<My local take-a-way makes breakfast for about $7.>

My local IKEA sells breakfast for under $3, but that doesn't mean I want to eat there.

<It just seems to me that Americans expect to go into similiar places as they have at home and eat the exact same things when in fact if they did follow help on this forum we could show them how to eat, and eat darn well for a fraction of the cost of eating in the USA>

I suspect that many Americans expect to go into similar places and pay similar prices. I doubt that most of them expect chicken fried steak and Tex-Mex.

I think that many non-Australians find Australia expensive, even those of us who've lived here for awhile and know our own neighborhoods pretty well. I have yet to eat cheaper in Australia than I can in the US, where extensive research isn't necessary to eat well and inexpensively (and yes, that takes tipping and tax into consideration).

I'm of the opinion that it has little to do with the exchange rate, although a poor exchange rate certainly doesn't help. A plate of eggs is a plate of eggs, yet in my experience, a plate of eggs in Australia costs considerably more than a plate of eggs in the US.

As for those bagels SB_Travlr, I was once scolded by a Fodorite (guess) for trying to find bagels in Australia. I found them, but was sorry I had. Somehow a round piece of fluffy white bread with a hole in the middle just isn't the same. You can't blame me for trying though

I'm hoping ivenotbeeneverywhere can point me in the direction of some good bread here in Perth, as I'm having trouble finding it.

<<In my favorite diner near home in the US, that would cost about $14 -- with as much coffee as you care to drink.>. I'm assuming you're talking about the filtered stuff, I refuse to even call it coffee, let alone care to drink it.

Just a few other points:

Australian farmers are not blessed with a large pool of cheap illegal workers to help with planting, maintaining and harvesting, so prices will be higher.

Fast food is ridiculously cheap in the US, along with free drink refills, hopefully this will never catch on in Australia as obesity is a 'growing' problem here but no where near that of the States, where people are literally eating themselves to an early grave

Personally, I don't find Sydney an expensive to place to eat out, but I do find the price of drinks e.g beer in a pub to be over the top

Geordie

I was in NYC this past February and had a bagel with cream cheese.YUK!!! It must be an acquired taste just like our vegemite is.
My Local, Mel in Perth, serves bacon, eggs, tomatoe, sausages and mushrooms for $7 and American style coffee but I choose to drink Moccachino which is extra but I am always willing to pay for good coffee. I see absolutely no difference in that breakfast to anything in the USA
Every Club in Australia allows visitors be they bowls, football, league, cricket, tennis, RSL or Surf Lifesaving.
I have owned and run a guest house for 10 years and I have seen many, many people from many countries for breakfasts. I find that Americans do not want to move from their comfort zone of food choices despite some of their choices being inferior to what can be offered here. In the hotel industry US guests will often be asked if they want their bacon fried or cremated as American cooked bacon is unrecognisable from its intended cooked state and because our bacon here is cut thicker it is usually impossible to char it to an American's tastes.
Georgie I believe that beer in a pub in Sydney is outrageously priced according to a rellie there and I have no idea why that is - probably because of the impoverished State Government and its tax system. Newtown is my choice for food in Sydney with its variety but if you are around Alexandria try Bitton cafe ( sp??) which sells fantastic breakfasts and other meals. Its always full for breaky too.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...m?site=thedrum

It's all about what we're used to I guess. Beans and toast, and Australian bacon don't interest me much, but I'm not much of a breakfast eater anyway. Given a choice, I'd go for the bagel every time...and hasbrowns, I do like a good plate of shredded taters.

I've developed a fondess for something called a brunchie at a nearby cafe - it's basically a savory muffin. $7 here will get you a flat white and a muffin, that's about it.

And for what it's worth, I don't care for drip coffee either. One of the things I'll miss most when we leave WA is flat whites!

<<I find that Americans do not want to move from their comfort zone of food choices despite some of their choices being inferior to what can be offered here.>>

This reminds me of my very first OS trip. When visiting a lovely little restaurant in Rothenburg, Germany, I was amazed to hear a rather large and loud American woman refusing her 'hotdog' because "it doesn't taste like I have it in the States!"

