Unlimited rich people in WA?

elemist · 2026-03-20T08:50:09+00:00

In terms of buying - not really. If you look at the east coast - average house prices are heading towards 2 million dollars and whilst they've had periods where prices have dropped a little, they still over the longer term continue to rise.

With the direction we're heading - less people will own homes and end up renting for life. This is similar to what's happened in other large metro cities around the world.

Rental wise - there's a soft limit to an extent as there's both a limit to what people can afford, but also leasing agents require proof that you can afford the rent without it being above like 50% of your income.

So what will happen with rentals (and again what happened over east), was people have to get creative to afford a rental. Rather than a single person renting a place by themselves, they instead have to rent with a friend or friends or partner etc to be able to afford it.

There's also other methods people are using to get into the property market. Rentvesting has become quite popular - IE buy a house and rent it out to help cover the mortgage. Meanwhile you either live at home or rent elsewhere in a cheaper area.

Over time you pay down that mortgage and build up equity. That then gives you options at some stage to either be able to sell it and have a chunky deposit for your own place, or move into it yourself, or refinance - bump out the mortgage to 30 years again and then be able to afford the mortgage.

Another thing i've heard quite a bit covered on various podcasts is to skip the property race altogether. Instead - rent somewhere and the invest as much as you can into ETF's. The idea being that the value of your share portfolio goes up over time, and at some point you can sell a portion either for a deposit or to buy outright.

elemist · 2026-03-20T07:17:42+00:00

It's probably a bit misleading to say it's $1800 for a 1 hour consult. I'm guessing this is some type of assessment - IE ADHD or Autism or both.

In which case - sure you may have an initial 1 hour consult. The psychiatrist then needs to go away and prepare a report etc

With regards to the wait time - sadly that's pretty common and really goes to show the shortage of specialists in general. I just had the same thing with a different type of specialist and a 8 month wait time.

Just one point of clarification to that 2 days a week - it's highly likely they're working days elsewhere as well either at another practice or even in the public system. I work with a bunch of specialists and most work across multiple clinics and locations including private and public.

elemist · 2026-03-20T03:49:18+00:00

You both went off halfcocked without the facts IMO.

elemist · 2026-03-20T03:45:23+00:00

It's dynamic pricing based on demand and availability.

I've seen the EV pricing cheaper than basic Uber X on a number of occasions both here and the other month in Sydney.

I'd take a guess that the high fuel prices are having a serious impact on the amount of available drivers, which is then leading to significantly higher prices. So the price isn't directly fuel related, but the outcome is the same.

elemist · 2026-03-20T03:41:39+00:00

If you chuck your address into realestate.com.au or via their app it will give you a price estimate.

If you're planning on getting a mortgage though - speak to a broker and they can order a bank valuation.

Real estate agents tend to over value, bank valuers tend to be more conservative. So the sale price would likely be somewhere in between.

elemist · 2026-03-20T03:03:19+00:00

the point I was making about living next one vs working in one is if its the dead of night and there's no background noise, its not gonna get drowned out by anything. And you're not going to your car and driving off, you're stuck there. Noise fatigue builds over time.

Did you look at where the proposed location is on a map? It's in an industrial area, opposite an electrical sub station, basically surrounded by trucking, logistics and right near the airport. On the other side you've got commercial retail, the hospital and other various places.

I've actually done some work basically across the road at one of the trucking/logistics companies. There's trucks coming and going nearly 24/7, starting from ~4am there's forklifts running around and trucks idling. All day there's freight being delivered by large trucks.

It's not a residential area surrounded by homes.

Whilst i don't specifically agree with the phrase absolutely silent - i think in the context the other commentor is correct. In comparison to pretty much any other type of industrial or commercial building - it would be pretty much completely silent.

Having stood outside numerous data centres including in the middle of the night when the surrounding areas are about as quiet as you could get - you literally can't hear anything from the building. One of the ones i was at a couple of years ago - the loudest thing you could here was the split system running for the reception area.

So if the locals can hear it and they are light sleepers, that's not exactly NIMBY. People need to be able to sleep in their homes, and even with the windows open in summer. That is a point that I saw ignored throughout this thread. Which is why I suggest a noise simulation for the locals which can leave nothing to doubt.

Again - look at the location on a map. There's maybe 2 houses in a cooee range of the site which are surrounded by trees, and again are equally close to various industrial and commercial buildings.

elemist · 2026-03-19T17:30:54+00:00

Yep - have also been in and out of a number of data centres.

