OzTennis

Yep, expensive But:

The 10 most expensive cities in the world in a recently published study by the Economist Intelligence Unit are:

1 Tokyo
2 Osaka
3 Sydney
4 Melbourne & Oslo
6 Singapore
7 Zurich
8 Paris
9 Caracas
10 Geneva

BUT! Japan, Australia, Norway, Switzerland and France (not Venezuala) have amongst the highest real living standards in the world. So, yes they are very expensive but people tend to be better off on average than cheaper cities.

Australia is 2nd on the UN index of Human Development (after Norway)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...elopment_Index

ozzieeagle

Thing is Badge this is a recurring issue, people coming here and slagging off Australia when it doesn't go their way. I reckon they're not giving it time to acclimatise, assimilate and adapt to the local conditions in most cases, Wishing to carry on the exact same path, only better than the one they had in the UK. I think you'll find a lot of people that are successful here, take on totally different roles to the ones they had in the UK, I certainly had to. In fact I used to be embarrassed when calling back to the UK to tell people what job I'd taken on. Laughing now though BTW in the early days, both the Wife and I had extra jobs. In fact we ran "Be Fit Hire...Coburg branch" for at least 4 years........ whilst both working full time.... Shifts allowed it. Wife went to Uni and worked full time as well at one stage. I Also did Data Entry work on top of my full time job at whilst the Wife was Pregnant and just after the Birth of our 3rd oldest.., in amongst a whole heap of Filipino women, which wasn't the greatest enviornment... Needed to do it to have some decent dosh in our pockets after the mortgage was paid. Even cleaned at Coles at one stage getting up at 3am and then going to work full time. So I think we've earned our way.

http://www.befit.com.au/

So seeing as Aus has given me far far more than I ever dreamed possible, you bet I'm going to defend it.

We've actually got a classic example of this on our boards right now... someone who was really struggling at first and now she is really coming good after 6 or 7 years here with LSL coming along. Can't say at present as haven't seen the scottish lass for a little while... But she has definitely adapted and now starting to sing the praises.

I'll tell in a PM though

BadgeIsBack

OK Eagle - I see where you are coming from now - and the work you put in.
This might even be a generational thing - nowadays people want to buy a place and renovate it on one or 2 incomes and feel put out when they can't. That's what you do! So you have a point.

You say you were emabarassed t do low-pay work - you've often said that you were working in the City of London so it does seem that you took a cut.

The thing is, is that some migrants want to work in Melbourne moreorless in work they did in the UK - I did - and so it worked out.

JoeBloggs80

You and your pals sound like a right bundle of laughs

petersut

Yeah they're a boring bunch of whinging bastards.

Good reason not to go back.

fish.01

That survey is a ranking of how expensive each countries goods are converted to US dollars at the current exchange rate, not a ranking of how expensive it is for locals earning local salaries to buy those goods. Sydney could be 25th or 1st most expensive if you take salaries into account for all we know as these surveys ignore the different salary levels between each country.

the troubadour

Fact is for those on average wages trying to set up now in Australia would find the going very tough.

It should be noted that the recent survey that put Australia at the top included Civic Engagement. At 93% with voter turnout being compulsory of course it would rate high.
The rate from first to tenth was hardly very significant.

BadgeIsBack

Don't start all that again!

Actually, please do - people need to be reminded!

Australia is not cheap and new migrants will struggle at some point.

swans

Those are not facts though.Two people on average wages would earn $150k per year.Houses can be bought for $4-500K on an interest rate of 5%.Seems cheap to me.These cars that are so expensive (),well a new honda jazz around 11 weks average wages on one income.A good second hand car around 6-8 weeks average wages,it should last 8-10 yrs.

The idea is use the backbone,not the wishbone.The idea is look for truth and reality,not made up facts and "how come everbody else says so'.

