<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.>

Amen to that....When we moved here 3 years ago I just cringed every time I turned on the TV. Reality programming that isn't really real, but scripted...mostly set in California...UGGGHH.... not the best impression of the US. No one I know lives like that. Now we have the Jersey Shore and Housewives of just about any city you can pick....more fabulous impressions. I find it embarrassing!

"When we moved here 3 years ago I just cringed every time I turned on the TV. "

THIS IS SO TRUE!

After more than 2 weeks now we have decided we wouldn't even consider buying an TV set if living in OZ!

Hardly one finds a MOVIE - contemporary stuff or old. We started watching the 3 female family members who went to Thailand to get their plastic surgery done (boops, belly and eye lids ). 3 for the price of one in OZ. So these ladies were also very cost conscious ;-)

Another program was on the assassination of or is it on?) JFK.

The first we just watched the entry and the second one was pretty interesting.

But as Germans we are spoiled by our government programs which - we were told a couple of times by foreigners - obviously belongs to the best in the world; we rarely watch private stations when at home.

Today we went to a farmer's market and got DECENT chiabatta, feta, olives, dark red ripe strawberries (from Queensland!) - that was a bargain! Next time that's our place to shop. Abd it was much more favourable than the "DELIES" at the malls!

Folks - go and buy local. Great produce and just swallow the bill.

Ah -we didn't only find the ideal place to shop - I also smashed our car today at a strange "round-about". I use to travel on the "werong" side of the road in all sorts of countries. But this round-about got me.

The lady I hit was originally from Eritrea. So we had something to chat about while waiting for the police ;-)
We were exchanging experiences and she promoted her country very well............

She didn't get only hit by me - another car (Russian immigrants) hit her in the back shortly after I smashed her - she was still in the position where I hit her.

Now the Russian of course got also a "traffic offense fine" - sorry for calling the police Sir!

It was my fault and I got a fine (119AUS$ - you see even that is expensive ;-) ) because I need the police statement for AVIS and the insurance, I blow the alc test (0.0 of course at it was shortly after 0900am).

Then we went to the cemetery to pay tribute to our aunt who left behind quite a mansion.........

Very eventful second last day in the country.........

OZ can be really exciting some times!

CHEERS!

Not sure if there is a later stat for the median salary for Americans but this one done in 2009 shows that the median salary is $39,336 with a great range of wages depending on whether you were black, white, Asian, over 25, male or female etc. On the other hand the latest average salary for an Australian is $64,549. Now there is quite a difference between the two countries. The minimum wage in Australia as of 3/6/10 is $569.90 per week or $15 per hour and in contrast the USA min wage per hour as of 24/7/09 was/is $7.25.
Now seeing that the min. wage in Australia is twice that of the USA and the money values are about the same would it then not be expected that cost of food and other items would be more expensive?
If I go to a country which has a larger average pay packet then I expect that my money will not go as far as it would in Australia.
If you are going to compare like with like then do so but if you are comparing what now is a wealthier community with one that is on the skids then you will get a different set of rules to go by. IF and when the US gets over its economic woes then you will find there is a great change in comparisons but until then may I suggest that if you want to get cheap food, clothing and accommodation you go to China where everything is very inexpensive. You may not be able to breath the air but you will be able to get a cheap breakfast.
Further to the difference in pay is the fact that the $US is so low - that also has nothing to do with any other country other than the USA.

I've wandered thrtough this thread rather bemused. I've lived in this country for 63 years, when I wasn't wandering the world, and I eat out several times a month.

The other Aussies must live in a different place to me. I suppose the main difference is that I don't eat in expensive restaurants - anywhere in the world. If I decide to dine in the better (not necessarily expensive) restaurants I chooose the sorto of places that can be found in Lygon Street, Carlton or the West End, Brisbane or Darling Harbour, Sydney where main courses are between $15 and $35 and you can often take your own wine for a small corkage fee. Just one typical example, from Lygon Street: http://www.ilgambero.com.au/ksm/admi...ber%202010.pdf

Sure, you will find some expensive restaurants in all those places but you will also find lots of competing mid-range restaurants where the food is just as good and the waiters haven't been corrupted by visiting Americans to expect 15-18% tips. You will also find lots at the lower end of the scale where you can eat well for under $15.

