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Australia Questions 'o the Week
To keep myself from spamming the board with Australia related questions, I'll start 1 post per week asking a bunch of questions. Answers would be appreciated from those in the know. 
-What are the Social Security Number-type ID numbers called? Are they super important, like for opening a bank account?
-I'd like to get an Idea of the price level. The lime talk in my other post was helpful (holy sh!t). If you could drop me a few numbers from your latest grocery receipt it would be appreciated.
-Is it usual to have dental insurance there? What should I expect to pay for an exam/X-rays?
-How much does dry cleaning cost? I realize prices vary by city but I just want to see what to expect.
-(long shot question) Will our UK Android phone and Norwegian iPhone work if we get an Australian SIM? I was able to get my UK Android to work by popping in my Norwegian SIM, so it's obviously not locked.
That's all for this week, any answers you have would be appreciated.
And AmericanInOz (from my previous post), yes! GTG when we eventually get to Sydney!
Re: Australia Questions 'o the Week
OK, this is the only bit I know the answer to and it is yes, a UK phone will work in Australia. It is to do with the type of signal they use and is the same. I was over in Oz for a few weeks a number of years ago and my Irish phone worked no problem.
-What are the Social Security Number-type ID numbers called? Are they super important, like for opening a bank account?
Tax file number. It is not like a SSN. You only need it for dealings with the Tax Office and associated things like a bank account and an employer needs it. http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/settle-in-australia/to-do-first/apply-for-tfn.htm
The credit system is not like it is in the US. I would look at bank websites. The big ones are the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac.
-I'd like to get an Idea of the price level. The lime talk in my other post was helpful (holy sh!t). If you could drop me a few numbers from your latest grocery receipt it would be appreciated.
Beware, you can't shop in Australia like you shop in the US. Fresh fruit and veg and meat are cheaper than in the US, processed food is more expensive (lower subsidies, and taxes on processed food). Cans of soft drink are not a standard item to buy, for example. Most people would only buy soft drinks when they're entertaining. They'd have fruit juice (ah, cheap orange juice!) and cordial normally. And capsicums are a standard vegetable, while tortillas are exotic. You can get a lot more fresh food year round because of Queensland, and the quality is generally a lot higher. You can store your potatoes and onions in the pantry and they won't rot, for example. Your sign they need to be used is when they sprout. They use a lot fewer sprays because we have fewer diseases, and the meat and dairy are all 100% grass fed. And, remember the minimum wage is $15 an hour + 20% loading for casual workers. I had terrible grocery price shock when I first moved to the US because I tried to buy a trolley full of vegetables and fruit, and the varieties I was used to buying. My parents know to clean out the fridge before we come to stay because I go craaaazy in the supermarket buying all the stuff that's expensive in the US.
My point is that although you speak the same language, it's a different culture, and people eat different things, so comparing apples and apples and attempting to go straight to buying exactly what you did in the US is going to be expensive, just as it would be if you wanted to buy the same things in Slovenia or France. But, if you look around and see what is cheap and reasonable, and buy that and cook around it, it's cheaper than the US and better quality.
As far as consumer goods go (clothes, books, towels), just bring your stuff from home. The US is the only country where you can consume recreationally. Which, if you think about it, is a pretty wasteful past-time. Look at it as a year long experiment in non or low-consumption. But don't bring your sheets, they won't fit Australian mattresses.
-Is it usual to have dental insurance there? What should I expect to pay for an exam/X-rays?
Dental insurance is not covered by medicare, so all private health insurance companies offer dental coverage. Prices for dental services are very very similar to US prices. Big companies are Mutual Community and Medibank Private.
Ok SOME of what Knitty says is accurate. I disagree about the food prices even for fresh fruit/veg and meat. Maybe in Queensland it is actually cheaper but here in SA it sure as heck isn't. But she is right that processed foods and soda are really high priced and are subject to GST so I had to give up my Diet Coke habit when I moved here. Capsicun (red bell peppers) are a standard vegetable here as she said, but so is pumpkin.
As for don't bring your sheets - my American queen-sized sheets fit my Australian bought queen-sized mattress so I have no idea what she is talking about.Clothes and book and towels are a bit pricier here but they are not so outrageously priced that you need to forgo buying for a year.
As for the tax file number - you do need one to open a bank account if you don't do it within a certain time frame of when you arrive here. Check out the ANZ website - you can open a bank account before you even hit the soil.
Bluegirl, you're country. Thing are very very different out there. Don't forget that 80% of the population lives in one of the capital cities, as the OP will. Services to rural people is a HUGE social and political issue. There are horrifying statistics about the difficulty of getting fresh food to remote communities. And even medical care is a two tier system between country and city.
Odd that your sheets fit your mattress. Our American mattress is 20 cm smaller than an Australian queen.
Knitty -- do you actually live in Australia??? Have you been here recently??? And if so, where have you been -- general areas are all I'm asking about.
I do not find that meat/vegetables/fruit are cheaper or better quality than I could find in the US. I have shopped both in the capital city and rural areas. In fact, I find fruit and vegetables to be significantly smaller than I had in the US. I do love how the pumpkins (winter squash) are cut for you and you can buy single ribs of celery rather than having the how head go to waste for just a couple of pieces.
I can say that my grocery bills for two adults, factoring 3 vegetarian meals a week and one night out, run between $50 and $100 a week, depending on what I have to buy.
