Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks it's expensive here.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/bus...xpensive-city/

Hi Mel - Over here in Brisbane we are right behind you! I don't know how we're all going to cope when we have the added costs of the Carbon Tax to contend with.

Oh for a simpler life! You know - stop the world - I want to get off!

I hear ya stormbird. More expensive than London, who would've thought?

I'm surprised Darwin didn't come in there - my stepdaughter lives in Darwin and also has a house in Perth, she reckons cost of living is much higher in Darwin than Perth.

I was always under the impression that Perth was Australia's most expensive city. I remember the jaw-dropping prices for real estate at Cottesloe Beach. (Of course, parts of Sydney are just a glamorous and pricey).

Aren't there a lot of wealthy people in Perth connected to the petroleum, natural gas and mining industries?

Diamantina -

There's definitely a lot of wealth here. A cruise along the Swan River or a stroll at Hillary's Boat Harbour confirms that. Australia strikes me as generally fairly affluent.

I guess I will need to up my budget for my upcoming trip there <G>

All Australian cities are relatively expensive because of our dollar being so good and the currency of other countries i.e. USA being particularly bad. It seems you cannot have things both ways. But if you put the exchange rates back to what they were about 10 years ago it is a whole different story.
Still the house prices could be a whole lot cheaper in Australia but then you have the pressure of supply and demand.

Ah the perils of prosperity...

Perils of prosperity it is qwovadis. You only have to look at Switzerland over the years to see what happens when you have a have a booming economy and a stable currency.
Not to worry though as it won't be long before the new carbon tax kicks in and we won't be able to afford to drive our cars to the local shops.