According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Household
Expenditure Survey, the postcodes of Chippendale (2008), Surry Hills (2010),
Potts Point (2011), Alexandria (2015), Redfern (2016), Waterloo (2017) and
Erskineville (2043) spend around $30 less on groceries each week than the
Sydney average of $134.
They all spend less money on seafood, fruit and vegetables
and confectionary and chips, preferring to buy fast food and takeaway food
instead. A Chippendale household spends around $37 per week on take away, some
$5 greater than the average, while Redfern and Waterloo residents were $2 and $5 lower than
the average.
When it comes to a drink, South Sydneyites have a bigger
palate, but generally prefer to drink at licensed premises rather than at home
or elsewhere. Chippendale, Alexandria and
Erskineville all spend more than $6 a week on a beer at their local, while Waterloo spends close to
$0.50 – less than the average of $4.56.
Heavier smokers are lying about the place as well, but the figures
are not alarming. Chippendale, Surry Hills, Redfern and Waterloo
spend more than $12 a week on tobacco, a bit more than a pack a week, but only
marginally higher than the Sydney
average of $11.74.
South Sydneyites are also more likely to travel overseas,
with the exception of Redfern and Waterloo.
Chippendale residents spend around $300 more per year on the big overseas trip
compared to the average of $1,148.
Smaller houses mean we prefer not to get that lovable dog
and cat and constrain them to a backyard the size of an audacious kennel and,
naturally, we all spend less on gardening, or at least choose to attend to the
tasks ourselves.
Not so encouraging is our tendency to donate less to
charities compared to the Sydney
average of $130 per year. More complementary is our penchant for a good book
and our realistic attitude to winning the lottery. All postcodes spent more
than the average $252 a year on books with the exception of Waterloo,
and all spent less than the average $36 a year on lottery tickets, with
Chippendale the most realistic and Alexandria
the most opportunistic. Depending on your disposition.
Thanks to Alan Lawrence from Salmat for supplying the SSH
with the data.
Photo: Ben Falkenmire – Thai take-away – serving it up to
Chippendale residents
Source South Sydney Herald September 2007 – www.southsydneyherald.com.au