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Attn Kenny: your guide to Australian weather

jordyonbass

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Following your comment in your xmas food thread about which area of Australia has mild climate and close to ocean, I found this map of Australia that shows climatic conditions in different regions and what parts of the world they are most similar to.

When you asked what region of Australia has mild climate and close to ocean, I guessed you were wanting to compare California with somewhere in Australia so I suggested Melbourne as being most similar. The map backs that up :bigsmile:

20161228_040631.png
 

missy

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Jordy IMO you live in one of the best areas of the world. And I am not just saying that to butter you up in helping me move there due to you know who getting elected here. :lol:

Please hug your sweet cats for me. :kiss:
 

kenny

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Wow, cool map. Thanks.
I wanna move to the SW corner with the climate like So. California.

If you show me yours, I'll show you mine. ... :devil: :naughty:


Get your mind out of the gutter! ...... I'm talking about opals and FCD! :lol:
 

Matata

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Looks like SW Australia could become a facetnating place. (I know it's corny, but couldn't help myself.)
 

kenny

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Matata|1482867441|4109879 said:
Looks like SW Australia could become a facetnating place. (I know it's corny, but couldn't help myself.)

Well, there is that facet! :bigsmile:
 

jordyonbass

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I'll have to remember these puns, they are gems (I know, weeeeeak lol).

I need to go further south, it's getting too hot for lapidary in the summer here. Maybe I can move to Antarctica :lol:
 

jordyonbass

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missy|1482859738|4109860 said:
Jordy IMO you live in one of the best areas of the world. And I am not just saying that to butter you up in helping me move there due to you know who getting elected here. :lol:

Please hug your sweet cats for me. :kiss:

Haha!! I agree though that it is pretty awesome here; everything in the world that happens just seems like it is so far away - almost like it's all happening on another planet. The only thing is the cost of living here is insanely high, it's almost impossible to save money unless you make big $$ or live like a monk.

We are a country the same physical size as the US but with only 10% of the population. Plenty of wide open space here! :bigsmile:
 

kenny

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jordyonbass|1482877163|4109905 said:
missy|1482859738|4109860 said:
Jordy IMO you live in one of the best areas of the world. And I am not just saying that to butter you up in helping me move there due to you know who getting elected here. :lol:

Please hug your sweet cats for me. :kiss:

Haha!! I agree though that it is pretty awesome here; everything in the world that happens just seems like it is so far away - almost like it's all happening on another planet. The only thing is the cost of living here is insanely high, it's almost impossible to save money unless you make big $$ or live like a monk.

We are a country the same physical size as the US but with only 10% of the population. Plenty of wide open space here! :bigsmile:

So, high-supply & low-demand must mean cheap land & houses.
Right?
 

jordyonbass

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kenny|1482877283|4109906 said:
jordyonbass|1482877163|4109905 said:
missy|1482859738|4109860 said:
Jordy IMO you live in one of the best areas of the world. And I am not just saying that to butter you up in helping me move there due to you know who getting elected here. :lol:

Please hug your sweet cats for me. :kiss:

Haha!! I agree though that it is pretty awesome here; everything in the world that happens just seems like it is so far away - almost like it's all happening on another planet. The only thing is the cost of living here is insanely high, it's almost impossible to save money unless you make big $$ or live like a monk.

We are a country the same physical size as the US but with only 10% of the population. Plenty of wide open space here! :bigsmile:

So, high-supply & low-demand must mean cheap land & houses.
Right?

Well unfortunately most of the country is nearly inhospitable to a population of people, so not quite.
I think the average price for a 3 bedroom house with yard that is 30 minutes from Sydney is $1 million or possibly more than that.
 

kenny

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Wow!

First I was thinking with so much coastline there must be many places pleasant to live that are affordable.
But then it dawned on me we gotta work for a living ;( and jobs concentrate in big cities.

I think diamonds are WAY more expensive in Oz than USA.
If true, why?
Import duty? Luxury Tax? VAT?
Doesn't Argyle mine (famous for pinks) produce lots of white diamonds?
If so, do they just jack up the price of Oz diamonds to match the price of imports-after-tax?
 

jordyonbass

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Bingo; it's about living close to a big city if you want to make it in life with a career, I find that retirees are the people who will venture out of the cities into the more rural areas. The house pricing in Melbourne is much more affordable, you can get a house 30 mins out of the city for around $500k.
Here are some average costs and stuff; minimum wage is $17.70 per hour, low income earners make around $20/hour although there are trends with employers decreasing hourly rates for new staff, a pack of 20 cigarettes costs $20 and a box of 24 beers is $40-50.

And regarding Argyle diamonds, I am pretty sure they all go directly to De Beers so we are having to buy our own diamonds from overseas unless it's an Argyle tender stone, so all sorts if insane taxes etc will apply. I don't think it is price parody to be honest (unlike our gas system which is ridiculously profitable for oil companies). I am glad there is nothing like that happening with Lightning Ridge Opals, it would make buying rough opal very painful!
 

kenny

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Hmmm.

Long ago I saw a doc about people who dig out underground caves to live in where land is cheap since it's so hot.
It's way cooler than on the surface.
Was that Oz?

No windows of course, and I'd have uneasy associations with being 6 feet, or more, under.

