White Dove wrote on Aug 18^th, 2010 at 10:20pm:



He really lived in a car? That's inspiring..

I am going to keep doing what I do now,which is a bit of everything.

I do photography, tarot reading/spells etc  and I am also a cook.

Well thanks for everyone's input it has been interesting that last post by Equitist made me think and now I am kinda confused hahaha

LOL, Brandy - perhaps an extended working holiday is what you need at this point in your life - maybe as a backpacker!?

Meantime, I wanted to emphasise the transport and health issues a little more...

In the past 6 months, my car's odometer (not to mention my hip pocket) indicates that I have travelled by car an average of just over 90km per day - much of this has been to access health services...

I travel to Sydney several times a year (much less now than we did when we first moved up here) and compared to Sydney petrol prices, we tend to pay about 10 cents per litre more (rarely, the difference is as little as 5 cents) - and that difference really adds up over a year...

We live about 110km from Sydney - not far in theory but it is a costly, time-consuming and tiring day trip away...

Twice as far, and you'd need to consider overnight travel - for yourself and any visitors - which effectively wipes out a whole weekend for both parties and is therefore logistically challenging...

I have childless friends who live in the Sydney CBD, who wanted some balance in life and bought an acreage in Mudgee about 3 years ago - it is now on the market because the realities of their lives (especially their work) mean that they only manage to get up there a few times a year. They also intend to sell their city unit and buy a house in the Burbs!

I have known several people who have communted to Sydney for work - at enormous expense and detriment to their health...

Where we live, transport logistics are a real challenge: bus services are few and far between - often not going anywhere near most of the places that one needs to go on a weekly basis (or requiring several indirect changes)...

Oh, and there is just one bus out of the area on a Sunday - and the first one back comes on Monday morning...

Anyways, don't let anyone put you off - just think a bit more about what you really want out of the next couple of years and beyond...

I guess it depends on what I want in future.. I have nothing holding me back if I leave but I do need to think long and hard about this and try not to be so impulsive. 

iamtheman012 wrote on Aug 18^th, 2010 at 10:08pm:

Yes lots of bike gangs there.
For start you can by one bed unit, its not so expensive, and after while progress to something bigger.

Basically, I was trying to say that: housing costs should be a minor consideration in the overall scheme of things - and that one should not undervalue the importance of one's social support networks, when making major life decisions...

Oh, and to point out that: many people both under-estimate transport costs and logistical challenges and over-estimate employment prospects outside metropolitan areas...


PS I would add that: affordable 1-2 bedroom units are NOT generally found in safe and secure neighbourhoods. Not sure how common they are outside major metropolitan areas either!

Quote:


Not true. I could find a tonne of cheap as chips flats in Dubbo/Orange etc in no time at all in alright neighbourhoods. If your primary interest is to save money, rural areas are the way to go. Just don't move until you've secured employment.