Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Aug 8th 2007, 12:47 pm
#31
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,133
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Indeed...........
"Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long, long trip that almost spans the continent. We're traveling by passenger train, and out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of biting winter and blazing summer and cavorting spring and docile fall.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. There sill be bands playing, and flags waving. And once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true. So many wishes will be fulfilled and so many pieces of our lives finally will be neatly fitted together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering ... waiting, waiting, waiting, for the station.
However, sooner or later we must realize there is no one station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
"When we reach the station, that will be it !" we cry. Translated it means, "When I'm 18, that will be it ! When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz, that will be it ! When I put the last kid through college, that will be it ! When I have paid off the mortgage, that will be it ! When I win a promotion, that will be it ! When I reach the age of retirement, that will be it ! I shall live happily ever after !"
Unfortunately, once we get it, then it disappears. The station somehow hides itself at the end of an endless track.
"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. Rather, it is regret over yesterday or fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.
So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot oftener, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.:"
The Station
by Robert J. Hastings
"Tucked away in our subconscious minds is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long, long trip that almost spans the continent. We're traveling by passenger train, and out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hills, of biting winter and blazing summer and cavorting spring and docile fall.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. There sill be bands playing, and flags waving. And once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true. So many wishes will be fulfilled and so many pieces of our lives finally will be neatly fitted together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering ... waiting, waiting, waiting, for the station.
However, sooner or later we must realize there is no one station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
"When we reach the station, that will be it !" we cry. Translated it means, "When I'm 18, that will be it ! When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz, that will be it ! When I put the last kid through college, that will be it ! When I have paid off the mortgage, that will be it ! When I win a promotion, that will be it ! When I reach the age of retirement, that will be it ! I shall live happily ever after !"
Unfortunately, once we get it, then it disappears. The station somehow hides itself at the end of an endless track.
"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. Rather, it is regret over yesterday or fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today.
So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot oftener, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.:"
The Station
by Robert J. Hastings
Aug 8th 2007, 1:53 pm
#32
Proudly Deplorable
Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Because of owning and investing in property I plan to retire by age 48, have 80% of my retirement income sorted, have no debts, no mortgage and can pay cash for most of the things I want in life. Oh, and I am happy, love my family and reckon I am a pretty nice guy.
I've said it before, and I'll keep on saying it - materialism is good
Aug 8th 2007, 1:55 pm
#33
Proudly Deplorable
Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Spot on. You would have to drag me out of here. Bet you're glad you didn't choose the Legoland of the northern suburbs AM!
Aug 8th 2007, 1:56 pm
#34
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2006
Location: Ocean reef
Posts: 545
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Work hard play hard my friend. People want different things out of life, i want it all 
Aug 8th 2007, 2:00 pm
#35
Proudly Deplorable
Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Totally agree. If people did not own or aspire to own then this place would look like Kabul.
Aug 8th 2007, 5:16 pm
#36
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jun 2007
Location: Carramar in Perth's northern suburbs
Posts: 1,129
I'll be 89 years old by the time i pay it off?
Aug 8th 2007, 5:19 pm
#37
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 9,066
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
The garden is supposed to be leisure time even the looking after it, you're supposed to enjoy the planting, pruning etc. not look on it as a chore.
Aug 8th 2007, 9:52 pm
#38
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,397
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Many Western communities are trapped in the getrichquick mentality, and Oz is IMO the leader in this.
Yes, housing *has* been a way to supeficially make money in the past: I myself have benefitted from this over the years although I buy a house to live in, not with the objective of making a mint. But the cycle cannot go on indefinitely without something giving, any more than buying and selling tulip bulbs or penny shares can.
Thirty years ago personal debt - including mortgages - was around the 25% of overall income. Now it's 150% and rising.
I think you can tell a lot about the state of people's personal economies by looking at the reaction to a rise in interest rates. In a sane economy a half percent rise doesn't really provoke a strong reaction. In Australia it's as if the sky has fallen down: fall on your swords everyone!
The trouble is, the mentality is so entrenched that government action always seems to be in the wrong direction, stoking up the problem and hoping it will go away. "Tax relief on 'investment' homes", raise the FHOG etc etc: all these do is push up the price of housing even more away from what people *should* be able to afford.
Housing is a fundamental need, like air and food. When I see people crowing over an increase in the price of groceries because they feel they can sell the contents of their fridges to someone else at a profit I will believe in this great property cash cow: until then I am deeply sceptical of the direction we are going.
Yes, housing *has* been a way to supeficially make money in the past: I myself have benefitted from this over the years although I buy a house to live in, not with the objective of making a mint. But the cycle cannot go on indefinitely without something giving, any more than buying and selling tulip bulbs or penny shares can.
Thirty years ago personal debt - including mortgages - was around the 25% of overall income. Now it's 150% and rising.
I think you can tell a lot about the state of people's personal economies by looking at the reaction to a rise in interest rates. In a sane economy a half percent rise doesn't really provoke a strong reaction. In Australia it's as if the sky has fallen down: fall on your swords everyone!
The trouble is, the mentality is so entrenched that government action always seems to be in the wrong direction, stoking up the problem and hoping it will go away. "Tax relief on 'investment' homes", raise the FHOG etc etc: all these do is push up the price of housing even more away from what people *should* be able to afford.
Housing is a fundamental need, like air and food. When I see people crowing over an increase in the price of groceries because they feel they can sell the contents of their fridges to someone else at a profit I will believe in this great property cash cow: until then I am deeply sceptical of the direction we are going.
