Down Under In Australia

[Bails]

I am here because I noticed the site at the bottom of another board I belong to, so I suppose that sort of referral works. I am probably here also under false pretense , as I don't want to retire as I really like working, this might change but for now my goal is to live till 85 and then fall off my R1200 RT and die. I have curious mind , work in a related industry, and I probably watch Bloomberg CNBC more than most US citizens . I particularly like to talk to real people as I find media distorts most issues, bulletin board are a neat way to do this.

Anyway if anyone wants to know what the weather is like in Australia please feel free to ask.

 

[bssc]

Hi and welcome.

Well, if you don't retire, you can discuss not wasting money. I suspect that since you are in Wollongong, your temps don't change too much because of your proximity to water. Of course, you will have to convert it from Celsius to Fahrenheit for us Americans.

 

[ERD50]

Welcome! I think a lot of people right now are pre-occupied with the hurricane hitting in the south. I'm far from it, I think I'll go turn on the news and check up a bit more.

You might get some people who disagree, but I say if you don't want to retire early, good for you! I know people who could, but don't. They get a kick out of their job, they enjoy it, so do what you want. My job got frustrating, so I left when I could. I'm enjoying that.

From what I know, you Aussie's are an independent bunch, it's not like anyone is going to tell you what to do anyhow! Still plenty of varied conversations on this board ( it's silly season for our politics, so excuse us for that).

R1200 RT - had to google that! Enjoy, be careful so you make it to 85!

I particularly like to talk to real people as I find media distorts most issues, bulletin board are a neat way to do this.

Yep, why have the media distort the facts when you can have it distorted three different ways by real people!

-ERD50

 

[bbbamI]

I get my news from The Daily Show...with Jon Stewart.

Oh yeah...welcome to the forum!

 

[Bails]

Thanks for the welcome folks. I actually live on the beach at a place called Shellharbour, well not on the beach, takes me 5 minutes walk. Autumn here at the moment, went for ride , See the Blue bike, that's mine with a different colour, And it was very warm about 95 Degrees ,for the Americans. We get a lot of news about the US, also your election news, must be the longest method of getting some one to power in the world, I just wish it was over and done with so we can have something more interesting in our news.I haven't been to the states since 2000, must be getting near the time to visit again. When I was there last our dollar was worth nearly half 56 cents US purchased an Australian dollar. Well I've just watched Australia get walloped by the Kiwi's in the Rugby, so I'm off to bed, as I have a late night tomorrow watching the MotoGP in America at Indianapolis for the first time.

 

[Dawg52]

Thanks for the welcome folks. I actually live on the beach at a place called Shellharbour, well not on the beach, takes me 5 minutes walk. Autumn here at the moment, went for ride , See the Blue bike, that's mine with a different colour, And it was very warm about 95 Degrees ,for the Americans. We get a lot of news about the US, also your election news, must be the longest method of getting some one to power in the world, I just wish it was over and done with so we can have something more interesting in our news.I haven't been to the states since 2000, must be getting near the time to visit again. When I was there last our dollar was worth nearly half 56 cents US purchased an Australian dollar. Well I've just watched Australia get walloped by the Kiwi's in the Rugby, so I'm off to bed, as I have a late night tomorrow watching the MotoGP in America at Indianapolis for the first time.

Welcome mate! Your correct about our long election process. Gets pretty tiring for us also.

 

[rs0460a]

Anyway if anyone wants to know what the weather is like in Australia please feel free to ask.

Right now, Sydney is at 73 (degrees) with a projected high of 75, low of 53 (degrees).

Why do I know? I keep the Sidney weather on my desktop since my DW/me will be traveling "down under" in June of '09 (reservations are already made).

Welcome, mate!

- Ron

 

[Alan]

Welcome Bails. I've actually been to Wollongong and Shell Harbour. I have a an aunt plus a couple of cousins and their families who live in W. Dapto and have visited them twice. I also have a brother and his family in McKay and Brisbane. Needless to say I love Australia.

Please do contribute to the forum, it's always good to have a wide variety of experiences on the forum.

