Nice People Thread No. 14, all Nice and Proper

Generali

kabayiri wrote: »

Gen, I'm curious. Are people obsessed with house prices in Oz?

Not really, not like the UK. I've never heard anyone say, "We paid $xxxxx for this in 19xx and the house just up the road went for $yyyy". If you did, people would look at you like you were an idiot I suspect.

People will discuss what they paid for a house if you ask (and will probably volunteer the information for a year or so afterwards) and when selling what they think they'll get. The only person I have ever heard do the was $x now $y thing is my SiL and her late MiL was guarantor on her mortgage. Now her MiL is dead they need to remortgage and unless they have 20% equity in the house they have to pay the dreaded mortgage indemnity insurance so it is pertinent to her current circumstances.

Property is an obsession in Aus but constantly trying to value it...not so much. Property to live in is viewed for its lifestyle potential not a theoretical value. Even when selling, the realised value is viewed in terms of the new house it'll buy rather than some great profit that shows that you are the missing link between Man and Warren Buffet.

vivatifosi

PasturesNew wrote: »

My sibling did some Aus tour/holiday that included the rock. I think it was a 10-14 day Round Robin by coach.

Blimey, that's a long way to go by coach. Darwin to Uluru is over 1200 miles, Adelaide to Uluru just under 1000 miles. Nothing else is really close (other than Alice Springs). I hope she enjoyed it.

Doozergirl

hjd wrote: »

We are going to Canada/Alaska this summer. Fly to Calgary, Rocky Mountaineer to Vancouver, spend some time in Vancouver then cruise to Whittier, home from Anchorage.
OH will be 60 and gets his teacher's pension and lump sum, so we can afford to have the holiday of our dreams. Vancouver is somewhere I have always wanted to visit.

We're going from Vancouver to Calgary/Banff/Jasper and back again

Doozergirl

I'm fed up with our bed.

After the Premier Inn bed conversation, I spent a week in a Travelodge on my course and the bed was lovely. They also sell their mattresses, a little cheaper than Premier Inn. I want one.

But I don't want a divan base. I could put a valance on, but Twozerdog has a habit of trying to dry himself along the sides of furniture.

I want a bed frane for about £500 that doesn't fall apart or make a goddam noise. :rotfl: Is that enough? Any suggestions?

GDB2222

Generali wrote: »

The UK has a different sort of scenery. The UK doesn't really have wilderness: all the country is managed in one way or another. As a result the countryside is rather like a park; beautiful and manicured. Aus (and I assume Canada) has some breathtaking places. You can look 30km(?) along the Jamieson Valley there and just see tree after tree and vast, open skies. If you go somewhere like the Warrumbungles National Park, which still isn't exactly off the trail, it can feel like you're the first person ever to have stood on that piece of land.

Wild is lovely, but beautiful and manicured has advantages, eg there's a footpath to follow and you don't need to carve a trail with a machete.

kabayiri

Doozergirl wrote: »

We're going from Vancouver to Calgary/Banff/Jasper and back again

You will have a great time. So will hjd.

I'm not sure Calgary itself is that interesting. It's pretty much your modern sprawling city. They have their own version of olde worlde themed park, but it's not really much.

Banff is a lovely town. Loads of well priced little touristy shops too.

What time of year are you going?

hjd

kabayiri wrote: »

You will have a great time. So will hjd.

I'm not sure Calgary itself is that interesting. It's pretty much your modern sprawling city. They have their own version of olde worlde themed park, but it's not really much.

Banff is a lovely town. Loads of well priced little touristy shops too.

What time of year are you going?

I'm sure doozergirl will reply too - we are going end July/beginning of August. Only time we can go. We arrive in Calgary Fri evening and depart from Banff Sun morning. Not yet planned where to stay.

Doozergirl

hjd wrote: »

I'm sure doozergirl will reply too - we are going end July/beginning of August. Only time we can go. We arrive in Calgary Fri evening and depart from Banff Sun morning. Not yet planned where to stay.

Me too.

If we go into Calgary it would be to collect an RV to do the Banff-Jasper run over the course of about five days.

Haven't organised our accommodation in Vancouver or our transport for getting around

kabayiri

hjd wrote: »

I'm sure doozergirl will reply too - we are going end July/beginning of August. Only time we can go. We arrive in Calgary Fri evening and depart from Banff Sun morning. Not yet planned where to stay.

I can ask sis for suggestions

If you're stuck there is an apartment in the bottom floor of the house in the Rockies. Right at this moment all the balconies have been ripped out though (who would have thought wood rot would apply to wooden houses ! )

Have you thought about renting a mobile home? That would give maximum freedom I should think.

Temperatures can and will vary. When I was there last in August it was in the 70s near Banff. Down at the Southern Rockies it was in the late 80s / early 90s.

kabayiri

Doozergirl wrote: »

...
Haven't organised our accommodation in Vancouver or our transport for getting around

I could have offered an apartment on the waterfront in Victoria. Unfortunately, the resident committee at the condo complex decided on a no letting policy not long after it was bought. That kinda scuppered plans and it spent long periods unoccupied, so sis sold it. (Well, I think she did, I haven't followed up much)

All this Canada chat makes me want to go back.