How quickly things can change. Just a few months ago, CAD 100 would get you AUD 115. The going rate right now is CAD 100 = AUD 99.9.
I don't know if this is a long term trend or just a temporary insanity of the markets. There has been a lot of temporary insanity happening in the markets that it makes me afraid that the insanity might be long term.
The main reason for the appreciation of the Aussie dollar has been the fact that you can get 6.5% interest on your savings account, while in Canada and the US all you can hope for is 1-2%. As a lot of the world's investors have their assets sitting in cash as the markets are too volatile, they are moving their cash to Australia to earn a decent return for their cash. As a lot of money moves to Australia, this causes the Australian dollar to get stronger with respect to other currencies.
The trend will stop at certain point, and probably reverse somewhat. The question is when and how much!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Window shopping for houses
Last weekend, Carla and I decided to check out what would it be like to build a house here in Sydney. We were primarily interested in the available floor plans and styles.
We rented a car and then drove an hour out of the city to Homeworld (www.homeworld.com.au). This place was amazing. It was setup as a small neighbourhood with 120 different types of houses from 35 different builders. They had bungalows, two storey houses, duplexes, and mansions. It was really convenient to have it all in one place and to be able to quickly compare different builders.
We found three different builders that we liked. Open layout style appealed to us, as we really liked that type of setup from our time house sitting our friend's place. In an open layout, the kitchen flows into the dining room, which flows into the loving room, with no walls dividing the separate areas.
Another interesting feature of these new homes was the alfresco area. I had to see it to understand what 'alfresco area' really meant, but I will try my best to explain it here. Alfresco area is an outdoor patio which is (usually) integrated into the house and thus protected from the rain. Often, the alfresco area is actually one of the outer rooms on the ground floor, but the exterior walls are on the inside. You would most commonly use the alfresco area for outdoor dining, relaxing, lounging or anything else you like to do when the temperature is nice outdoors.
All in all, we were able to find builders that could build something that we would like. The next problem we need to solve is to figure out how to fund a purchase of this new home. Maybe I should put a PayPal Donate button on my web site. :-)
We rented a car and then drove an hour out of the city to Homeworld (www.homeworld.com.au). This place was amazing. It was setup as a small neighbourhood with 120 different types of houses from 35 different builders. They had bungalows, two storey houses, duplexes, and mansions. It was really convenient to have it all in one place and to be able to quickly compare different builders.
We found three different builders that we liked. Open layout style appealed to us, as we really liked that type of setup from our time house sitting our friend's place. In an open layout, the kitchen flows into the dining room, which flows into the loving room, with no walls dividing the separate areas.
Another interesting feature of these new homes was the alfresco area. I had to see it to understand what 'alfresco area' really meant, but I will try my best to explain it here. Alfresco area is an outdoor patio which is (usually) integrated into the house and thus protected from the rain. Often, the alfresco area is actually one of the outer rooms on the ground floor, but the exterior walls are on the inside. You would most commonly use the alfresco area for outdoor dining, relaxing, lounging or anything else you like to do when the temperature is nice outdoors.
All in all, we were able to find builders that could build something that we would like. The next problem we need to solve is to figure out how to fund a purchase of this new home. Maybe I should put a PayPal Donate button on my web site. :-)
Monday, September 27, 2010
It just does not make sense
An interesting thing happened in Australian sports over the weekend.
Australian Football League's version of Superbowl (or Grey Cup) took place last Saturday. However, after 80 minutes of playing, the teams were tied at 68-68. So what did they do? They ended the game and will play each other again next week!!!! I really don't know why they would not have just added 15 more minutes to the game and had it over with then and there.
They have some really weird rules down here, this definitely being one of them.
Australian Football League's version of Superbowl (or Grey Cup) took place last Saturday. However, after 80 minutes of playing, the teams were tied at 68-68. So what did they do? They ended the game and will play each other again next week!!!! I really don't know why they would not have just added 15 more minutes to the game and had it over with then and there.
They have some really weird rules down here, this definitely being one of them.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Finally, new TV shows are back on the air
It has been four months since our favourite TV shows had ended for the summer, and this week they are finally back on the air. From May until now we had to pass time watching reruns of old shows, and scraping by watching second rate shows. Though, some of those second rate shows were interesting, like The Shark Tank, Undercover Boss, Wipeout, Bachelorette and The Bachelor Pad.
This week, most of the TV shows that we follow faithfully are starting back up. House, Grey's Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory, Law and Order: SVU, The Amazing Race and The Mentalist are all back on the air.
The Good Wife starts next week, and we are really looking forward to watching the events unfold in that show. This is only the second season of The Good Wife, but this show was amazing from episode 1. It captures your attention from the start.