Reading this thread is so depressing to me. I am trying desperately to afford a trip to Australia this year and didn't count on food prices being triple what I'm used to. For our family of four, it can really add up. We felt we spent too much in Vancouver and that was just from necessity of eating in restaurants, it's going to kill us if the restaurants are expensive to boot. And FTR, we don't eat fast food but it is so possible to save money in the US when you're out and about by eating at burrito stands or places like Subway for lunch instead of the whole restaurant shebang. It sounds like there's not really places like that in Australia? And what the heck is a RSL or club anyway? Is it like a restaurant/snack bar thing at a playing field? How would a tourist go about finding a place like that (which it sounds like we might have to...)?

Hi Monica -

Australia has some of the usual global fast food chains, like Subway, McDonalds, KFC and Hungry Jacks (which is like Burger King), in addition to local establishments like Chicken Treat, Red Rooster and a smattering of others.

There are also fish and chip shops, kebab shops and other fast food type places, but even low end food is more expensive than you might expect. I vividly recall spending $17 for three items at a KFC right after we moved here and thinking the same meal would have been $7 tops in the US.

We went through serious sticker shock, and even resorted to eating medcore takeaway at the busport a few times, because we could eat there for under $10 each (and it was handy to our hotel!).

To us, an Australian $50 spends like a US $20. I know some Australians have trouble believing this, but we truly find OZ a very expensive place to live.

There are ways to cost cut though. If you stay in self-catering accommodation (with kitchen facilities) you can save quite a bit by eating in. Most self-catering accomodation here includes BBQs, so you don't have to eat dinner out every night. Packing a picnic to enjoy while at the beach or grabbing a quick inexpensive lunch at a bakery will help cut costs.

Our 14 days here are almost over and so I could round-up the expenses:

We are vegetarians and love our cheese (which is extremely expensive in OZ), fresh veggies, pasta, EVOO, good balsamico, good butter brand etc etc.

So no fish, meat for us. But cheese makes up for it price wise.

We have paid roughly 600AUS$ on food items and soft drinks for 14 days self catering plus another 200AUS$ on wine.

We don't regret a minute or a AUS$

CHEERS!

http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/rest...0--steaks.aspx

"To us, an Australian $50 spends like a US $20." and not so long ago wasn't costing US visitors much more than that either, Melnq8.

I don't know what you're expecting to pay, Monica; but I can assure you that it is more than possible to eat for a reasonable price in Australia. Especially in the larger cities.

You're a bit disadvantaged in Perth, Melnq8 - but get on a flight to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane, pick up a "Cheap Eats" or contact a Fodorite and I'm willing to bet we can show you some fantastic, interesting food that won't frighten the moths in your wallet!

Regrettably, we do have a lot of the American fast food purveyors of fat, sugar & salt. With all of the good, cheap, healthy food chains in the US, it's a great shame we had to embrace these obesity factories. At least we seem to have seen off most of the Krispy Kremes & Starbucks.

I don't go to Asia, Europe or the US looking to replicate what I eat at home. Discovering what other countries offer is a big part of the interest in travel for me. And sometimes part of it is that some things are more expensive than at home.

I'm curious as to why it's predominantly US visitors who complain so stridently about costs here. The Asians, many of whom have wonderful, delicious, healthy food and some luxurious accommodation for a peppercorn at home, don't. Nor do the Europeans. Why is it that American visitors expect everything here to be the same as in the US? Do they complain about Europe in the same way, or is it just Australia?

Australians could very justifiably whinge about hotel rooms at three times the price and half the size and an exchange rate that usually adds another 30% - 50% in the US. Right now, those of us who are travelling to the US are enjoying the upswing for a change.

Monica, every city has a couple of "cheap eats" websites. Either buy a guide at a book shop or newsagent's when you arrive, or Google.

In Sydney, good spots are Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Newtown, Bondi, Chinatown (Haymarket). There's a new Westfield shopping centre in the Pitt Street Mall which I believe will have some of the best chefs' outlets in the Food Hall. http://westfield.com.au/sydney/store-profiles/dining

RSL clubs are non profit organisations that provide social club type services to the community. They make much of their money from fruit loop machines (slots) which comp the food/entertainment. Sometimes the food is very very cheap, and often really bad.

trouble is often they are not located in the tourist place but always worth to ask. Not only to eat cheaper but to experience Australian culture. The clubs attract more people than pubs and restaurants combined and in some cases seem like casino.

Hey, Spass! Did you try some of the fabulous Milawa cheese? http://www.milawacheese.com.au/history.asp

And what about Edith ash rind goat's cheese? http://www.woodsidecheese.com.au/edith/

Hope you're taking some of our EVOL & olives home.

