I already got FAMA support for a property back in KL (back when I thought KL was my forever home), so I felt guilty asking for it again. I really wanted it to be my from 100% my own effort this time. Hence the 25km and in the north, I went for what I could afford.

That being said, it is still an just hour from my house to the CBD, door to door on public transport. So it's still pretty good IMO.

Migrants do have it tougher yes, but many of my local colleagues have also bought homes after working for a few years. All is takes is staying at home with mom and dad for a few years while saving, a luxury us migrants do not have.

Very true.

Most of my friends prefer their children living with them so they can save up for their deposit. A lot of their children don't even pay board or even help out with simple bills . Life is quite a struggle esp if you get no helping hand nowadays. In my younger days, buying a property was much easier which is why most of my retiree friends have investment properties as well - with negative gearing it was even more attractive

Tq for all the great inputs and advice, bros,... tqvm,....

This post has been edited by Hansel: Jun 18 2021, 05:16 PM

No worries about the catch-up, can always have it back in Msia anyway since my familly/in-laws live around the Kepong Baru area.

Looks like going to Msia might have been a good move (provided everyone's vaccinated and no new variants appear) - We might have Covid super spreader event taking place in Sydney metro.
My company has told us to work from home for the remainder of this month until further notice. That's about save about 10 hours if I don't have to drive.

Definitely catch up with you when you are back in KL.

I don't go out much in KL - try to minimise interaction with others as much as possible. My wife loves it so much as she has been re-united with her younger sister. I take an hour walk around my apartment (Mt Kiara) at 7am every morning - i see a lot of expats here walking in the morning as well.

Looks like Randwick is one of those suburbs that is affected in Sydney this time. I go to Westfield Bondi Jn a lot to shop as my wife bought two Chanel bags there recently(just before we flew back to KL) and that is her favorite shopping venue (other than the city) and Westfield Bondi Jn is one of those buildings with a few infections

Wow! Saving 10 hours drive to work! So you like WFH without the need to drive in to your office, huh?

Yeah on average its about 45 mins from Lidcombe to Miranda area in the morn and 1 hour to 1 hr 15 - 25 mins on the way depending on time.
Some days it's like 1.5 hrs total drive and it's already much better than driving in KL. Driving in KL would take me 1 hr minimum each way. I really hate traffic and driving is terribly boring for me.
I'll take train rides anytime: I can sleep, read or play games, even while standing. Heck, I'd put in an hour+ extra to work if I can WFH.

My wife is also slightly influenced to get bags now, luckily we have to start saving more now in case of any upcoming covid issues (like possible redundancies). Both our companies are going through more restructuring and upheaval.
There'll be plenty of shopping to be had in KL as well once things hopefully calm down. Also don't forget how common snatch thieves are back in Msia. Always watch your back.

On be honest with you, when i was WFH i hardly did much work. It was unproductive meetings all the time. My seniors wanted to show they are all working hard because they are all afraid of 'forced redundacies' . Most of them are in their 40s and with young kids so with their package around A$160K/yr, most of them know they will have to take a big pay cut if they lose their jobs. We have so many staff at senior levels that if you cut 50% of them, you will not see any drop in productivity. I was one of them . I know because i have been there 30 years. Only positions about A$250k/yr were on contracts so those below A$250/yr were mostly permanent staff. Of course there are contractors at every level but most of them have been cut when their contracts ended.

Got to go now as i have to buy some milk downstairs

Bro my drive to work during peak hour is about 1 hour each way also loll from Rhodes to Darling Harbor!

Do you use Victoria Rd or Parramatta Rd? Victoria Rd will probably be better, huh?

