U.S Beach houses are cheaper than Australia's Worst homes

[proulxfamily]

Originally Posted by OzzieMum

Yep, that is why we sold our house this last week in south australia and we are moving to the U.S. at the end of the year!.
We sold for 3.5 x the price we plan to buy a house for there. We will have no mortgage but on the down side.... will we be able to get a job over there?? and there won't be free healthcare, so we will probably spend nearly as much on health insurance and other increased costs as we would have on mortgage repayments here!

The healthcare situation is not as dramatic as the media makes it seem. There are certainly issues with ins. companies not wanting to pay for pre-existing conditions but that's only if you haven't had healthcare available to you recently... example: Having diabetes, losing your job and not able to get onto your state's low-income medical plan (??), then getting a new job months later whose insurance doesn't want to pay for your supplies, tests, treatment, etc. That IS an issue.

Otherwise, a "normal" person gets a job... and most positions DO come with health insurance... and pays the premium through the employer's automatic deduction from their pay. Health insurance benefits are a real part of the hiring process, in addition to pay, because most employers pay for the vast majority of the insurance premium, which IS expensive. My husband is just a salesperson for a furniture store and makes ~$50K/year. It's plenty for us to live in a middle-upperclass suburb of Syracuse, NY, comfortably and for me to stay home with our three children. Out of his pay comes $50/week for insurances for our family of five... healthcare, dental, vision, and $250K in life insurance on him and $100K in life insurance on me. We have no copays/deductibles for preventative care, $20 co-pays for illness, and pay 10% of procedures... with a maximum out-of-pocket expense of $3500/year. If the expenses go higher than that, the insurance company pays them. We've never come close to that. If we did, my husband's employer also contributes $1850/year in funds to go toward paying for those co-pays and deductibles, which accumulates from year to year if not used.

And that's just a regular plan... I've had MUCH better insurance in the past.

[proulxfamily]

I failed to explain why the premiums employees pay aren't mortgage-equal amounts. The employer pays a large percent of the premium. So if you're offered 80/20 or 90/10 insurance, that's essentially what they pay vs. what the individual pays. If the premium is $1000/month for your family, your employer is paying 80 or 90 percent of it and you're paying 20 or 10 percent of it, divided through your weekly paycheck.