News, Australia still the best place to live (insurance, appliances)
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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,135,151 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moonshadow
Yes it did and yes it was.
Thank goodness for twelve hours of "speed acclimitization" in Los Angeles!
Basically I left Massachusetts (temp in the below zero range and a good deal below I might add) in knee hi boots, stockings, jeans, singlet, jumper and coat and courtesy of AA forwarding ALL my bags directly to the Qantas terminal I then had to race directly to the mall and buy "summer clothes" and toiletries for the day in LA and the trip back to Oz where I arrived and it was in the early 30s.
AND then it proceeded to climb.....
Baptism of Fire is a term that springs to mind but I have to say I coped with the cold in Massachusetts a whole lot better than I anticipated AND NOW I'm actually looking forward to winter here in Melbourne to see if I get cold.....
Are you back now moonie? I think after a few months you'll again get used to the comparatively warm weather.
NOW I'm actually looking forward to winter here in Melbourne to see if I get cold.....
If I were a betting man I think you will find you get cold as I did down under. Speakingo of Melbourne, I'm watching a House Hunters show and there is a couple from LA (he's Aussie) looking for real estate in Melbourne. I doubt affordability was a factor in the rankings of best cities as Oz is not really known for budget friendly real estate in the main cities.
Adelaide? Seriously? You couldn't pay me enough money in the world to move to Adelaide.
Funny I think that everytime I see Sydney ranked so highly that I could not get paid enough money to live there! Different strokes for different folks.
I'd chose Melbourne and everytime I visit Vancouver I never want to leave. Now talk about a beautiful city!
The best thing about living in Melbourne is you would used to such variations in weather
O.k maybe Not to that degree
Well I have to say it's completely different weather to New England. AND different again to California.
And you know hairy, I don't think we have that many variations. It's either hot or cold, cloudy or sunny and it barely ever rains. Well not like it used to.
What I do think is that Aussies have very much the same problem with dresing for the weather as they do with insulating their homes properly.
We all wander around in Jeans and sweatshirts in winter complaining that we're cold not thinking about the fact we're wearing thongs. I think a lot of people think if they throw on one layer that's long sleeved that's their big concession to winter dressing. Geez my Dad STILL walks around in Stubbies, explorer sox and work boots in the middle of winter (EVEN WHEN IT"S BELOW ZERO) and tells his horrified workmates, "It's not cold". He and my Nan are my weather gauge actually. If they've got a cardigain or long pants on, it's cold!
Quote:
Originally Posted by atf487
I'm 20 miles from Boston :P.
There are colder places than here, though. Close to the coast, the temperatures usually average around the freezing point, with occasional weeks of -6Cish weather. Out in the western part of the state, where I went to school, temps get a little colder (had a week of temperatures with lows of -16C) but the midwest and central Canada get much colder temperatures than we do. The weather here is pretty good, actually, we have 4 distinct seasons but none of them are that extreme.
It's all what you're used to though atf. I mean it rarely snows here and never in the suburbs of Melbourne. The far outer burbs near the Dandenongs or Ballarat MAYBE but it would be rare.
And yes I did notice that there are colder places. Vermont and strangely RI spring to mind. Couple of VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY COLD days there.
20 miles from Boston in which direction? I was south west of Boston....I think........not sure how many miles.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trimac20
Are you back now moonie? I think after a few months you'll again get used to the comparatively warm weather.
Yeah, I'm back Tri. Been back since Australia Day. NOT that I remember much about it. haha!
I'm doing alright to be honest. I actually was thinking the other day that I missed the snow. But it's nice to be where the warm is too.
Next thing is checking out Massachusetts Summer/Autumn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by minibrings
If I were a betting man I think you will find you get cold as I did down under. Speakingo of Melbourne, I'm watching a House Hunters show and there is a couple from LA (he's Aussie) looking for real estate in Melbourne. I doubt affordability was a factor in the rankings of best cities as Oz is not really known for budget friendly real estate in the main cities.
I actually got cold the other night mini. AND I laughed at myself.
