calliope

The cheapest places where I live would be two bed semis requiring renovation and they come in at about $350,000 which is fine if you can do that sort of thing and have the time and money.

stevenglish

I'm happy where I'm living and that's enough for me, can't see the point in threads like this cos no matter what the OP's intentions, it's always gonna end up closed cos of name calling eventually. in short, chill out ya miserable bastards

The same people defending Perth a while back now seem to have ditched it in favour of Canada, you're gonna love my 'Tehran, shithole or what?' thread, good luck jumping to it's defence

commonwealth

I don't regret moving to Sydney. I love the lifestyle, the weather (yes it rains but it's manageable; the summers are bearable and much preferred than the icy winters overseas), the less crowded city, the beaches, the

I don't mind the once-a-year travel to the norther hemisphere - it takes 48 hours but I don't care because it happens only annually anyway. What's important is I enjoy my everyday life and I can't complain...

Canada? I have no opinion as I've never lived there. But I love warm weather and active outdoor lifestyle and icy cold winters are a big turn off.

Japonica

No worries, I wouldn't be ditching Perth in favor of Canada (specifically, Alberta, as Canada is basically a conglomerate of regions and I've only been to the east maybe five times). My rellies are here at the moment looking at the 15cm of snow and -25C in their town and they get to go back to it in ten days time and are welcome to it.

That said, having lived in Alberta all my life, I can appreciate the positives and understand the appeal for others. It's just not enough to make me want to move back anytime soon.

Alfresco

I think it's been pretty civil so far... for such an old thread. :sunglasses:

Hope it stays that way.

northernbird

Neither would I these days, I spent 4 years on your shores both in AB and NS. I left a small piece of my heart there, brought my own little Canuck back to England with me and ended up here 2 years later. I love Canada, Canadians and even now seeing the flag or hear Oh Canada will bring a lump to my throat. Could I live there now after spending 6 years here, not on your life - too damn cold

DeadVim

The mountains look quite nice ...

stevenglish

that's not so much a range of mountains as a clique

woz718

This has been interesting reading. We've applied for a pr visa to Canada having spent a couple of years living in Alberta a while back. We love Canada and everything it has to offer, but the length of time it is taking for them to process applications is frankly becoming ludicrious....we've had our papers in since Apr 2010 and will very unlikely hear anything until 2013 - not great when you're trying to plan your future. Therefore, we're SERIOUSLY considering going down the OZ route and applying for a 176 to Canberra. I just worry that we would miss what we originally wanted to move to Canada for, but then again, they obviously don't want immigrants in a hurry if the're prepared to take our money and then sit on applications for years at a time. It's the house prices (and the awful kitchens!!) that put me off Canberra, but then I guess it's not all about the houses.

Wozzie

calliope

The condition of rentals in Australia leaves a lot to be desired, especially kitchens and bathrooms, but prices don't reflect this at all. I don't know anything about Canadian waiting lists but in general I think all countries are taking fewer immigrants at the moment so I guess that means a longer wait everywhere. I find Australia to be a good country to live in, but inflation is getting out of control here and government makes it worse by cutting rates.

commonwealth

??? the inflation has been within the government's comfortable range that's why the RBA had some room to cut rates recently.

your "inflation" could be different from others' "inflation." personally I find my cost of living relatively little changed . in fact, some of the prices (excluding bananas of course) went down because of the supermarket wars.

IMO, I find the cost of living in Sydney to be quite reasonable in relation to my earnings and quality of life.

calliope

If there was no problem with inflation I would be able to buy a house with double my salary instead of eight times my salary.

commonwealth

right. but i won't technically call that "inflation." it's called "housing affordability."

it might interest you to see this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...rty.html?image

calliope

Housing can be a good way to read inflation because houses cannot be imported from somewhere like China. And in that link they have found the most expensive properties in the most expensive cities and ranked them. This is not the same as ranking average house prices in general suburbia where Australian house prices go to the top of the list, at least when compared to wages.

januarymix

It was due to the incompetency of the Howard Liberal Government that the state is in the mess it is in now IMO