Leave Australia

AussieGuy123 · ‎07-07-2014

So, I'm sick of Australia.

The tipping point was when my wife and I went to a house, and were outbid by a 50's couple.

Then a couple of weeks later the agent came to us and said 'I know you guys really liked the house, would you be interested in renting it...'

I wanted to SCREAM at the agent and the buyers. It was pure EVIL. They didnt 'Need' the house. They were just buying it to deny anyone else it.

If I buy a house its going to cost me 65% of my wage while my wage this year went down and looks like staying flat for a few years on top of no capital growth.

I don't want to pay for the mistakes baby boomers and Gen X have made. Going on a debt binge and putting all their eggs in Australian property. The lease densely populated continent yet the highest home prices? 95% of finance goes to housing as opposed to the normal 28%. Yet every Baby boomer/gen x'er I talk to says 'When are you going to buy a house? Buy a house. You need to buy a house...'

If I buy a house that's 65% of my income gone. It leaves about 200 a week to pay for petrol, bills, etc. That wont go far here in Australia considering a movie ticket is $25. A beer is $10. Shopping will set you back 50-100 a week alone.

I really really hate Australia, lining up my generation to pay for their housing debt. I don't know anyone under 30 who owns a house or anyone under 30 who likes living here. If they do want a home they are told to go live a 'convenient 2 hour drive' to the city. or in one of the 'culturally diverse' suburbs... And it will still cost most my pay.

A few of my friends have all saved and suggested we all move to america. Were all professionals. We all want our kids to have opportunities other than Australia offers (debt slavery to pay for baby boomers retirement, Mining, retail or government)

I guess I'm just fed up and sick of Australia and a lot of my friends have said the same.

We don't feel any loyalty to Australia since all its given us is a 40k uni bill and houses we can never buy but have to rent.

Has anyone moved to the US with a profession? Were you allowed to buy a house?

Can you renounce Australia citizenship and pay US tax instead. From what we can see we pay about 15% less tax

Was the move hard? was it worth it?

Struggler · ‎07-07-2014

Hi AssueGuy

Obviously you're feeling depressed about the situation, that's why you wrote in.

You don't have to buy a property and be slave to it. Some people in their 60s are still paying off their mortgages with their pensions. They have no life. Do your own thing and don't feel pressured into it. Btw, what do you mean by "culturally diverse suburbs"?

As to moving to the US, hmmm......

The US is full of professionals with degrees, not to mention owning guns is common place. They don't have Medicare either. Some places are at will states, meaning you can be fired from your job without a reason, without warning. They even have more "culturally diverse suburbs" than Oz. Is it the sort of country you want to live in? There are more and more US citizens living in Oz. Why? The best way to find out is go and live over there. You can always come back and still call Australia home again

Struggler

standinside · ‎07-07-2014

This is not going to be a helpful reply but I agree with you on so many levels.

Im overseas at the moment resting up and the fact that a proper cooked meal cost me $2, that the bus here is free of charge and that my physio fee is $2 for 1 hour of service.

And the vegetables here are so bright and fresh looking. Not like the 2 week old ones that are in Coles and Wollies. A bottle of water is 40 cents?

Wow... just wow.

justinok · ‎08-07-2014

Struggler said:
Btw, what do you mean by "culturally diverse suburbs"?

I think it's pretty obvious what he means. I live in one of those "culturally diverse" suburbs, and I'm one of the people that 30 or so years ago would have been referred to as "culturally diverse"...well, that's not what I would have been called, but we all know the words, don't we?

Mate, I totally agree with you that it's hard to afford a house and that investors are pricing the rest of us out of the market, but I'd ask that you target your anger in the right place othewise it just looks like you're upset that you can't afford to live in a suburb with all white people.

AussieGuy123 · ‎08-07-2014

When I say culturally diverse I'm not trying to sound racist. It's a term Realestate agents have used on me to say the area is a crime hotspot. I'm Asian and my wife is Indian. So many white people automatically think that's racist but it's actually how white people describe suburbs that no one wants to live in.

I dont want want to live in a 'white' suburb that's pretty racist. I want to live in a suburb that doesn't have 10x the state crime rate and is 15 mins from work.

Just, the white 50's couple who bought the house from under us and then tried to rent it back to us. My wife wouldn't stop crying and I've been so depressed about it. Who the hell does that to someone.

We've been to the US twice visiting friends and family. They all enjoy it. But now I was looking for anyone else who had made the move.

That comment about everyone having guns was a bit uncalled for. We didn't see a gun once both times we were there.

Health insurance is covered by employers and they are slowly bringing in universal healthcare.

The banks tried to push us a loan for 70% of our income when we got preapproval. We would live off scraps. I don't want to live like that. People shouldn't have to live like that. It's not fair. We work to make our lives easier not to just 'get by'

justinok · ‎08-07-2014

Really sorry mate, didn't mean to jump down your throat. It's one of my bugs that Australia can be really racist at times, and I made a poor assumption. Apart from that, I love my country (don't know where standinside was shopping for groceries, but I've never had that problem!)

Yeah that situation with the house sucks. What did you say?

I don't know where in the country you are, I'm in Vic and there are still places to live here that aren't a million miles from the city and don't have crime out of control. Have you considered moving interstate?

supportseeker · ‎06-10-2022

8 years after this post and I feel the exact same. Australia offers very little and people like to counteract any negativity with ‘safety’ and ‘beautiful beaches’.

ecomama · ‎06-10-2022

Hey supportseeker, so are you AussieGuy123?

If so, you haven't left Australia yet?

I didn't realise the thread starter was such an old one.

I was going to pop in to say a few things as my fiance is American and still lives in the U.S. atm.
The ONE thing that has huge difference between living as a Resident in the US vs Australia is the Health Care System. Mega bucks to even see a GP. My BF paid almost $300 GAP after his medical insurance merely to see a GP and get blood tests.
Prescriptions are horrendously priced.

Another thing is the Welfare system.
Basically unless you've paid IN to the system, there's nothing there for you (or anyone).

We compare prices with the $US dollar vs AUD adjustments all the time and we're finding that McDonald's is marginally cheaper lol but comparing the prices of Supermarket foods where I live and where he lives (Gig Harbor near Seattle), it's much the same.
Same with electricity. He doesn't pay for water.

Petrol is marginally cheaper in most places he travels.
Amazon makes things cheaper but has it's draw backs for sure.

There's really no point in living somewhere you hate, it's bad for you and bad for everyone around you.
Making the move EARLIER in life can make it possible. Later, it's far harder with immigration rules etc.

EM