Not to mention that every town in Australia has pubs and clubs selling restaurant and bistro meals in the $7-$15 range. The ambiance may be a bit rough at times and the food may have come out of a freezer but it is definitely edible and nourishing - and cheap.

And no tips.

I'm going to Paris next year and I'm planning to eat at Maxim's. I'm not going to complain about the price - because that will be an experience. But for the rest of the trip I'll eat at the same sort of mid-range restaurants I eat at here and pay similar prices.

Cheers, Alan
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

Its not the Aussies that are complaining about the food prices, because we all agree with you Alan, it is the Americans, together with a couple of Americans who live in Australia, who don't want to listen to what has been suggested over and over on this forum.
As for melnq8 who cannot find good bread in Perth, which I do not believe is the case for one moment that there is none there - I used to buy French style bread at the French Deli in City Beach together with wonderful French cheese and home made Gaspacho to name a few things. I bought beautiful Lebanese food in Subiaco and I bought air-freighted rainbow trout from Tasmania from Claremont. I lived in Perth for 7 years about 20 years ago and I know that there is a good range of quality food available, including great bread, if you want to get it. Whether there are bagels I would not know but having also lived in North America earlier than I did in Perth I can attest to the most dreadful bread in the World at that time came from the USA - seemed they had not discovered self-raising flour or something else that made bread taste like it should. So please melnq8 please don't treat some of us like fools because a lot of us have been to and lived in other countries and know what the price differences are and also we are able to extract information about exchange rates, differences in wages and all sorts of other pertinent information.

Oh, I'm listening ivenotbeeneverywhere, I just don't happen to agree.

Just curious how many Australians here make online purchases from companies outside of Australia to save money.

I had an interesting conversation with an Australian guy the other day who said he makes most of his purchases online, from US based companies. He said he can buy the exact same items, pay international shipping and have his purchases delivered to his door for considerably less than he can purchase the same items in Australia. We were talking specifically about golf and scuba diving equipment. He blamed high prices in Australia on the middlemen, the people between the wholesalers and the retailers.

Apparently so many Australians are now doing this that they're considering adding tax to Internet purchases.

http://australianetworknews.com/stor...88.htm?desktop

My home state is considering doing the same thing, adding sales tax to Internet purchases to generate more tax revenue. Mail order items have been sales tax free in some US states forever, others have always added tax.

Meln

I also order online from the US - particularly beanbags. As soon as the purchase hits German surface I pay import duty. I assume the same here.
IF that US comp delivers from OZ plants/distribution that comp already pays tax.

IF "they"invent some kind of additional "online purchase tax" they certainly will shut themselves in the foot.

E.g. I ordered UGG BOOTS from Australia. I paid decent import duty and sure I wouldn't like to pay double.

Hi spassvogel -

Beanbags? As in bags from LL Bean?

Apparently, there's currently a $1,000 exemption for items shipped to Australia. The guy I mentioned above told us that people get around the exemption by having items shipped separately, and that retailers are happy to do it.

Having been to Oz 3 times, (last time 12 months ago) I can honestly say I have never thought food was expensive even in Sydney. Prices have always compared to home here in Cardiff, Wales.

Last year we stayed in the Bowral hotel in the lovely small town of Bowral and joined the locals for dinner, I had the largest meal and biggest steak I had ever had in my life for A$10. Incredible well cooked tasty meal.
Several beers later we rolled back to the Mannings motel down the road.

The exchange rate for us at the moment is really poor, so who knows it might seem worse now.

Muck

OOPS...should read..Last year we ate in the Bowral hotel .

(Got to cut the chicken, Mrs Muck pressurising me !!!!! = mistakes and no proof reading.)

;-)

The only thing I buy from overseas on-line, apart from travel items like air-fares and hotels, is batteries. I just can't beat the prices for rechargeable phone batteries from China (e.g $2.69 for a Nokia replacement recently).

I buy some items, not many, on-line in Oz. Mainly incredibly cheap wines from Grays.

