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Life's Priorities
Like many people, we moved out here with visions of a sprawling, detached low-set with pool in a smart, modern suburb within three quarters of an hour's drive from Brisbane CBD.
We left behind a beautiful, detached home in semi-rural Cheshire, on which we had a reasonable but not life-changing mortgage. Never, for one moment did we ever feel that home ownership was some sort of special privilege. Rightly or wrongly, it was something we took for granted. Moving to Brisbane has been a real eye-opener for us and we find ourselves in a position which we never envisaged. The sheer cost of housing within commutable distance of the City has forced us to look long and hard at the reality of our situation here and has had us asking ourselves whether we can *really* afford to live here in the long term. Both myself and my OH are full-time professionals earning what is considered to be good money. We have 2 teenage kids but are debt-free. We've come to the conclusion that, unlike a few years ago, Brisbane has suddenly decided that it's a major city with house prices to match. Coming from the North of England, it's no easier for us to buy a house here than it would be for us to buy a house within an hour or two's drive of London. Unfortunately, many of Brisbane's run-down inner-city suburbs offer the same premium-pricing associated with large cities, but with none of the benefits of 'proper' cities throughout the world. You could argue that the same premium-level pricing has reached some of the 'better', outer suburbs too, where the Real Estate agents are piggybacking on the good times Brisbane is experiencing at the moment. For us, Brisbane, despite it's wonderful climate and relative ease of life, is not that good that we would want to be mortgaged up to the eyeballs for the 'privilege' of living here. We've decided that we didn't move 12,000 miles to the other side of the world just to buy a house and that the real reason for us coming here was to enjoy a supposed 'better lifestyle'. We've also decided that, for us, the level of constraint in terms of work/job requirements and spending that would be required in order for us to service a mortgage on our own home, would defeat the object of us being here. We'd hate to go back to the UK in x years time and look back on miserable times as a result of excessive belt-tightening due to being a mortgage-paying home owner, whereas we could be reliving trips to Sydney, Melbourne, The Reef, Ularu etc etc. Of course, you cannot have your cake and eat it, so we've decided to put aside, either for now or indefinitely, any aspirations we had to buy our own home and we will continue to rent and use the 'savings' to make the remainder of our time in Australia happy and memorable. There's no fun to be had in being financially crippled by a mortgage but at the same time, owning one's home is part of being British. Part of me feels irresponsible for doing anything other than investing in bricks and mortar. It's a tough one, but we genuinely don't feel as though we can expect to make Australia our 'home' in the long-term as we can't see how we will be able to afford to own a home and *live* and have the flexibility to travel at the same time. Living in the UK allowed us all these things and with considerably fewer demands made on us than are made on us here. The weather might be grim in the UK but at least we'll be able to get away from it for several weeks a year and be able to take comfort in coming back to *our own home*. These are the things, we've realised over the past year, that are important to us. Your priorities may differ... Just thought I'd get that off my chest :o Cheers |
Re: Life's Priorities
Good post Tictac,
We can relate to all you have said as much of it is why we are going back to the UK after only 7 months. Even if we are only going back to our terraced home, it is a home that we were very happy in and because we bought it 6 years ago the mortgage on it allowed us to live a very comfortable lifestyle with plenty of holidays - unlike what our life would be like here. Good luck with any decisions you make in the future. |
Re: Life's Priorities
Originally Posted by tictac
(Post 6369747)
Like many people, we moved out here with visions of a sprawling, detached low-set with pool in a smart, modern suburb within three quarters of an hour's drive from Brisbane CBD.