This week, most of the TV shows that we follow faithfully are starting back up. House, Grey's Anatomy, The Big Bang Theory, Law and Order: SVU, The Amazing Race and The Mentalist are all back on the air.
The Good Wife starts next week, and we are really looking forward to watching the events unfold in that show. This is only the second season of The Good Wife, but this show was amazing from episode 1. It captures your attention from the start.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Internet plans getting better again
This post is a follow up to http://ivanonthemove.blogspot.com/2010/08/internet-connection-getting-cheaper-in.html.
When I blogged last month about Internet connectivity and prices getting better in Australia, I did not expect them to change any time soon. Fortunately, I was wrong.
Just this week, my Internet provider did another update to their Internet plans (due to competition making their plans even better). The main change is in the monthly quota that is allocated to users. On my old plan, I was on a 70GB quota, which was a big improvement from my old quota of 30GB. The just-released plan is going to give me a quota of 150GB a month. Now we're talking!
All these changes in Australia made me curious about Canadian Internet rates. I took a quick look at Rogers and Bell offerings in Ontario and I was shocked. This is probably the first time that Australian companies are providing better value for money. You get better access rates, with a larger download quota and for a lower price. In Australia, you can even get a 1 Terabyte plan. Which is as close as you'll get to an unlimited plan.
Competition has definitely worked for consumers in this case. Now, I wish they allowed for more competition in cell phone service.
When I blogged last month about Internet connectivity and prices getting better in Australia, I did not expect them to change any time soon. Fortunately, I was wrong.
Just this week, my Internet provider did another update to their Internet plans (due to competition making their plans even better). The main change is in the monthly quota that is allocated to users. On my old plan, I was on a 70GB quota, which was a big improvement from my old quota of 30GB. The just-released plan is going to give me a quota of 150GB a month. Now we're talking!
All these changes in Australia made me curious about Canadian Internet rates. I took a quick look at Rogers and Bell offerings in Ontario and I was shocked. This is probably the first time that Australian companies are providing better value for money. You get better access rates, with a larger download quota and for a lower price. In Australia, you can even get a 1 Terabyte plan. Which is as close as you'll get to an unlimited plan.
Competition has definitely worked for consumers in this case. Now, I wish they allowed for more competition in cell phone service.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
National Rugby League
Following my attendance of an AFL game about a month ago, I decided to check out the other game in town, the National Rugby League (NRL).
AFL (also known as Aussie-rules football) is played throughout Australia, though it used to be primarily a Melbourne-based league. Few years back, the AFL decided to expand so they moved a few Melbourne teams to other parts of the country. Now, there is an AFL team in pretty much every bigger city in Australia.
On the other hand, NRL is played primarily in News South Wales and Queensland. It is also played in Northern England, where the sport originated from. NRL is also referred to as Rugby League in Australia, while elsewhere people know it as Gaelic football.
The third type of rugby played in Australia is Rugby Union, which is the typical international style rugby that is played around the world. I believe that Australia has a Rugby Union team that they send to international competitions, but I really don't know if they a national league playing by Rugby Union rules.
I attended the NRL game where Melbourne Storm played Wests Tigers, to a crowd of 24,000 spectators. Westies are committed fans, so the spectator grounds of the oval where the game was held were full. The game is played in two halves of 40 minutes each.
You win by scoring more points, and you score points by running into the end zone with the ball, or by kicking the ball through the rugby style goal posts. You can only pass the ball back by throwing it, and you can kick the ball forward. A team has only six attempts to score, and if they don't the other team gets the ball. Each attempt is stopped by a tackle. No pads nor head gear is worn, but the tackling is not as brutal as in NFL. Tigers won the game with a score of 26 to 16.
The sport did not appeal to me. I think I prefer AFL as it was a much quicker game, with much more action and scoring.
AFL (also known as Aussie-rules football) is played throughout Australia, though it used to be primarily a Melbourne-based league. Few years back, the AFL decided to expand so they moved a few Melbourne teams to other parts of the country. Now, there is an AFL team in pretty much every bigger city in Australia.
On the other hand, NRL is played primarily in News South Wales and Queensland. It is also played in Northern England, where the sport originated from. NRL is also referred to as Rugby League in Australia, while elsewhere people know it as Gaelic football.
The third type of rugby played in Australia is Rugby Union, which is the typical international style rugby that is played around the world. I believe that Australia has a Rugby Union team that they send to international competitions, but I really don't know if they a national league playing by Rugby Union rules.
I attended the NRL game where Melbourne Storm played Wests Tigers, to a crowd of 24,000 spectators. Westies are committed fans, so the spectator grounds of the oval where the game was held were full. The game is played in two halves of 40 minutes each.
