Should I move to the US?

[Amadio]

I would find it extremely difficult to adjust to tipping also. I mean the real price is the cost and 10%. So why dont they just make life simple and make that the price?? I guess doing so would incur a tax on the tip making it less ideal for the employee.

Since when have Americans done anything simply?

The wages structure is completely different for workers in the hospitality industry (and other jobs like doorman where they earn more in tips than a basic wage).

The IRS presumes that tipping occurs and taxes accordingly. You can't just say "I'm a waiter and earn $5,000 year". The IRS calculators just whack on a certain percent and taxes the waiter on the re-calculated amount, declared or not.

It's hard for Aussies and Kiwis to tip, but you have to remember that it's just paying for services in a different way. If you don't tip, the poor waiter has to pay tax on a non-payment. Well, actually, the tips are pooled and then re-distributed, but still it affects all of their take home pay.

Many taxis will drive off rather than take Australians anywhere, because they know there is no tip and that is really what they are living on. The bulk of the fare goes back to the mother company and gas etc.

If you go the USA and see a price in a restaurant, just add 25% for tax and tip and that way you can budget more accurately. Most things you buy in the USA are more than what the price states.

It's a relief to be in Aussieland and not have to worry about it, and it pains us to see people tipping in Australian restaurants.

I hope that sheds some light on the ghastly concept of tipping and convinces you to go with the flow and do what the Americans do when you are in their country.

 

[reeco]

If you go the USA and see a price in a restaurant, just add 25% for tax and tip and that way you can budget more accurately. Most things you buy in the USA are more than what the price states.

It's a relief to be in Aussieland and not have to worry about it, and it pains us to see people tipping in Australian restaurants.

I hope that sheds some light on the ghastly concept of tipping and convinces you to go with the flow and do what the Americans do when you are in their country.

Seeing tipping as a neccesity to said individuals life, and not as a rort is the flip for changing ones perpective. I can now understand it in that way.

I mean when you look at it, it would be a hell of alot easier if they just made the tip factual and not some intangible peer pressured "thing". Kinda like how the rest of the ENTIRE world acts.

Americans...go figure

 

[random]

Just a question on the wages point Indifference mentioned - isn't everything over there 1/2 or less price than here anyway, cars, fuel, food, houses look a quarter of the price of here , even less from what I can tell on average , I R ?

You wonder what's the point in Oz wages, it buys nothing and we're paying 1/2 a million bucks for a home.
Seems to be the same old pointless cycle here - wages go up , everything else goes up , eventually wages go up again and everything else goes up again and usually at double the rate anyway hence our 8x house prices and cost of living.


Cheers

PS , not to mention our taxes across the board and property buying costs.

 

[Perp]

isn't everything over there 1/2 or less price than here anyway, cars, fuel, food, houses look a quarter of the price of here , even less from what I can tell on average

Cars, fuel, clothes, yes, they tend to be cheaper. But... eating out is generally more expensive (diners are cheaper, but anything other than a chain restaurant is way more expensive than a comparable restaurant in Australia).

But back to the "big ticket" items and essentials... health care and medicine is very expensive. A university education - or any post-secondary trade course or other training - is very expensive. Social security for the unemployed and aged isn't as generous as ours, and is non-existent for students (though they can get student loans to cover living expenses as well as tuition).

Housing varies enormously. Yes, housing in Detroit and in some areas with very high foreclosure rates, is going for a song... but that's usually reflective of the employment situation in that area, so in areas where there's a strong employment base, prices tend to be comparable to Australia. Perhaps a bit cheaper, but not ridiculously so. Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Chicago, NYC, Washington DC, Denver... all have broadly comparable housing prices to Australia.

Personal tax rates are fairly similar to Australia's these days. There was a larger gap 20 years ago, but our top rates have dropped and are now comparable.

Overall, I'd say that lifetime living expenses are broadly comparable for middle-class people in each country. But America is a far less comfortable place to live if you are sick, unemployed, or in any way socially marginalised.

 

[random]

Ahhh , thanks for the detail Perp , sounds like a scary place . For the uninitiated like myself it's very hard to get a handle on things there without some across the board detail like this .


Cheers

 

[Aaron Sice]

Yes, housing in Detroit and in some areas with very high foreclosure rates, is going for a song... but that's usually reflective of the employment situation in that area, so in areas where there's a strong employment base, prices tend to be comparable to Australia.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/26/AR2010102606104.html

on a side note, seems even $8000 stimulus for house purchases failed to stimulate the Detroit housing market.

