we doubt very much that they would have got them wrong.

So, at first glance Australia certainly seems fiscally tempting – and when you examine the statistics from the NatWest/Centre for Future Studies survey and see that 37% of respondents wanted to live abroad for a better quality of life, 26% for a better standard of living and 20% specifically for cost of living, Australia is going to be looking favourable!  However, before you get too excited, tax in Australia on income is higher – the starting rate is 15% whereas ours in the UK is 10% (for the time being), in Australia basic rate tax is 30% whereas we pay ‘just’ 22% and finally, the higher rate of tax in both nations is the same and comes in at 40%…

Australians also enjoy fewer paid holiday days than us Brits – they have between 15 and 20 days whereas the average in the UK is 22…other than that, pretty much everything else on the cost of living front is better in Australia…

For example, two can eat out and enjoy a bottle of wine with their meal at a fashionable venue for an average of GBP 35 in Australia whereas the same would cost you about GBP 50 in the UK.  In terms of the weekly shop for a family of 4, you’re looking at spending at least GBP 95 in the UK whereas you can get this down easily to GBP 70 Down Under.

Petrol is cheaper in Australia, public transport is cheaper, health insurance is more affordable, GST (their equivalent of our VAT) is 10% compared to the 17.5% we pay, and it can even be cheaper to educate your child at a private school in Australia.

So, if you’re strongly motivated by money factors and you think you could be living abroad and spending less, earning more and enjoying a similar or better standard of living as a result – maybe you should look more closely at living in Australia?