FlySurfer said...

flanagaj said...
I was quite surprised that IT contract work will pay ~250k. based on that figure a rent of 3-4k / month is doable.

Panda's dreaming... A Togaf Enterprise Architect could command that, or a Certified Solution Architect could have in 2007 and 2010.
Now for a SA you're looking at $120k, or $80/hr.

On the IT theme think of Sydney like this: Sydney used to be a nice server, 32GB RAM, 4 core, etc. Then a retard discovered VMWare, and figured he could just create 4 virtual servers with the same spec., and quadruple the capacity.
So it's an over subscribed wreck.

I worked for a week in London (Canary Warf) this year... took me 1 days to find the job, still have an Ltd over there. Jubilee line worked like clock work.
I so wish it was that easy here.

LOL the vmware analogy. Not far from it though.
Yes more like $125-150k tops, not that many of the aforementioned $250k.
Anyways for every togaf and arch. position, there are 100 doers (or would-be doers) earning a lot less. Some may not even be able to afford a horse.

The London market was inflated a bit by the olympic boom, will return to normal.
However it's a good example of a place you go to to have a good time and enjoy, not sustain the lifestyle and make money. Had a ball there too.

^ Actually that is quite do-able. Especially if you live at the southern end of the gold coast. You have possibly the two best airports to commute via swell; Coollongatta is 5 minutes from you car door to the plane door, and Sydney is 15 minutes by train to the CBD. ~$200 return.

Mark _australia said...
I love how Perth is criticised for being boring blah blah by all you easterners

But I can think of a number of suburbs that would have all that and be a 20min commute to CBD (non peak hour), plus have option of world class wavesailing 1hr away, or river and ocean sailing within 20min of home.

I love the boring underdeveloped backwater.

I'll get there eventually.

Mark _australia said...
I love how Perth is criticised for being boring blah blah by all you easterners

But I can think of a number of suburbs that would have all that and be a 20min commute to CBD (non peak hour), plus have option of world class wavesailing 1hr away, or river and ocean sailing within 20min of home.

I love the boring underdeveloped backwater.

Where is this magical place you speak of?
20 minute commute to the city, where you can have horses AND are close to the beach.
The only place I can think of that ticks these boxes is the Claremont show grounds!

Ian K said...
You want a short commute to work. You might sail 50 days a year but work 250, an IT guy can tell you that your travel time is a minimum when you select a house at a point 5 times the distance from the sailing location as it is from work.

Canberra is your best option. I lived there for 3 decades. Plenty of IT jobs with flexible work hours. Take the day off when a noreaster is forecast and drive 2.5 hours to the coast. The lake is very central for a lunch break blast in a howling westerly or for an easterly after work. I used to work 1 minute from the lake!

You should be able to get a place for $500 a week 15 minutes from work.

Plenty of places you can hire a horse for the day. Some folks own their own horse, but driving out to a nearby paddock with a bale of hay every morning seems to be a bit of a chore.


edit
Yes Mark's got a point, Perth. If you can ride a horse you can ride a camel.

Ian, is that really the case? I tried to find work in Canberra for a bit of a change, and found it quiet difficult. Maybe it was my skills, or the time I looked, but it was more difficult than I expected.

Similarly for housing, it sounds like (I haven't actually tried) that the rental market there is tight, and houses are expensive.

]FormulaNova said...

Ian, is that really the case? I tried to find work in Canberra for a bit of a change, and found it quiet difficult. Maybe it was my skills, or the time I looked, but it was more difficult than I expected.

Similarly for housing, it sounds like (I haven't actually tried) that the rental market there is tight, and houses are expensive.

Definitely plenty of IT going on, maybe the turnover is slow. CSIRO alone had 100 - 200 and they had to make exceptions to the pay scales. Scientists' salaries just didn't crack it for IT guys. Houses are definitely about for <$500, get snapped up quickly though.

evlPanda said...

Ian K said...
<snip>

Canberra is very popular with people that live there. They love it. There's no traffic. It has nice trees. It's good if you like starting work at 7am, Soviet architecture and packed lunches. There is nothing awful nor great in Canberra. Perhaps Mooseheads. It's currently 8.30am two weeks before an Australian Christmas and it's 13 degrees in Canberra. It'll probably hit 40 by the end of the week. The water feature has been turned down due to the bacteria spraying over passers by. Mmmmm... Canberra.
<snip>

It's not Canberra at fault, its this weather pattern. On the coast in Sydney, its exactly the same, although not quite so cold.

