Nice people thread part 7 - a thread in its prime

MiddyMum

I like our new home!

CKhalvashi

PasturesNew wrote: »

Breakfast in bed...... never had it.

Who of the NP has ever had breakfasst brought to them in bed?

OH did my brekky in bed this morning, in recognition of my dealings with various bits whilst she was abroad last week.

CK

Generali

zagubov wrote: »

The same. Now gthere'sone less kid about the house the Father's Day meal will I uppoose become a thing of the past.

Just realised how patronising that is. An 18-yo isn't a kid. At what age do the other NPs find their offspring stop being kids?

Actually I've just realised that a couple of NPs could answer a question. How far outside Europe does the recession extend? I had the impression that where silver and gen are are calm waters at the moment. Or, does Britain seem proseprous by comparison?

Never been able to get my head round exactly how the economies/salaries/prices compare.:o

We're not in recession although the Government is running a deficit in Aus. Unemployment is ~5%, GDP growth is ~3%, inflation is ~2%, base rate is 3.25% with SVRs about 5.6%.

But......

The Aussie economy has been riding a commodities investment boom. The Chinese government effectively has a massive subsidy on steel production steel companies are buying up vast quantities of Australian iron ore and thermal coal. The assumption is that the Chinese are going to be buying less which will put a lot of pressure on Government revenues although the Labor/Green coalition has promised to put the budget back to surplus next year. It won't happen and Labor will lose the next election as a result, handing the Coalition (an historic combination of the urban Liberal party and country National Party) a poisoned chalice.

The net national debt is 9% of GDP. Gross is under 30% IIRC.

The cost of living is quite high: a kilo of carrots is $2, a litre of basics milk is $1, a normal loaf of sliced bread is $4, a kilo of beef rump (generally much better than in the UK) is $10+ a kilo, a house in my suburb (nice but on the river not the ocean) averages $1,100,000. The average Aussie salary is $50,000 but taxes are a lot lower than in the UK. Then again that means you have to pay for more stuff yourself, including some healthcare. I've just had a $1400 dental bill and the kids are about to have one for somewhere between $3-5000 despite having very good insurance. However I can offset that against tax so I get 45% back.

The big difference between the UK and Aussie economies is that the minimum wage here is high: normally about $20/hr for an adult. That means that if you are prepared to put in the hours, anyone fit to work can earn a proper living. An unskilled couple can make $100k if they pull their fingers out just on the minimum wage.

silvercar

CKhalvashi wrote: »

Oooooooh, we have new space

We had 6 cars at one point. My 3 wheeler is now in Georgia, bearing registration CKC006 (which compliments my Jag, reading 6 CKC, whilst OH has 6 EDR). We've got a couple of others on retention, but I'm trying to get my hands on 6 EDK (from the way Georgian names work) for when I get married.

In the office, we've got:

[Other peoples posh plates-names removed to protect the innocent]

I'd honestly say that we have about £500k in registration plates outside there, including several '(Letter) (Number) TMC' on the company vans at £189 each.

CK

So you post with anonymous user names and then give details of your car regs? Thinking about it you are more open than most.

silvercar

zagubov wrote: »

Congrats:beer:!
Is this a major or more local move, Middymum?

I read it as NPT6 to NPT7!

silvercar

zagubov wrote: »

The same. Now gthere'sone less kid about the house the Father's Day meal will I uppoose become a thing of the past.

Just realised how patronising that is. An 18-yo isn't a kid. At what age do the other NPs find their offspring stop being kids?

Actually I've just realised that a couple of NPs could answer a question. How far outside Europe does the recession extend? I had the impression that where silver and gen are are calm waters at the moment. Or, does Britain seem proseprous by comparison?

Never been able to get my head round exactly how the economies/salaries/prices compare.:o

At some age, the offspring stop being kids when they disagree with you, but are happy for you to sort stuff out when they want to.

Very impressed with DS2, one week into uni and he has a book list that he needs to buy. So I suggest a couple of websites as well as amazon, expecting him to furnish me with links for the books he wants and find out he has researched and ordered for himself. AFAIK he hasn't bought online before.

On the recession question. They have been big demonstrations out here on the cost of living. The locals aren't happy that the government aren't doing enough to keep prices under control. A lot of building and construction going on, so positive signs. I've met a few people in this block (new build) who say they haven't yet sold their previous home (about half are living here full time rather than holiday homes). That maybe a compromise between not wanting to be sell before their home here was ready or because they don't want to lower the price.

zagubov

silvercar wrote: »

I read it as NPT6 to NPT7!

I stand corrected! Wondered if I'd fallen behind on someone's news, as I'm a bit dopey at keeping up!

chewmylegoff

Generali wrote: »

The big difference between the UK and Aussie economies is that the minimum wage here is high: normally about $20/hr for an adult. That means that if you are prepared to put in the hours, anyone fit to work can earn a proper living. An unskilled couple can make $100k if they pull their fingers out just on the minimum wage.

Plus if you're willing to go and work in the middle of nowhere you can do something relatively unskilled e.g. Driving a van about at a mine and earn loads more than that.

On the downside low-carb beer is horrid.

chewmylegoff

PasturesNew wrote: »

Breakfast in bed...... never had it.

Who of the NP has ever had breakfasst brought to them in bed?

I can't remember ever having it but I expect I have at some point. I've never had room service breakfast in a hotel.

Normally OH gets up first and starts making breakfast and then just leaves it in the kitchen as an incentive to get me out of bed...

Generali

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Plus if you're willing to go and work in the middle of nowhere you can do something relatively unskilled e.g. Driving a van about at a mine and earn loads more than that.

On the downside low-carb beer is horrid.

Yeah, plenty of blokes make good money in the mines. They now use some driverless trucks in remote areas. Supposedly you can earn $100,000 a year as a cleaner! While the money is good it's a pretty tough life. I want to go to one of the mining towns and see what the do is. My father in law spent a year teaching in a mining town in the 1960s. They've civilized a bit since then!

To be fair, the full carb stuff is pretty dreadful too. I'm positive they have a single massive keg in the cellar and a dozen pipes coming out marked VB, New, XXXX etc.