Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Dec 8th 2010, 9:43 am
#61
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Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Dec 8th 2010, 10:53 am
#62
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 50
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
My own perspective as a recent arrival -
The price of the Aussie dream has gone up a lot over the last few years. Take this example. In 2006, for example, lets say the GBP bought you 2.2AUD. You had GBP100k to bring, so 220AUD. You were eyeing up a job in Aus at 100k. A nice 3bed in a good suburb of Melbourne would set you back about 450k. No worries, easily affordable! 30% deposit, mortgage 3x gross.
Wind forward to late 2010. Your 100k now gets you 100k. The same house is now costing around 650k. Lets be fair and say your salary is now 120k. 10% deposit, mortgage 4.88x gross.
Thats >50% less affordable.
The price of the Aussie dream has gone up a lot over the last few years. Take this example. In 2006, for example, lets say the GBP bought you 2.2AUD. You had GBP100k to bring, so 220AUD. You were eyeing up a job in Aus at 100k. A nice 3bed in a good suburb of Melbourne would set you back about 450k. No worries, easily affordable! 30% deposit, mortgage 3x gross.
Wind forward to late 2010. Your 100k now gets you 100k. The same house is now costing around 650k. Lets be fair and say your salary is now 120k. 10% deposit, mortgage 4.88x gross.
Thats >50% less affordable.
Dec 8th 2010, 11:05 am
#63
aussie married to a brit!
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 302
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Weather and beaches, unsurprisingly, get mentioned everytime these threads come up.
I can see the beach from my front door.... and I think I've been on it half a dozen times in the last year. I used to go all the time, but its just a pile of sand at the end of the day and it WILL lose its attraction.
Is the weather 'better'?... well on average you would have to say of course it is. Nobody would be rushing here if the the weather was like Siberia... BUT, there are elements to Australian weather that can get just as tedious as the weather in the UK.
Walking the dog when its 28c and nearly 90% humidity, whilst surrounded by your own personal collection of bush flies, gets old very quickly.
As for the rest.. the 'Australian dream' now comes with one Hell of a high price tag.
I can see the beach from my front door.... and I think I've been on it half a dozen times in the last year. I used to go all the time, but its just a pile of sand at the end of the day and it WILL lose its attraction.
Is the weather 'better'?... well on average you would have to say of course it is. Nobody would be rushing here if the the weather was like Siberia... BUT, there are elements to Australian weather that can get just as tedious as the weather in the UK.
Walking the dog when its 28c and nearly 90% humidity, whilst surrounded by your own personal collection of bush flies, gets old very quickly.
As for the rest.. the 'Australian dream' now comes with one Hell of a high price tag.
the bloody bush flies, and they stick to you like glue..so annoying!
i don't remember may flies in the uk...but here, sometimes you can see someone with their back covered in them!
Dec 8th 2010, 12:17 pm
#64
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Dec 8th 2010, 12:26 pm
#65
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Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Dec 8th 2010, 12:37 pm
#66
aussie married to a brit!
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 302
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
seeing them rub their filthy little legs together depositing filth on my laptop screen is making me murderous...
but what would an aussie barbie be without the hoards of flies?
Dec 8th 2010, 12:47 pm
#67
aussie married to a brit!
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 302
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
I don't know how it compares to the UK, but in comparison to Ireland there seems to be a lot more value afforded by the council to residents. The amenities are exceptional and the populus respects them. I can only imagine what would happen to free electric bbqs if we had them in parks in Ireland. They'd be pissed on and ripped apart most likely.
sorry to burst your illusion of the resoect of aussies for public property but i i-chatted your quote to my husband about the bbq's (esp as i find it funny that pissing is a very popular thing to do in the uk on anything available and he sent this back:
" lol! i remember when i was in primary school , local kids pooing on them!!!!"
the kids then used to turn the hot plates on to bake the poo on...
he lived in clifton hill melb, so anyone in clifton hill, watch out....
Dec 8th 2010, 8:36 pm
#68
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2005
Location: Hill overlooking the SE Melbourne suburbs
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Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Yes, most expats know what and where it is, even if a lot of eastern states Aussies don't
. WA is a very warm part of Australia and the weather is very predictable here, so it doesn't fit into your statement "The warmer parts of Australia have the less predictable weather".
. WA is a very warm part of Australia and the weather is very predictable here, so it doesn't fit into your statement "The warmer parts of Australia have the less predictable weather".
Originally Posted by Uranus
Is the weather 'better'?... well on average you would have to say of course it is. Nobody would be rushing here if the the weather was like Siberia... BUT, there are elements to Australian weather that can get just as tedious as the weather in
As for the rest.. the 'Australian dream' now comes with one Hell of a high price tag.
As for the rest.. the 'Australian dream' now comes with one Hell of a high price tag.
I prefer the Melbourne weather because it is warmer than the UK and because of mild-warm spring, summer and autumns.
When it is too hot for certain activities I choose another time of day. It's not so good for outside workers.
Not sure about the local population but the dream seems over for many expats. Unless you have $1-2m (say) and clear expectations or niche tastes and know how to manage them. For the average migrant, there is no sense in attempting to transport a life from the UK to Australia. Whilst some things are free, it beats me why people gush about BBQs in parks.
