Hey guys,
After recent visa and esta issues, I finally made it in America, Chicago city to be precise.
Can you please recommend things to buy here that are expensive or hard to fine in Australia. I will be here for the next 3weeks.
Off topic if you all think life in Australia is hard, try living here, cost of living is crazy expensive. Their healthcare system is really bad. We have easy going life in Australia.
piew piew piew!
Why not? he didn't say anything about bringing them back to Oz, he might just want the shopping experience of buying a gun from walmart. Now he's got a story to tell at parties/gatherings.
and when you're driving around in the US and get stopped by police, tell them you have a gun in the car, and then quickly reach for it - you may not get to tell that story at parties - other people will … ;-)
Highly recommend going to a range while there, it's great fun and the people are always really friendly :)
Diabeetus
Don't worry and just enjoy your holiday. For electrical stuff, the voltage is different and you have to worry about warranty.
Try and buy different foods.
Sneakers, Australians are price gouged on these items. Also some clothing brands like Ralph Lauren.
Traditionally food has been significantly cheaper in the US and available in larger portions.
Ebay and the various retailers with online stores have a much larger selection of niche items than in Australia eg wargames, board games, posters, coffee mugs, clothing… The United States is a buyers paradise. The middle class have large homes, and want to fill them with stuff.
Traditionally food has been significantly cheaper in the US and available in larger portions.
also worse quality is what i've heard from friends that have gone there… we are so spoiled here for quality of food that's for sure
Can confirm I lived in Chicago and now work in the USA the food is much worse than Australia.
Make sure all the different food is deep fried.
Even the coke can be deep fried!
Travel insurance.
Too late
Thus the joke - if OP doesn't have it already, hard to find.
SafetyWing travel insurance
Nike Outlet store. Cheap sneakers.
head to ck, tommy, gap, ascis and polo outlets too
Spent a day shopping and managed to save 400 bucks, only to later spend 500 on the hotel.
not really nike but I found outlet stores to be cheap. If youre paying retail you can pretty much get it for similar prices on ebay/amazon etc
Got some levi jeans for like $10 and wrangler for $20 which were about $50 normally
Nike - I didn't find them comfortable but liked the 'Nike Men’s Air Zoom Pegasus 38 A.I.R. Running Shoes From [US] $84' I just saw in this article - https://nymag.com/strategist/article/1000-seniors-survey.htm…
when I clicked on the Amazon link it showed $112 for 'buy now' but when I chose my shoe size it jumped to $554.97 + $74.61 Delivery - https://www.amazon.com.au/Nike-Pegasus-Running-Trainers-Snea…
YMMV
Valve Index
8bitdo mechanical keyboard
Intel Arc a380
Casio Lf20w (available here but it's half the price in the states)
*Valve Steam Deck
8bitdo mechanical keyboard
Wait what???
Wait what???
8bitdo mechanical keyboard?
Didn't know 8BitDo now did keyboards, their hardware is great
Had a look at the feature set of their mech keyboard, pretty extensive and looks cool too.
Didn't know 8BitDo now did keyboards
Neither did I - guess we both learnt that 8BitDo.
Plane ticket outta there?
I'd suggest Chicago - Bangkok, one way only
Peanut Butter M&Ms and Garrett popcorn.
We think alike. Peanut butter M&Ms are the bomb and Garrett popcorn Chicago Mix - simply divine!!
The exchange rate pretty much kills any discount
Body armour
Bullet-proof school bag
I'd grab a memento or souvenir from Wrigley Field, United Center and Soldier Field
i second that. go to United center and see Michael Jordan statues
AR
Google Pixel Fold
Workwear
Corn syrup
bulletproof vest.
Mr Beast chocolates, etc, could be an idea.
Cheetos Flamin’ Hot crunchy.. not the puff crap they sell here. Go to Trader Joes and get some of their mochi pancakes
Clothing, super sugary breakfast cereals and a security entourage if you're going through Englewood.
Visit apparel stores Primark, Abercrombie & Fitch & Hollister Co. We don't have these in Australia. Target in the US is way more interesting than here. Premium Outlets are fun if you like to shop.
Yeah, the Target there is really good.
Don't forget to visit the Pride section of Target.
For your Vegeta merchandise?
Ross outlets are the best. Target is great too.
Hard to get reasonably priced singlets in Oz but pretty cheap in US.
You can get the Bonds singlets pretty regularly for 50% off ($7.50 last I checked) from Colesworth
Still too much, last year I got 3x 3packs for less than $20 in Target Pasadena.
@Mechz: Ooh lucky, is that in AUD?
How's the quality compared to the Bonds chesty? I was thinking of splashing out and getting one of the $25 ones from Afends but common sense is telling me there's no way their singlets are 3x better
@SpainKing: I got the Target brand, Goodfellow. Forgot to mention I only buy black which is never cheap in Oz. They're also a touch longer so stay tucked in much better.
I wear them every day and they're still great a year and a half on.
