Expensive to live in Australian cities

It costs a lot to live in some cities in Australia.

And if you don't work, you're screwed because the amount of money the government gives you in benefits, doesn't even cover your rent, even with a rent subsidy.

Probably the three most expensive cities to live in Australia, if you're looking at rent costs or the cost the buy a house are Sydney, Canberra and Perth.

According to Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which looks at things like rent, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, Sydney is one of the most expensive cities to live in the world - it ranks at number 17 most expensive in 2006.

In April 2010, RP Data, the main provider of property information and analysis in Australia,  listed Canberra as the most expensive city to buy a house, with Sydney extremely close behind for the first quarter (Jan-Mar) in 2010.

According to RP Data, the median house prices  in Australia at May 2010 were:

Sydney - $517,250
Canberra - $508,400
Darwin - $481,775
Melbourne - $480,000
Perth - $475,000
Brisbane - $445,000
Adelaide - $387,500
Hobart - $340,000

There is not much difference between the median (average) housing prices in Sydney and Canberra - about $9,000.

Additionally, according to Bloomburg Business Week, the most expensive city in Australia in 2010 was Canberra (previously it was ranked at number 149), which is the capitol of Australia and has a population of around 400,000.  Sydney, the largest city in Australia, with a population of over 4.4 million was ranked at number 30. This ranking was conducted by ECA International, a global human resources company.

"ECA’s ranking is based on a basket of 128 goods that includes food, daily goods, clothing, electronics, and entertainment, but not rent, utilities, and school fees, which are not typically included in a cost-of-living adjustment."

I viewed a number of apartments that were Open for Inspection

On Saturday (yesterday), I viewed a number of apartments and granny flats.

The first one I viewed was a two bedroom apartment which, while it was modern, was very small, quite dark and I didn't like. The next one I viewed was a granny flat and it was spacious, but old, dirty and smelly - it had very little light inside and was quite dilapidated. It was not for me either.

The next apartment I viewed was a 1-bedroom modern and spacious apartment and it was very nice. It was close to the city and had a lot of appeal. I'll put in an application for that one. Apparently there was quite a bit of interest for it, as apartments that close to the city are usually in high demand.

Following that, the next apartment I saw was refurbished, not too far from the city, had two bedrooms, but the lounge area was tiny and there were holes in the wall near the skirting of the kitchen floor. It wasn't too bad inside, but I those holes concern me, because it is an old apartment block and rats/cockroaches and other pests can easily get in. It was on the second floor and the stairs leading up were very dirty, the ceiling of the entryway (before getting into the flat) was covered with spiderwebs. It just did not appeal to me that much.

There was supposed to be another apartment to view on the south side of town, but I decided not to go, because I did remember on the photos that it was rather old, the bedrooms were downstairs, so it means it would be dark without enough light and probably cold too. No point in viewing it.

Since I had some time, I went to see the area where the next place was (also near the city) and when I visited the apartment block, it was right next to a park (not somewhere I want to be near if I am living by myself), it seemed rather dreary and old, so I decided not to go to the inspection.

The next place was again close to the city, but it had gas heating and cooking (which I do not want) and it was rather small and over-priced. It was modern and well furbished inside, but not for me.

The last apartment I viewed was a bit further out from the city, but has a study as well as the bedroom. The study can be closed off with folding doors and has no natural light in there. It has electric cooking and is in a building that is only three years old. It is quite a nice apartment, which I knew I would like. This place is available right now so I stand a chance of getting it and moving in within two weeks if I am approved!

I will be putting in an application for the two apartments I liked tomorrow. Lucky they are both with the same agency, so it's easier.

Felt good after having a mini makeover this week

I had a job interview last week, so I decided to do a bit of an overhaul of my look. The interview was okay. The people who interviewed me seemed really nice, easy going. I wouldn't mind getting the job.

Prior to the interview, I was worried about whether or not the people interviewing me would be wearing strong perfumes given that we would be in a small enclosed room, but thankfully they did not. And neither did I smell any strong perfumes anywhere in the area either, so that was good.

I cut and coloured my hair, plucked my eyebrows (so girly I am) and styled my hair really nicely in a way that really suited my face (I know how to make myself look good when I need to).

I haven't done anything to my hair in months, so this cut and colour really helped to give it more life and bounciness. It just looks really nice now and I no longer look like a completely invisible person like I felt before. I haven't been feeling well, so I hadn't felt the need to do anything to enhance my appearance for months.

When I was parking at the interview location, a man who was with a group of people just kept on looking at me and it took me some moments to realise that he was looking at me because I looked nice! In addition to that, when I went to a specialist store, one of the guys who runs it also couldn't stop looking at me - it was hilarious that I grabbed his attention like that, when he barely noticed me before! I haven't had any type of male attention lately, so I forgot what it was like!

I'll find out about the interview this coming week. The recruitment consultant said she would contact the client on Monday (tomorrow) to check up on how they are going to proceed - whether or not they will offer the job to me. Hopefully I will get it, because that means I will be able to then easily afford to rent my own place away from the crazy family I have and have the space and peace of mind I need to feel really good again.