Australia Is Such an Overpriced Sh**hole - AAARGH

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

The smart answer in the last 5 years is to keep your money in Oz and live in SEA.

And in the example I gave how would that work.

$75k in an Australian account paying 6% = $4500 - tax = $3150 to spend
Same $75k in VND account paying 14% = $10,500 and no tax = $10,500 to spend.

How is keeping the money in Oz a smart move?

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Many I spoke to are self funded retirees ineligible for the Australian pension due to wealth levels or age (not old enough).
Many had $75,000aud in bank accounts earning 14%, tax free interest covering their cost of daily living.

That works well for those on $100k plus but the Australian average wage is a lot less than that and the minimum wage is a whole lot less again, barely covering rent and baked beans.

High pension?
$344/week barely covers rent and power bills let alone food and other expenses.


I have several friends working in various asian counties now.
ALL have better quality of life , many have maids, drivers, gardeners etc as required, many with paid accommodation and driver as part of their package.
The worst one who is worst off works for a dive/motorcycle tour company in Hoi An (every day is a holiday).
He has a reasonably nice 2 bedroom apartment overlooking the water, eats out for every meal, lives a pretty good lifestyle all on about 3 days a week work.

Well I guess the answer is obvious. When do you plan to leave?

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Well I guess the answer is obvious. When do you plan to leave?

Soon.

[Wand]

Originally Posted by cat man do

What have you proved exactly?
Explain it please.

Well, I suspect you're just trolling but, if not, answer this. If you can get your "teeth cleaned, tooth drilled and a filling for $7aud" by a dentist in downtown Brisbane, what sort of salary do you think you could pull? And would that salary be sufficient to build your 50' power cat?

If you earn in a wealthy economy and spend in a poor one, of course you'll enjoy a royal lifestyle. It's always been the case. Holiday in Bali or Mexico.

But to me, flying to Bangkok to get your teeth done on the cheap - as many seem to be doing these days - reeks of exploitation. But that might be just my problem.

[Sabbatical II]

Whine, whine, whine. Australia & US are democracies. You are allowed to earn as much money as you like, so where's the problem? Oh, do you need it handed to you with a minimum of effort? We live in the lucky country where anyone can have a go! .....and if it doesn't work first time, you can have another go. Sounds fair to me.

[stevensuf]

Hey there are 300 contestants for miss uk , 2 for prime minister, same situation in most countries.. I would hardly call any of them democracies.. same s**t different party/face, big business & the ones who control the big business' rule the lot of it.

Give the people the illusions of freedom and they have no one to blame bar themselves, when have you ever seen any government on the planet actually ever do what the people who elected them want!!!

[Steve Thompson]

As a migrant to Australia 45years ago I take great offence to Australia being called a sh.. hole.Paradise / lucky country anything but sh.. hole.Cat Man Do does the Asian boat builder working on your boat for $1 a day get to live in a nice house with power and water connected.Have the weekend off to get on the piss or spend a couple of weeks overseas on holidays.No he cant because people from sh.. hole countries are exployting him .No offence meant to anyone but Aus is the best place I know
Cheers Steve

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by At sea

But to me, flying to Bangkok to get your teeth done on the cheap - as many seem to be doing these days - reeks of exploitation. But that might be just my problem.

It's not exploitation at all. It's the going rate in that economy. They are happy to do the work, and the patient is happy to pay it.
Who is being exploited?

Exploitation is when people are being paid less than the going rate and have no choice.

[Jimbo485]

I take offense to the Buy Australia campaign. If I want to pay extra to subsidize the good life of a fat, over paid Aussie worker, sure, thanks for pointing me in the right direction. But if I want to pay less and AT THE SAME TIME assist a third world economy, I will buy from overseas.

If you choose NOT to get dental work done in Thailand, fine, but you just stifled their economy a little.

The do gooders who rant against sweat shops are as bad as the feel good communists - ideas sound lovely and sweet but the real world is a different place. Better to work in a sweat shop than sell your body on the streets, right? How many prostitutes has the Buy Australia campaign inadvertently put on the streets of Asia?? The next time you buy an expensive Aussie apple rather than a cheap import, think about what the Asian apple picker is going to do to make some money. You worry about the Aussie apple picker? Hah! She can drive a truck in the mines now and make the big bucks for her next visit to a Balinese resort!

If you want to be a real do gooder, in the original sense of the phrase, start up a business in the 3rd world which sells to the 1st world and has an employee profit sharing scheme. Better prices for first worlders, more wealth flows to 3rd worlders, some profits go back to employees. Who loses out - the union bosses and the PR manager of Buy Australia? Great!

