Posts by Paul Williams
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Either way - been a fair while since a northern hemisphere team looked like winning in NZ - England, 2003? No need to worry.
An answer of sorts is available here. Sorry to link-whore but these boys are damn funny and just what this expat needs on a regular basis.
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I'll speak for 90% of the couple of dozen that I know that have gone - weather and family.
Family is a complicated matter. Our youngest was born here and as often happens you end up with friends with kids of the same age with whom you do lots of stuff. The idea of relocating and losing that network is a bit daunting (I recently considered a job back in NZ, hence an earlier post about the apparent dearth of parks in Akl).
I know plenty of kiwis who're earning good money here, particularly in the private sector (I don't think the money is significantly different in the public sector excepting health professionals) because the commercial sector simply is considerably larger. Whether they'll stay for the money I don't know. I tend to agree with the earlier commenter (and IP above) that we're not all exclusively motivated by career goals and typically want a balance.
Ultimately for me, its lifestyle not career that keeps my family in Sydney though both my wife and I expect we'll return to NZ in time. Personally, despite promotions etc, my career goals are still about achieving things in and for NZ. How our experience impacts on policy alternatives is unclear however - in a global labour market, there'll always be a fair degree of mobility and it's not all bad provided a country is not beset by skill and labour shortages (and both Australia and NZ have some problems in this regard).
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George Daroch said:
And yes, Australia has the highest manufacturing wages in the world. And well funded universities. There's a reason people migrate there.
George may well be right on this however Australian competitiveness in manufacturing is not so good if measured in by exports/terms of trade. Australian employment in manufacturing has been trending down for years. There's been a bit of a recovery recently but it's not predicted to hold - the AiGroup do an annual forecast, the most recent of which predicted a pretty modest future.
I'm a migrant to Australia, and though I'll not purport to speak for anyone else, I think its an over simplification to suggest wages alone are what attracts people.
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I dunno Geoff, I thought the Waratahs looked pretty crap. The Hurricanes were just crappier.
Hmm, that's about how it looked to me sideline. It was an incredibly frustrating game but I have to say the refereeing was pretty woeful. Still, the Tahs are notorious for starting well but will soon 'die in the arse' (as they say in 'straya).
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Late to the thread again... so this is where we profess our love for Wellington right? Gwad I miss the place. I grew up in Auckland but never enjoyed myself more than the ten or so years spent in Wellington. However, back for a visit after a few years in Sydney, I was reminded of how (typically) the weather's not so great. Driving around Oriental Bay, my wife commented how lovely it was "and how fantastic it would be in Summer"... unfortunately it was February!
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There's a fantastic playground in Wanganui, of all places.
That's an amazing playground indeed... huge and grassy (the grassy part is distinctly un-Sydney like, what's Adelaide like?) Is the fact that I can't see sun-shade because it's seldom required (joke)?
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Politics is one way of making dreams realistic. markets are not laws of nature, they are human institutions, and so can be changed. And that is what people are demanding now with housing.
Crazy talk! Thanks I/S.
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If you can't pay a $500k mortgage out of $200k pa, you are managing your money very poorly, it seems to me. At 9.5% over 20 years, you would have monthly repayments of $4,660.66, which is about 40% of your after tax income and leaves plenty of money for gourmet food and stocking the wine cellar.
40 per cent of after tax income is a fair whack but it was over 30 years, not 20 and Australian rates are around 2 per cent lower - 8 per cent is possibly what you'd be offered today (on that size borrowing). However, the equation requires you to maintain that level of income for the duration which excludes time where you only earn one income i.e. if you start a family. Not what everyone wants hey?
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This may not be a realistic dream anymore. There are other ways to live.
If this is true, will people still be able to save/build sufficient assets to support them in a meaningful retirement? The mortgage free house has been a key part of generations' retirement plans; if your retirement includes having to pay rent, will people save accordingly?
I know in parts of Australia, and not just Sydney but other capital cities too, owning your own property is increasingly difficult. I know many 30-something couples with combined incomes of $200k who still face the prospect of 30 mortgages and having to borrow upwards of $500k.
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What sort of playground were you after?
There are many mediocre but usable ones dotted around all sides of our city. and lots of little hidden gems....check out the bottom of west end park in freemans bay, or the one hidden behind trees opposite the rose gardens in parnell, also the witches hat and perfect cycle track at normonton reserve in glenfield......
samuel (and Ben too) thanks for the advice. For a while there, my family and I were seriously considering relocating back to Akl but have decided not to for the time being.
We did end up spending a fair bit of time at Madills Farm (sp) in Kohimarama where we have some family (there's quite a cool one opposite Vic Markets also). We heard of the one in Parnell but didn't check it out and I'm sure they're around but my sense is that they are far less plentiful compared with the inner west of Sydney - where I live - where houses are usually quite small and don't have back yards. It's one of the few elements of the Sydney infrastructure that seems to be in sufficient supply.