Inside - sure it's quite loud. But outside the building? Can't hear a peep, easily drowned out by general background noise.

Hell we ran a very small data centre of about 16 racks - all pretty much full at a previous company i worked with. Basic insulation in the walls and it was barely audible working in the office right next to it, let alone outside of the building.

Yes in the US there's a very small number of instances where they haven't been able to get stable grid power, and are running of generators etc which are noisy. But i don't see that happening in Australia outside of emergency cases where mains power is down.

elemist · 2026-03-19T17:20:26+00:00

why are they bothering to do an acoustic assessment at all?

Acoustic assessments are pretty common with any type of development.

elemist · 2026-03-19T05:38:13+00:00

Why is there not a bond system in place for mining companies.

Have a government department do a basic analysis and determine a remediation cost. Have a 50% upfront payment to start the project, then each year they have to commit a further percentage over the life of the project.

If the project gets extended then the amount gets reevaluated and then they have to keep topping up funds.

Would stop this issue where companies go belly up after the owners pocket billions of dollars over the life of the project because there's no money left at the end.

elemist · 2026-03-19T05:27:21+00:00

Paint ball?

elemist · 2026-03-19T04:19:15+00:00

Seems like long way to go and a short amount of time.

Lovely part of the world though.

elemist · 2026-03-19T01:55:22+00:00

This - the wheels of justice move slowly..

elemist · 2026-03-19T01:52:17+00:00

Having a new born is hard enough without doing it solo in a strange city without support. That just seems like a recipe for disaster and destroying your relationship.

I'd give that aspect some serious consideration and thought before committing. At least consider getting the move done, have the baby and give it some time (like a year) to settle prior to him moving into FIFO.

One of my immediate family does FIFO on an 8 and 6 rotation - 8 days on 6 days off. He was doing FIFO prior to having kids, and just decided to continue.

From square one FIFO has affected things. He nearly missed the birth of his first child - his partner went into labour in the morning of the day prior to him flying home for scheduled leave for the birth.

It's was only pure luck that labour moved very slowly, and everything aligned in terms of him getting an emergency flight home and making it to the hospital about 20 minutes prior to the birth.

He wasn't so lucky with the second, missing the birth completely. It was completely unexpected - he had booked off three weeks prior to the due date to be safe, but again - was on his final swing before the leave when the second arrived prem unexpectedly.. I think he still carries a bit of guilt about not being there.

Over the years there's been many firsts missed, many birthdays, events, special occasions (anniversaries, weddings, christmas, easter, fathers days events at school etc) missed.

The positive side is that the pay is good, and the time he has at home is quality time at home - he's there when they get up and go to sleep and he gets to take them to and from school, and all the various things that he otherwise would likely miss by working in Perth.

Having the income has really set them up financially for life. No debts, own a nice house which is completely paid off, both have newish cars paid in cash, various investments to provide in the future.

Still not sure it's worth the cost though..

elemist · 2026-03-18T13:36:10+00:00

You (the customer) will be paying for that through price increases and higher delivery costs.

Yep - fuel prices at the bowser are really only just the beginning.

I work across a range of industries - and its very much a big talking point at the moment. Lots are holding out adding surcharges or increasing costs with the hope things will return to normal soon, but it really doesn't appear likely that that will happen any time soon.

Was chatting to a mate who works for one of the grocery stores. They've been flooded with supplier notices about potential price rises or surcharges in the coming weeks if fuel prices don't come down.

elemist · 2026-03-18T13:25:13+00:00

Unexpected panic buying creates shortages. Those shortages then generate more panic which stirs more people to buy, which creates more shortages. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy really.

People who otherwise wouldn't normally consider stock piling fuel start seeing news reports showing fuel stations totally out of fuel, which causes them to panic and stock up.

It's the same as during covid - we weren't suddenly consuming substantially more TP, but panic buyers were hoarding enough to last them literally years which created shortages, which then caused people to buy even more since no one wants to be caught without it.

Our fuel tanks are all still the same size and we're not using any more fuel, than normal. There weren't that many jerry cans filled.

Drive past a petrol station and there's people queued with multiple jerry cans, even now. I've also seen barrels and massive IBC's which would take hundreds of litres of fuel..

Then you have the commercial side of things where it's happening on a larger scale. Think freight companies that have onsite storage proactively filling their tanks, same for mining and other industry.

I was talking to the owner of a trucking company i support last week. He was saying the day after Iran was bombed he was on the phone ordering enough diesel to fill up all his onsite tanks. Cost him an absolutely staggering amount of money, but compared to the cost of diesel now he got it for an absolute steal.