One thing I would love about Canberra is lack of humidity. 40 degrees and no humidity is much better than 27 degress and high humidity.

tmurray said...

Mark _australia said...
I love how Perth is criticised for being boring blah blah by all you easterners

But I can think of a number of suburbs that would have all that and be a 20min commute to CBD (non peak hour), plus have option of world class wavesailing 1hr away, or river and ocean sailing within 20min of home.

I love the boring underdeveloped backwater.

Where is this magical place you speak of?
20 minute commute to the city, where you can have horses AND are close to the beach.
The only place I can think of that ticks these boxes is the Claremont show grounds!

I don't think anywhere is close to CBD and you can have horses where you live (ie in your yard) and be on the beach.

However for a short drive to work, a short drive for missus to the horse, and short drive for windsurf, anything within 15mins east or 20mins south of Perth CBD can have you to up to Roe Hwy x Kalamunda Rd or eastern end of Welshpool Rd area for horses pretty quick.

EG: Willetton, Leeming or Bullcreek. Average $500K house, 15min to Freo, 10min to river sailing, 20min to CBD (off peak), 15min on Roe Hwy to horses. 5mins (in peak hour) to get to a train station. Try that in Sydney.

I've done time in Sydney...

Terry Hills and Ingleside on the North Shore probably ticks the boxes.
1. Scooter / motorbike ride down Forest Way, Wakehurst Parkway (South) into Seaforth, and then you get the use of the Transit Lanes. So it's quite commutable. You could also drive down to Seaforth, and then buses form there... But that would be slower... (this is better than a Woolongong Commute... which would be 1.5hrs++
2. Northern Beaches, Pittwater, and Narrabeen Lakes are all good windsurfing options. Plus Longreef.
3. There is some horse 'action' through this zone... and dedicated horse trails... hore hire... stables... have a look on Google, and Google Maps.
4. Northshore Schools are good.
5. Rent will be half reasonable through there. Lower North Shore and Northern Beaches are more expensive.

Belrose could also be an option... St Ives...
Or Warriewood on the Beaches... Only a short commute to horse activities.

Randwick, Paddington, St. Ives.
...All affordable suburbs.

Realistically, something like this in Randwick is perhaps a best option.
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-randwick-409340343

Note that we looked through a few houses like this earlier this year. They look a lot better in the photos. We decided the kids would be too scared to live in the ones we saw. They feel haunted. Haven't been touched in 50 years most of them.

Prices in Sydney are insane.

evlPanda said...
Randwick, Paddington, St. Ives.
...All affordable suburbs != Prices in Sydney are insane.

Lay off the hooch.

Perth is good

Mark _australia said...
I love how Perth is criticised for being boring blah blah by all you easterners

But I can think of a number of suburbs that would have all that and be a 20min commute to CBD (non peak hour), plus have option of world class wavesailing 1hr away, or river and ocean sailing within 20min of home.

I love the boring underdeveloped backwater.

shhhhhhh................

flanagaj said...
To be honest I am bored sh!tless of IT and am only considering the major cities as a result of that is where the work is.

In a past life I was a furniture maker / kitchen maker, but I doubt whether that will actually help my cause?

brisbane you might be able to do...

actiomax said...
I know you said rent but there is two lots of acreage for sale at frenches forest that i know of 5 acres 2 old weatherboard houses right above kimbricky tip but does have magnifacent ocean views or 7 acreas with mansion which i imagine has ocean views also . you could fit a couple of horses on them mate .I know its starting to get a bit further but dural has plenty of acreage & its not that bad into town from there 40min to airport when lucky

You'd probably need a million or two to buy land of that size around Frenchs Forest. However if you lived there for a few years and become friendly with some local councillors there is a fair chance you could get your money back plus some after the land is rezoned for you.

flanagaj said...
To be honest I am bored sh!tless of IT and am only considering the major cities as a result of that is where the work is.

In a past life I was a furniture maker / kitchen maker, but I doubt whether that will actually help my cause?

Actually you'd be very surprised. My wife's friend's husband is an Irish farmer (he has cows and he's proud of them), he came over here to help out his brother doing carpentry and he's making a killing. He's clearing over $900 a day and works every day.