surfndirt

Hya, my Mrs is from Mount Gambier - will find out for you. We spend heaps of time in that town and I love the joint. Big enough to have everything you need (and I mean everything from a full size motorbike race track to a velodrome) and small enough to be a small town i.e. easy. There are a couple of car dealers at the south end of the main street, usual stuff in Mitsubishi / Toyota etc. We have just bought an NX Pajero and MQ Triton and really like them both. We are actually in the process of reviewing a move to Robe (just up the road).....

Yep, 100%. Bit biased though as never, ever, ever liked big cities anyway.....

And you ended up in one of the best spots in Australia. Good on ya's.... We have 6months left in SmellBum (Melbourne) then we are free of the city. Very different situation now as we have basically invested all AUD$ in international positive cash flow assets so are pretty much retired at 37. Turned up at Tullamarine in 2006 with $300 in a Westpac account, suitcase and surfboard and knew not a single soul. Goes to show as you say - hard work, and anything is possible. Bestest bit - now that we don't have to cater for work, it is just awesome looking at where you WANT to live, rather where you HAVE to live..... i.e. the city. Sydney and Melb are just rubbish.

Is it feasible to live in Brighton and work in London?

$720 tax a year for it in Victoria now...... No, that's not a mis type - it costs 720 Australian dollars to tax your bike for 1x year.

Fair enough, must have been here too long then... I find once I escape the city it's just like being back in the North East really. Normal people, normal prices, normal drug problems, normal people pissy in the pub, normal scallywags nickin stuff. It's just the main 2x cities that are like some kind of US / Asian / Bladerunner B movie!

Melb is a massive city - think LA but without (as much) gangs n' stuff.... If you don't like big cities then I wouldn't move to Melb. My advice in terms of places; - Ballarat - Bendigo - Geelong - Newcastle - Tamworth - Toowomba All great regional cities that are really good places to live with good climate (Ballarat does get cold though). Making friends - easier in these places than in the cities, for sure. Don't for a second think that the rat race does not exist down here, Melb and Sydney are FAR worse rat races than any large town / city I lived in the UK with the obvious exception of that big horrid mess that is London. Concentrate your efforts on a regional city and you will love it.... Great lifestyle and cost of living etc. Cowboy type country stuff up north and very UK like down south.

Agree with the weather thing in Perth. There's a good few months where you can't actually ride - just too hot. If you are that into it then Tassie is now ground zero for Mountain bikes in Aus. Other thing to look into if you are of that bent is the motorized version...... WA is pretty awesome for dirt bikes and heaps going on through winter. With the weather - just think of it like the UK but the other way round, winter is outdoor activity time and summer is in-doors / beach / chillin. And no, you will not be going MTB on a hot summers day in Perth - no matter what you may think now. Tassie never gets boiling - go there; it's awesome.

Sounds like you've fallen for the UK based Australia propaganda.... If you've never been here then just imagine the north of England spliced with the USA. Only way you're gonna get what you want champ is to either; 1) Move to a proper regional town (Mount Gambier, Bendigo, Tamworth etc) 2) Move to anywhere in Tasmania 3) Move to the south island of NZ Australia is, in many ways, now MORE of a rat race than the UK and even the certain parts of the US. It's all to do with demographics and unreal hyperinflation of some asset classes (mainly houses). That combined with an unhealthy concentration of activity in the state based cities.............. Surfndirt, telling it like it is since 2012

Don't move to Sydney... Move to; - Wollongong - Newcastle - Geelong - Ballarat - Bendigo - Torquay Trust me, if you can - try very had to get set up in one of these places and I swear you will thank Poms in Oz one day :-) Sydney is complete rubbish unless you are a multi-millionaire.

I have heard some stupid stuff in the past but this little nugget of investment gold takes the complete and utter biscuit. Can only assume this person is in some way affiliated to the real estate industry? Some concepts to research and understand; - Central banking credit expansion policies 1990 - present - Relationship between the Iron Ore price bubble and (bank created) credit availability in the Aus banking system 2004 - 2012 - Ponzi schemes - The correct definition of an asset and a liability (hint - speculating on capital growth related to a liability is not investing, it is gambling) That should at least give people some kind of rational grounding in money management - rather 'houses double every ten years'.

Did that - for a year whilst in Newcastle. Money is not tight, at all.... Just not even remotely interested in being ripped off at every, single, turn. Me and the Mrs just wait for our bi yearly trip to the USA for any kinda consumer stuff (inc eating out).

