Not too long ago I wrote how wonderful it was that we would be eligible for LAFHA (living away from home allowance) and that it would make our lives in the money pit, aka Australia, much more affrordable. For those that have forgotten that post or lost interest after the 4th syllable, here it is:
http://theklamersofoz.blogspot.com/2011/11/death-taxes.html
Just yesterday, the Australian federal government announced the following:
"...the government will crack down on misuse of the living-away-from-home allowance tax exemption by highly-paid executives and foreign workers..."
Source: http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/business-old/treasurer-wayne-swan-finds-115-billion-in-new-savings/story-e6frg2qu-1226209022079
Nobody told me that I was a "highly paid executive" although as a "foreign worker" I am guilty as charged.
The timing is bad. We just rented a home based on the LAFHA scenario's and we can't back out of the lease now without losing a lot of money. Fortunately, the proposed cuts don't go into effect until July 2012 but that still means there could be a potential for paying a very large rent for 5 months (July - November). We assumed the rent only because of the tax breaks. We'll see what happens. There could be a push back from businesses when they have even more trouble recruiting overseas workers because of the new LAFHA rules. Otherwise, I may have to speak to my employer about other possible remuneration options.
I thought it would take longer for me to hate the Australian government but their timing is impecable.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
One out of Four Ain't Bad
So, it looks like all of the conditions for us to move into the Hope Street home have been approved. We are signing the paperwork on Friday and also moving in on Friday. Our sea freight has been delayed and likely won't show up until early-mid January so the relocation company is providing us with temporary furniture.
Since the house is now almost out of the way we are trying to take care of a couple other little things. So yesterday afternoon Nadia picked me up from work early so that we could sort them out.
1) Our new (to us) car is missing a seat belt latch in the back seat so it is currently only a 6-seater. Not a big deal in the short term and we were aware of it when we bought it. However, the dealership didn't have any and had to order one in from Hyundai. Yesterday it arrived. So, Nadia got me from work and then we went to have it fixed. We brought it over and it took about 15 minutes. We had to rush off to our next appointment that started at 4pm.
2) We were then off to get the kids swimming level evaluated at a local pool. We need to know what level of swimming to put them in here primarily so that they can be safe in the ocean. There are rip tides here that, if you're not careful, can be very dangerous. If you know what you're doing they aren't that bad. Either way, we want the kids to be safe in the ocean. The boys were evaluated at about the same level as an average 11 year old here. Oh yeah, I bet if an Australian came to Canada for a curling evaluation that they'd only be able to drink at a 13 years old level. Keva was probably at a 9 year old level. In any case, we'll probably put them in some short term private lessons to get them up to speed. As were were leaving we tried the new seatbelt and it didn't work.
3) We were then off to the mall to get mobile phones for Nadia and I. The malls close at 5:30 on Tuesdays so we didn't have much time. After sorting through the different companies and confusing plans we finally made a decision. We arrived at about 5pm but unfortunately, in our rush we didn't bring passports, a bank statement or any other ID that's required to get a mobile phone plan.
4) By that time we were hungry. We starting driving home but found this very nice little Italian take-out place called "Tony's Spaghetti Take out" or something. It was fabulous. As we finished eating we were about to head home when we noticed the sun about to set. We were a minute from the beach so we drove down and witnessed our first Australian sunset. It was gorgeous (and windy and cold). On a 40 degree day it would be a perfect way to wind down. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us but because of where we'll be living, this will be the first of many.
Today, Nadia is going back to the dealership to let them know that they installed the wrong seatbelt clip and then she's going to the mall to pick up our phones. At least the paperwork was started so it should be quick. Now we have to pick an internet, TV and home phone provider. The mobile phone plans are simple compared to these plans.
I can't wait to move and try to get settled. Living as we have been has been a little like camping: we are living out of bags/suitcases, the neighbours are rowdy and we have to go grocery shopping every day. I used to like camping until now.
Since the house is now almost out of the way we are trying to take care of a couple other little things. So yesterday afternoon Nadia picked me up from work early so that we could sort them out.
1) Our new (to us) car is missing a seat belt latch in the back seat so it is currently only a 6-seater. Not a big deal in the short term and we were aware of it when we bought it. However, the dealership didn't have any and had to order one in from Hyundai. Yesterday it arrived. So, Nadia got me from work and then we went to have it fixed. We brought it over and it took about 15 minutes. We had to rush off to our next appointment that started at 4pm.
2) We were then off to get the kids swimming level evaluated at a local pool. We need to know what level of swimming to put them in here primarily so that they can be safe in the ocean. There are rip tides here that, if you're not careful, can be very dangerous. If you know what you're doing they aren't that bad. Either way, we want the kids to be safe in the ocean. The boys were evaluated at about the same level as an average 11 year old here. Oh yeah, I bet if an Australian came to Canada for a curling evaluation that they'd only be able to drink at a 13 years old level. Keva was probably at a 9 year old level. In any case, we'll probably put them in some short term private lessons to get them up to speed. As were were leaving we tried the new seatbelt and it didn't work.