 

[MGYog]

Well I've just watched Australia get walloped by the Kiwi's in the Rugby, so I'm off to bed, as I have a late night tomorrow watching the MotoGP in America at Indianapolis for the first time.

Welcome, Bails. What do you think of the Kiwi Team - All Blacks? I have been fascinated by their welcome for all their opponents. Great showmanship, but can they play rugby?

YouTube - All Blacks

 

[Bails]

Welcome, Bails. What do you think of the Kiwi Team - All Blacks? I have been fascinated by their welcome for all their opponents. Great showmanship, but can they play rugby?

YouTube - All Blacks

They are in the top three teams , Rugby is a world sport, not like "Grid Iron" .So If I was to select the top three teams at he moment, I'd say NZ South Africa and Australia. By the way in the play offs the Kiwi's won. It interests me that the small nations can present such strong teams, New Zealand as a country has less population than most cities of the world.

 

[Alan]

They are in the top three teams , Rugby is a world sport, not like "Grid Iron" .So If I was to select the top three teams at he moment, I'd say NZ South Africa and Australia. By the way in the play offs the Kiwi's won. It interests me that the small nations can present such strong teams, New Zealand as a country has less population than most cities of the world.

What else is there to do but outdoor sports? May be they practice by using sheep instead of a ball to build their strength.

 

[Bails]

What else is there to do but outdoor sports? May be they practice by using sheep instead of a ball to build their strength.

It is often implied that Kiwi's do other things with sheep , but we won't go there ! One must remember the Maori were the only indigenous people that the British signed a piece treaty with, that was after they gave them a couple of good hidings in war. The Kiwi's are great folk , they even beat the USA in canoe racing , America's cup I believe it is called ?

If you want vast with nothing to do then I suggest that the West Australian state is a place to visit. One of the few frontier places left on earth were it isn't freezing.

 

[Dawg52]

Welcome, Bails. What do you think of the Kiwi Team - All Blacks? I have been fascinated by their welcome for all their opponents. Great showmanship, but can they play rugby?

YouTube - All Blacks

LOL. The other team look like they wish they were somewhere else.

 

[Alan]

If you want vast with nothing to do then I suggest that the West Australian state is a place to visit. One of the few frontier places left on earth were it isn't freezing.

So I gather. A cousin of mine spent 2 years in Dampier and hated it - couldn't wait to get back to W Dapto. (Her husband had a 2 year assignment which he declined to extend).

I really like the state of Queensland where my brother lives, although the twice we've been over has been in the winter when the weather has been beautiful both times.

 

[Finance Dave]

I am here because I noticed the site at the bottom of another board I belong to, so I suppose that sort of referral works. I am probably here also under false pretense , as I don't want to retire as I really like working, this might change but for now my goal is to live till 85 and then fall off my R1200 RT and die. I have curious mind , work in a related industry, and I probably watch Bloomberg CNBC more than most US citizens . I particularly like to talk to real people as I find media distorts most issues, bulletin board are a neat way to do this.

Anyway if anyone wants to know what the weather is like in Australia please feel free to ask.

hi and welcome. I'm going from US to Aus on business in November, my first time there (Melbourne).

 

[Bails]

hi and welcome. I'm going from US to Aus on business in November, my first time there (Melbourne).

I'm off to Melbourne by Motorbike Next week, going to the MotoGP.

 

[Rambler]

hi and welcome. I'm going from US to Aus on business in November, my first time there (Melbourne).

Great place, Melbourne. I've always liked it better than Sydney, just personal preference. The people there seem friendlier. However, I have always felt that downtown kinda shuts down around 6pm, so there's not much shopping (I like to visit bookstores after business hours for English reading materials that are hard to get here...). Been to a few really nice steakhouses in the 'burbs, where they bring a tray of raw meat for you to choose from, seen a few sharp looking whitepointers lying out on the beach, been out to the peninsula with a mate of mine and his DW and DD. Got some good friends and lots of fond memories there, too. Yup, nice place, Melbourne!

