3 ms·

Gods i wish. I dont own a car, we have talked about renting one, but it hasnt come about yet. We eat at a restaurant maybe once every month, and we try to kee

Gods i wish. I dont own a car, we have talked about renting one, but it hasnt come about yet. We eat at a restaurant maybe once every month, and we try to keep it under $50. I take my own coffee to work(nice big starbucks mug though! haha... sigh) No cable TV, we do have internet, thats $50 a month. We dont live in america, its easier here in Japan compared to Australia where i came from, i get a comparable wage(about 2k per month AUD approx), and instead of paying 1200 per month in rent, i pay 870, so we can save now. But we have public transport costs, food bills etc. Honestly i have no idea how anyone could survive if they had cable tv, starbucks coffee, restaurants too often AND a car. We could pick one, maybe two if we didnt want to save. I think their idea of a standard wage is not accurate. IF you are programming in some big company, yeah maybe, but i earn less than 40k US per year (which btw is more than i was earning as a fully qualified chef in Australia, with over 10 years experience - when you consider the hours 50+ hours then vs 40 now). As i said originally, i may be missing the point of the article, but for me, if i was earning enough to get what you mentioned, id be quite happy. Id have my house very quickly. Side note: My apartment/house is my goal, a shitty little place that will allow me to save half my rent a month towards another shitty little apartment that i can rent out. Again, maybe im missing something here?

sokoloff 11y ago
I loved visiting Tokyo, but I recall an almost overwhelming sense of not understanding how the economy worked for the people there. It did seem insanely difficult to just break-even working a job there, yet everyone I met was unfailingly polite and pleasant to interact with.
- marak830 11y ago
  I get a fairly good wage comparatively to australia, and infact compared to locals in the same industry. So technicly im being paid well, and if you compare costs/income, im sure you could find the issue i have here -.-
  - severus_bro 11y ago
    Looks like you are in a tight situation regarding income/expenses. If I were you, I would try really hard to switch markets. Here's one scenario - you move to the US, and become nurses, both you and your wife. After a few years, that will give you at least $60k x 2 = $120k in income. But you only need about $70k in income to live well away from the coasts in the US (a little more with kids). Also, whether this kind of transition is worth it depends on how old you are.
stevoski 11y ago
My cousin in Perth was earning AUD$100K+ driving a bus. But...you guessed it...as a fly-in, fly-out employee of the mining industry in Western Australia. I've come to think of that as a typical wage for an uneducated person in Australia...then I read what you earn as a qualified chef, and realize that Perth's economy is a bubble.
- ZenoArrow 11y ago
  > "My cousin in Perth was earning AUD$100K+ driving a bus. But...you guessed it...as a fly-in, fly-out employee of the mining industry in Western Australia." I wonder what the pay would be if the Australian mining industry wasn't so corrupt (this isn't a slight on your cousin in any way, it's those who arrange the tax breaks and lie about the economic impact of mining in Australia that are at fault)... http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-25/nrn-dist-mining-subsidies/4778042 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-25/nrn-dist-mining-sub... http://m.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/mining-workforce-numbers-are-exaggerated/story-e6frg9df-1226131735022 http://m.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/mining-...
- elyobo 11y ago
  Was in a bubble, it's not looking too hot now with current iron ore prices. $40k is staggeringly crap pay for a chef; minimum wage for a full time job in Australia is about $34k ($17.29/hr minimum wage). Average salary is somewhere north of $70k and that's roughly what my brother in law earns as a full time chef.
deleted 11y ago
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sokoloff 11y ago

I loved visiting Tokyo, but I recall an almost overwhelming sense of not understanding how the economy worked for the people there. It did seem insanely difficult to just break-even working a job there, yet everyone I met was unfailingly polite and pleasant to interact with.

marak830 11y ago
I get a fairly good wage comparatively to australia, and infact compared to locals in the same industry. So technicly im being paid well, and if you compare costs/income, im sure you could find the issue i have here -.-
- severus_bro 11y ago
  Looks like you are in a tight situation regarding income/expenses. If I were you, I would try really hard to switch markets. Here's one scenario - you move to the US, and become nurses, both you and your wife. After a few years, that will give you at least $60k x 2 = $120k in income. But you only need about $70k in income to live well away from the coasts in the US (a little more with kids). Also, whether this kind of transition is worth it depends on how old you are.

stevoski 11y ago

My cousin in Perth was earning AUD$100K+ driving a bus. But...you guessed it...as a fly-in, fly-out employee of the mining industry in Western Australia. I've come to think of that as a typical wage for an uneducated person in Australia...then I read what you earn as a qualified chef, and realize that Perth's economy is a bubble.

ZenoArrow 11y ago
> "My cousin in Perth was earning AUD$100K+ driving a bus. But...you guessed it...as a fly-in, fly-out employee of the mining industry in Western Australia." I wonder what the pay would be if the Australian mining industry wasn't so corrupt (this isn't a slight on your cousin in any way, it's those who arrange the tax breaks and lie about the economic impact of mining in Australia that are at fault)... http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-25/nrn-dist-mining-subsidies/4778042 http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-25/nrn-dist-mining-sub... http://m.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/mining-workforce-numbers-are-exaggerated/story-e6frg9df-1226131735022 http://m.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/mining-...
elyobo 11y ago
Was in a bubble, it's not looking too hot now with current iron ore prices. $40k is staggeringly crap pay for a chef; minimum wage for a full time job in Australia is about $34k ($17.29/hr minimum wage). Average salary is somewhere north of $70k and that's roughly what my brother in law earns as a full time chef.

deleted 11y ago

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