Is it annoying/rude when we use the term, Oz?
 

jordyonbass

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That could be Coober Pedy, which is an Aboriginal term for 'Man in a Hole'. It's an opal mining town where many of the mines were turned into homes once they ran dry on opal. Fun fact; it is known in Australia as the town with the highest murder per capita rate.

And we use the term Oz but barely anyone uses that actual spelling, they usually just spell it Aus. So we aren't ozzies, we are Aussies :bigsmile:
But nobody calls this country Australia, people have recently begun spelling our country's name with a more phonetic approach: STRAYA
 

kenny

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jordyonbass|1482881601|4109932 said:
... Fun fact; it is known in Australia as the town with the highest murder per capita rate.

:o
Why?

Perhaps related to spending so much time 6 feet under?
 

jordyonbass

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Probably a mix of people getting opal fever, isolation and the fact that they are probably some of the best soundproofed homes in the world.

I think I may go fossicking at Lightning Ridge instead one day :lol:
 

Bron357

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Hi, also an Aussie - a Sydneysider (that Sydney NSW). Yes, diamonds are more expensive here and we have less choice. That's why I've been buying from the US for nearly 15 years. Much more choice and better pricing, except now our dollar is 72 cents to your US $1 and import taxes now all add up. Here in Aust our jewellers time costs more than the US as our wages are higher and the rents that stores pay are again much higher here than the US. Though we have lots of empty land, any land near a major city or centre is very very expensive. We live about 15kms (10 miles) from the Sydney CBD city centre. That's a 20 minute train ride. Our area isn't "fancy" we are "inner west" whereas "east" and "north" are "better" aka more expensive, yet an old 3 bedroom house on a 480sqm block (that's about 1/8 of an acre) 1 bathroom, no garage, no air con just sold for $2.210 million dollars. Yikes yes!
 

Dandi

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Wow, I knew Sydney was big bucks but that is insane Bron!! I'm on the surf coast about 40 minutes from Melbourne and average house prices here are around $650k, more if you want to be right on the beach.
 

jordyonbass

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DandiAndi|1482972194|4110191 said:
Wow, I knew Sydney was big bucks but that is insane Bron!! I'm on the surf coast about 40 minutes from Melbourne and average house prices here are around $650k, more if you want to be right on the beach.

My Mother in law used to be down that way near Ocean Grove and it seems to be a holiday and retiree area mostly, I think it's still competitively priced compared to places like Portsea or Port Stephens in NSW.

Where I am in the western suburbs of Melbourne (good old Wezza haha) the price of a standard 3 bedroom house is probably around $350-400 or so. But most properties are not suitable for me as I need a man-cave space and room for multiple vehicles and a boat that is too tall for many carports or garages
 

arkieb1

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It's been butt ugly hot just about everywhere in Australia (most states) at the moment.....

"Exclusive" suburbs, areas really close to the inner city and decent waterfront near cities cost a premium to live here just like the rest of the world.... Cars, clothing, food etc the general cost of living is higher than in the US because we have higher wages for all, and we have a different and better safety net for our social welfare and health care systems, we all pay more but it helps more people.
 

arkieb1

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kenny|1482867111|4109878 said:
Wow, cool map. Thanks.
I wanna move to the SW corner with the climate like So. California.

If you show me yours, I'll show you mine. ... :devil: :naughty:


Get your mind out of the gutter! ...... I'm talking about opals and FCD! :lol:

There isn't that much to do in the SW corner that is the problem..... All the main action is in Sydney or Melbourne, then Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth..... In Tasmania it was snowing just before Christmas and is more English looking than the rest of Australia and the Northern Territory is the extreme outback.
 

kenny

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arkieb1|1483065359|4110574 said:
kenny|1482867111|4109878 said:
Wow, cool map. Thanks.
I wanna move to the SW corner with the climate like So. California.

If you show me yours, I'll show you mine. ... :devil: :naughty:


Get your mind out of the gutter! ...... I'm talking about opals and FCD! :lol:

There isn't that much to do in the SW corner that is the problem..... All the main action is in Sydney or Melbourne, then Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth..... In Tasmania it was snowing just before Christmas and is more English looking than the rest of Australia and the Northern Territory is the extreme outback.

Hmm, actually I don't DO much.

Frankly I've been looking into Tasmaina.
More fantasy than reality.
 

arkieb1

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Up until a few years ago Tasmania was known as a cultural wasteland. They still have high unemployment down there, and it used to have a lot of what I would term mid Western US values. The rest of the country used to make up rather crude jokes about how stupid Tasmanians were..... But since they opened MONA, Hobart at least has undergone a cultural transformation/reinvention of itself.
 

jordyonbass

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arkieb1|1483277778|4111310 said:
Up until a few years ago Tasmania was known as a cultural wasteland. They still have high unemployment down there, and it used to have a lot of what I would term mid Western US values. The rest of the country used to make up rather crude jokes about how stupid Tasmanians were..... But since they opened MONA, Hobart at least has undergone a cultural transformation/reinvention of itself.

I never heard those jokes, I heard jokes about Tasmanians having a second head from being inbred.
When I was 17 I had an operation on my neck however there were complications and now I have a big scar where I was operated on. I am not one who is unable to take a swing at themselves so whenever someone asks what happened I say that I am Tasmanian and that's where my second head used to be :lol: :lol:
 
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