same goes for Structural PDMS Designers, my old mans gaff are crying out for them

I've really struggled to find decent designers. In fact, it's virtually impossible. I've recently hired a guy on $75/hr (plus 15% retention bonus) and he is far from ideal but I have no choice.

Designers will definitely get a job 'off the plane'. Actually they will get a job before even getting on the plane!

absolutely although the industry is white hot around the world at the moment. Mr NB was recently offered a job in London on 46 quid an hour.

A friend of mine (who's from Perth actually) works for Bechtel in London. He's on GBP40/hr and only has a few years experience.

It's all good at the moment.

They think its hot or warm all the time, they don't know we have winter and in NSW, VIctoria and Tassie it can get below zero degrees and snows in some parts.
Some think they can drive from Perth to Melbourne in a few hours.

Houses are cheaper but not so much anymore in Perth Melbourne and Sydney,renting is cheaper, land is alot cheaper especially in the country areas. Petrol is half the price but you travel further because the countries alot bigger.

Are you living near the bush?

Not really. We are in the hills, 25 minutes east of Perth.

Dunno, it depends on who gets voted in at the next Australian federal election....
make your vote count...

The cost of living has risen dramatically in OZ over the last 7 years...
It's official, in a recent international study, Australia now has "seriously unaffordable" and "severely unaffordable" real estate. Our real estate costs to income ratio is one of the highest in the world, it has surpassed England's in a few short years. Perth is officially one of the most unaffordable cities in the world, behind cities like Los Angeles. This is in stark contrast to the way we were living (apart from some Sydney suburbs) just a few short years ago. We need to ask what has caused this and all be willing to do something about it...


Come on Aussies, let's practise what we preach and fight for a MORE AFFORDABLE SOCIETY, one that our grandfathers and fathers thought was worth fighting for. No-one wants to live in a fools paradise - as a modern day slave trying to pay off a huge mortgage.

It is an absolute shame what has happened to our country. If we don't fight now, the real losers will be us, and our children. It is up to YOU.

V.

Ok, so what should we actually DO?

G'day E,

I've been thinking about that question a lot and talking with my partner about it. We've been trying to brainstorm ideas, any of your suggestions would be welcome.

I'm thinking of starting a website actually - the purpose of which would be to create a free information network, where people can exchange 'in the know' information such as real estate available at a reasonable cost, not just listing regions, but creating a list of motivated individuals around the country who are willing to offer rent or rooms at a reasonable cost to the right applicants. Most people I know already do this because we dont believe in living in an unaffordable society, and because we can afford to do so without going bust ourselves.

It would also be for sharing where to purchase cheap, but good quality food, such as reputable markets, where people can save a fortune on their grocery bills.

It would be a system based on goodwill and the principle of information sharing, but people would also be able to report and view the reputation of any people posting false information etc.

Thats what I thought I could do personally. I thought it would be a good place to start, although it does not directly address every cause of this problem, it is something practical that I can do for others in the meantime.

On a national level, I believe that we can all sit down and think about how we all got ourselves into this mess in the fist place, and when did it start? Use your vote to vote for parties that advocate for a lower cost of living. Write or email relevant political parties, make your voices heard.
Don't be sucked into cosmetic changes that any party makes at the last minute and use your common sense when sifting through what the media reports.

If you are an immigrant here from England, then please know that Australia did used to be a cheap place to live. My property has tripled its value in the last 3 years, can you believe that?? In 2001, my property was worth $110 000. Now it is worth $330 000!!!!! The problem is when you sell, you must buy again, and unless you are prepared to move to a place inland, or purchase a unit etc, you probably are just swapping debt for another house. People are being forced into renting.
There are a lot of desperate people around.

I believe we can work together to effect change if we really want to.

Stop immigration.

Ahh, but then forums like this would not exist and what would we do on a Friday afternoon in Nth Q Bixy?

We'd be forced into cheap and nasty ringtop manipulation.
I'm not sure if I could ever advocate for such oppression.

The sames happening here

But we could have an "I'm not emigrating cos the barstewards won't let me in" forum.

And the Aussie real estate association could have a "there goes me f ooking bonus" forum.

And we could sell our visas on EBay at bargain prices to unsuspecting yankies.