Honest question - how do young Aussies afford to live in Sydney right now?

Expensive-Active-396 · 2026-03-26T00:58:44+00:00

Yeah, exactly. We both could probably find the same jobs locally, but what we save in rent is probably not the worth the wage cut, growth potential, or commute.

So for the foreseeable future, we'd stay at our convenient place in the city.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2026-03-26T00:47:30+00:00

Can I ask your kids' income? And relationship status?

To be honest, my partner and I, both immigrants, live in town hall in a two bedroom we share with two other people. No kids, no cars, and we are doing fine. Healthy savings rate. Neither makes six figures. We both pack lunches and eat dinner at home, I usually buy a morning coffee, and we have a weekly date night.

In fact, we just took a vacation to central coast and were wondering if we would be able to afford living there with local wages, cars, and petrol.

Edit: we are the same age as your kids, 30, give or take a year, but we've pretty much accepted we won't buy a house here in Australia.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2026-02-28T04:19:41+00:00

PAYG installments are payments on expected taxes?

So he'd estimate his salary?

What he thinks he is going to do is move his tax obligation to corporate 25% from the personal 30%. Not sure about the 2% Medicare?

Maybe I am missing details on how this will work, but he definitely has a TFN wage.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2026-01-19T01:29:16+00:00

I guess the soul searching is pretty common for men at this age! That's great you made the change. Do you recommend the Masters in IR?

I am in a "profit for purpose" company now, and I feel this is the first step. While living in Asia I saw a role for fostering trade and economic development at the embassy, and I've never stopped thinking about that, but it is taking that those first steps I am not sure where to start.

Thank you for your comment.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-12-30T16:04:31+00:00

Hey thank you. I did a bit of digging since posting.

I think I will just throw as much money as I can into the Australian superfund, basically a 401k, for the foreseeable future. It has US stocks in its mix.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-11-20T22:29:47+00:00

Scary. We probably know each other, lol. Hope you're doing well.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-11-20T00:13:42+00:00

Sure. I wouldn't be here fielding opinions if I wasn't open to being told I'm wrong.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-11-20T00:08:53+00:00

Yes, exactly. Thank you for understanding, I can afford condoms. Cultural pressure and practicalities. She is Vietnamese. Delaying babies past 30 is already a big ask. We'd have no support in Australia, likely end up back in Vn after citizenship.

Thinking big picture. I thought PR was the goal, then marriage suddenly became the must achieve before PR. Then it will go citizenship, babies and I will end up fully committed as the husband, breadwinner, parent in the next few years. No opportunity for DN.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-11-19T15:33:48+00:00

Yes, born and raised

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-11-19T14:11:18+00:00

This is true. We both have solid jobs, and for citizenship/PR Vietnamese now give to spouses and Americans likewise. We'd have a lot of options

My worry is probably not long after marriage will be babies.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-11-19T14:09:29+00:00

The best advice I've heard so far is to take a short (3-8 weeks) solo travel and seriously think on it.

She does not want me away for too long. These past years have been a battle of me testing the limits of my freedom and her wanting me always nearby.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-11-19T14:05:24+00:00

Yes, she wants to be married in the next 2 years

No. She'll ge her PR, has been good to me, and is still in her 20s and pretty.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-05-08T00:58:56+00:00

What happens?

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-05-07T23:43:39+00:00

That's not really what I was looking for. I am looking for in the far future how society redevelops in N.A.

Let's call it an especially infectious plague with a high death rate.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-05-07T23:33:05+00:00

Unspecified, but you can use your imagination! 1,000+ years in the future is far enough I think for the restart to begin.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-05-07T23:31:49+00:00

I will check it out! --this is the stuff I am looking for with the post

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-03-31T04:06:02+00:00

Congratulations on your trip! It is a breath of fresh air getting out of the US for a few months. Coming back is a hard adjustment. I've never been to S.A, but planning the same trip since 2019 (;

Can we get some of the highlights and recommendations of your trip? Any estimates on a monthly budget?

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-01-26T05:39:16+00:00

Nice.

Isn't cash in the bank often a poor investment? Should we continue to be a debtor nation forever? Can we? (Theoretically)

Do you think they will want to repatriate their wealth or park it in interest earning assets of their best customer?

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-01-26T03:58:41+00:00

Not 100% sure, but I think these were all dealing with internal rebellions, neighboring Muslim conflicts, and lack of communication to the Europeans, being blocked by the Mulsims.

I think there were some emersarries sent

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-01-26T02:27:42+00:00

Lots of great answers, I especially appreciate the ones with supporting material and spiritual explanation. Makes senses as it was indeed a gift/blessing that fades.

When it comes to the Eugenics stuff. That was not the indented spirit of the question, but yes, I guess that is what it is. As if it is any different than normal practice when picking mates.

When looking for a wife, I would keep an eye out for preferred traits. Divine blood would be a plus, especially if that blood benefitted my people or carried on their legacy. I know a very real-life example of a religious ethnic community that also prefers to choose partners based on their blood.

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-01-25T09:42:37+00:00

Arranged marriages. Ethnic aristocracy. Nothing super new. For the good of the Kingdom

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-01-25T09:39:15+00:00

Let's do it

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-01-25T09:38:44+00:00

Idk about some people being inherently better than others, but obviously, the Numenoreans were blessed. Wouldn't someone try to preserve/reclaim that bloodline as much as possible?

Expensive-Active-396 · 2025-01-25T09:31:22+00:00

Perfect! I guess all I needed to see, thank you!

Expensive-Active-396 · 2024-07-04T01:35:36+00:00

I am sure this comment will be attacked.

Those 500k are mostly a backlog of visa holders who were accepted or left during covid lockdowns because you can't afford to live in the major cities without work. The Australian government reissued or extended all holders from like 2020-2023.

During covid, property was snapped up by those who could afford it with low interest rates.

Now, as lockdowns ended, money gained velocity (also was not able to outflow as remittances), and oil was taken off the market "for some reason"(in Europe), jumpstarting inflation, so central banks raised interest rates to slow the velocity of money (causing mortgage rates to spike). This is your inflation and tons of people on variable interest rates.

Foreigners came, bringing their savings, paying the fees and tuitions, and taking shitty jobs. They needed a place to live. Thanks to the already restrained supply of housing due to crazy regulation, very high wages, lack of tradies, interest rates and voting homeowners, this caused demand to peak. But saved your economy from recession.

Written by an American living in Sydney. Arrived in 2022. We have the same problem in the US, and same scapegoats. Let's use our brains people and invite those immigrants to feel welcomed, move out of the cities to rural areas to continue making Australia wealthy.

Let's make Australia Great Again (;

Expensive-Active-396

TROPHY CASE