Now my 4 yorkshireman bit,when I was a lad a washing m/c cost around 2 months average wages,around 2 days average wages now.Cars cost around 18 months wages,nobody had one.Do you think there would be many cars on the road if your bog standard modern version of a Ford Anglia or Prefect cost $110K.Everybody rented a TV because they were so expensive,a small black and white 17 inch murphy.Grainy as hell with 405 lines of resolution.

Life is so much easier these days.I do enjoy the laugh when they start whineing of how difficult it is today and nobody has a chance.

As the failed billionaire John Elliot would say PIG'S ARSE.Easier in the 1990's,let me see average wages of around $25K,house prices around $100K,and interest rates of 18%.So a mortgage of $100K, to pay the interest on that took around all of take home pay.So much easier back then wasn't it.People having houses taken off them in both the UK and Oz,the good old days.


Backbone and facts,not wishbone and bullshit.

Geordie downunder

verystormy

Sorry. But I don't see anything there that Oz has given you that you would not have gained in any other first world country.

verystormy

The published average wage in Oz is highly skewed by the population. A small number of high earners biases the number. It is probably closer to $55k. Add in that a lot of families have a member either not working or working part time and it is probably closer to $75k a year household income

ozzieeagle

A crap load of super as a lump sum for starters...... Plus a beautiful Aussie wife and 4 Aus born kids. Plus an intoxicating feeling of optimism and faith in oneself to be rewarded if you put in the effort.... rather than the dourness and cynicism that seems to pervade UK society, in as much the fundamental belief anyone can get ahead here.

OzTennis

Income inequality in Australia is considerably less than USA and UK and many other advanced countries.

http://theconversation.com/australia...ap-widens-7676

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datab...y-report-uk-us

So what's your point? That everyone isn't on the average? Obviously, no-one would think that. The 90/10 ratio is often used for international comparisons (richest 10% vs bottom 10%).

2 quotes from the above.

1 "It's particularly bad in the UK where the average income of the richest 10% of earners in the UK was almost twelve times that of the bottom 10% of the population by 2008, up from eight times in 1985 and above the European ratio of nine to one."

2 "For example, in 2009 the top 10% of households in the US had an income that was about 11.5 times as high as the income of the bottom 10% of households (the so-called 90/10 ratio). In many ways it is surprising to an outside observer that there is not even more popular anger about how income is distributed there.

Income inequality in Australia is not anywhere near as high as it is in the US. However, it does appear to be rising. According to the ABS) the 90/10 ratio of disposable household income was 4.21 in 2009/10 compared to 3.78 in 1994/1995."

Perhaps you get a bit more egalitarianism (as well as other things) in this particular 'first world country' that you mightn't get elsewhere?

BadgeIsBack

you could have had a beautiful English wife....you seem to be happy which is more than many an Aussie or English battler might experience given the same chances.

swans

The weighted average you are suggesting does not skew the averages.There are very few millionaires in any country,less than 1% of the poulation in any first world country,to rreally have a high income you need to be starting @$5million.


The $5mill would would produce an income of circa $300k per annum,depending where it is invested.

I'm a retired blue collar tradesman,these days to earn $75k per annum would be normal for most tradesman with afew hours o/t.Far less than 1% of the population would have an income of 300K.The weighted average would thus produce the following

100 tradesmen @$75k is 7,500,000

1 rich bastard (me) $300k per annum.

Total $7,800,000 divided by 101 (bit of mental arithmetic) is 77,200 odd.So the weighted average would rise by less than 3%,not really much is it.

Your point is valid,but in the opposite direction .There are a lot of jobs in OZ with 40-50k per annum wages,they would reduce the average more than the wealthy would raise the average.

A tradesman with a wife working part time could easily have a household income of 100K per annum,it still makes things very affordable.

A young guy I worked with a few years ago proudly boasted of how his wife earned more than him,she was(is) a nurse.He was taking home $1300 a week working around 48 hrs per week.Shall we say his wife took home $1400 a week.They had no children.On a net income of $2700 per week he never stopped complaining how expensive everything was.

Some people just haven't got a clue.

Geordie downunder