3) We were then off to the mall to get mobile phones for Nadia and I. The malls close at 5:30 on Tuesdays so we didn't have much time. After sorting through the different companies and confusing plans we finally made a decision. We arrived at about 5pm but unfortunately, in our rush we didn't bring passports, a bank statement or any other ID that's required to get a mobile phone plan.
4) By that time we were hungry. We starting driving home but found this very nice little Italian take-out place called "Tony's Spaghetti Take out" or something. It was fabulous. As we finished eating we were about to head home when we noticed the sun about to set. We were a minute from the beach so we drove down and witnessed our first Australian sunset. It was gorgeous (and windy and cold). On a 40 degree day it would be a perfect way to wind down. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us but because of where we'll be living, this will be the first of many.
Today, Nadia is going back to the dealership to let them know that they installed the wrong seatbelt clip and then she's going to the mall to pick up our phones. At least the paperwork was started so it should be quick. Now we have to pick an internet, TV and home phone provider. The mobile phone plans are simple compared to these plans.
I can't wait to move and try to get settled. Living as we have been has been a little like camping: we are living out of bags/suitcases, the neighbours are rowdy and we have to go grocery shopping every day. I used to like camping until now.
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Location, Location, Location
Yesterday we looked at 3 homes to rent:
1) Hope Street
1 1/2 blocks from the beach. Large, modern, bright, open home. Very nice outdoor space with a big back yard and a hot tub??? Advertised as 4 large bedroom when in fact it was 3 large bedroom and 1 small study. Close to the school. Did I mention it's 1 1/2 blocks from the beach?
2) Sandover Drive
Very nice neighbourhood and across the street from a golf course. Salt water pool. 4 bedrooms. The home itself looks like someone drank a huge bottle of the late 1970's and threw up everywhere. Very dark inside and not very good space. I was afraid to touch anything and couldn't wait to get out. Brand new listing so no pictures available.
3) Jodrell Road
Not as nice a neighbourhood and a little newer so it didn't have many trees in the area, although, it was very close to a pond and path area. Well maintained. 4 bedroom. Fairly modern. A little small inside. Almost no outdoor space however.
1) Hope Street
1 1/2 blocks from the beach. Large, modern, bright, open home. Very nice outdoor space with a big back yard and a hot tub??? Advertised as 4 large bedroom when in fact it was 3 large bedroom and 1 small study. Close to the school. Did I mention it's 1 1/2 blocks from the beach?
2) Sandover Drive
Very nice neighbourhood and across the street from a golf course. Salt water pool. 4 bedrooms. The home itself looks like someone drank a huge bottle of the late 1970's and threw up everywhere. Very dark inside and not very good space. I was afraid to touch anything and couldn't wait to get out. Brand new listing so no pictures available.
3) Jodrell Road
Not as nice a neighbourhood and a little newer so it didn't have many trees in the area, although, it was very close to a pond and path area. Well maintained. 4 bedroom. Fairly modern. A little small inside. Almost no outdoor space however.
Because we are being evicted from our current accomodation by this Saturday we are forced to make a choice. So, #2 is out because it's a #2. That leaves 1 & 3. We decided to put in an offer for...drum roll... #1 Hope Street! We will use the study as a 4th bedroom, otherwise the house is very good. We're going to put in a bit of cheeky offer because it was misadvertised. We should see within the next two days.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
The Lords are the Flies
Today we made our first trip outside of the city of Perth. We headed East into what is commonly called the "Perth Hills" but has another 'real' name. We drove into a very nice small town and then explored the area a little bit. We managed to see some real Australian wilderness today and a few new creatures that call it home. But make no mistake, the ruler in these parts are the flies. They are smaller than the flies in Canada and they don't buzz until they're in your ear. They are also relentless and the only reprieve is to go indoors and have a good cry about it. Fortunately, they are only really a problem in the summer or when a wind from the East comes through. However, every afternoon in the summer the Fremantle Doctor wind from the West blows them back inland. Since we went inland today we found the motherload. In between running from our car to a place and back to our car we managed to see a few sights:
The view of the bush just east of Perth in the hills. It's our first real glimpse of the Australian wilderness even though it's pretty tame.
On our way to the town and park. On the right, behind the fence is a horse eating grass. On the left outside the fence is a kangaroo eating grass. One is wild, one is not. They are both hungry. That is all.
Picnicing in the bush. We didn't want to stay still for too long to give the flies an opportunity to plan our kidnapping.
Another of the parrots that live in the area. I love parrots. These particular parrots were all over this area looking for picnic left-overs.