Dec 8th 2010, 8:50 pm
#69
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Posts: 14,188
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
I think he meant the tropical north. Sometimes you have to read between the lines on BE!
Yes.
I prefer the Melbourne weather because it is warmer than the UK and because of mild-warm spring, summer and autumns.
When it is too hot for certain activities I choose another time of day. It's not so good for outside workers.
Not sure about the local population but the dream seems over for many expats. Unless you have $1-2m (say) and clear expectations or niche tastes and know how to manage them. For the average migrant, there is no sense in attempting to transport a life from the UK to Australia. Whilst some things are free, it beats me why people gush about BBQs in parks.
Yes.
I prefer the Melbourne weather because it is warmer than the UK and because of mild-warm spring, summer and autumns.
When it is too hot for certain activities I choose another time of day. It's not so good for outside workers.
Not sure about the local population but the dream seems over for many expats. Unless you have $1-2m (say) and clear expectations or niche tastes and know how to manage them. For the average migrant, there is no sense in attempting to transport a life from the UK to Australia. Whilst some things are free, it beats me why people gush about BBQs in parks.
Migrants coming from the UK now are coming to a totally different set of challenges to those I faced when I arrived less than five years ago. Then it was all about adapting to your new life, something that, frankly, I made a balls of. Financially it wasn't so tough a move to do. That's all changed.
Now with house price movements in the two countries moving in opposite directions and the exchange rate doing them no favours either, it must be a tough call to make the move work financially, let alone emotionally.
Dec 8th 2010, 10:10 pm
#70
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Joined: Sep 2008
Location: newbury
Posts: 943
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
I think he meant the tropical north. Sometimes you have to read between the lines on BE!
Yes.
I prefer the Melbourne weather because it is warmer than the UK and because of mild-warm spring, summer and autumns.
When it is too hot for certain activities I choose another time of day. It's not so good for outside workers.
Not sure about the local population but the dream seems over for many expats. Unless you have $1-2m (say) and clear expectations or niche tastes and know how to manage them. For the average migrant, there is no sense in attempting to transport a life from the UK to Australia. Whilst some things are free, it beats me why people gush about BBQs in parks.
Yes.
I prefer the Melbourne weather because it is warmer than the UK and because of mild-warm spring, summer and autumns.
When it is too hot for certain activities I choose another time of day. It's not so good for outside workers.
Not sure about the local population but the dream seems over for many expats. Unless you have $1-2m (say) and clear expectations or niche tastes and know how to manage them. For the average migrant, there is no sense in attempting to transport a life from the UK to Australia. Whilst some things are free, it beats me why people gush about BBQs in parks.
Dec 8th 2010, 11:21 pm
#71
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Your comment about "get my house to be less like a fridge in Winter" does raise the thought on perceptions. We get that coldness too, but up here it is about 15C when it feels like a fridge
Dec 9th 2010, 12:05 am
#72
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 23,400
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
lol!
sorry to burst your illusion of the resoect of aussies for public property but i i-chatted your quote to my husband about the bbq's (esp as i find it funny that pissing is a very popular thing to do in the uk on anything available and he sent this back:
" lol! i remember when i was in primary school , local kids pooing on them!!!!"
the kids then used to turn the hot plates on to bake the poo on...
he lived in clifton hill melb, so anyone in clifton hill, watch out....
sorry to burst your illusion of the resoect of aussies for public property but i i-chatted your quote to my husband about the bbq's (esp as i find it funny that pissing is a very popular thing to do in the uk on anything available and he sent this back:
" lol! i remember when i was in primary school , local kids pooing on them!!!!"
the kids then used to turn the hot plates on to bake the poo on...
he lived in clifton hill melb, so anyone in clifton hill, watch out....
That is terrible, they should be 'turdi-fied' insane for doing that.
Dec 9th 2010, 12:06 am
#73
Account Open
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 4,298
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Migrants coming from the UK now are coming to a totally different set of challenges to those I faced when I arrived less than five years ago. Then it was all about adapting to your new life, something that, frankly, I made a balls of. Financially it wasn't so tough a move to do. That's all changed.
Now with house price movements in the two countries moving in opposite directions and the exchange rate doing them no favours either, it must be a tough call to make the move work financially, let alone emotionally.
It looks like we have recently entered a period where the move will actually be very tough for most, perhaps inviable. This will last for a fair while to come.
Dec 9th 2010, 12:48 am
#74
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 14,188
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Perhaps there was a 10yr period where the move to Aus was not a tough move, financially speaking. But I think that ended a couple of years ago.
It looks like we have recently entered a period where the move will actually be very tough for most, perhaps inviable. This will last for a fair while to come.
It looks like we have recently entered a period where the move will actually be very tough for most, perhaps inviable. This will last for a fair while to come.
Dec 9th 2010, 1:19 am
#75
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,412
Re: Has the Australian dream lost its sparkle................anyone???
Question for those who agree that Australia has gotten to expensive:
Do you think that Australia will continue to become more expensive relative to the rest of the world or do you see this cycle stopping ever?
Do you think that Australia will continue to become more expensive relative to the rest of the world or do you see this cycle stopping ever?