R

 

[Bails]

Actually there are a lot of nice places in Australia. I drove around the outside in 2006, just for fun. On the West Coast side you can drive a 1,000 miles and not see a town, and when you do it is a service station . The West coast has places that are so pristine and untouched you would not think it is still in this world. I often think the West coast of Australia today is like what the West coast of USA would have been like a 250 years ago.
Talking about travel, just noticed on CNBC that holiday sales are down , suppose this will be the case if dollar declines, then again it will encourage more people to travel locally I suppose.
Best

Ian

 

[outtarentals]

G'day Ian, Welcome to the forum.

Can you tell us about your health care system in Aus? Is it the same in each state? Any free medical care?

I spent time in Australia many years ago - I remember it as a magnificent country with very friendly, straightforward people. We took a trip on a trimaran up the Barrier Reef stopping at one of those beautiful island resorts every few days.

There were lots of goats on some of the less inhabited islands and we were told that long ago the Society for Shipwrecked Mariners put two nanny goats and one billy goat on each island as food for shipwrecked sailors. I always thought that was very interesting.

Anyway, it would be very interesting to hear about your country's approach to health care, means testing, welfare - anything you want to share. Maybe we'll learn something.

 

[Bails]

Yes health care is free to all. You can insure for extras, like private hospital, own doctor etc. But if you are sick you can get drugs cheap and free medical, it is called medicare.

All people are entitled to some form of Social Security. Pensions are means tested, but you can own a home, have about $250,000 INVESTED AND IF YOU ARE MARRIED CAN RECEIVE $25,000 p.a as Govt. Pension. By the way I'm rounding these numbers.

Another neat thing is we all just about get 4 to 5 weeks paid leave per year. Plus paid long weekends, Christmas and Easter Holidays. schooling is available for all free, University used to be free, but now you pay your fees back when you commence work, no big deal and still quite cheap, about $12,000 gets an arts type degree.

I think we have a good mix of true government controls and free enterprise. All Australians have compulsory Superannuation paid by their employer, so everyone finishes up with some savings. Companies can't invest in there own shares with employee retirement savings, so no getting ripped off by the employer.

You could never have the wall street types living in Australia, as Australian's don't like class distinction, generally think anyone being paid over a million a year is ripping off some one else and so on.

We have a pretty good environment, lots of sun as you know and good beaches. Hope I've covered it.

Best

Ian

 

[freebird5825]

welcome!
no referral is needed to be a member here. several forum members are still w*rking, so that's not a problem. jump right in and post to your heart's content.
Australia has always been one of my dream places to visit. Someday...

 

[outtarentals]

Yes health care is free to all. You can insure for extras, like private hospital, own doctor etc. But if you are sick you can get drugs cheap and free medical, it is called medicare.

Ian,
We hear virtually nothing here about the Australian health care system, though I've been told it is excellent, and as you say, free for the most part unless you want frills.

You probably know there's an ongoing discussion here in USA about improving our health care system while reducing costs, and comparisons are often made to the British and Canadian "socialized medicine" systems.

But we often hear about the long waiting periods for health care in those countries. Is there a similar problem in Aus?

 

[ERD50]

And how do they manage to do it for 'free'?

OK, I assume you mean it is paid for out the taxes they collect from you.
That's not free. But usually, those systems suffer the 'tragedy of the commons'. No one is really interested in keeping costs down, because the 'other guy' is paying for it (hey - it's free - grab all you can!). How does Aus deal with this?

-ERD50

 

[billman]

Welcome to the board IAN. Used to live and work in Melbourne. I hope I can make it back there some day. Absoutley loved the people, the city, and the work enviroment!

 

[Bails]

Ian,
We hear virtually nothing here about the Australian health care system, though I've been told it is excellent, and as you say, free for the most part unless you want frills.

You probably know there's an ongoing discussion here in USA about improving our health care system while reducing costs, and comparisons are often made to the British and Canadian "socialized medicine" systems.

But we often hear about the long waiting periods for health care in those countries. Is there a similar problem in Aus?

My experience is that British and other countries including Australia, have reasonable waiting periods for no urgent selective type procedures. What you might find interesting is the US has I believe the shortest Life expectancy of the countries mentioned, maybe you live longer waiting ?