Lets Compare Prices Of Items In Different Countries

[Jollygoodfellow]

This girl is adamant the cost of living in Australia is far higher than in the US. The one saving grace that we have is that according to her, the wages in Australia are higher.

Yes I was going to point that out,us Aussies do have a higher wage rate than the US so it is reasonable to say that our cost of living would be higher.The US gas/petrol and cost of new cars is so cheap compared to here so our wages have to be higher in my opinion.

[Genius]

UK becoming much cheaper for whole lot of things I don't really want and either more or staying the same for stuff I do want/have to have. Still, £3000 pcm take home is barely respectable for 40 yr old professional to get by in central London, but 200000 peso still let's you live a very very high life in Manila, doesn't it?

Edited February 5, 2012 by Genius

[Dave Hounddriver]

200000 peso still let's you live a very very high life in Manila,

When you say very, very high life then I wonder. I can tell you that, on my initial arrival in Cebu, (as a first timer and vacationer), I spent that much per month for 2 months and maybe even just a little bit more. You will find that you adjust your spending to match your budget and yes you can be quite comfortable on that money.PS. I mention Cebu as that was my experience and you need to know that Manila is s bit more expensive than Cebu so you can compare. Edited February 6, 2012 by Dave Hounddriver

[Art2ro]

UK becoming much cheaper for whole lot of things I don't really want and either more or staying the same for stuff I do want/have to have. Still, £3000 pcm take home is barely respectable for 40 yr old professional to get by in central London, but 200000 peso still let's you live a very very high life in Manila, doesn't it?

I gather that 3,000 pounds is working take home pay since you mentioned it pertains to a 40 yr old professional! So, what's the average U.K. retired person's take home pay? Big difference when trying to compare cost of living and what one can afford, because I'm pretty sure when one initially retires, their retirement pension is usually less than what they were making when they were working, unless they had a pretty good retirement plan which exceeds what they made when they were still working!When I retired, I only got 42% of my annual gross income as my retirement, but after 13 years after all the COLAs and other pensions kicking in at 62, my annual net income now exceeds what I was making when I was still working! So yes, I can afford to live well now not like that of 13 yrs ago when I was only living on half of what I made and after I initially retired! Sound confusing? Did I make some sort of a POV? I think I did! Didn't I?I also forgot to mention, the majority of people in the U.S. or possibly in any country, people are working longer because they can't afford to retire on less what they are making by working! Some retired early and when the recession hit some lost their savings and or assets and they had to return to work and some earning less money! Edited February 6, 2012 by Art2ro

[Mike S]

Hey Art try 1/3 of what I was earning and with overtime which was unlimited try 1/4 ....... and that is with the big raise I just got from my Uncle Sam ....... but it all depends on what you want and how well you can adapt ....... did I want to retire and stay in the US and take a job as a Walmart greeter ....... no thank you very much ...... as far as I'm concerned I live like a KING here ....... in my own little way ....... :grouphugg: :hystery: :hystery: ........ and I'm not tied to a JOB ...... :hystery: ...... I don't have the stress and worries that I had there and my BP has dropped from 135/98 to 120/78 ..... so yup ..... I is a happy camper ..... :nudie:

[Art2ro]

Hey Art try 1/3 of what I was earning and with overtime which was unlimited try 1/4 ....... and that is with the big raise I just got from my Uncle Sam ....... but it all depends on what you want and how well you can adapt ....... did I want to retire and stay in the US and take a job as a Walmart greeter ....... no thank you very much ...... as far as I'm concerned I live like a KING here ....... in my own little way ....... :grouphugg: :hystery: :hystery: ........ and I'm not tied to a JOB ...... :hystery: ...... I don't have the stress and worries that I had there and my BP has dropped from 135/98 to 120/78 ..... so yup ..... I is a happy camper ..... :nudie:

Well Mike, I guess my post has made it's point! Yeah, our retirement pensions here in the Philippines do go a long way as long we learn to adapt! In the U.S. it's not about adapting, but surviving on what little our pensions can afford there! Some say other wise like Travis did, but he has passed on for whatever reasons, could of been the extreme cold weather where he moved to that did him in! Who knows, but at least we have the all year warm weather here in the Philippines! Hey, we have air conditioning for those really hot months! We too are "Happy Campers" in the Philippines, for now at least!

[Americano]

I haven't been in America since 2009 so I don't have any item costs to compare, but I can tell you about my total cost of living in America and in the Philippines. In America I was working and living from pay check to pay check. I could never save any money. Now I'm retired with about half of the monthly income I had while working. Now I'm living a very good life with everything I need. And, I'm saving about 1,000USD per month. My wife and I are planning to buy some land and build a house, which I could never do in America.

[Bruce]

I haven't been in America since 2009 so I don't have any item costs to compare, but I can tell you about my total cost of living in America and in the Philippines. In America I was working and living from pay check to pay check. I could never save any money. Now I'm retired with about half of the monthly income I had while working. Now I'm living a very good life with everything I need. And, I'm saving about 1,000USD per month. My wife and I are planning to buy some land and build a house, which I could never do in America.

WOW! Living the American Dream... in the Philippines!

[i am bob]

I would say we have the winner above! It's not what it cost here vs there but how you live that makes the difference! There is no true way to evaluate our overall actual costs in different locations because we live differently in every different location. And you don't have to move from one country to another - just move from one city to city and watch not only how your lifestyle changes but your costs as well!

[Genius]

Filched from the guardian newspaper, '' The Chartered Insurance Insitute (CII) has used existing data produced by the OECD to calculate the shortfall in savings needed to cover the cost of living in old age. It shows that on average pensioners only achieve 30% of their pre-retirement salary as income during retirement, significantly less than the 70% the OECD believes is necessary to live adequately.'' and from memory average salary in uk is still around £25,000 p.a. -- so on average uk retiree will have £8500 pa. which is say roughly 50,000 peso per month.But averages are pernicious and pretty irrelevant to most peoples personal circumstances, especially if you live in the south east of Uk.If I was going to retire on anything like that I just wouldnt retire.Tough trying to marry up expectations with future incomes when everything is so volatile.