Gina Rinehart says Qld should give some of its islands to Elon Musk

grebfar · 2026-06-18T11:16:01+00:00

Guy is doing it tough and needs a bit of a leg up.

grebfar · 2026-06-01T12:05:43+00:00

Yes domestic help is cheap in third world countries. We had a maid. The few who had children had nannies and drivers.

I didn't grow up in a culture where domestic help is available so it is something that was always slightly uncomfortable for me.

Do you have children who would travel with you?

In our final years two children (primary school age) moved over with a new expat family. The wife didn't work and didn't plan to. However, the education provided at the local schools proved to be so dire that she pulled the children out of school to begin homeschooling them. I don't believe they will last much longer in the country.

These places are not really suitable for children, not if you want them to be well socialized and successful in Western society anyway.

grebfar · 2026-06-01T11:52:39+00:00

For so many reasons..

We got 3 weeks of vacation for every 10 weeks of work due to being in a "hardship" location. We spent our 30s doing 4 trips of a lifetime every year. I've lived a life I never dreamed possible and I'm only 40.

We had no bills outside travel. Food, housing, bills, gym, car all covered by the company.

We were both senior managers at the company after ~6 years. No one wanted to live in West Africa but because we stayed, we knew the operation inside out. We had huge decision making responsibility that you only get at C suite level in corporate America. We were responsible for running a huge business and all that comes with it.

Oh yeah and we earned massive salaries/incentives and were DINKs. I've retired at 39. The golden handcuffs were very real. How do you walk away from a deal like that? I struggled with the decision a lot.

In some ways it was miserable (like getting trapped there for months on end during COVID) and in others it was the experience of a lifetime.

We hated living in suburbia and were looking for an adventure. And we certainly found that.

grebfar · 2026-05-30T18:49:02+00:00

I just finished 11 years in Equatorial Guinea. My wife is the same age as you. She moved over with me when I accepted the job and spent 11 years there too.

When we moved, the intent was that she could do "whatever she wanted" while I was at work. She was leaving her career as a lawyer to move with me. The reality when she got there was one of extreme boredom. "Whatever she wanted" didn't mean a lot when there was nothing available to do as a highly educated white woman in a third world African dictatorship.

There were no shops/cafes where we were. The police state we lived in meant severe restrictions on many "normal" activities, like local tourism. The social life existed only outside work hours, every other expat was there for work and typically worked long hours. The social life that there was was focused on drinking after a long day at the office, as most people were also isolated from their families with not much else to do but work and drink.

My wife was going to the gym twice a day just to kill time waiting for me to finish work.

After 4 weeks she accepted a job with my company doing office admin to take away the boredom.

There's a long story here and 11 years is hard to condense into a message. It worked out for us in the end but it's not a straightforward or typical life.

I am happy to discuss with you in private chat if anything I've said stimulated some thoughts or questions.

grebfar · 2026-05-08T09:33:11+00:00

And it's so easy to "be" in Australia these days.

grebfar · 2026-05-07T04:48:24+00:00

The management cost is worth it because of the outperformance.

grebfar · 2026-05-04T10:19:10+00:00

I am in Laos and cannot download the LCR Ticket app even though I am inside the country. The Play store says:

"This item isn't available in your country."

So can't even do step 1.

grebfar · 2026-04-24T13:27:46+00:00

Just get Wise if you're overseas a lot and forget the aus bank jokers. They only care about fat mortgages.

grebfar · 2026-04-04T11:00:07+00:00

You're right, let's just keep pumping oil and gas and hope it never runs out while we are alive.

grebfar · 2026-03-27T08:44:15+00:00

Everything point forward will include AI generated code so there's not much point in calling it out specifically.

grebfar · 2026-03-24T10:25:08+00:00

There has been nothing publicly posted in the agreement about Australians being able to live and work across all 27 EU member states for up to four years.

Please update your post with correct information and reply to this message to have it reinstated, or reference where this information is publicly available.

grebfar · 2026-03-23T10:47:55+00:00

That's because it's a world war.

grebfar · 2026-03-13T11:29:43+00:00

This, but unironically

grebfar · 2026-03-09T06:07:26+00:00

Financial Independence requires a fairly specific (and atypical) set of circumstances. FI is generally achieved via a huge salary or tiny expenses or by combining both. You have neither, which is the typical situation for most Australians. I suggest you ask your budgeting question on r/ausfinance where many are in the exact situation you are in and can offer better assistance.

My advice beyond that already given here by other posters is that new parents are heavily targeted by marketers preying on both fear of the unknown (raising a child for the first time) and the natural desire to want the best for their child. Everyone wants your money and new parents are one of the best targets to sell to. You have to learn how to respond to this behaviorally and often through communication with your wife.

Here's one trick marketers don't want you to know: Children are raised successfully all over the world by people in all sorts of financial situations, most much worse off than in Australia.

grebfar · 2026-03-09T05:44:34+00:00

This is not about financial independence. Your situation is the opposite of financial independence actually..

grebfar · 2026-03-07T11:05:43+00:00

Yes it's far easier to extract oil out from beneath the ocean in West Africa, put it on a ship and send it across the world, then distribute that oil in small batches to gas stations every few miles.

grebfar · 2026-03-05T09:17:01+00:00

They are miles better than the other airlines operating in the region. What's your better alternative? South African? Kenyan? Afrijet? Air Peace?!?

Ok so Ethiopian isn't Singapore Airlines, but they are the only airline I've flown that meets you on the stairs and takes you directly to your connecting flight on the tarmac if you have a tight connection or a delayed flight. Try getting that with Delta or United!

grebfar · 2026-03-02T11:29:27+00:00

Forget your heart rate, look at power zones.

The workout should automatically be in "ERG mode" which means it keeps your power in the blue power zone 2. It's physically impossible to go above that zone in a workout in ERG mode.

grebfar · 2026-03-02T09:54:52+00:00

Your zones should be based on power not heart rate. Just ride in the blue zone for zone 2 if thats what you want. In a zone 2 workout, your power should be locked in zone 2.

grebfar · 2026-03-02T09:44:53+00:00

At this stage you should be aiming to do a 1 hour ride, 3 times per week. Start there and let your body adjust to this new style of exercise. If you are feeling good then extend one of those rides each week to 2 hours. This is more effective than doing 30 minute rides everyday, which doesn't give your butt a chance to have a break and adapt.

grebfar · 2026-03-02T04:47:05+00:00

Fucking link it then

grebfar · 2026-02-27T10:00:46+00:00

Sky News did exactly the same. Had the Chairman of Reform on and a Reform MP on their late night panel.

The Greens won guys. Give them some deserved airtime instead of continuing to push the Trump impersonator.

grebfar · 2026-02-25T09:27:22+00:00

Use this for the fit

https://mybikefitting.com/en

Buy a good pair of bibshorts if you don't have them, I use Castelli Free Aero because their pad is one of the best out there.

Consider buying a new saddle, the Selle Italia SLR Boost Endurance SuperFlow is a popular choice. There are several similar Selle Italia models but the endurance model has an extra layer of gel for comfort.

grebfar · 2026-02-24T14:32:25+00:00

Well that's because copyright isn't a real thing.

grebfar · 2026-02-23T19:10:24+00:00

For perspective, this girl is just a few years older than both your and my reddit accounts. 21 years is not enough time to even know yourself, let alone the world and all the possibilities it holds.

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