I used to drive from Randwick to Sydney Uni and i would take Cleveland Street but i start work around 10.30am so traffic is not too bad. I usually finish around 4pm (just after School Zone hours) and go down towards Eddy Ave and up Albion Street to Anzac Pde. Going home hardly any traffic because people like to use Cleveland street so going along Eddy AVe to Albion Street (Surry Hills) has not much traffic . I had a very cushy job

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Jul 6 2021, 01:15 PM

Vic rd can get pretty bad, I usually leave around 8am and the traffic starts all the way from Birkenhead Point DFO until Anzac Bridge..I prefer to cut through Concorde and through Five Dock but then will still end up getting stuck on Wattle St around Leichardt lol or Parra Road around Summer Hill.. !

Lucky you! I'll be moving to Eastlakes around Sept so that should be much better then!

Eastlakes is quite a handy suburb - i remember a good friend of mine called Sonny (i think his surname was Mak) who used to have a locksmith shop there in 80s and he used to go roaming around looking for girls. He is in his early 60s now and went through divorce and in Sydney once you go through divorce, your finances will be in bad shape. All those friends i know that have gone through divorce usually ends up bad financially and even worse when children are involved!! There used to BKK Eastlakes - don't know if it is still there anymore.

Yeah it can such a pain sometimes - especially when an accident occurs & a fair number of people slow down to watch. Thankfully not as bad as Msia where some stop almost entirely.
Driving now would be pretty good as traffic would be minimal - it does look like the lockdown in Sydney will be extended another week.

Went past Regents Park to Chester Hill yesterday and it looks like lots of people aren't masking up even in mandated areas.
I'm personally more afraid of the fines than catching covid, lol.

Your office is in the south, isn't it? I presume you use Princess Hwy for part of your journey so you are going against the traffic when you start going south

haha thanks for the advice bro, planning to propose end of the year but weighing it out atm lol!

Lockdown extended for another week yawnsss. Hope everyone's staying safe.

Now that you've mentioned, the Kingsgrove rd stretch is quite a handful too lol

Now that you've mentioned, the Kingsgrove rd stretch is quite a handful too lol

The only thing is Eastlakes is full of woks . There are also a lot of Islanders/Maori - these people commit a lot of crime and a lot of them have been thrown back to NZ by Scotty for serious crimes. You can usually easily recognise them as they have tatoos all over their body. There are a lot of these people in Eastlakes. Quite a few of them have been involved in carjacking too. If you know them, they are very friendly people but they love to have kids and usually end up on welfare and welfare destroys people !!

Eastlakes sound as bad as some of the things my colleague tells me about Blacktown. Would've thought an Eastern suburb would be too expensive for them to live in. Another ex-colleague living near old Toongabbie also had his car radio and other contents stolen (his old car had lock issues). Guess most suburbs have their own issues. Fair number of road accidents near my area as lots of impatient drivers.

Rhodes doesn't seem to bad. I usually drive through King George's Road, with so many traffic lights. The alternative is driving past Bankstown down to Bangor Bypass and heading on part of the Princess Highway. Both easily takes 45 mins but diff traffic conditions depending on time. Plenty of reading, gaming and learning to do while on lockdown.

Doesn't look like Sydney can end the lockdown next week...heading the wrong direction...

The reason why Eastlakes has such a high crime rate is because there are a lot of public housing (used to be called Housing Commission). Part of Mascot which borders Eastlakes also has a lot of public housing. Never buy near public housing because crime rates are always high in those areas. Public housing is a problem that society has to face and Aust wants an egalitarian society so it tries to spread the problem across all suburbs. The most famous block of public housing is at the Rocks whereby rows of terraces were used to house these welfare recipients - some of the terraces had beautiful views of Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The govt took a long time before they managed to sell off all this houses as there was a huge public backlash and it was a political time bomb. Eventually after more than 10 years, they managed to start selling off these terraces. The govt doesn't want welfare ghettos like Claymore so is very reluctant to sell off the more expensive areas (even Vaucluse and Double Bay has quite a lot of public housing). The govt is forcing some developers into offering some parts of their development for public housing so as to spread the problem throughout society and avoid welfare ghettos .

This post has been edited by Garysydney: Jul 8 2021, 07:30 PM