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The only prices in Australia to have dropped are astronomical equipment. I remember seeing ads in the Aust S&T around 2005 for Celestron Star hoppers commanding up to $2100 for a basic 12" dob .... these days a superior Bintel 12" scope costs $899.
But yeah, cost of living has become obscene in this country overall... however, on my trip to Hungary last year, I found that quality of life there is much lower, despite food and drink being dirt cheap, wages are a joke and clothing, fuel and appliances is more expensive than here. One thing people often fail to take into account is wages relative to cost of living, and when that is taken into account, Australia does pretty well. We may complain about fuel prices, but our fuel is actually cheap compared to Europe and NZ, where you WILL be paying over $2 a litre for unleaded and $1.00-1.40 for LPG.
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