palmer59

With house prices in Sydney increasing and house prices in the UK falling and now the exchange rate today touching $1.48...how can anyone apart from those going with nothing at all,afford to move across at the moment....I've luckily sold my house after planning on retiring to NSW for years....but can't bring myself to exchange at nearly 50% less dollars than when I first began thinking of living in Oz...I thought the recent drop in Oz interest rates with talk of more drops to come....coupled with the financial press saying that the UK was in a stonger position to weather the Euiropean storm that those in the Euro would see the pound strengthen against the AU$....but apprantly not ! I managed to get some money over at $2.65 to the pound a while back...not enough to live out there by any means.....I'm seriously thinking now of bringing that back for a profit and giving up on the dream.....anyone else in the same position ?

carling black label

Forgetting house prices, to most that is not relevent, but i feel for anyone contemplating the move, value at 1.48, there is no value. To be honest, using the beer index, well £3 a pint here in the UK, say 8 bucks in Oz, so at 1.48 to the pound, over £5 a pint. Thats the only way i can look at it...

I am not surprised tourism is suffering, its just too expensive to visit. Its expensive when you are earning say $25 bucks an hour, but spending overseas currency locally in Aus, well costs just do not add up..

But in answer to your question, unless you are willing to say well i have £30k in Sterling i will spend it whatever the rate, once its gone i will be working and earning $, or then return back to the UK, and call it an expensive trip down under....

You just have to write off a large chunk, or not bother, but many i guess will find it too painfull to take a hit on the exchange rate..

Vegemite Kids

Welcome to the world aussie travellers have been in for the last 20+ years.

Either you want to come to OZ or you dont. (Yes it really is a simple as that)

If you do, you'll bite the bullet. If you dont then you'll postpone until the time is right for you.

Depends if you take the short term or long term view.

When I left OZ (many years ago) the exchange rate wasn't favourable but I was a late teen and my parents dictated that I had to go to Europe to finish my education, so they bit the bullet and off I went even though the exchange rate from OZ wasnt favourable. When I came back to OZ (24 years later- long story) the exchange rate was much more favourable to me, but TBH I would have come back regardless of what the exchange rate was cos I was finally heartsick (way beyond homesick).

I find it interesting nowadays to see how many people are "debating" the wisdom of a move with the current exchange rate. A lot of folks that moved to OZ in the mid 80's did so at todays rate or worse and in the late 70's/early 80's the rate would have been so much better for them - so a similar situation to today, but those that moved across in the mid 80's when the exchange rate was hovering around $1.40-$1.45 and stayed now have a great lifestyle.

Your choice! Long term or short term?

rinkerdink

With any luck we'll have around £70k that will mostly sit in the UK slowly losing value rather that take the exchange rate hit. All the above makes perfect sense but it is still an almighty kick in the balls to swallow the current rate! Hopefully i'll be able to dig a life out of nothing in Australia and the UK money will remain a nest egg... But we'll see?

carling black label

My guess there are hundreds of families, undecided.......One life i guess, its what means most......

Turban Explorer

You're faced with the decision of losing your life savings to move to Australia and it must be very worrying - and no amount of the 'you only live once' stuff can make that more palatable. If you have a job lined up, can rent out your UK house or have nothing to lose then it makes sense. To start lower on the ladder due to the exchange rate then I wouldn't bother. It's just another country full of irritations and problems - not worth skinting yourself for.

DC10

I'd leave it in the UK. There's really no reason to rush into bringing money over to buy property in Aus at present - it is hard to see how prices could go much higher, and as testament to how overbought the market is, it is generally much cheaper to rent at present (the buy-to-letters all have to put in extra to cover their mortgages).

They bring up the old "not enough supply" chestnut to justify asking prices, but we have heard that one before in the UK, Spain, USA...

Sit tight.

Vash the Stampede

Pro tip: if you're relying a currency change to make the move affordable, you can't afford to move. Simple as that.

Well said. It's about time we had a strong currency, and right now I'm loving it. Overseas online retailers are suddenly affordable and overseas travel is relatively cheap. Of course foreigners are finding it tough, but hey, we've been slugged with extortionate exchange rates for the past 2 decades so I have no sympathy.

I'll be going to Texas for a couple of weeks later this year and I'm looking forward to buying at parity.

Swerv-o

I'm giving very serious thought to selling up and moving back at these exchange rates. I could sell my pokey little house here in Sydney and buy a nice farm with outbuildings and land in the southwest of England with little or no mortgage.

The Westcountry life that 6 years ago was completely unrealistic could now become a reasonably straightforward reality.

It's awfully tempting.


S

Vash the Stampede

It's staggering that you can do this even with the Australian dollar worth so much less than the £. Shows just how much Australia's property bubble has grown.

slapphead_otool

The issue isn't really ht the rate is, but if it will change, or go back.

Right now I cant see it happening. The UK government are happy to keep the pound low to help exports, and the market is concerned about the exposure to the Euro.

I doubt we will see it back to 2:1 for several years.

DC10

"Worth so much less" is a bit misleading. The Yen is super-strong currency but worth far "less" than Sterling.

commonwealth

Just booked my Hawaiian holiday

bcworld

Oh, when are you going!?

GarryP

In essence, the problem here is Australia trying to go at variance with the global norm.

Australian interest rates are high, relative to others. That means the aussie dollar is high, imports are cheap, exports are expensive, retailers are overpriced relative to world prices, Holden's are cheaper to make overseas, etc. etc.

Eventually someone is going to twig that what they need to do is cut interest rates AND put house price controls on at the same time. Do that and its win/win - existing mortgages get cheaper, but prices can't inflate. Australian manufacture, resources and retail look better, imports get unaffordable. About the only downer would be oil prices would go up domestically.

The current situation isn't really sustainable, and with it the exchange rates you see.