We left behind a beautiful, detached home in semi-rural Cheshire, on which we had a reasonable but not life-changing mortgage. Never, for one moment did we ever feel that home ownership was some sort of special privilege. Rightly or wrongly, it was something we took for granted. Moving to Brisbane has been a real eye-opener for us and we find ourselves in a position which we never envisaged. The sheer cost of housing within commutable distance of the City has forced us to look long and hard at the reality of our situation here and has had us asking ourselves whether we can *really* afford to live here in the long term. Both myself and my OH are full-time professionals earning what is considered to be good money. We have 2 teenage kids but are debt-free. We've come to the conclusion that, unlike a few years ago, Brisbane has suddenly decided that it's a major city with house prices to match. Coming from the North of England, it's no easier for us to buy a house here than it would be for us to buy a house within an hour or two's drive of London. Unfortunately, many of Brisbane's run-down inner-city suburbs offer the same premium-pricing associated with large cities, but with none of the benefits of 'proper' cities throughout the world. You could argue that the same premium-level pricing has reached some of the 'better', outer suburbs too, where the Real Estate agents are piggybacking on the good times Brisbane is experiencing at the moment. For us, Brisbane, despite it's wonderful climate and relative ease of life, is not that good that we would want to be mortgaged up to the eyeballs for the 'privilege' of living here. We've decided that we didn't move 12,000 miles to the other side of the world just to buy a house and that the real reason for us coming here was to enjoy a supposed 'better lifestyle'. We've also decided that, for us, the level of constraint in terms of work/job requirements and spending that would be required in order for us to service a mortgage on our own home, would defeat the object of us being here. We'd hate to go back to the UK in x years time and look back on miserable times as a result of excessive belt-tightening due to being a mortgage-paying home owner, whereas we could be reliving trips to Sydney, Melbourne, The Reef, Ularu etc etc. Of course, you cannot have your cake and eat it, so we've decided to put aside, either for now or indefinitely, any aspirations we had to buy our own home and we will continue to rent and use the 'savings' to make the remainder of our time in Australia happy and memorable. There's no fun to be had in being financially crippled by a mortgage but at the same time, owning one's home is part of being British. Part of me feels irresponsible for doing anything other than investing in bricks and mortar. It's a tough one, but we genuinely don't feel as though we can expect to make Australia our 'home' in the long-term as we can't see how we will be able to afford to own a home and *live* and have the flexibility to travel at the same time. Living in the UK allowed us all these things and with considerably fewer demands made on us than are made on us here. The weather might be grim in the UK but at least we'll be able to get away from it for several weeks a year and be able to take comfort in coming back to *our own home*. These are the things, we've realised over the past year, that are important to us. Your priorities may differ... Just thought I'd get that off my chest :o Cheers You should try buying in Sydney! Actually you have , in my view, hinted at one of the big differences between Australia and Britain-and in fact between Australia and many other places. The privilege versus right thing. It can do your head in. In Australia that which is a right in the UK is a privilege-whether it be mortgages, drivers licenses-Aussies are just kind of used to it. In the UK the assumption is you are an idiot, in Australia beauracracy assumes you are a law graduate. The thing is once you get over this hump Australia is probably the easiest country to live in on the planet. |
Re: Life's Priorities
Originally Posted by tictac
(Post 6369747)
Like many people, we moved out here with visions of a sprawling, detached low-set with pool in a smart, modern suburb within three quarters of an hour's drive from Brisbane CBD.
