BBC: Australia has managed to come out of the global financial crisis without a recession. But as a result of its booming economy, the cost of living is extremely high.
It was the limes that finally tipped me over the edge.
In the sleepy Australian seaside village where my parents live, not that far away from several citrus orchards, I was in a supermarket staring at a sign:
Limes: $2.25.
Two Australian dollars, twenty-five cents.
That's £1.50 (US$2.30). Not for a bag. Not for a pair. Each. One lime cost £1.50. Infuriated, I stormed out of the shop, limeless.
"The country has lost it," I fumed to my mum and dad over dinner that night. "How can anyone afford to eat in this country?"
"Darling," my father replied. "Look around. People here are rolling in money. We live in an unbelievably wealthy nation."
And he is right. In the 12 years since I last called Australia home, it has changed. It was always the lucky country, blessed with fertile land, abundant sunshine and plentiful natural resources.
Now, we are more than lucky. We are rich. Bloody rich. So rich that no-one blinks an eye at paying as much for a lime as some of our neighbours in Asia earn in a day. » | Madeleine Morris, BBC News, Australia | Sunday, February 24, 2013
