Hello ya'll from Down Under....Svnla's excellent adventure in Oz/Asian countries

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Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
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Hey mates,

It is 9:50 a.m. local time (Western Australia/Perth) Tuesday Feb 5th. It is very warm here, in the up 30's degree Celcius (upper 90s F?).

Oz is very similar to US but they drive on the left side and it is cleaner and more friendly. The buses and trains are clean and people say thank you to the driver (imagine that in the US). I paid $4 per 1 way trip. The cars and houses are more compact/smaller. There are a lot of hatchbacks and not much SUV.

Elevator = lift. Cops are driving in white pickup trucks with trailer box on top of the bed. Burger King = Hungry Jack's.

The bad thing is the high cost of living. My friend is in 1 bed apt, about the same size of my place in US (800 sq ft) but she is paying $1200 per month (1 USD is about 1 AUD). Bottle of water is about $4 per small one. Gasoline is about $1.4xx per liter or $4.xx per gallon if my math is correct. Roasted chicken is about $10/each. I went to Woolworth (similar like Kroger) and I paid $15 for 1 toothpaste, 1 bar of soap, 1 small bottle of Coke (1.25L), 1 small pack of candies. Almost every meal at the fastfood places are about $10 or more. I think everything in Oz is about 50% higher or more than in the US (base on my observation in the last few days).

Well, that's all for now. I will be back to the States soon and will have more pictures later. Ya'll take care. I did miss the SuperBowl yesterday.^_^
 
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Iron Woode

Elite Member
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Oct 10, 1999
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for the record, bus passengers here say thank you to the drivers.

glad you're having a good time down there.
 

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
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Elevator = lift. Cops are driving in white pickup trucks with trailer box on top of the bed. Burger King = Hungry Jack's.

The bad thing is the high cost of living.

Loo is bathroom, you stand in a queue not a line and you eat biscuits not cookies, and about 10000 more.

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html

Keep in mind Perth, W.A. is 1000000000x km away from the rest of populated Australia which probably has an impact on prices.

Have a great time! I'm really jealous, I would love to visit Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Cairns, Tasmania, etc. one day.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
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we say thank you to the drivers here, in Berkeley, and also in my hometown back in NC.


OP--don't you claim to be southern? You don't think that is a southern trait? :hmm:
 

z0mb13

Lifer
May 19, 2002
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I went to melbourne and sydney last year and i agree with the high cost of living. A mcdonalds meal is like 10 dollars and transporation is 4 or 5 dollars each way. Goods there are more expensive also (clothes, groceries, etc)
It seems that they set the price when the aussie dollar was half of us dollar, but now it has reached parity and the prices are just ridiculous

But they do have great weather though.. But i still prefer the us over aussie any day

A lot of perth people go to bali for vacation because its cheaper for them instead of going to eastern australia
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
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Iron – I rode subway in DC and NYC before. The cleanliness and friendliness and the caliber of riders between Oz and US are night and day.

Rossman – Perth is expensive because more people are moving here for jobs in the mining/oil and gas industries. The city is not small (1.8 million) but has a small town feel and very clean for its size.

Zin – see my reply above to Iron.

Zomb – I did look around but all the combo meals at all the fast food places are about $10, can’t be around $5 or $6 as in the US. Even the clothes and stuffs in Target are higher. Not much coupons in the Sunday newspapers here. Funny that you mentioned Bali because there was a story about a young bloke that was poisoned to death by dirty alcohol a few days ago.

Sluggo – LOL, yup, I feel a bit strange down here. Upside down with my wallet from the high cost indeed. The water went down the pipe in clockwise direction.

Here is a few. $15 for 24 cans of Coke or about $7.5 per 12 packs (sale price). Eggs are about $4 or higher per dozens. Gatorade is $2 or higher per small bottle (about 16 oz). Half of a roasted chicken is about $6. I don't think NYC or SF/Southern Cal are that high in cost of living (except housing).
 
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KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
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Meat Pies were the only thing that was good/cheap, price of soft drinks was insane unless on sale. It was a bit cheaper on the east coast, Perth was very expensive, get out to Freemantle and go to the Little Creatures Brewery for some great beer.
 
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