We left behind a beautiful, detached home in semi-rural Cheshire, on which we had a reasonable but not life-changing mortgage. Never, for one moment did we ever feel that home ownership was some sort of special privilege. Rightly or wrongly, it was something we took for granted. Moving to Brisbane has been a real eye-opener for us and we find ourselves in a position which we never envisaged. The sheer cost of housing within commutable distance of the City has forced us to look long and hard at the reality of our situation here and has had us asking ourselves whether we can *really* afford to live here in the long term. Both myself and my OH are full-time professionals earning what is considered to be good money. We have 2 teenage kids but are debt-free. We've come to the conclusion that, unlike a few years ago, Brisbane has suddenly decided that it's a major city with house prices to match. Coming from the North of England, it's no easier for us to buy a house here than it would be for us to buy a house within an hour or two's drive of London. Unfortunately, many of Brisbane's run-down inner-city suburbs offer the same premium-pricing associated with large cities, but with none of the benefits of 'proper' cities throughout the world. You could argue that the same premium-level pricing has reached some of the 'better', outer suburbs too, where the Real Estate agents are piggybacking on the good times Brisbane is experiencing at the moment. For us, Brisbane, despite it's wonderful climate and relative ease of life, is not that good that we would want to be mortgaged up to the eyeballs for the 'privilege' of living here. We've decided that we didn't move 12,000 miles to the other side of the world just to buy a house and that the real reason for us coming here was to enjoy a supposed 'better lifestyle'. We've also decided that, for us, the level of constraint in terms of work/job requirements and spending that would be required in order for us to service a mortgage on our own home, would defeat the object of us being here. We'd hate to go back to the UK in x years time and look back on miserable times as a result of excessive belt-tightening due to being a mortgage-paying home owner, whereas we could be reliving trips to Sydney, Melbourne, The Reef, Ularu etc etc. Of course, you cannot have your cake and eat it, so we've decided to put aside, either for now or indefinitely, any aspirations we had to buy our own home and we will continue to rent and use the 'savings' to make the remainder of our time in Australia happy and memorable. There's no fun to be had in being financially crippled by a mortgage but at the same time, owning one's home is part of being British. Part of me feels irresponsible for doing anything other than investing in bricks and mortar. It's a tough one, but we genuinely don't feel as though we can expect to make Australia our 'home' in the long-term as we can't see how we will be able to afford to own a home and *live* and have the flexibility to travel at the same time. Living in the UK allowed us all these things and with considerably fewer demands made on us than are made on us here. The weather might be grim in the UK but at least we'll be able to get away from it for several weeks a year and be able to take comfort in coming back to *our own home*. These are the things, we've realised over the past year, that are important to us. Your priorities may differ... Just thought I'd get that off my chest :o Cheers |
Re: Life's Priorities
Good post! Sometimes we dont know what we have got until it has gone, do we? Hope you enjoy the rest of your time here - do come and see the beautiful national capital in your trips around too!
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Re: Life's Priorities
[QUOTE=quoll;6370027]Good post! Sometimes we dont know what we have got until it has gone, do we?
thats for sure:( i was driving home tonight thinking about my year in australia and how truly awful and hard it has been. My husband and i have been through some hard times in the u.k (including a bankrupt business and a near reposession on our house), but on the whole i was still ok, here , well........ I have not a holiday in a year, and by that i mean , i have not had a whole week off work since arriving, how i would love to have a couple of weeks off (if only to catch up with the washing:lol:). It feels like a treadmill, i finish work on a friday, and back on the mill on monday , i see no future................ |
Re: Life's Priorities
Originally Posted by tictac
(Post 6369747)
Like many people, we moved out here with visions of a sprawling, detached low-set with pool in a smart, modern suburb within three quarters of an hour's drive from Brisbane CBD.
We left behind a beautiful, detached home in semi-rural Cheshire, on which we had a reasonable but not life-changing mortgage. Never, for one moment did we ever feel that home ownership was some sort of special privilege. Rightly or wrongly, it was something we took for granted. Moving to Brisbane has been a real eye-opener for us and we find ourselves in a position which we never envisaged. The sheer cost of housing within commutable distance of the City has forced us to look long and hard at the reality of our situation here and has had us asking ourselves whether we can *really* afford to live here in the long term. Both myself and my OH are full-time professionals earning what is considered to be good money. We have 2 teenage kids but are debt-free. We've come to the conclusion that, unlike a few years ago, Brisbane has suddenly decided that it's a major city with house prices to match. Coming from the North of England, it's no easier for us to buy a house here than it would be for us to buy a house within an hour or two's drive of London. Unfortunately, many of Brisbane's run-down inner-city suburbs offer the same premium-pricing associated with large cities, but with none of the benefits of 'proper' cities throughout the world. You could argue that the same premium-level pricing has reached some of the 'better', outer suburbs too, where the Real Estate agents are piggybacking on the good times Brisbane is experiencing at the moment. For us, Brisbane, despite it's wonderful climate and relative ease of life, is not that good that we would want to be mortgaged up to the eyeballs for the 'privilege' of living here. We've decided