If you get a chance, do go to the Children's Market at Richmond. http://www.mfm.com.au/ccf.htm

I know you had a tough task here - hope you found some time for leisure & laughter, too.

Also not all clubs are called RSL club.

Sometimes they are called Combined Service Club. RugbY Club so just ask "any good clubs for value dinner"

I just found sydney club Mon, Tues, Wed $10 steak and chips. Of you click on the restuarant link they also have a Thai restuarant with Thursday $10 meal. You need to sign in with where you live, not where you are staying as if too close will disqualify you from entry as locals need to join as a permanent member. Vistor from far away can sign in for a one off visit.
http://www.nswleagues.com.au/default.asp?id=10

<With all of the good, cheap, healthy food chains in the US, it's a great shame we had to embrace these obesity factories>

You've got that right Bokhara. Unfortunately, it extends to television programming and just about everything American. I've always wondered why they send the absolute worst of our nation to other countries. No wonder people feel so negatively about us.

<I'm curious as to why it's predominantly US visitors who complain so stridently about costs here. The Asians, many of whom have wonderful, delicious, healthy food and some luxurious accommodation for a peppercorn at home, don't.>

Asians on Trip Advisor certainly do!

I suppose its totally boring to reiterate that in Australian restaurants we do pay our waitstaff a reasonable wage, not a fortune, but enough not to have them rely on tips. Many restaurants are BYO, you'll pay a small corkage charge for BYO wine, but a huge saving when you buy at bottle shop prices.

Monica, an RSL or similar club isn't a restaurant/snack bar thing at a playing field, one of the busiest around Sydney would be St George Leagues Club at Kogarah, a Sydney southern suburb. www.stgeorgesleagues.com/about-us These types of clubs are all over the country, large and small, its not only the poker machine revenue which keeps prices down, in most cases that don't have table wait service, but its an easy matter to order food at counter, you then pay, they give you a buzzer to take back to table to let you know food is ready and you walk back to counter to collect your meals.

oops, that should be www.stgeorgeleagues.com/about-us

Bokhara
YES I did buy Australian EVOO and I L O V E it! We indulge in King Island cheese! Doesn't matter the cost!
I LOVE going to the markets and do my shopping - resulting in leaving some stuff behind with friends.

Thanks a lot for the links! I didn't know about those cheeses but have bookmarket the site as we return in Feb/March again for a couple of weeks.

I don't "complain" as such about the prices. It's just kind of shocking to the experiences we had when visiting Australia a lot in the 90s. Then it was extremely favourable.

Again THX for the links! Extremely appreciated!

Thanks for the help. It's just one more thing to budget I guess. Here in the US I can feed our family WELL on around $100.00 per week so you can see how Australian prices would be a shock. I don't think it's complaining so much (from the Americans) as just plain shock. It's hard to pay so much for something when you're not used to. As far as Europe, it's long been expected to be expensive so that's probably the difference. Also food in European grocery stores isn't that much more than it is in the US. Come to think of it, you hear plenty of complaints about the price of food in Hawaii so it's not just Americans "expecting what they're used to".

If you like full flavoured, piquant/aromatic cheeses, Spassvogel, Milawa Gold is one of our best, IMHO. "Old sox"

We've noticed a big increase in prices of many things here in the last 15-20 years, too. It doesn't seem that long ago that the prospect of paying $1/litre for petrol was unthinkable. I paid $1.41/litre yesterday. I'm sure you can think of similar examples in your local area.

I think someone above hit the nail on the head with the comment that, when we re-visit a place, it's easy to forget prices have risen in our home countries in the interim also, and are surprised at the difference in current costs to our last visit.

In your case, the lower prices of the 1990's were coupled with very favourable exchange rates to produce very cheap prices for US visitors. (mid 50's to 70's in the 1990's and for 3-5 years of 2000's, with occasional higher spikes in the following years)

This link gives an interesting rear mirror view of AUD/USD exchange rates for the last 20 years.

http://fxtop.com/en/historates.php3?...nOK=Go%21&MA=1

And I'm pretty sure we'd call those social clubs casinos here in the States. That St. Georges' one reminds me so much of the Indian casino near our cabin. Although food isn't cheaper there, but they do have one killer bowling alley!