News, Australia still the best place to live (home, universities)

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by minibrings

Check out how Australia compares. Not really at the highest but not the lowest either.
Tax rates around the world - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The actual income tax rates sound roughly-comparable to Canada though.

Same with $300k+ for a detatched home that's actually dump,
"two-income" almost mandatory for home-ownership
and plenty of guys in their 30's still living "at home."

Our rental prices may be a little more affordable though...

[minibrings]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

The actual income tax rates sound roughly-comparable to Canada though.

Same with $300k+ for a detatched home that's actually dump,
"two-income" almost mandatory for home-ownership
and plenty of guys in their 30's still living "at home."

Our rental prices may be a little more affordable though...

The two things I recall more expensive in Toronto was car insurance and flying within Canada. But thanks to Buffalo airport I was able to fly cheaply within the United States. Otherwise Toronto was a welcome change (lower prices, better selection) and tax free living in New Hampshire is an even MORE welcome change. I've lived in all 3 and the US is the most affordable followed by Canada and Oz. Of course there will be exceptions (e.g., if I had moved to Manhattan), but overall your dollar goes furthest here.

[Vichel]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

Well I thought it was similar...
Almost everything is cheaper in the USA than Toronto... except healthcare! ()

*Auto-insurance in Oz sounds ridiculously-cheap;
how anyone could get insurance in a city like Perth for a few hundred a year
with all the stories of "hoon culture" is totally perplexing to me.

Around here auto-insurance for 25+ yr old with a clean-record in a new, but "ordinary" car is like $2000+/yr.
Any male unfortunate enough to be under 25 and not married? Looking at $6000+/yr for even an old "beater."

They do it properly here - make the young drivers pay more so the rest of us don't have to subsidise the ones who have the most accidents. I never liked that about Canada - screwing everyone with high rates, so as to appear non-discriminatory. Our last car insurance bill in Vancouver, over 10 years ago, was almost $1500 a year. Clean record. It's probably a lot higher now. Here, about half that, insurance and rego.

Home insurance also cheaper here even though both cities: Vancouver and Perth, are at the top for house break-ins for each country.

But after those two things, I'd say most everything else is more expensive.

[Vichel]

Originally Posted by minibrings

The two things I recall more expensive in Toronto was car insurance and flying within Canada. But thanks to Buffalo airport I was able to fly cheaply within the United States.

It's funny that Canada allows so much travel revenue to slip through its fingers. Burlington airport is also a popular hub for Canadians. We flew through there during one our visits. JetBlue to Burlington then rellies picked us up from Montreal. With the 4 of us, saved about $1,600. While there I noticed that the long-term parking fee was $1/day! Talk about a great deal overall.

Plattsburgh's another US airport that a lot of Montrealers use.

Wherever we move to in Canada, we'll be doing the same for our travels - head south, fly from there. We're the type who do not mind a little extra time and effort if it means substantial savings. If it were $100 or $150 savings for the two of us, we wouldn't bother, but the savings are often a lot more substantial.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by Vichel

They do it properly here - make the young drivers pay more so the rest of us don't have to subsidise the ones who have the most accidents. I never liked that about Canada - screwing everyone with high rates, so as to appear non-discriminatory. Our last car insurance bill in Vancouver, over 10 years ago, was almost $1500 a year. Clean record. It's probably a lot higher now. Here, about half that, insurance and rego.

Home insurance also cheaper here even though both cities: Vancouver and Perth, are at the top for house break-ins for each country.

But after those two things, I'd say most everything else is more expensive.

And young people do pay here; through the nose, imho.
Story of a boy here who bought and restored an 1970's Camaro (muscle car); total expense $12,000.
When he went to find insurance for it $13,600/yr in was the lowest rate he could find. (in the 1990's! )
Heartbroken after all that hard work, he sold it instead.

I wouldn't be surprised if our "snowy-winters" are partly to blame.
As if I needed another reason to hate cold, ice and snow;
paying hundreds-more-per-year to "get the privilige" of having regular snow.