 

[Sheryn]

I don't know about Detroit but I have been thinking about the idea of getting a few couples together and buying a cheap condo etc. as a base for travelling the US.

Say 5 x retired couples tossed in 2 - 5K to buy a place as close to the water in the US as possible not necessarily in Detroit, then use the property as a base to travel the USA.

A friend's parents a few years ago brought an RV and spent 6 months each year for at least 3 years touring USA. Then they sold RV.

With AUD$ close to US$ may be a time to think seriously about doing this as we can always travel around OZ.


Cheers
Sheryn

 

[Sunfish]

San Francisco would be wonderful but I doubt there are many bargains there.

San Diego has a good Aussie type climate and is close to Mex and LA. Mightn't be much cheap there either. Me? I'd still like New Orleans, to be close to the South and the music scene. And NASCAR racing.

 

[Indifference]

Skimming back through this thread, I thought that many people may not realise that the "US bargain areas" are generally not the most desirable locations in the country...by a long shot.

Think of, Parkes, Forbes, Roma, Wagga-Wagga, Broken Hill etc.. instead of, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Cairns, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast etc...

I'm not saying any of these Aussie towns are bad (far from it!), but in context of 'desirable' places to live, the seaside/coastal towns generally win every time. If people aren't already investing in cheaper and less desirable locations in Australia, why on earth would they consider doing so in another country which has a comparative myriad of other complications to deal with? Is it merely greed? The lure of the impossibly cheap house?

There are heaps of sub-$100k houses in Australia... why aren't they all snapped up?

For those with the time, inclination and resources, the US can be a relative gold mine, but for the average Joe with good intentions and a wild imagination, you better buckle up because you're in for a very bumpy ride!

 

[reeco]

It ain't cheap but SoCal and San Joze would be the place invest me thinks. Inland Empire would get a good deal though which is not to far from IE.. Not a bad place comparatively.

 

[Perp]

Skimming back through this thread, I thought that many people may not realise that the "US bargain areas" are generally not the most desirable locations in the country...by a long shot.

Indifference, I'm not sure how much you've travelled about the country, but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you.

Whilst I'm sure there are even more amazing bargains in sub-prime locations, I'm looking at solid, middle-ring-of-major-city suburbs in cities with the population of Sydney (actually, more), but low-density development like Adelaide. I would say the areas I'm looking at are areas of middle-lower socio-economic status, with crime rates comparable to what you'd expect in similar suburbs in Australia. Some level of theft of cars and burglaries, but little in the way of drug-related crime or violent crime.

As a picture may save you having to read a thousand of my words , here's a snapshot of a random residential street a few blocks from the latest deal I analysed:

 

[Indifference]

Indifference, I'm not sure how much you've travelled about the country, but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you.

I am actually glad you do. Honestly.

Whilst I'm sure there are even more amazing bargains in sub-prime locations, I'm looking at solid, middle-ring-of-major-city suburbs in cities with the population of Sydney (actually, more), but low-density development like Adelaide.

NYC or LA? These are the only 2 cities bigger than Sydney... Yep, been to both, more than once!

You can't be referring to NYC and if you think LA crime is comparable to Australia...well, good luck.

There are only 2 other US cities bigger than 2 million...both are inland cities. Neither are comparable to Sydney... if you have actually been there Do you know which two I am referring to? I think it is perhaps one of these you speak of...

I would say the areas I'm looking at are areas of middle-lower socio-economic status, with crime rates comparable to what you'd expect in similar suburbs in Australia. Some level of theft of cars and burglaries, but little in the way of drug-related crime or violent crime.

What do you call comparable, if you disagree with my previous analogy? You truly have my interest now, particularly your experience with drug related crime in the US...

I'm not so sure we actually disagree. I think it may simply be in the interpretation of what is meant by comparable... Your picture could be representational of an estate in Wagga Wagga (like I mentioned in my post above) I also stated that such places are "far from bad", just like in your picture.

 

[Sunfish]

Indifference's post #109 seemed about right to me, which is what I was alluding to in my post "Why Las Vegas?"

As I recall Perp likes Taxas, Dallas for example, and so would I. As an Aussie I think I could handle Texans easier than New Yorkers and the climate would be better for a Qld boy. But are there any "bargains" there? When I checked a year or so ago there didn't seem to be.

And how do you handle health insurance? My thoughts of moving there as a retiree come to a dead stop there. And the average Yank wouldn't have my sense of humour either so I might get shot.

 

[D.T.]

NYC or LA? These are the only 2 cities bigger than Sydney... Yep, been to both, more than once!

