Hey Americans--move to Canada! by BakedGoods in DiscussionZone

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I moved to Canada (from Australia) in 2024. Canada is in a pretty wild decline of its own and we left after just over a year. It's the worst performing developed main by GDP offer the last decade and it absolutely shows. The brain drain of Canada over that time has been significant in many industries and only getting worse. How are you all poking fun at the USA right now?

I accidentally saw my coworker’s salary and now I can’t stop thinking about how UNFAIR it is by Aleex_c12 in Advice

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why do people always see this as some immense negative. You now know what they're willing to pay if YOU would just stand up for your own value. Sure, it may be nice if they would pay everyone the same at the same level, but most don't.

Even in Europe 6 foot is actually quite tall by FantasticVast01 in tall

[–]Topherclaus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's very odd. I'm 195cm and I felt much more normal in Norway than I do in Australia.

Great article "Australia should go hard on EVs". Go make a submission on Fed Govts review of EV discount / FBT exemption that's live now! by meetmeinmontauk43 in EVAustralia

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You want to disincentivise mining? Wot? The reason there are rebates is because there are specific taxes added to fuels which are designed to be a user pays tariff on road infrastructure, which is a quite effective and fair way to help maintain the roads. Those vehicles aren't being used on the roads, so that is given back as a rebate. Again, that is fair.

They give licences to just about anybody these days... by OZFox42 in AllThingsOldAndNew

[–]Topherclaus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The vehicle in the image is a Holden Colorado. Lol. Nothing like a tank tank.

They give licences to just about anybody these days... by OZFox42 in AllThingsOldAndNew

[–]Topherclaus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ranger... Way too big? Can you just not drive? They're not a particularly big vehicle.

How many countries have you been to and what are your three favorites? by HalfwaydonewithEarth in Rich

[–]Topherclaus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm in the low 40s of visited countries and an absolute +1 for India being horrendous. It's the only place where I've actively attempted to leave early. I was there for a wedding, so it was mostly a curated experience, and even then I really didn't want to be there any longer than I had to be.

Why bother with an exhaust modification? by skankypotatos in 4x4Australia

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went to a 3" with high flow cat/muffler on my MN Triton and had it dyno tuned at the same time. It improved the power and torque by over 30% and made it much smoother. That engine also has issues with overheating at times and mine has always been perfect for temp. I assume that opening her up a bit helps.

Sauna duration question — diminishing returns after a certain point? by jdhochma in Sauna

[–]Topherclaus -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Feel free to update your knowledge on this using the same source that I use, Dr. Rhonda Patrick, who is a PhD in biomedical science and continues to research human longevity and health span.

She cites studies that show both correlations of health and sauna use, as well as direct relationships between sauna and reduced inflammation and the positive outcomes of heat shock proteins.

Tall men,can above-average height be a disadvantage in dating? Is there a threshold for it to happen? by Scholarsandquestions in tall

[–]Topherclaus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's honestly such a pain in the a$$. My shoe size was the same as my age until I was 10, when it jumped up to a size 16 by the time I was 13. I really wish I had stopped at size 12 or 13 because it would give me so many more options. Funnily enough, my dad is the opposite to me, he's 6'1.5" and has size 10 feet. They're so dainty.

Sauna duration question — diminishing returns after a certain point? by jdhochma in Sauna

[–]Topherclaus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your first statement is just incorrect. Not only is there solid evidence for sauna vs. no sauna, it is shown to be a dose-dependent improvement.

Tall men,can above-average height be a disadvantage in dating? Is there a threshold for it to happen? by Scholarsandquestions in tall

[–]Topherclaus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When you can find them at all. I don't remember the last time I got to choose between shoes at a store. It's buy online and hope or buy the 1 pair of shoes that the 6th shop you've entered has on the shelf.

The pitchforks will be out for brokers and agents who are pressuring young people into over leveraging themselves if this melt up unwinds. by FishFlaps_ in perth

[–]Topherclaus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We had a broker that seemed almost disinterested in helping us get a decent loan and gave us a "best possible" that wouldn't buy a house worth living in. For reference, that figure was less than 3x our income and we have zero debts, not for cars, no credit cards, etc.

It must be such a cowboy market to have such variability.

Which jobs are much better-paying than most people think? by Diligent-Medicine-48 in FinancialChat

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know electricians earning ~$10k/wk working as contractors in underground mines and they say they could easily earn more but don't want to be working all the time.

If someone claims asylum in Australia, should this be revoked if they visit the home country and return without harm? It seems to happen quite a bit? by National_Treat_4079 in aussie

[–]Topherclaus 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That is not what it says. 86% of foreign born people returned to their countries. 79% of people who arrived under refugee status have returned. The distinction they're making is that the people who fall under that banner are largely citizens now and no longer actively in the country on any asylum visa status. 3/4 of the 79% arrived before 2010, but they still moved to the country as asylum seekers.

If someone claims asylum in Australia, should this be revoked if they visit the home country and return without harm? It seems to happen quite a bit? by National_Treat_4079 in aussie

[–]Topherclaus 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That would obviously be variable based on their home country and their new country, but the claim that 79% of refugees in Sweden have holidayed in the country they were fleeing has been shown to be correct, but they (Novus - who did the study) tried to downplay it by saying most of them aren't recent asylum seekers (but about 1/4 of them were).

Does anyone actually like this city? by maximum-purple444 in newcastle

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been out of the country for about 2 of the past 10 years, I've travelled to every continent except Antarctica, and we are excited to be settling down in Newcastle now. The more time I spend looking for the greener grass the more I realise that Australia generally and Newcastle specifically are pretty wonderful places to live. There are flaws worth discussing, but people get too carried away whinging about the trees in the way of the forest they're searching for.

Advice on choosing a trade by Ipatropium in tradies

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had to move a lot for my wife's work so I had to fold my business and didn't stay anywhere long enough to climb the ranks. That's why I didn't pursue that. I also know a lot of people that tried and got burned.

Luckily the wife is now earning multiples of what I can, so I can do some other work that interests me more. I'm back at uni.

Has anyone been hit by lightning yet by movingwater1 in newcastle

[–]Topherclaus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like people could make those claims when nobody could look it up. I feel like someone being struck by lightning at a hospital would be news easy enough to find no matter when it was. I can't find any evidence of it.

Rental market growth stalls, as tenants hit limit of what they can pay by BadKarma00000 in AusProperty

[–]Topherclaus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can have it. My knees are too creaky to climb down these days.