surfndirt

We all know Tassie doesn't count!!!! Tassie is awesome.... :-)

Cheers Lee & Anya, All who have commented on this thread. If you are not already aware - have a read up on the concept of passive income. Some key terms and concepts to research; - The difference between an asset and a liability (hint, your house IS NOT AN ASSET) - Gross / net passive income streams - Corporation law - Limited liability company law - Trust law - Fiat money and fractional reserve banking Lee and Anya are trying (forgive me if not the case) to illustrate how, with the correct understanding of money - you can build a structure that really is living the dream.....

People living in the UK - pay close attention to this thread. One of the best advice threads I have ever seen and I couldn't agree more. At last - a voice of reason and an illustration of how to really 'live the dream'..... Awesome

Driving courtesy in Australia = doesn't exist....

Arggghhh, thought I may have got to one before the dreaded Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide words... Ah well - enjoy

Nice one matey..... Hope it all goes really well. My advice - unless you really like massive expensive cities, put this new lease of life to use by dedicating your effort to getting set up in a regional town / city. Some options (just my 2c but I have been here a while); - Newcastle, NSW - Thirroul, NSW - Tamworth, NSW - Bendigo, Vic - Ballarat, Vic - Geelong, Vic - Warrambool, Vic - Mount Gambier, SA - Busselton, WA May have got some spelling wrong so apologies in advance. Oh, and I wouldn't refer to coming here as the 'holly grail' - that kind of place / country just doesn't exist I;m affraid. How-ever, getting well set up in any of the above can come sneakly close if you try :-)

Very true.... And now they have just made it legal to open carry as well. Anyone would think they actually wanted to revert back to the wild west....

Hya Paul, Yeah - interesting numbers.... Still a ripper place to hang out for a while :-)

Hey Maruska, so you made it over to Oz... Good on ya. I really do hope you enjoy it here although I fear we may start to see more posts like this from you? I did try and convey the situation here in no un-certain terms to you a while back. Yes, the place looks nice (although I disagree for the most part regards Sydney) but, unfortunately that's it for the time being. How have you found (when compared to TX); - Traffic (Ok, more of it in Houston but more roads so I would say even on that) - Cost of car rego ($1000 here, $45 there) - Cost of petrol ($5 gallon here, $2 there) - Rent ($500 week here, $1200 month there) - Eating out (not even worth typing it out) - Drinks ($10 pint here, anywhere from $2.50 there) - Family stuff to do (not got one myself but basically Sydney has a beach....) I think one of the things that would be interesting for you to provide us updates on is how you feel regards the concept that, at no point, can you live in a house as nice as those in the middle income bracket areas of Texas. May sounds an odd observation but I really am interested as I have a hypothesis that this fact is contributing to hell of alot of the tension and aggressiveness in Aussie society. i.e. "it doesn't matter how hard I work, I will NEVER be in position to live in a nice house in a nice suburb" ..... Yes, we are off again in 2x weeks. Looking forward to being back in a (relatively) normal economy where me and the Mrs can once again go for a cheap drink, have a tex mex with FREE chips and dip etc etc etc etc etc...

Sell it there and buy a Landcruiser Troopcarrier conversion here.... http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Toyota-Landcruiser-2012/AGC-AD-16483319/?Cr=2 Miles better option for Aussie - you can go anywhere. I have yet to buy one but have rented a few times, awesome way to get around.

If you end up in a city - then no.... If you can wing a regional town / city then yes..... Trouble is there is significantly less work in the regions hence everyone flocks to the cities. The cities over here now are just rubbish. Congested, mega expensive, heaps of unpleasant humans everywhere - rubbish I say!

Hya, Basically - you are moving to another London but with nice weather. So, what-ever thought process you would use for living in London - just apply them to Sydney. For example, if you are looking in recognized and established 'nice' area - you will be paying mega bucks. If the location looks like a long way away on the map - it is, and it will be a nightmare commute. Example, my mate lives at McMahons point. 2x bed flat, 1x bathroom no air con and no heating for $750 a week. What money were you on in London in pounds - cause 85k inc super is a pretty bum deal in Sydney. You need to be over 100,000 plus super really......

Geez, begs the million dollar question - has the price of a simple cup of coffee or a pint of beer come back down to normal people levels as a result? Hmmmm, funny how you never hear these stories on the news in the evening hey. Wonder why that is?????????

And everyone has said it is not a good idea - exactly what you wanted... Advice. Now it seems toys have been chucked out of pram because what you have been told is that, like any other developed country, the concept of moving here to live in one city and work in another is a rather far fetched plan. Resorting to telling everyone that you are **** hot is not a good look I'm afraid. Apologies, people told you what you didn't want to hear..... Also, what's the fascination with Brisbane anyway? Mega humid bogan fest IMO. I could well understand Tassie or something as the home base. Apologies again, IMO.

Realistic response.... like it

Agreed, pullin 400k a year - the $ aspect would not come into it! Still have to endure the flight all the time though. You'd be surprised how quickly the knee / elbow issue can completely do your head in when you are flying all the time.....

Yeah, fair enough.... Geez, I wish I was that in demand!! I run my own business and wouldn't consider it - not my concern where people want to base / job hunt.

Would the cost differential between the Brisbane house and the total for flights for a year not break even?? i.e. not worth it?

Good point - although why would an employer pay for it?

Agreed - the Toon # 2 is a great spot. Again, I wouldn't want to commute to Sydney though - not at all...

Hmmm, was more intended to illustrate a point regards the notion that one would take a job in one city and then work in another - a very significant distance away thus sign up for a massive overhead in terms of cash flow outlay on flights. More-over, the reason I followed up with some cursory examples of how you might analyze the situation critically, rather than looking at pretty pictures of Brisbane on the internet and house rentals costs of houses on realeastate.com in Sydney.... I take your point though - Chicago to NY may be more than 1:20mins, can't remember. All other examples are valid.

Why on earth do you think it would be any different to; 1) Living in London and commuting to Berlin 2) Living in Chicago and commuting to New York 3) Living in SF and commuting to LA Australia is a first world (very expensive) country, just like all the other first world (very expensive) countries. That sounds like a completely daft idea..... Do the job properly and do the analysis on your projected cash flow in specific situations. For example; Newcastle, NSW - $90k salary. ~ $350 - 400wk rent Sydney, NSW - $130k salary. ~ $600 - 800wk rent Brisbane, QLD - $100k salary. ~ $500wk rent That's your starting point.... Commuting half way down the east coast is a stupid idea..

Nah, it pretty much is mate..... Really. USD$2 a gallon at the moment. Car rego is USD$45 a year and about USD$600 a year fully comp insurance (Camero v8). No income tax (state) and earn about the same gross as here. Six pack of beers running from $4 to $8 for the really really flash stuff. 4 bed house with pool, gym etc for $250,000 (and that's pretty steep). We love it there but I just haven't cracked getting a job over there yet..... One day :-)

Geez, didn't know WA bike rego was that cheap... That's great. Yep, $800 then insurance as well. Mental. I hate it with a passion TBH. Spend alot of time in Texas and my mate's there is USD$25 a year!!

Depends - are you the type that thinks Phil Spencer does his show out of the goodness of his heart or as a money making enterprise? Might sound like a random question but I really do think some people in the UK think programs like his are actually some kind of public service. They aren't. They exist to make money and they make money because they are popular, and they are popular because it is human nature to think the grass is greener. Have you ever been to the US? Aussie is like the US but with some UK traits.. And yes, in some parts it has about as much gun crime as the US too. Beaches are nice though - esp in WA. Very large chance you won't be in a position to live near em though.......