that we didn't move 12,000 miles to the other side of the world just to buy a house and that the real reason for us coming here was to enjoy a supposed 'better lifestyle'. We've also decided that, for us, the level of constraint in terms of work/job requirements and spending that would be required in order for us to service a mortgage on our own home, would defeat the object of us being here. We'd hate to go back to the UK in x years time and look back on miserable times as a result of excessive belt-tightening due to being a mortgage-paying home owner, whereas we could be reliving trips to Sydney, Melbourne, The Reef, Ularu etc etc. Of course, you cannot have your cake and eat it, so we've decided to put aside, either for now or indefinitely, any aspirations we had to buy our own home and we will continue to rent and use the 'savings' to make the remainder of our time in Australia happy and memorable. There's no fun to be had in being financially crippled by a mortgage but at the same time, owning one's home is part of being British. Part of me feels irresponsible for doing anything other than investing in bricks and mortar. It's a tough one, but we genuinely don't feel as though we can expect to make Australia our 'home' in the long-term as we can't see how we will be able to afford to own a home and *live* and have the flexibility to travel at the same time. Living in the UK allowed us all these things and with considerably fewer demands made on us than are made on us here. The weather might be grim in the UK but at least we'll be able to get away from it for several weeks a year and be able to take comfort in coming back to *our own home*. These are the things, we've realised over the past year, that are important to us. Your priorities may differ... Just thought I'd get that off my chest :o Cheers It's not a privilege anymore to live here. |
Re: Life's Priorities
Originally Posted by tictac
(Post 6369747)
Like many people, we moved out here with visions of a sprawling, detached low-set with pool in a smart, modern suburb within three quarters of an hour's drive from Brisbane CBD.
We left behind a beautiful, detached home in semi-rural Cheshire, on which we had a reasonable but not life-changing mortgage. Never, for one moment did we ever feel that home ownership was some sort of special privilege. Rightly or wrongly, it was something we took for granted. Moving to Brisbane has been a real eye-opener for us and we find ourselves in a position which we never envisaged. The sheer cost of housing within commutable distance of the City has forced us to look long and hard at the reality of our situation here and has had us asking ourselves whether we can *really* afford to live here in the long term. Both myself and my OH are full-time professionals earning what is considered to be good money. We have 2 teenage kids but are debt-free. We've come to the conclusion that, unlike a few years ago, Brisbane has suddenly decided that it's a major city with house prices to match. Coming from the North of England, it's no easier for us to buy a house here than it would be for us to buy a house within an hour or two's drive of London. Unfortunately, many of Brisbane's run-down inner-city suburbs offer the same premium-pricing associated with large cities, but with none of the benefits of 'proper' cities throughout the world. You could argue that the same premium-level pricing has reached some of the 'better', outer suburbs too, where the Real Estate agents are piggybacking on the good times Brisbane is experiencing at the moment. For us, Brisbane, despite it's wonderful climate and relative ease of life, is not that good that we would want to be mortgaged up to the eyeballs for the 'privilege' of living here. We've decided that we didn't move 12,000 miles to the other side of the world just to buy a house and that the real reason for us coming here was to enjoy a supposed 'better lifestyle'. We've also decided that, for us, the level of constraint in terms of work/job requirements and spending that would be required in order for us to service a mortgage on our own home, would defeat the object of us being here. We'd hate to go back to the UK in x years time and look back on miserable times as a result of excessive belt-tightening due to being a mortgage-paying home owner, whereas we could be reliving trips to Sydney, Melbourne, The Reef, Ularu etc etc. Of course, you cannot have your cake and eat it, so we've decided to put aside, either for now or indefinitely, any aspirations we had to buy our own home and we will continue to rent and use the 'savings' to make the remainder of our time in Australia happy and memorable. There's no fun to be had in being financially crippled by a mortgage but at the same time, owning one's home is part of being British. Part of me feels irresponsible for doing anything other than investing in bricks and mortar. It's a tough one, but we genuinely don't feel as though we can expect to make Australia our 'home' in the long-term as we can't see how we will be able to afford to own a home and *live* and have the flexibility to travel at the same time. Living in the UK allowed us all these things and with considerably fewer demands made on us than are made on us here. The weather might be grim in the UK but at least we'll be able to get away from it for several weeks a year and be able to take comfort in coming back to *our own home*. These are the things, we've realised over the past year, that are important to us. Your priorities may differ... Just thought I'd get that off my chest :o Cheers I think that money worries are seriously distorting my perspective of Australia and I wish that it didn't. Mind you, my wife and I dispute that it would be any better for us back in the UK at the moment? We simply need to sit it out and hope that the RBA (unlikely right now) cease periodically raising interest rates (and in fact start decreasing them relatively soon). We were chasing our "dream" by buying our house (at a time that the respective interest rates afforded us the "dream") and ironically it's that very thing that is now hanging like a rendered millstone around our necks. |
Re: Life's Priorities
Originally Posted by tictac
(Post 6369747)
There's no fun to be had in being financially crippled by a mortgage but at the same time, owning one's home is part of being British.