You win by scoring more points, and you score points by running into the end zone with the ball, or by kicking the ball through the rugby style goal posts. You can only pass the ball back by throwing it, and you can kick the ball forward. A team has only six attempts to score, and if they don't the other team gets the ball. Each attempt is stopped by a tackle. No pads nor head gear is worn, but the tackling is not as brutal as in NFL. Tigers won the game with a score of 26 to 16.
The sport did not appeal to me. I think I prefer AFL as it was a much quicker game, with much more action and scoring.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Australia's (new) government
Australia's three independent members of parliament have finally announced who they will support to form the new government. They chose the old Labour government that was in power before the election.
The independents said that they will support the new government to ensure that Australia has a stable government for he next three years. interestingly enough, a day later, the independents were already causing confusion by saying that they did not agree to certain terms which the government thought were already included in the deal. This is not going to be an easy 3-year term for Julia Gillard (the current Prime Minister).
Making things even worse, the Opposition is being nasty and obstructionist. While the independents were trying to figure out who to support in forming the new government, the Opposition was all for civil discourse in the House, and for better relationship between the Government and the Opposition. Now that they've lost in the battle with the Government over the independents, the gloves are off and verbal abuse of the current siting Government is in full force. Do they really think that will get them votes?
The independents said that they will support the new government to ensure that Australia has a stable government for he next three years. interestingly enough, a day later, the independents were already causing confusion by saying that they did not agree to certain terms which the government thought were already included in the deal. This is not going to be an easy 3-year term for Julia Gillard (the current Prime Minister).
Making things even worse, the Opposition is being nasty and obstructionist. While the independents were trying to figure out who to support in forming the new government, the Opposition was all for civil discourse in the House, and for better relationship between the Government and the Opposition. Now that they've lost in the battle with the Government over the independents, the gloves are off and verbal abuse of the current siting Government is in full force. Do they really think that will get them votes?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Leaving for Brisbane
We are leaving right now for a short trip to Brisbane. This will be our first visit to Colin's and Edith's new home, and the FIRST time we meet our niece Kimbie. It should be fun!
Maybe we will get to do some sightseeing around Brisbane, too.
Maybe we will get to do some sightseeing around Brisbane, too.
Monday, September 6, 2010
IELTS Test Results
I finally received my English test results and I did great! A top mark (100%) is 9, while 8 is equivalent to 95%. I needed a minimum of 7 (85%). Out of the four different areas that were tested (reading, listening, speaking and writing) I received two 9s, one 8.5 and one 8. Those are excellent results.
This is the second time in my life that I have had to do a serious English language test. The first test I had to write was for enrollment into a Canadian university. I did not have three years of English high school classes so they required that I write a TOEFL test. I did great that time, too!
This is the second last hurdle in our quest to immigrate to Australia. The last hurdle is me having one year of professional experience in Australia as it gives me extra points on the immigration points test.
Couple more months to go and I will have the required one year of Australian experience, and then we apply for the permanent residency!
This is the second time in my life that I have had to do a serious English language test. The first test I had to write was for enrollment into a Canadian university. I did not have three years of English high school classes so they required that I write a TOEFL test. I did great that time, too!
This is the second last hurdle in our quest to immigrate to Australia. The last hurdle is me having one year of professional experience in Australia as it gives me extra points on the immigration points test.
Couple more months to go and I will have the required one year of Australian experience, and then we apply for the permanent residency!
Friday, September 3, 2010
First day of spring
September 1st is the first day of spring here in Australia. And what a first day we've had. The high for that day was 24 C, and it felt so nice to finally experience nice weather.
According to the weather bureau here, we've had the coldest winter in 12 years. It sure was not MY coldest winter in 12 years. More like the WARMEST winter in 34 years! We've experienced one cold day where it actually went down to 1.4 C. Other than that, the lows varied between 6 and 10 C, and the highs varied between 15 and 18 C. Not bad at all.
The spring is here and I am expecting to see green buds starting to appear on the deciduous trees. Coniferous and eucalyptus trees stayed green throughout winter.
I am trying to wrap up my taxes and any other administrative tasks that I have for the next 9 months, because I don't want to waste good weather days on administrativia. Weekends are for going to the beach! :-)
According to the weather bureau here, we've had the coldest winter in 12 years. It sure was not MY coldest winter in 12 years. More like the WARMEST winter in 34 years! We've experienced one cold day where it actually went down to 1.4 C. Other than that, the lows varied between 6 and 10 C, and the highs varied between 15 and 18 C. Not bad at all.
The spring is here and I am expecting to see green buds starting to appear on the deciduous trees. Coniferous and eucalyptus trees stayed green throughout winter.
I am trying to wrap up my taxes and any other administrative tasks that I have for the next 9 months, because I don't want to waste good weather days on administrativia. Weekends are for going to the beach! :-)
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