Yeah, Real Estate is a joke here. AND I'm jealous you were watching HouseHunters.
Here's a bucket of cold water for all you drunk Aussies. Australia is not the best county in the world, its not even really the lucky country.
Australia has one of the highest tax rates in the world. The crumbling free medical system everyone bangs on about costs you a fortune! Now if you want good health care you have to buy private insurance to get off 3 year waiting lists. If thats not enough the government actually slugs you for even more tax if you don't buy private....what free medical system???
The cost of housing is absolutely mad! How I ask does Melbourne get to be the most live-able city when it is hard to find a shack of a house to live in for less than 400,000$ You can get a nice "cheap" place for about 250K if you are willing to face at least 1 to 1.5 hours of traffic to get to work. An average 3 bed 1 bath house close to the city is not much shy of a 1,000,000 and you will spend far in excess of that if you want something nice.
Wages for the average worker dont pay enough to get even close to that. I know adults in their 30 - 40s still living at home. Dual income is a must if you want to qualify to get into a house.
Food, cars, white goods (appliances for the northern folks) all cost a fortune. My brother in the US is crying that he has to pay around 2.60 for a gallon of gas. I pay about 1.45 per litre which works out to 5.70 per US gallon! A pint of beer is now getting up around 5 to as much as 9 bucks! A night out for two can hit 100$ real fast and you haven't done anything special.
Do I need to go on about weather, traffic, racial tension, rising crime? how about the governments addiction to speed and traffic cameras? They clearly do not want anyone to stop speeding, they make way too much off the revenue!
On the plus side,,,,,yes I actually do enjoy some things about living in Melbourne, Great food, lots of life, parks, arts, night life ,,,,Yes Melbourne is the best city in Australia. Pity about the weather....
Here's a bucket of cold water for all you drunk Aussies. Australia is not the best county in the world, its not even really the lucky country.
Australia has one of the highest tax rates in the world. The crumbling free medical system everyone bangs on about costs you a fortune! Now if you want good health care you have to buy private insurance to get off 3 year waiting lists. If thats not enough the government actually slugs you for even more tax if you don't buy private....what free medical system???
Yes, we pay a tax to have universal health care. I'm not sure how else you create $$ to have universal health care? Do you have another idea?
Yes, previous coalition govt identifed that rising / aging population was putting pressure on our health system. So, they introduced the 30% govt rebate to purchase health insurance for those under 30 or earning x amount. I think at this stage the system we have is ok.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Belounus
The cost of housing is absolutely mad! How I ask does Melbourne get to be the most live-able city when it is hard to find a shack of a house to live in for less than 400,000$ You can get a nice "cheap" place for about 250K if you are willing to face at least 1 to 1.5 hours of traffic to get to work. An average 3 bed 1 bath house close to the city is not much shy of a 1,000,000 and you will spend far in excess of that if you want something nice.
Yes, Australia has been identified as being between 20% - 50%over-valued. Where are you looking at housing? On the flip-side, we didn't go thru a recession ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Belounus
Food, cars, white goods (appliances for the northern folks) all cost a fortune. My brother in the US is crying that he has to pay around 2.60 for a gallon of gas. I pay about 1.45 per litre which works out to 5.70 per US gallon! A pint of beer is now getting up around 5 to as much as 9 bucks! A night out for two can hit 100$ real fast and you haven't done anything special
Do I need to go on about weather, traffic, racial tension, rising crime? how about the governments addiction to speed and traffic cameras? They clearly do not want anyone to stop speeding, they make way too much off the revenue!
On the plus side,,,,,yes I actually do enjoy some things about living in Melbourne, Great food, lots of life, parks, arts, night life ,,,,Yes Melbourne is the best city in Australia. Pity about the weather....
Racial tension? Please elaborate
Rising crime? Greater population - that generally happens.
govt addiction to speed & traffic cameras ... easy. Don't speed.
Here's a bucket of cold water for all you drunk Aussies. Australia is not the best county in the world, its not even really the lucky country.