Part of me feels irresponsible for doing anything other than investing in bricks and mortar. It is an extremely British mindset that one must buy, buy, buy as soon as feasibly possible. We can't even say it's a Western thing because in many European countries they do not think in the same way. I recall getting our first ever mortgage - quite a few years ago - for about £70,000 - the total repayment was something like £180,000 over the life of the mortgage. How scary is that? Should one weigh it up against the potential value of the property after a 25 year mortgage term? (I would hazard a guess at around £500k+ for that same house by 2018). How much might one have paid in rent for a similar house? Is that really money down the drain ? Possibly ! Might one achieve more (whatever that means to you) with one's current disposable income when one is renting rather than paying a mortgage and house repairs along the way? Agghh, mind boggling ! :p Best wishes to the OP - I hope you enjoy your current priorities and get a lot from them .... :thumbup: |
Re: Life's Priorities
I agree with everyone else that tictac's post is good - by virtue of it being expansive but I think that the circumstances described are not actually cause for reconsidering the status quo in the isolated way that is described. Please excuse me but the analysis that is presented it:
we fancy doing something different We'll sell the house and go to Oz and enjoy ourselves We have participated in what Oz has to offer and we liked that. and now: Cost of buying a house in Oz is crippling We don't have a home to be in when we are 89 yrs old so: We made a mistake and want to go back... but - it will cost a fortune. OK that is an analysis but my conclusion would have been different: Now: we enjoy what Oz has to offer Well make the most out of it The short term is different from the long term and we cannot predict that We are working There are alternatives to spending a lot of money on buying a house which albeit we have not explored. and We were really smart to sell the house in Cheshire before the drop... ..which is associated with recession... ..and as we have good jobs here now then the risk profile of where we are is better here... and if we pick our moment to go back we can buy our old house at a discount!! So I'd downscale and save some money and be grateful for the sensible thing that you did by moving over to Oz. Cheer up mates!! |
Re: Life's Priorities
[
and We were really smart to sell the house in Cheshire before the drop... ..which is associated with recession... ..and as we have good jobs here now then the risk profile of where we are is better here... and if we pick our moment to go back we can buy our old house at a discount!! So I'd downscale and save some money and be grateful for the sensible thing that you did by moving over to Oz. Cheer up mates!![/QUOTE] this one works for me:lol: a girl can dream . cant she:lol: |
Re: Life's Priorities
Errrr... I think it is always good to do your research before moving continents. Australia is one of the hardest to afford housing places in the world. You need serious money to service a mortgage.
However I left the UK in 2002 because of this very problem couldn't afford a house where I lived. I bought on the way up here. Hindsight is a great thing and of course everyone would buy before a boom if they could. At least you did well out of one boom, what do you really want? At least in Oz rent does not equal mortgage, if you're really brassed off about it, rent and save. thus taking advantage of high interest rates. Honestly I feel for young people who will never own their onw place and those without anywhere to go. |
Re: Life's Priorities
Originally Posted by Margaret3
(Post 6373572)
[
this one works for me:lol: a girl can dream . cant she:lol: No!! You are only allowed to dream if you are very rich!!! ...nightares all round..:D |
Re: Life's Priorities
Originally Posted by Old Lob
(Post 6373858)
No!!
You are only allowed to dream if you are very rich!!! ...nightares all round..:D awwwwwwe spoilsport:( |
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