Cost of living!

Recently I had a friend comment how jealous she was that I get to live in Sydney, Australia. I realized my blog only ever covers the upsides to my town but there is one BIG down-side, which I have been meaning to highlight. This is "the cost of living!" They say the three most important things when considering a house are "location, location, location"....the problem with Sydney's location is that there is the ocean on one side and the blue mountains on the other side, so the only place to build is UP, or to split up a house into a duplex (or smaller).

To give you an idea, I have put up a few current examples of what I would pay for my very first starter house in Oz! In"ok" neighborhoods--skipped the posh and ghetto areas!

First, Mosman.

Pro: A great suburb on the north shore (where a lot of white people are) and kind of by the water..... Con: really compact with busy streets and nowhere to park in front of your own house. Although an affluent area, there are houses on top of houses.

Cheapest house on the market (3 bed, 2 bath) - $1.1 million (O and you only get half the house...it's a duplex --see the fence? :-)

Suburb #2- Killara.

Pro: Best public school in the city (but most don't go to public schools after elementary school), and right against a rain forest...think of all the wildlife :-) Con: 1 hour commute each way.

Cheapest thing on the market...an apartment (3 bed, 3 bath). Here is what they have been reduced to sell at: NO. 58 : $1.25 Million only, total size: 387m² on title, NO. 59: $1.3 Million only, total size: 388m² on title

It looks so clean and NEW....

but do you know what I could get in Great Falls Virginia for 1.3M?

Suburb #3 Hornsby

Pros: Lots of LDS...so we wouldn't be in the Korean ward anymore :-) Cons: Yucky town, over an hour commute, completely away from EVERYTHING....toured an apartment there once and the guy had been killed in his living room!

Cheapest house: (I think this is in a trailer park) $575,000--So I guess that is a better ball park for a first home hu?...just never thought my first home would be a trailer ...CRY!

Suburb #4: Concord

Pro: This is where we live (in an apt) so it is familiar, 20 min commute to the city. Italian part of town so we learn it in the schools! Con: No young families, Korean ward--difficult to fit in, and the industrial side of town (inner-west), eager for a change!

3 Bed, 1 Bath...$1.1Million

Laughing b/c this looks like a dirty starter house in Provo...but here it would be my final dream house!

So.....I might stay in an apartment FOREVER ($600-900K for our little unit)!

So seriously friends....DON'T BE JEALOUS!

Aside from housing I came across this article about how Sydney has the worlds highest parking fees. It is true, once I parked to go to the aquarium and after 3 hours I owed $75.00.

Good thing we have credit card parking meters!

To attend public schools I pay $5,000/kid/year. Private schools are around $20,000+/kid/year and the majority of the middle and upper class attend private schools from year 7 up to year 12. All of the sudden the 5 year gap between children makes sense. Most people admit to having planned this spacing b/c they can't afford high school tuition for more than one kid at a time.

The average petrol price is $1.43/ liter there are 3.7 liters to a gallon so our petrol cost $5.29/ gallon. And guess what the Aussies do not complain. We drive a 5 seater (yes it is tight with three kids) but I don't think I could afford the gas if we upgraded to a van.

A little icing on the cake: Tithing is not tax deductible in Oz and taxes are HIGHER than the USA (by about 20% on average).... so factor that in on top of it all! :-) Don't worry once the USA has socialized meds your taxes should increase by about 20% too...