A woman who returned to Australia after living in London was left stunned at how much the cost of living has risen in her hometown of Sydney, despite the housing market being cheaper
An Aussie who was living in London has moved back to Sydney – but pleads to return to the UK after discovering how expensive her hometown has become.
Kayla had called London home for the past 12 months, but decided to return to Australia after “running out of money” so she could move back in with her parents, but was left stunned by how much the cost of living had skyrocketed.
While she’s thrilled that the housing costs are cheaper, she’s shocked at the price of groceries, and was left gobsmacked when she found out how much she was charged for an iced latte.
“I was living in London and the city is always going to be more expensive than anywhere else. I live in the suburbs when I’m home in Sydney. I was subletting for my first few months, but it became pretty clear early on that if I wanted to spend a few months backpacking, I wasn’t going to be able to afford it if I was living in a shared house,” she told News.au.
Kayla said London rent is “crazy” and living in a hostel was cheaper than renting privately. The 22-year-old ended up getting a job as a hostel receptionist and living in the staff dorm for £127 ($250) a week. Now she’s back in Sydney living with her parents and job-hunting.
But while the rent is cheaper, Kayla was left stunned at the price of her weekly shop and was outraged when she forked out almost $10 for a coffee, compared to less than £4 in London. “A lot of people I met over there told me they found groceries much cheaper in the UK and, while I thought they were about the same originally, since I have been back in Australia I do think prices have gone up heaps since I’ve been away. Literally, this morning, I had to pay $9.50 for an iced latte,” she continued.
According to the financial comparison website Finder, the average Australian household spends $201 (£100) per week on groceries. That is up from $182 (£93), which is what Aussies were spending in October 2023. According to Forbes, in the UK, the average weekly spend on food and non-alcoholic drinks is £63.50.
This was up from the £62.20 per household spend recorded in the previous 12 months. It equates to an annual spend of just over £3,234, on average. Food costs are still higher than one year ago according to the latest ONS inflation data, although food price inflation has generally been slowing.
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