Aug 8th 2007, 10:55 pm
#40
Go the BNE Roar
Joined: May 2003
Location: Northside
Posts: 1,590
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
I'm with the Eagle on that one I had a huge house on a medium sized block with hardly any garden.
Even that small bit of gardening eventually gave me the shits so we now live in a unit (with zero garden) in the city.
We also have a couple of investment properties which we wouldnt swap for the world (at the moment). It seems the perfect way for your moeny to be invested with the current growth.
Even that small bit of gardening eventually gave me the shits so we now live in a unit (with zero garden) in the city.
We also have a couple of investment properties which we wouldnt swap for the world (at the moment). It seems the perfect way for your moeny to be invested with the current growth.
Aug 8th 2007, 11:11 pm
#41
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 370
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
I have a nice house with a small garden and a pool ....I also have a 13 year old son who so needs a large garden that when we move next year it is top of his request list ...new house with big garden!!!
Aug 9th 2007, 3:49 am
#42
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 15,526
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
I'm with the Eagle on that one I had a huge house on a medium sized block with hardly any garden.
Even that small bit of gardening eventually gave me the shits so we now live in a unit (with zero garden) in the city.
We also have a couple of investment properties which we wouldnt swap for the world (at the moment). It seems the perfect way for your moeny to be invested with the current growth.
Even that small bit of gardening eventually gave me the shits so we now live in a unit (with zero garden) in the city.
We also have a couple of investment properties which we wouldnt swap for the world (at the moment). It seems the perfect way for your moeny to be invested with the current growth.
)It's not that I don't like gardening, its the fact that I get very little leisure time, what with 2 kids to run here there and everywhere with extra cirricular activities, the inside of the house actually fills enough of my leisure time, without having to worry about the Garden. So It's time rather than effort that eats into the Garden time, which makes it pressured. I'm sure I'm in a sizeable percentage of the population with this. I'm on a 110 x 55 foot block which is quite big for the inner city, and is basically too much garden for me. Not for the kids though.
Last edited by ozzieeagle; Aug 9th 2007 at 3:51 am.
Aug 9th 2007, 4:16 am
#43
Go the BNE Roar
Joined: May 2003
Location: Northside
Posts: 1,590
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Count me in mate i'm sure I can pop along and have a few beers and then watch the Roar turn over the Victory. 
Could be an interesting exchange between Muscat and Tiatto (two of the dirtiest players I have had the pleasure of watching) i'm sure one if not both will be sent off before full time!
Looks like the Roar have assembled a decent squad for the upcoming season so I am expecting a good showing.
Sounds like I will be the only non Palace fan in attendance so I shall expect some grief to come my way. Let me know nearer the day what time you arrive etc and I might even try to swing the afternoon off to start early if the cockneys are up for it (no lager top here). 
Could be an interesting exchange between Muscat and Tiatto (two of the dirtiest players I have had the pleasure of watching) i'm sure one if not both will be sent off before full time!
Looks like the Roar have assembled a decent squad for the upcoming season so I am expecting a good showing.
Sounds like I will be the only non Palace fan in attendance so I shall expect some grief to come my way. Let me know nearer the day what time you arrive etc and I might even try to swing the afternoon off to start early if the cockneys are up for it (no lager top here).
BTW Tricky, may be a few of us coming up Nov16th for Qland R v MV. Brisbane meeting of Palace fans actually. Could be good to catch up. (b4 the game that is )
It's not that I don't like gardening, its the fact that I get very little leisure time, what with 2 kids to run here there and everywhere with extra cirricular activities, the inside of the house actually fills enough of my leisure time, without having to worry about the Garden. So It's time rather than effort that eats into the Garden time, which makes it pressured. I'm sure I'm in a sizeable percentage of the population with this. I'm on a 110 x 55 foot block which is quite big for the inner city, and is basically too much garden for me. Not for the kids though.
)It's not that I don't like gardening, its the fact that I get very little leisure time, what with 2 kids to run here there and everywhere with extra cirricular activities, the inside of the house actually fills enough of my leisure time, without having to worry about the Garden. So It's time rather than effort that eats into the Garden time, which makes it pressured. I'm sure I'm in a sizeable percentage of the population with this. I'm on a 110 x 55 foot block which is quite big for the inner city, and is basically too much garden for me. Not for the kids though.
Last edited by TrickyTree; Aug 9th 2007 at 4:24 am.
Aug 9th 2007, 4:22 am
#44
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 10,375
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
Think the headlines and news last 2 days confirm aussies are indeed obsessed with property, perhaps to a dangerous level, if a .25% interest rate creates the sort of panic they carry on with.
Of course tho, if we vote for KEVIN 07
WTF!! who made that media campaign we wont get any more rate rises
.
Of course tho, if we vote for KEVIN 07
WTF!! who made that media campaign we wont get any more rate rises.
Aug 9th 2007, 5:54 am
#45
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Carina, Brisvegas
Posts: 547
Re: Pomms/Aussies Obsessed By Property
All I can say is I hated, hated, hated renting. I hated being beholden to an agent who could come round at hardly any notice, sometimes no notice, who you could never contact by phone, who fought you on every thing that needed doing. Who you had to crawl on bended knee to to get the place in the first place and then was picky as anything when we left it in a much cleaner condition than when we arrived. If you're renting you've got hardly any security. They can turn round at any time and say the owner has decided to sell, you've got one month to get out.
