Are they not then oh my must of got it all wrong then oh well

Paved largely with debt if you believe this... Australians sinking under debt burden

Yep, you sure did!!

Not looking to good over there now for home owners with thoses rates.Must be all that gold they have laid on the roads now bugger lol

Dunno really about the gold pavements, but I am heading back your way to the old dart after 30 years in Oz, I think that could be some kind of qualification n'est pas?

Many of the roads in Qld don't even have tarmac now never mind gold

I just hope they fix them before we move over in April I remember when we were living in Brissy in 06 they were having a massive drought no rain and now look its strange how it all changes. Hope no one else dies in the floods 3 so far

Brisbane isn't too bad, though there are a few disintegrating. Bit more rain will increase the damage bill greatly.
We've had 10 flood related deaths so far, mostly from people driving into flood water assuming they can get out the other side.

Couple of road pics for you......

The change in the average Australian Interest bearing credit card debt 2006 to 2010 from the RBA stats used for that article:

Average balance per card:
Oct-2006 $2,055.59
Oct-2007 $2,134.88
Oct-2008 $2,236.57
Oct-2009 $2,253.44
Oct-2010 $2,349.81

Total card debt
Oct-2006 $27,063,118,216
Oct-2007 $29,444,442,814
Oct-2008 $31,737,862,873
Oct-2009 $32,383,992,627
Oct-2010 $34,610,432,892

That is a 27.9% increase from 2006 to 2010.

The cost of living increases only accounts for 11.3% of that according to CPI, and population increase has been 13.4% in those 4 years.
Actually the total figure doesn't look too bad when seen like that..

The change in total credit card debt between 2006 and 2010, based ONLY on CPI and Population increase, would be expected to be:
2006 $27,063,118,216
2010 $34,157,498,151

I wish I hadn't started reading this thread. The indecesion is crippling me, its all I think about!

I'm very nearly north of 35 (love that, sounds so much better than over!), no kids, no mortgage but more worringly not much cash either. Dithered about starting the whole visa process last year which means now since the demise of the old SOL I am now restricted to one state to get sponsored by.

Great news for me that its the place I loved & wanted to live in, not great news that it appears to be hugely expensive these days to live there. The cost of renting A ROOM in a shared apartment would be the same as mortgage payments over here on a modest one bed flat.

It may not be financial suicide but its close to financial nonsense for me to come over. But still I spend hours on this forum...especially the 'moving back to uk' part & hours of my life conducting mental pros and cons lists in my head. I have wanted to move to oz since 2004, I have changed my career and moved into my parents to save and still there is an faint warning bell ringing in my head that this will be a costly mistake....arghhhh!

It was THE dream, it has been the dream for 6 years...and it would be sensible to let go of that dream now and concentrate on establishing financial stability here...I just don't want years of regret later on in life, wondering what if...?

I think your situation is nothing like the OPs and in fact is probably a lot easier. Unlike the OP, you do not have to decide whether you "waste" 25 years of building up financial security only to have to start again in Australia.

You have stated you want to work on building up your financial security and I think you can do this in either country. You are young, well I think 35 is young, and it sounds like you have nothing to lose.

There is no point worrying over whether a shared house is as expensive as a mortgage in UK. It is what it is, we pay more than three times as much in rent as we did on UK mortgage. If that was what we should base our decision on then we should not be here either. What matters is whether you can afford it. I think a single person living in a shared house can manage on a modest salary to start off with, it won't be for ever.

Sat morning sat outside the travelex in heathrow, through the gates...1.368 to the £. Sydney arrivals lounge $1.35 to the pound. Also a travelex. I know they will be the worst possible rates and not a reflection of the rate outside the airport.

For me, and i have lived in Austalia, well migrated to Australia at 2.7, 2.2, 2, and recently 1.8, so looking at costs locally, in Australia if you get less than £1 = $2.50 value, then you do seem to be getting less value for your money, so less value for goods and services paid for in cash changed over from Sterling to Aus Dollar.

A shed, i say shed, because in Queensland a two bed two up two down is a shed in terms of build quality, and will cost you upwards of $250k to $300k in Bayside an ok area. The same size like for like in the UK will cost you upwards of £100k to £120k in an alright area. So at 2.5, about right.

Look at the beer index, the UK £2.70 a pint, Australia, $7.00 a pint, same again really.

Its quite a shock buying Australian goods and services using exchanged cash sterling at less than 2.5.

We're in shock at local prices, without comparing to any exchange rates.

From what i have read, Perth might be more expensive that Brisbane, but i know its not cheap. I did not find it cheap when i was over on holiday and the rate was 2.5, now at 1.5, well, its off the graph.


Sooty.