Originally Posted by Moses2013

Not in OZ myself now, but one thing is always the same in every major city across the world. Unfortunately it often comes down to property prices and unless you bought at the right time, inherit loads of money, the challenges remain. Timing is an important factor moving from a low cost area to high cost area and while money isn't everything, it's just natural that this is one important factor. It's no different in Barcelona and many struggle with high rents and due to the high rents can't save for a deposit. I love Begur and Tossa etc. but by not moving to Barcelona and staying where we are in Ireland, I actually get to enjoy it more than people I know in Barcelona. If I had to move to Dublin today, I would also have to sell the house here and the 2nd home in Spain, just to be able to afford the deposit for something we'd consider decent there. And even if we didn't buy and used the savings to rent, the savings would be gone very quickly. 20 years ago it was a very different story and I remember those who left to Australia with nothing and came back as wealthy people.

Originally Posted by Scoosh

I lived in Ireland for a while as a child, we stayed in Drogheda and would go to Dublin all the time. This was 20 years ago now. We went back a few years ago and its changed so much in that time. Unless you are making silly money I dont see the draw now. Still love the city and the people!

Originally Posted by Scoosh

Yeah I am not on here to dump on Toronto, there are millions of people there and many who have made a success of it for themselves, but I can only go by my own experience. We went looking for something more and did not find it... so the search continues!

Originally Posted by Moses2013

Prices are crazy now and it seems Brexit has only added to that. Luckily we are on the other side of country near Galway, but even here prices have gone up. In 2010 you could grab a 4 bed detached house with large garden at an auction for 100K and now the same house will cost 250K today. I know a couple who moved over to Melbourne in recent times, but struggled with cost of living and moved back. Luckily they didn't sell up and managed to come back to decent jobs. Are now even considering buying a small bolthole in Portugal, so I suppose it worked out for them. I still wouldn't rule out Tasmania in the long term, as it seems to have potential for the future, but of course work determines where you end up. With more and more work from home, people are looking for the balance.

Originally Posted by Scoosh

For what its worth, much of what you are saying here does ring true to our experience. We were not leaving a bad situation back in Glasgow. We both were making decent money, able to put a lot away to savings, go on holiday a couple time a year and socialise regularly. We went to Toronto with no jobs, a single contact and our savings, knowing full well that it was a risk but we could always go back to Scotland and pick up where we left off.

I was definitely naive to just how expensive things were in comparison. Rent obviously, but food, drink, furniture, car insurance and personal hygiene products were also very expensive by comparison. The comparison sites and comments I had seen online before hand did not express just how much this was the case so it was definitely a shock.

We found the job market to be very difficult too. I personally applied for several hundred jobs over the course of a year which resulted in only two (unsuccessful) interviews (both of which ghosted me). A job advert could be posted for a few hours and already have hundreds of applications. This was again surprising to me as I have had never had issues finding work in the UK.

The wages which were being offered were also far lower than had also been suggested online. For instance, my partner found work as a junior analyst for a successful tech company and her wages literally just covered our rent and nothing more. We made a point of getting out and meeting people as much as we could and again my experience was that the majority shared this opinion. We knew many people who were living with up to 6 others just to make ends meet.

On the other had, we also met people who had moved there approx 15 years ago and made a packet by buying a house in the surrounding area which had tripled in value over 10 years.

Like I said above, I dont mean to dump on Toronto, there are loads who love the city! I put much of our experience down to bad luck. We moved there not too long before covid struck and I have no doubt that it affected our chances of finding quality work. Ultimately though, we were significantly worse off and the city and culture did not make up for that. It got to the stage that we were unwilling to continue to struggle unnecessarily and decided to head home (luckily both of us found great jobs in the UK within a month of that decision).

We learned a lot and we are still looking for something more than we have, hence why we plan to try out Australia!

Originally Posted by the troubadour

We bought in Co Galway way back in late 80's. New build at a very good price very close to Lake Corrib. Little work there at the time so rented out and returned to London. But it seems Ireland learnt little from the last property implosion and repeating history. I know Dublin is way out of reach for most people and like many other places a recipe for trouble ahead. Not sure about Tasmania's prospects but property there has risen rapidly as well. It will in all likelihood become a political issue with ever increasing numbers forcing change, as many come to the realization that they will never buy.

Originally Posted by Beoz

Reading your other post it sounds like it was more your job situation in Toronto that made life tough rather than the cost of the city. Sounds like you lucked out, trying to find jobs as COVID hit, there were too many applicants for the same job, which made finding a job hard, and ultimately drove down the salary. Had the job market been better at the time the cost of the city wouldn't not have been a problem, as you would have been earning a decent and regular wage. Correct?

The job market is pretty good in most industries in Australia at the moment. Some industries are taking a COVID related battering. As mentioned earlier pick your city and head there. It seems like you have 2 choices to me, Sydney or Melbourne. I would say Sydney as it offers more in just about every way but Melbourne is slightly cheaper on the rental front so if you prioritise slightly cheaper rent over all else Melbourne is your pick.

Originally Posted by the troubadour

I would say that the covid situation contributed towards your unsuccessful Canadian experience. But perhaps there was more. I had a Glaswegian girlfriend many years back whom met in London, who had just returned from living several years in Toronto and Edmonton and found the mentality (too closed/reserved ,) too taxing and boring to warrant remaining.

Originally Posted by okonumiyaki

I would say no to Hobart - yes, it is a lovely place but you will struggle to find any well paid work there in IT.

Originally Posted by Moses2013

Prices are crazy now and it seems Brexit has only added to that. Luckily we are on the other side of country near Galway, but even here prices have gone up. In 2010 you could grab a 4 bed detached house with large garden at an auction for 100K and now the same house will cost 250K today. I know a couple who moved over to Melbourne in recent times, but struggled with cost of living and moved back. Luckily they didn't sell up and managed to come back to decent jobs. Are now even considering buying a small bolthole in Portugal, so I suppose it worked out for them. I still wouldn't rule out Tasmania in the long term, as it seems to have potential for the future, but of course work determines where you end up. With more and more work from home, people are looking for the balance.

Originally Posted by Amazulu

Ireland has one of the best performing economies in the world right now - a hugely impressive performance given where they were after the GFC. Not just that, they are now 2nd in HDI (the best indicator of a nation's health), replacing Australia actually. Good on 'em

Ireland is great country, but Dublin is a distinctly average city - way overrated

WFH is great for now (I do it 3 days a week) but be warned, I reckon it will be a short term thing. If you never have to go into the office, why do you even need to be in the country? The money men who dictate corporate policy could very well decide to move lots of roles offshore - which would be a very bad thing for everyone

Originally Posted by Amazulu

WFH is great for now (I do it 3 days a week) but be warned, I reckon it will be a short term thing. If you never have to go into the office, why do you even need to be in the country? The money men who dictate corporate policy could very well decide to move lots of roles offshore - which would be a very bad thing for everyone

Originally Posted by Moses2013

I suppose what's different today is that banks are not just handing out loans, so they learnt from that. The other problem is that more investors are driving up the prices and I read this headline a few weeks ago:
"Private rental sector has highest ever share of investment market" Private equity investors and institutional investors were the dominant buyer types"
It seems Townsville is the next place to invest:-) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-...perty/13196926