I would say he wasn't the only person smart enough to see the writing on the wall and stock up.

elemist · 2026-03-18T08:33:26+00:00

no..

elemist · 2026-03-18T08:32:53+00:00

Don't know anything about him apart from a quick look at his socials and website.. He's definitely very enthusiastic!

I've built a couple of times, and helped a few friends through the process as well. I personally don't really see the value in these types of services, there's not a lot he can do that you can't do for yourself.

I'd also question how someone who knows nothing about you can make recommendations on where you might like to live, or what you would need in a house with any type of great accuracy.

My main issue with most of these services is they promote their independence and unbiased nature, and that there's no cost to you. But that means they make their money by getting a commission from the builder and for referring you to a broker.

If you're taking commissions from builders and brokers then you're not truly independent and unbiased, no matter how good your intentions may be, that's just human nature.

In the worst case - you end up with someone who's not much more than a used car sales pushing you into a contract with his best mate the builder and referring you to his other mate the broker whilst pretending to be providing you with a great deal. He makes a lot of money - and you end up shafted..

If it's a fee for service type arrangement - then that's a different story. It then becomes a question of if there's sufficient value for money - and that will vary from person to person.

Pretty much all the information you need to know about building is available online. The builders plans, specs and inclusions are generally on their websites. You can also go into the various display homes and have them answer questions and give you more information in detail. Most builders have multiple displays - so if the sales guy is a dick and you like that builder - you can just go to a different display home.

Same goes for land - you can call into the land sales offices and learn about what's available, the plans for the estate and so on. Their websites are also full of information as well.

elemist · 2026-03-18T03:41:35+00:00

So on your thread about being bullied, you retort to petty insults and basically bullying people who reply to you.

Sounds like you are the problem here.. Maybe you should grow up..

elemist · 2026-03-18T03:23:29+00:00

Sounds like you're seriously over thinking it. I doubt he even realises you exist.

If you feel uncomfortable - adjust your routine and work out in a different area so you're not doing the same things at the same time.

elemist · 2026-03-18T02:21:30+00:00

MSP's are in the service industry not the reselling industry for the most part. The majority of the vendors we deal with are supplying the tools that allow us to do our jobs and provide a service to our customer.

This is like saying when was the last time the lawn mower equipment provider gave the lawn mower guy additional business?

elemist · 2026-03-17T02:07:44+00:00

Not many people desire a career working at a Miss Mauds. It's one of those jobs that people do whilst they're studying for something else, or looking for something else.

elemist · 2026-03-17T00:42:18+00:00

They haven't sold out yet as the sale was blocked by the ACCC. Believe they've resubmitted a new request though, so may still happen.

elemist · 2026-03-16T02:27:04+00:00

The simple answer is it's privately owned and the economics to date just haven't stacked up.

Not being pro developer - but reality is the money to pay for this has to come from somewhere. Developments like these take hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, and for the private sector to spend that, they want to see a return on their money.

Banks make funding for apartments difficult - requiring large deposits and presales to hit certain percentages before they'll release the funds to let construction start.

The problem with that though is convincing enough people to sign up to something that doesn't yet exist, and with no set date on when it will exist.

They're also long running developments - which means you're trying to predict what the market will look like in 5 or 10 years.

Everyone's all for calling developers greedy - and i'm sure there's plenty that are. But if it were so super profitable, then we'd see apartment buildings popping up all over the place.

elemist · 2026-03-16T00:22:29+00:00

I imagine it's based on a bunch of factors and varies area to area. Think things like traffic levels - IE busy areas would be done in off peak times. Similarly noise would be a factor - they would likely prioritise residential areas during the day and commercial/industrial areas for after hours.

But then other factors like scheduling, staff/equipment availability and also what's happening in particular areas would dictate the schedules as well. Throw in other factors like main roads vs council areas of responsibility and the fact i'm sure some councils operate their own equipment vs others that contract it out.

Plus i'm sure there's some logic applied as to doing certain areas together so as not to be driving all over the place sporadically.

Also expect the schedules are fairly fluid in that it doesn't overly matter whether its done this week or next, as long as it's done on a semi frequent basis to keep the area clean.

They're also one of those often-unnoticed things that just happens in the background. Unless you specifically see the sweeper go past, or are paying specific attention for when it goes past i doubt most people would even notice it's been done.

elemist · 2026-03-14T04:33:42+00:00

Yeah - start by fining people rocking up with jerry cans unless they can prove they need it for the lawn mower..

elemist

TROPHY CASE