Australia... The Most Expensive Place Ever?

As I previously mentioned, Australia has shown herself to be INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE. Seriously, anything you buy is twice as expensive here as it is in the US, and the tiny bit of strength our dollar has over theirs does not at all make up for the difference. Here are some things I have purchased in the last few weeks that have shocked me:

Liquid Detergent: $15

Bottle of soda: $3

A "$5 Footlong" at Subway: $8

A snackwrap at McDonalds: $4

Any bottle of beer will be at the very least $7

Notebook for school: $4 (that was the cheapest price)

4GB flashdrive: $40

A shot of standard alcohol: $6

Package of 3 mechanical pencils: $5

One slice of pizza: $4

Scissors: $7

Bus ticket (one-way): $2-4

These are just a few examples. Fortunately, Australia has no sales tax and you don't have to tip anyone. That's because the minimum wage in Aus is $15. That's right, America... double ours. My coordinator, Cat, told us of an American student last year who worked as a dishwasher, and at overtime on the weekend, could make as much as $40/hour. We pay the Mexicans how much for the same job?

There is one thing I've saved TONS of money on - Textbooks. NONE of my classes require me to buy the textbook. All of the professors have said that they see no reason to make us purchase a book that we're never going to open, especially when we are going to be tested only on the material from their lectures... which comes from the book. So, what is normally a $500 - $600 expense is now obsolete. And here's a quick tip - don't print out your syllabi before your first day of class, your profs will give them to you. I did print them out, and now I'm down almost $15 worth of printing costs. :-/

Another thing which is the same price and in some cases, significantly cheaper is SCUBA certification. I almost wish I would have waited to get my certification until now. For just about $200 (compared to the $250 I paid), you can get your open water certification. Although, I must say, $50 was worth not having the stress to do it before field trips started.

Basically, I'm getting at the fact that it may be better just to purchase the essentials before you leave and make room in your luggage, because your money will fly out the window once you're here. Just a warning!