Currently wearing a waffle knit long sleeve I got at Walmart in 2015, still good enough to wear to a country pub. House brand too.
Their healthcare system is really bad.
You didn't know anything about America before your trip there?
I hope OP is OK & hasn't had a irl experience in the American healthcare system as a tourist
If you travel to the US without travel insurance, that can be a very expensive lesson
If it were me, I'd buy NBA merch for sure.
It's really not that cheap anywhere I don't think.
NFL jersey in 2015 was $100 USD at the game, can't imagine how much more they'd be now.
Only impulse fools would buy overpriced merch at the game when they can go to places equivalent to Rebel for less than half the price
It's like those $70 AFL, NRL caps at the stadium while it's like $20 at Rebel same thing
Buy a house!
Chicago centre is expensive, but the outer suburbs have some bargain housing.
5 bedroom on a 1/4-acre, a few km from the lake, $140k:
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1740-Centr…
Homes needing TLC from $30k:
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Gary_IN
5 bedrooms in Gary….
You know it's priced that low for a reason, right?
Might be even because of this one:
As of the census of 2010.. the racial makeup of the city was 84.8% African American, 10.7% White, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 1.8% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races.
Or maybe because of:
Almost a third of Gary residents are below the federal poverty level, according to Census Bureau data.
OP, don't go South of Chicago, don't even drive through it. Thank me later.
Even a rundown detached house in an outer ring suburn in Australia is $600,000+. ~$210,000 AU for a spacious hosue on a largish block is a definite OzBargain.
I can confidently say that if you put 85% blacks into any town in Australia the prices will be comparable.
Let's not forget there is an annual property tax, council rates, and homeowner insurance. You are looking at probably around 10-20k USD costs each year…The median income in the US is around 70k before tax. There is a federal tax and a state tax…
$20k?! How do you get that?
I see $1600 property tax for a $140k home.
https://smartasset.com/taxes/indiana-property-tax-calculator…
The median income in Gary, IN is 21,510 USD
Chicago centre is expensive, but the outer suburbs have some bargain housing.
Yeah Detroit's practically giving homes away too… it's a fire sale.
Detroit is 400km away though. A hell of a commute :)
Surface to air missiles
collectable vinyls, new or secondhand…lots we don't get here, also cd's
Drake’s coffee cake.
Or Drake's Pound Cake
/s
A bullet proof vest
I know this post is a joke, but you can buy bullet resistant school backpacks. Only problem is any type of body armour is illegal to import here without the appropriate licenses.
Outdoor gear- vastly better range and quality than in Oz. Go to an REI if you're outdoorsy.
alcohol is cheaper there
Books on sanity ,morality or justice. They never read stuff like this. Millions of books everywhere.Completely unread.Cheap as fries
Books on "how to be a perfect hypocrite" are also a good investment but you won't be able to find any. Most popular book in USA.
Or Levis. Plenty of second hands ones. Watch for bullet holes.
Thanks guys, bullet proof vest 😂😂
Proceed to get a heashot instead.
Leaving the BP vest pristine.
Melatonin.
Big upvote. Usa goes HARD on melatonin and it’s completely unrestricted
You can also buy melatonin from iHerb quite easily. I imported a year (or more) supply (5 medium sized bottles of around 100 tablets) which is only A$49 after taking into account the postage fee and cashback
What mg did you pick?
@Fobsessive: 2~3mg
optimal dosage is different for everyone, if you're on the lighter side you may only need 1mg.
@scrimshaw: Arguably even 1-3mg is a lot higher than anybody needs.
0.3mg is broadly effective in the human trials, and spikes your blood melatonin as high as it would ever naturally be.
It's OTC in Australia. Are you thinking it's cheaper in the US?
Yes iherb or Piping Rock have many supplements cheaper than Australia and made in USA.
In USA it's likely cheaper in Walmart or HEB. All or most OTC pills there are very cheap.
@Cherry12: From a paper about OTC melatonin published in 2017: Melatonin content varied from an egregious −83% to +478% of labeled melatonin and 70% had melatonin concentration ≤ 10% of what was claimed. Worse yet, the content of melatonin between lots of the same product varied by as much as 465%.
@sumyungguy: Yeah maybe. I guess it depends on the brand. I don't take anymore but a couple of years ago I had to take, and only could find that mg amount on a compound pharmacy and paid $60 for a month's worth of pills. After that initial box, I started buying from Piping Rock and it was way cheaper.
Not unless you over 55
For resale or what
No, for yourself, especially if you travel between timezone often
Definitely snacks if you like munchies. I like the Paqui corn chips. Get the one chip challenge if you can find them.
BBQ Ribs! & Katz Pastrami
Guns and freedom. Duh.
Dont look for things to spend money on. Only things you know you will use. If your on holidays do you want to spend your valuable time shopping trying to save a few bucks than sightseeing etc.
Clothing from Ross outlets, bitt hit and miss but usually find a bargain bag or two… Excess baggage
Earplugs
Probably not any guns