Who said London was expensive?

London, expensive? Bollocks.

It's as cheap as chips. In fact, I would go so far as to even claim that Melbourne is far more expensive than London.

Disclaimer: There is no currency conversion here - it's just straight £ for $AU, like for like.

Firstly, there are still 1 and 2 pence coins around, so there is no rounding up prices. So, already your on top. Shame your wallet is always full of useless pennies.



Here is my list of cheap things in the big captial.

Coffee

London - £1.89 (medium soy latte)
Melbourne - $2 for a The Body Shop latte or at lease $3 for a medium at Starbucks

Super cheap! Coffee chains, such as my new fave being Pret-a-Manager, are in over supply. Even Surbiton has a Starbucks, and that's saying something! Eat is also another favourite and offers fair trade organic coffee. Hell, I can even get a fair trade soy latte on the train platform for £1.79.

Food

Seriously, food is cheap. On Sunday I had £3 in my pocket and a ravenous Sunday morning appetite. With my church coins I bought enough to feed 3 people!

London - £1.49 Fresh Wholemeal Cob from the amazing and expensive deli on the High St and £1.19 6 Organic eggs from Corner Shop. Total £2.58, talk about budget food!

Same thing in Melbourne - $3.30 wholemeal cob from Bakers Delight and $2.97 for a 6 pack of eggs from Coles. Total $6.37. Nearly triple the price!

The look on my face when my poached eggs on toast were steaming in front of me. Priceless.

(Alright, that is just a shameless excuse to include my face! hahah)

Chocolate.

Yes, chocolate falls into this non expensive category, and that makes me, the happiest person on earth.

London: Kinder Bueno 40p, Mars Bar 39p, Maltesers (they even have less calories here!) 49p. You can even get 2 Lindt bunnies - 2 for £6! (I just love Sainsbury's 2 for £3 deals - beats Red Spot specials anyday!) In fact, any chocolate from Europe i.e Lindt, or for that matter, any produce from Europe, here is cheap!

Melbourne: Kinder Bueno $2.50, Mars bar $2.10, Maltesers $2.10. I'm guessing the prices here, but hey, I'm sure they are roughly correct. In general, European products = expensive.

God, I love London. My waistline doesn't.

Newspapers,

(And, I'm talking the type that you can finish in a bus ride) - FREE!

Yeah, I know the MX is free in Melb as well.

But, get this for cheap - Magazines!

London: Harpers Bazzaar £3.80, Vanity Fair £3.90, Grazie and Hello £1.90. The only downside, no Madisson.

Melbourne: Harpers Bazzaar $7.95, Vanity Fair $17.95, OK $1.95 - really the only value trash mag and NW $4.70 (Has that gone up?)

The perfect afternoon delight for someone on a budget. How can you go wrong?



Alcohol

Now this is the important one.

London: Vodka, Lime & Soda - £4, Large Glass of NZ Sav Blanc£6 (because you can buy a small glass), bottle of cider £4. But, the Offie is where it's all at - Bicardi Breezers are about £2, Pimms and Lemonade in can is about £2 and beer, well, it's cheap.

(I just got Photoshop from work, so I'm mucking around with it, hence the 'It' like shot!)

Melbourne: Vodka, Lime & Soda - $6.50, Sav Blanc - a good one, about $7-8 and a bottle of cider, at least $5.50. Need I say more!

Oh, and the local Offie has a deal - Buy 2 New Zealand wines and the 3rd Free! In Melbs, bottle of NZ Sav Blanc - c. $18 - per bottle!Wicked.

Fashion

This one gets tricky, because a stroll through Harrods, whilst getting lost in the Egyptian section, drooling over the food section and then not being able to leave the rooms displaying amazing designer handbags, is far more expensive than a stroll through Myers or DJs.

Here is my Egyptian bud from the Harrods. He/She guards the handbags.

BUT, my one consoling evidence for amazing and cheap fashion in London is my AMAZING Vintage Boots I found for £25 in Camden. One thing about London - Vintage Store Heaven! They are everywhere, and they are GOOD.

Things to Do.

This is where things get crazy. On Saturday, I managed to score a free trip through time. Sounds ludicrous, but I did. I probably went as far back as 500AD. I wandered through Medieval Europe, strolled through Mughal controlled Indian, met up with the Tokugawa Shoguns in Japan, stepped across a magic carpet from Persia, looked at renaissance sculptures and even looked a knight in shining armour directly in the eyes. How you might ask? I went to the V&A Museum in Knightsbridge (and for all you ex-Londoners - how do I get a place to live in Knightsbridge??). And, it was all free. ( I must sound like an ad for the V&A, but Kylie, you were RIGHT!)

Oh, and I know this is pushing it a bit because, well, Banksy art is accessible and free, (and Kallin, you will love this!), but I went to a Banksy exhibition for free! Woohooooo




Ahhh, London.