I do not find cokes more expensive here, but I don't really drink them, so I am not one to ask. I can say that they are always on special at my Woolies and Coles. So are potato chips and drumstick ice cream cones.
I can also say that entrees (mains here) run between $15 and $25 at the local pubs we go to, and the servings are about 3/4 of what I am used to in the US. Also, for reasons I have yet to fathom, pizza and italian food seems not to be available before 5 pm.
Now, we buy a lot of fresh fruit and veggies and meat, very little processed food, so we wouldn't be able to use coupons on any of that. But we do buy TP, paper towels and other household items that would use coupons back home. Our household item budget is around $75 to $100 for a month and a half of supplies. I could cut that down to at least half back home. Granted I have a child so my budget will be different from Wise_ ritas.
You mean competition like the dairies are having? Greeeeeat.
The quality is definitely better, but prices are nowhere near decent. The US has a $7-10 price bracket which is fiercely competitive, Australia doesn't have that. And a wine from that $7-10 US bracket is automatically becomes $15+ because of the 29% tax on wine.
My H had the same"pie in the sky"attitude about life in Oz too after being gone for 5-6 years. His bubble was quickly burst.
Here is the report that GBlake was referring to about Oz being to expensive.
http://www.cis.org.au/publications/policy-monographs/article/3779-price-drivers-five-case-studies-in-how-government-is-making-australia-unaffordable
Books are outrageous. H finally bought me a Kindle so I could start reading again (our library is a joke).
I don't know how mobile phones are priced in Norway, but at least with Telstra you pay through the nose. For example, you get "free VM", BUT it costs you $.30 to access it PLUS the cost of the time you are on the phone to listen to the messages. Our Internet is $80 a month for 100 gigs.
The price range of Limes that Dorothy in OZ gave (14.99-17.99) I would be willing to bet was the difference between imported and domestic, with the domestic limes being the 17.99. The beef market in QLD is freaking the eff out right now because Indonesia just announced it would cut live imports by 50%. They are all hand wringing because this will cause of flood of domestic beef and they will have to lower the price. I for one can't wait.
Fruits and veggies are so expensive here because A) Australia is the driest continent on the planet. To grow said fruits and veggies they need to irrigate with bought water.
Also, the fruits and veggies are picked by back-packers here on a working holiday visa being paid $20 an hour. Supposedly a whole bunch of food is being left to rot in the fields this year because the mines are paying so much money, they cant even get low skilled people to work for the $20 an hour, this just means that the price will go up since there is less stock.
Really good info, ladies, thanks!
I'll be back next Monday with more questions.
-What are the Social Security Number-type ID numbers called? Are they super important, like for opening a bank account? Tax File numbers. I only needed it for taxes AFAIK. However, DH was in charge of all that...
-I'd like to get an Idea of the price level. The lime talk in my other post was helpful (holy sh!t). If you could drop me a few numbers from your latest grocery receipt it would be appreciated. I can't comment on that as I'm not there anymore, but I remember everything being expensive. Whenever there was bad weather in Queensland, bananas would go up.
Sheets WILL FIT your mattress. I bought sheets in the US And they fit fine on my Australian Queensized mat. I felt the quality was better too. As for towels, there is actually a brand I like in Australia at Myer- VUE. I get them onsale in January and July. I'll be in Australia for the holidays, so I'm probably going to pick them up.
-Is it usual to have dental insurance there? What should I expect to pay for an exam/X-rays? Depending on your visa (PR or Temp PR) and if you can get Medicare, Medicare will not pay for dental. In addition to Medicare, we had a private health insurance for like $18 a month. But that was a special health care we got thru my MIL. There is a nice selection of private health care and it isn't $$$ like in the US. Costs- Can't comment on that most stuff I had done was covered.
-How much does dry cleaning cost? I realize prices vary by city but I just want to see what to expect. I think I paid $10 a dress?
-(long shot question) Will our UK Android phone and Norwegian iPhone work if we get an Australian SIM? I was able to get my UK Android to work by popping in my Norwegian SIM, so it's obviously not locked. If it's not locked, it should work... I brought over a phone from Germany when I moved there in 2005. It wasn't a smart phone, but I had no problems getting a SIM card for it.
I'm a bit late and most of these questions have been covered by the other ladies but I just have to laugh at Knittys comments! What a hoot! She has obviously not been here in ages.
Anyway, food is quite expensive. I would rate the quality basically the same as the US but certainly costs more money. I cannot think of one thing that would be cheaper (of course there may be something). Fruit and veggie prices vary depending if there were floods or droughts during the year. I can finally buy bananas again now that the price has dropped down from $12 a kilo. And for the record- Aussies do drink a lot of cans of soda. Yes, they are not as cheap as the US but people still drink them none the less. You can buy 30 pack cases in the grocery store. It does go on sale often though.
We pay for our private health fund. We are still covered under medicare but have access to private hospitals, dental, vision and other benefits. Price will vary depending on the level of cover you choose. I haven't used it personally, but this website www.iselect.com.au will compare prices for different health funds, it might be useful.
I don't know much about phones and I think the dry cleaning is on the expensive side. I certainly don't dry clean much here (since I am not wearing my winter wool sweaters anymore) and I don't think Aussies dry clean as many items as we were used to in the US.