It will be scary if they start adding GST to on-line purchases; the implications for hotel and travel web-sites are a worry. I noticed I paid VAT on my purchases of hotel rooms in Paris and London via Priceline.co.uk. It will get complex and expensive if every country involved in a purchase adds their percentage. On the other hand, it was worth it to get 4* in Trafalgar Square for 85 GBP including taxes and fees.

Cheers, Alan
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

PS Now we have bread snobs? I can buy good bread almost anywhere from small local bakeries or even some of the excellent small chains. But I don't buy much, as a diabetic eating low-carb

The proposed tax is just for consumer goods...taxing items as they come into the country.

Tax is generally already included when you purchase hotels/airfare online. The tax rate is based on where the particular hotel is...say you've booked a hotel in Nevada via hotels.com - their price quote will include the local hotel tax for Nevada. It would be near impossible for another country to get a piece of that. How would they know?

As for the bread, I can't find a decent loaf of French bread here to save my life - truly. Surely it exists, but I haven't found it yet. Some of it looks promising from the outside, but once it's torn open, it's just white fluff. Next time I'm in City Beach, I'll go look for the place liz suggested.

Wow every Australian I know is going overseas for holidays because Australia is too expensive, why not get stuck into them with this patriotic rubbish.

I think you mean unpatriotic Kriol. Surely any Australian can go wherever they like especially when our $$ is so good - this is a democractic country and it has absolutely nothing to do with the cost in Australia but more to do with the comparative cost Internationally now that the US $ is 30% less than it used to be together with the Euro and Pound. Flying overseas from Australia puts money into our Airlines pockets and allied services. I am pretty sure that you yourself are not Australian so perhaps some ground work would not go astray.

I am Australia, not the arrogant type who gives me massive doses of cultural cringe like the Cronulla rioters and the mob on here.

Hi All,

re: the original poster's question -- one of the things I find inexpensive and enjoyable (and even healthy!) are FOOD COURTS, which I sampled again when I was in Sydney in September. My favorites are the Asian food stalls, because there's such a variety of foods that you might not find in the US, or only if you were in a major city. (although my little hometown here in Northern CA does have a Singaporean restaurant!).

Speaking of food courts, here they would be populated with KFC, MickeyD's, Burger King, etc., and yes, Australia, we apologize for foisting our bad eating habits on you as well as your children who now have obesity problems like the American kids! I especially feel bad about Krispy Kremes (seriously, the first time I saw that in the Sydney airport, it stopped me dead in my tracks and said "oh noooooooooooo")

Other Mel: What do you mean you resent being "forced to tip a standard percentage REGARDLESS OF SERVICE" ?? There are no "Tip Police" in the US -- you are free to tip whatever you want, or nothing at all - although I don't recommend the latter, because then the server just assumes you forgot; or the person you were dining with thought YOU were leaving the tip, and you thought THEY were leaving the tip...

The norm for tipping here is 15%, and 20% (or more, if you're flush) for excellent service. My family was in the restaurant business, so I've spent time as a waitress and bartender. I'm "aware" of what's going on when I'm in a restaurant. Anyone who's worked in the service industry will know what I mean - you see who's got the section furthest away from the kitchen, who's collecting dishes and of course, the two employees who never quite hidden, gossiping next to the cash register, goofing off.

I don't have a problem leaving a 10% tip (or less) for bad service. For VERY bad service, I have no problem speaking to the manager and making him aware of the problem. By the same token, for really GOOD service I will commend the server and tell their manager as well.

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie Specialist

Hi Melodie -

I have many issues with tipping, but suffice to say that it's a social custom that makes little sense to me. In the US it's not a gratuity, it's an expectation, and the fact that we've come up with a 'norm' reinforces that expectation. Why should the waiter who brings you a steak get a bigger tip than the waiter who brings you a salad? It's a convoluted system.

I'd much prefer if businesses paid their staff better, and just included a service charge and tax in the price quoted.

Life would be so much simpler.

Melodie - you'll be relieved to learn that the Australian arm of Krispy Kreme has recently been forced into voluntary adminstration. Not too many Starbucks outlets left here either, but as the nearest one to where I live was on Sunshine Coast some 1200kms south of where I live so never really tempted, plus we grow our own coffee right here on the Tablelands.