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by Steve Thompson

Cat Man Do does the Asian boat builder working on your boat for $1 a day

You need to check those conversion rates.
Firstly, its $15 a day for a labourer, not a boatbuilder
Secondly, I will not be paying him, the company I would employ would be.

get to live in a nice house with power and water connected.

I have no idea, but most probably.
Most people in Asia have electricity and running water in their homes and while they may not be nice by your standards, they are the standards of that country and the owners tend to be quite proud of them.

Have the weekend off to get on the piss or spend a couple of weeks overseas on holidays.

get on the piss?
That may depend on his religion, but rest assured I have seen and drank with many asians over the years, many of them do enjoy a drink, more so than me that's for sure..
As for holidays, they seem to manage that as well.
Many is the holiday area I have been to, off the western tourist path, where I have been the only white face around .

No he cant because people from sh.. hole countries are exployting him

I wonder if you have that same care and concern for the workers who have put your computer and tv together, or your many other asian made appliances?
How about the shoes and clothes you have on or even the raw materials for your boat?
Did you beat yourself up for exploiting the workers while you made those purchases?
Didn't think so.
Heres a word for you to check the meaning of, it's hypocrite

.No offence meant to anyone but Aus is the best place I know
Cheers Steve

You are welcome to your opinion Steve, but many would disagree

While most of the debate on migration concentrates on the numbers and characteristics of immigrants to Australia, emigration (that is, people leaving Australia) has increased steadily in recent years.

A total of 86,277 people indicated that they left Australia permanently in 2009–10.
Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 5. Emigration from Australia

I wonder why they felt the need to leave the best place Steve knows?

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by cat man do

Interest Rate
http://www.eab.com.vn/

Pretty simple to open an account when there.

Quite difficult to get the money out of the country.

Lol!

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

And you would have lost about 12% ROE in the last 12 mos. vs. AUD. Dont have the 5 yr history handy but I am sure its similar if not worse.

The smart answer in the last 5 years is to keep your money in Oz and live in SEA. Which is what most Aussie cruisers are doing.

I think over the last 5 years around 40% depreciation of the Dong Vs the AUD - unless Cat Man Do's account is in Aussie Dollars?

Always a reason why folk are paying 14%..........

Originally Posted by At sea

Well, I suspect you're just trolling (I sincerely hope so! - DOJ) but, if not, answer this. If you can get your "teeth cleaned, tooth drilled and a filling for $7aud" by a dentist in downtown Brisbane, what sort of salary do you think you could pull? And would that salary be sufficient to build your 50' power cat?

If you earn in a wealthy economy and spend in a poor one, of course you'll enjoy a royal lifestyle. It's always been the case. Holiday in Bali or Mexico.

But to me, flying to Bangkok to get your teeth done on the cheap - as many seem to be doing these days - reeks of exploitation. But that might be just my problem.

And it's not just the higher salary that Australia provides - more importantly it's simply having the opportunity. In SEA plenty of folk who would have been great doctors etc - but are still in the fields / scraping out an unskilled living.

FWIW I don't see a problem with getting Dental / Medical services overseas (i.e Bangkok) - the target market of many is the Westerner, pretty much an export.

[genomic]

While certainly far from perfect, Australia nevertheless has one of the strongest (relative) economies and highest quality of life in the world. Wealth, comfort and isolation has produced a somewhat insular and entitled nature in many Australians. Just read local newspapers, listen to talkback radio or even visit a pub to hear endless complaing about relatively minor issues (when compared to, say, knowing where your next meal is coming from, or sourcing fresh water, or getting basic medical aid).

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by genomic

While certainly far from perfect, Australia nevertheless has one of the strongest (relative) economies and highest quality of life in the world. Wealth, comfort and isolation has produced a somewhat insular and entitled nature in many Australians. Just read local newspapers, listen to talkback radio or even visit a pub to hear endless complaing about relatively minor issues (when compared to, say, knowing where your next meal is coming from, or sourcing fresh water, or getting basic medical aid).

Don't forget you have Nicole Kidman.

[four winds]

Even Nicole Kidman doesn't have Nicole Kidman, now.

[salticrak]

As some one who migrated to oz ten years ago i feel my family has definitely had to work a lot harder for a more expensive standard of living,the price of housing in Australia is eyewatering,how the next generation will be able to afford them i have no idea.The cost of building my cat here is also dear,although cheap tools are abundant,the first lot of 6.5mm hoop pine plywood cost me au$ 110.00 a sheet for crying out loud,4 ltr of epoxy pretty much the same,but Australia has been good to me too,i think the way things are now is as good as it gets,China already owns vast tracts of land in africa for mining,they will not be happy paying the price they do for oz raw materials for ever and then what?cat man do has made some great points about the infrastructure here,it is pretty crap considering the mines are booming,show me the money...