It really depends on what you include. Australian city populations are generally quoted inclusive of metropolitan area. Doing the same in USA yields 10 cities bigger than Sydney (NYC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, Miami, Washington, Atlanta, Boston) all over 4.5mil which is where Sydney's population is quoted.

There are heaps of sub-$100k houses in Australia... why aren't they all snapped up?

Show me a 100k house in a state capital city. I can link you a 100k place in any of the 10 cities mentioned above.

 

[grossreal]

hi Sheryn
you are on the right track but the numbers are 50k not 5
this will give you an investment as well as a place when you wish to visit and its full deduction
use a smsf and its a bit better
and this is what a few of my smsf are doing
you don't do it in one stae but spread the risk
and no its not the same as investing in say wagga as this is smsf investing so long haul.
I think their is alot to be look at and the groups invest together into a market
but your idea is correct
the only problem is that you need to make an idea a reality

 

[Deltaberry]

Skimming back through this thread, I thought that many people may not realise that the "US bargain areas" are generally not the most desirable locations in the country...by a long shot.

Think of, Parkes, Forbes, Roma, Wagga-Wagga, Broken Hill etc.. instead of, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Cairns, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast etc...

Yea it's amazing how misinformed people are. I know nothing about the US, but a bit of common sense goes a long way.

If a house in the States is selling for US$30k, at its peak it's probably only selling for US$100k anyway. I'm sure US$100k was a 'bargain' relative to Australian house prices 5 year ago too. So why look at it now when they were 'bargains' 5 years ago anyway?

At the end of the day, your growth prospects are economy-driven and if people can't even appreciate the significance of 'donut cities' and 15% unemployment in some places, then you might as well invest in Afghan and Iraqi housing. It's probably $2 over there, except they didn't tell you there's a 100% guaranteed loss of capital when American soldiers decide to shoot more missiles into the cities.

If population mattered, can I direct your attention to Cairo? I think it has some 15m people there. The next time one of these cities rank in Forbes top 20 fastest growing cities in the next decade or in AT Kearney's top 10 global cities, let me know.

For now, I think I'll stick with Chengdu, Chongqing, Suzhou and Nanjing.

 

[tom32]

As I recall Perp likes Taxas, Dallas for example, and so would I. As an Aussie I think I could handle Texans easier than New Yorkers and the climate would be better for a Qld boy. But are there any "bargains" there? When I checked a year or so ago there didn't seem to be.

Funnily enough texas is often used as an example of how to not have a housing bubble. Due to some experience with a land price boom many decades ago apparently texas had very progressive development standards which allowed development to be upon developers needs rather than prescribed government limits. Prices rose a little they built a few more houses, there was never a catalyst for prices to rise to unnafordable levels hence they never fell from same.

I am quite certain the local texans would have hated it along the way but what it has meant is prices of homes have tracked inflation all the way through americas sub prime disaster and out the otehr side they remain unscathed.There have been reports done comparing texas with Florida and California the two places which had ridiculous environmental and development controls.

So yeh texas houses are good value but they always have been and they are not going for 100k either. They are what they should be at around the costs of production with a fair premium for amenity / location.

 

[tom32]

then you might as well invest in Afghan and Iraqi housing.

I don't know about Iraq but I remember readin a peice on housing in Kabul a year or two back.

Apparently Kabul has been a ripper of a place to invest in RE. It has doubled in population to 4 million people since 2004. there is a building boom like that you would never see probably in any place at any time. The whole world is putting people on the ground there. Aid groups workers etc.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-22-kabulboom_N.htm

So forget the US go to the next place the US bombs and invest early. Could it be North Korea or perhaps Iran?

 

[willair]

the only problem is that you need to make an idea a reality

That's always the hard part reality and control,and another simple way of looking at things is wages in the area's you intend too invest in,as most US based high top 50 companies now use China -India for all their dirty work,The US Blue Collar workers will be faced with the simple facts,if you have 2-3 billion Chinese-Indian based workers working for $$$x,and the same US based workers on sky high wages,then i know who will win..

That's why from what my sister-in law tells me,it's not so much the price it's all about employment,if Ford GM take all their spare parts too SEA
the Blue Collar Workers of US will be back to below 14 bucks an hour from 28 bucks,just something to think about..willair..

 

[Corey Batt]

Don't bother investing in Kabul, go to India. A colleague of mine has hit 1 mill AUD in equity this year, from his original 50k input 3 years ago. If you aren't an Australian citizen or an Indian government worker, you essentially don't pay any tax either.