lifestyle

It's official: Australia is the most expensive country in the world.

Oh. Awesome.

Remember when a pineapple in your wallet was a big deal? That $50 note meant you were RICH! RICH I TELL YOU!

Now though, we’re eating up pineapples likes it’s no big deal. Suddenly, that crisp fiddy dollar bill doesn’t hold the same significance it once did.

If you thought the cost of living in Australia was getting ridiculous, you’d be right. Because a recent cost of living comparison by Deutsche Bank has called it – Australia is the most expensive country on earth.

 

Just popping out for coffee. Via Flickr DrewBan

 

Things aren’t any easier for our neighbours in New Zealand either, they came in second by a whisker. Both countries outrank the UK, France, the US, Japan, actually, EVERY OTHER FRICKIN country ever.

Ugh.

It was all fun and games the other day when our Koalas were flying business class, but this is grim.

The study, Mapping The Worlds Prices, compares how much equal products or services cost in different countries – things like Big Mac’s and Cokes, as well as tech items, clothing, accommodation and insurance.

And now, Australia is like the destination wedding you can’t afford to go to, because prices here are about 27 per cent higher than Japan, 23 percent higher than France, and 83 percent higher than the cheapest country, India.

Spare a thought for Indian students who have come to study in Australia.  They pay $3.80 for a movie ticket there and $2.40 for a standard men’s haircut.  Here? Its:

 

People moving to Australia for our wide open spaces and fresh air might want to get onto Air BnB. One night in a five-star hotel room in Sydney costs $880, three-and-a-half times what it costs in New York and more than four times as much as the $205 average price in Toronto.

Yes, Carrie. New York comes in cheaper.

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Want a cheap date night? HA. The bank compared cab rides, McDonald’s burgers, soft drink, two movie tickets, and a couple of beers across countries.  You won’t get much change for $100 in Sydney ($96). Try India ($24) Mexico ($35) or even Shanghai ($55).

Thirsty? That’s a shame. Get to know the taste of tap water. For a 2 litre bottle of coke ($2.63) we pay 18 percent more than the US, and more than DOUBLE what they do in Moscow.  Oy.

You’ll pay more for a standard men’s haircut in Australia ($23)  than you will in Paris ($22), New York($20) or London ($20). Grow it out until you get to India ($2.40) , or Philippines, where it’s about 5 bucks.

Tom Haverford. 9/10 Would get Australian hair cut.

 

Does Sydney wish it were New York? It almost is. A square foot of office space in the NSW capital will set you back $108.05, creeping up towards New York prices ($128.85) and almost double what it is in Frankfurt, Germany ($56.84).

Sigh.

There was sadly no coffee index, because we’d love to know how the rapid inflation of the morning latte compares across countries. We suspect we may win there too, ‘cos it’s grim out there in the barista wastelands.

The upside:

At least our movies are cheaper than in Switzerland! HOORAY! Suck it, Zurich. It costs $19.70 for a movie ticket there. Hate to know what the large popcorn comes in at.

And OUR BEER ($6.15) is 12 percent cheaper than New York ($7.00).  Not much to it, but hey, we’ll take it.  Let’s drink to that!  (Just a middy, can’t afford a pint thanks).

Also, health insurance.  We pay more than every country, bar Japan, but still it’s a quarter of the price that the US pays.

What are you hurting over?