Australia has one of the highest tax rates in the world. The crumbling free medical system everyone bangs on about costs you a fortune! Now if you want good health care you have to buy private insurance to get off 3 year waiting lists. If thats not enough the government actually slugs you for even more tax if you don't buy private....what free medical system???
The cost of housing is absolutely mad! How I ask does Melbourne get to be the most live-able city when it is hard to find a shack of a house to live in for less than 400,000$ You can get a nice "cheap" place for about 250K if you are willing to face at least 1 to 1.5 hours of traffic to get to work. An average 3 bed 1 bath house close to the city is not much shy of a 1,000,000 and you will spend far in excess of that if you want something nice.
Wages for the average worker dont pay enough to get even close to that. I know adults in their 30 - 40s still living at home. Dual income is a must if you want to qualify to get into a house.
Food, cars, white goods (appliances for the northern folks) all cost a fortune. My brother in the US is crying that he has to pay around 2.60 for a gallon of gas. I pay about 1.45 per litre which works out to 5.70 per US gallon! A pint of beer is now getting up around 5 to as much as 9 bucks! A night out for two can hit 100$ real fast and you haven't done anything special.
Do I need to go on about weather, traffic, racial tension, rising crime? how about the governments addiction to speed and traffic cameras? They clearly do not want anyone to stop speeding, they make way too much off the revenue!
On the plus side,,,,,yes I actually do enjoy some things about living in Melbourne, Great food, lots of life, parks, arts, night life ,,,,Yes Melbourne is the best city in Australia. Pity about the weather....
Generally it is a pretty good place to live but nowhere is ever perfect. And Melbourne is quite possibly one of the worst places for Australian weather although there is some subjectivity around that.Have to agree with the excessive revenue raising from speeding and red traffic lights. Got home last night - wham - a $338 fine in the mail from the RTA from crossing a red light. Three demerits to boot as well. Youch!
Australia has one of the highest tax rates in the world. The crumbling free medical system everyone bangs on about costs you a fortune! Now if you want good health care you have to buy private insurance to get off 3 year waiting lists. If thats not enough the government actually slugs you for even more tax if you don't buy private....what free medical system???
Do I need to go on about weather, traffic, racial tension, rising crime? how about the governments addiction to speed and traffic cameras? They clearly do not want anyone to stop speeding, they make way too much off the revenue!
On the plus side,,,,,yes I actually do enjoy some things about living in Melbourne, Great food, lots of life, parks, arts, night life ,,,,Yes Melbourne is the best city in Australia. Pity about the weather....
That is one of the dirty little secrets about socialized medicine. The public thinks it's free but it's not. You pay one way or another and you really pay a lot if you need something beyond family practice care.
I remember reading about one guy in NZ proud of waiting in line for basic cancer treatments in NZ that were readily available in the USA. He died waiting in line. Too bad.
I think the police in Australia have it all wrong with speed limits. It's bad driving that causes deaths, not necessarily speed.
I think it works okay too but it's certainly not free, even if you don't take out Private Health Insurance. Or cheap. But I do like having the choice of private health insurance versus being told that Public is my only option. Let's face it, no matter how much money you throw at health, it'll never be enough. Especially since the first billion of our health budget every year just goes to administration alone.
There's the 1.5% Medicare Levy which gets tacked on to your income tax refund/payment at the end of the year. In our household alone, with two part-timers, the four of us paid almost $3,000 in total last year. Then Private Health Insurance costs another $3,000. And neither gives you 100% coverage for everything.
Docs are charging $65 per visit and Medicare reimburses $33. Surgeries we've all had meant a $100 gap fee, which is reasonable, and it was nice to have them within weeks versus waiting months or longer. Blood tests are 100% covered, most of physio, $120 for glasses/contacts per year, most of the cost of a basic dental check-up, about 75% of a teeth cleaning, and 50% for any other non-cosmetic dental work.
Medical costs in excess of $1500/yr can be claimed on your income tax. Last year we had $4500 in out-of-pocket expenses for the four of us. On top of the levy and insurance premiums. Not cheap or free.
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