Isn't there potential though to break-even between these two countries?
I'm not a big spender, but I have to have auto-insurance.

[artemis agrotera]

Originally Posted by Vichel

They do it properly here - make the young drivers pay more so the rest of us don't have to subsidise the ones who have the most accidents. I never liked that about Canada - screwing everyone with high rates, so as to appear non-discriminatory. Our last car insurance bill in Vancouver, over 10 years ago, was almost $1500 a year. Clean record. It's probably a lot higher now. Here, about half that, insurance and rego.

Home insurance also cheaper here even though both cities: Vancouver and Perth, are at the top for house break-ins for each country.

But after those two things, I'd say most everything else is more expensive.

A lot of my friends got around that by putting the insurance in their parents name, and them as a nominated driver...

one put his 200sx turbo-charged Nissan in his 68 yr old dad's name ... I always wondered why the insurance company (the pensioners one... forgot the name) wasn't suspicious that the dad was driving this sort of car ...
insurance was less than half what he would have paid ...

[YankDownunder]

Originally Posted by John1960

AUSTRALIA and Canada dominate the top ten most liveable cities in the world, according to a new index revealed today.

Vancouver, host of the Winter Olympics, topped the latest annual survey by The Economist.

Australia still the best place to live | News.com.au

I am from the US, Australia is clearly a better place to live than the USA in many ways, I believe only the ultra wealthy have it better in the US. Being a middle class person, I see a big difference in how ordinary Aussies live versus ordinary Americans.

[minibrings]

Originally Posted by Vichel

Wherever we move to in Canada, we'll be doing the same for our travels - head south, fly from there. We're the type who do not mind a little extra time and effort if it means substantial savings. If it were $100 or $150 savings for the two of us, we wouldn't bother, but the savings are often a lot more substantial.

It will be nice to finally meet you when you move back to Canada. Watching the Olympics? I was happy when Canada FINALLY won its first gold. Now talking about flying from within the US, my last trip to Buffalo the airport driver was taking me to my car in the car park and I told him to look for the grey Saab with Ontario plates.. he looked at me and said "you have to be kidding".. I looked around and at LEAST 50% of the cars were from Ontario! That airport would be dead without Canadians! I've never thought of using Burlington airport for my next trip to Montreal.. thanks for the tip. My last trip to Toronto from Boston I got a great deal on Porter Airlines - they fly into Toronto City Airport and what great service!

[Vichel]

Originally Posted by minibrings

It will be nice to finally meet you when you move back to Canada. Watching the Olympics?

That'd be cool. Yes, watching a bit of the Olympics. I'd watch more but the coverage by Channel Nine is horrible. And that Eddie McGuire is so irritating. His gaffs would be funny if they weren't so embarrassing - asking Gretzky how he felt whenever he put the ball into the net.

Foxtel has coverage of it but you had to pay extra for it, and I thought that was a rip-off. Already pay $80+ per month for it. Gouging bums.

Canada's doing so well, glad to see that. The women's hockey gold was great. But the ensuing fuss over their celebration was so stupid. How prudish are some people? If it were the men's team celebrating with cigars and champagne there'd not be a murmur.

Originally Posted by minibrings

...last trip to Buffalo the airport driver was taking me to my car in the car park and I told him to look for the grey Saab with Ontario plates.. he looked at me and said "you have to be kidding".. I looked around and at LEAST 50% of the cars were from Ontario! That airport would be dead without Canadians!

lol! I like the thought of Canadians helping the US economy. Very neighbourly of them We also used Syracuse and overnighted there. Sad to see the downtown area of Syracuse with at least a quarter of it all boarded up, out of business. Very depressed. Had a really great Mexican/Pan-American meal there, in an old Methodist church. The Mission. The building had a lot of history behind it as it was part of the Underground Railroad and the parishioners were real activists for other issues.

There's just so much to explore in that country.

[Minx]

Originally Posted by Vichel

And that Eddie McGuire is so irritating.

Than't one thing I definitely DON'T miss.....Eddie McGuire!!!