Hya, in Melbourne again now... Was in Newcastle, NSW for the last year. I see you are in Gods country. Tassie is great hey.

Yeah, I have basically stopped going to; - Pubs - Bars - Cafe's - Bakeries We have our little tipple on a Thurs night (1x six pack lasts me the weekend now) and that's about it. Yes Manc, a six pack of something nice is $20 plus.

MancGeek, sounds like you've got your head screwed on champ. Don't bother with it over here mate. There's no chance of scoring a $1500 a day contracting gig really (I'm sure there are some, but very very rare). For what it's worth... Stay in the UK, buy a 911 turbo (no chance of that over here also) and get a little holiday pad in Spain or Portugal. I am telling ya, Aus is not at all what the UK TV propaganda says it is and, frankly, it's changing for the worse on an almost weekly basis at the moment. If you really want to whole American freeways, square grid, intersection kinda vibe then get off to Texas or sommat for a jolly for 400 quid return. There is nothing here you can't get cheaper and better where you are (or in your immediate area geo). This joint was great for the boomers who came over on the boats and bought a house for 20,000 quid - set up a job and had a whale of a time. Now it is basically a police state with a cost of living that'll make eye's water..... Sounds like you've got it good there dude - tick off the Aus thing as a bad job and enjoy!

Sorry - the original post! It's an itch that basically WILL NOT go away... Very interesting side effect of the 'emigrant'.

Mate - I am pretty much exactly the same! Same money etc... Been here 9 years (just come back down to Melb from Newcastle, NSW).....

Hya, Very sorry to hear this... The only thing I would like to add is that, having been here 10 years, you are correct - Sydney in particular is complete and utter rubbish. As such, please be assured that there are other people (from all over the world) that get here (Sydney in particular) and hate it pretty much straight away. What is a real shame is the massive emphasis British people (most of whom have not been in Oz, or are upper middle class) put in Australia in general. This is backed up by a govt endorsed overseas propaganda campaign that enforces a utopia kinda view of place. In closing, you are correct, Sydney is rubbish unless you are a gazzilion-aire, the drivers are just hateful pretty much everywhere and basically the whole joint is in the process of going rapidly down-hill. Take this as you will but as someone who has been here a good while and very well set up - I can see it, and I agree......

Generally, Aussies are far more appreciative of the fact that there are still some people moving here from Anglo countries. As such, any reference to pom this and pom that is just a front. My nickname with the lads I ride bikes with is 'pommy <real name>'. There is a slow colonization from Asia happening right in front of people's eyes.... A few working class British that rock up and have a chat in the pub is the very least of people's worries here......

Best advice I can think of is to think of Aus like the USA. For example, you wouldn't rock up in the USA expecting; - Every single person to be nice / cool / friendly - No grimy areas with crime in massive amounts - High cost of living Alot of people (and I mean, a shed load) actually believe the tripe that comes out of channel 4 and genuinely expect a paradise over here..... A presumption, of course, but get it out of your head that you are heading to the promised land and you will have a blast!!!!!

Would you live in Brighton and commute into London?

Who are you going to be working for? It sounds like one of the big 4. They love relocating people to Aus as it costs them heaps less for people to do the same job here as a pose to the US / UK. For example, UK Accenture senior manager is 100,000 GBP (not based in london) with 12,000 GBP a year car allowance and private health cover. Senior manager here is $150,000 with no car allowance and no health (and you are forced to buy health here). So - they get a bloody good deal! Makes you wonder who chips in for all the Aussie propaganda that blights everyone's living rooms across the UK doesn't it........ :-)

We sure have a good life here in The States but are looking to have a new adventure..... Bingo! That's the attitude..... And when you get sick of the costs of everything (unless you are in Nor Cal now) then you can go back... Best of both worlds I think is the saying..... :-)

No worries Maruska - I will be, and I will..... If you are looking regional - I would highly recommend Newcastle, NSW. From memory you are in health care? The John Hunter hospital up here is massive and a big employer. Newcastle is great, like Sydney but; 1) Far less people 2) Far less attitude 3) Far less expensive houses 4) Far less crowded beaches A really great place up here....

Yeah, fair enough.... My point really was that if people educate themselves with respect to really understanding money - you can set about a plan that will create dependable passive income over a short / medium term which then enables you to be geographically 'untied' to work.... I am not, have not, and don't intend to try and sell anything to anyone on here - for anything!! The challenge is finding / creating the business opportunity that will create passive income though. That's the hard part.