We finally saw a Kookaburra. It was directly over us at our picnic table and looked to be checking out our lunch. They are famous for their call but this one wasn't talking.
Some of the local flora in the area. As it's early summer here many of the plants are no longer flowering but some are. One of them that is really amazing and currently flowering is the local lilac. The lilacs here are trees rather than bushes and they are huge and they look like an explosion of purple and they smell just as nice as the lilacs in Canada
Here we are following in the footsteps of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia: After a tough day in the bush we headed to the local french cafe for crepes, coffee & milkshakes.
This is a view of the city from the hills. It was a little smoky today due to a fire south of the city. The fire was actually a prescribed burn that went out of control and destroyed several homes in the Margaret River area about two hours south.
Here you'll find Nadia scheming about our future forrest home in the hills. Some of the homes in this area were huge and had an amazing view of the city. The only downside is that they are about 40 minutes away from the CBD and nowhere near the beach. But there is a lake nearby and in this part of Australia there is nothing that likes to eat you in the lakes.
While we were enjoying the view of the city this eagle was watching for food. This picture doesn't really do it justice as it was very large with a huge wingspan.
Tomorrow we are going into 3 homes. If we don't find anything we are in trouble as we need to be out of our apartment on December 3. So, basically we are almost forced to pick one of the three. That being said, we are hopeful that one of them will be okay. If not, we may have to see if we can get a 6 month lease rather than a 1 year lease and then find another home at a better time of year for the market. This is literally the worst time of year to try to find rental property because of the holiday season. One month from now there will be plenty on the market but it will be too late for us by then. Anyways, fingers crossed and hopefully I'll have good news to report shortly.
The Sporting Life
Every once in a while I like to check in on the exploits of our (former) local hockey heroes...ugh. One of the things that has been difficult to adjust to in Oz is the sporting culture. In this country sports play a very prominent role and folks take their sports very seriously. Australia consistently finishes near the top of international sporting events per capita, including Olympics, Commonwealth games, etc. However, the popular team sports hear are just...different.
One of the few familiar sports in rugby. I like watching rugby in short spurts but I certainly wouldn't consider myself a fan. Recently the New Zealand All-Blacks won the rugby World Cup to quite a bit of fanfare (over hear at least). Rugby is the game in New Zealand, more popular than all other sports combined. I guess they haven't won the World Cup in something like 30 years, so it was a very big deal here when they won it. In Australia it's also a popular game but not like in NZ.
"Think like the Kookaburra, be the Kookaburra, fly like the Kookaburra!"
Another fairly popular sport here is soccer. This isn't surprising when you consider the number of people from the UK that call Australia home. However, like Canada they call it 'soccer' here rather than 'football', 'footy', 'the beautiful game' or 'just another reason to get drunk and start a fight and burn stuff' (aka, hockey playoffs in Vancouver). Most people that do follow soccer here don't actually follow soccer here. Rather they follow the exploits of the 'lads' back home. Teams like Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and other sleep aids are very popular here.
Water sports like swimming, surfing, sailing, etc are quite popular. Swimming competitions are televised here. I didn't know they held swimming competions outside of the Olympics until I moved to Australia (not really true but it helps my point).
When we toured the schools with the kids they were commonly asked "what sports do you do" to which they replied "hockey". The common answer is "we have hockey here" until they realized we were talking about real hockey. Field Hockey is quite popular in Australia. Ridiculous! But as the saying goes "when in Rome, teach the Romans how to fight on skates..." or something like that.
"Hurray! We just got paid for fixing a match!" Big scandal in the cricket world right now, or so I'm told, due to some Pakistani cricketers taking a payoff to intentionally lose.
A sight commonly seen across Perth on a Sunday morning and what is seen can not be unseen.
Right now the big summer sport is Cricket. For the life of me I can not understand how this game is played, and I've honestly tried. However, any single game that takes more than 3-4 hours to play I am no longer interested in unless it's in quadruple overtime. Some cricket games go on for days and they may not even have a winner at the end of it! If you drive around Perth any given Sunday, you will see the local fields filled with a bunch of men standing around spread out and all wearing white. They are either Cricketers or a group of lost and confused sailors.
A couple of familiar sports here are tennis and golf, both of which we plan on participating in. There are oodles of tennis courts around in most communities like there are outdoor (ice) hockey rinks in communities around Calgary. Thus far we have only discovered two things that are cheaper in Perth than in Calgary: 1) parking; and 2) Golf!!! Golf here is abundant, year round and cheap. As a matter of fact, you can get a private golf membership on a very nice course for $6000/year. However, if you try to retrieve a ball from the bush you may be putting your life at risk so in many cases stray golf balls are not retrieved from the bush. As a result, with the way I play, it will likely cost me double the green fees in lost golf balls alone.
Levitating is encouraged in netball and takes many years to perfect.
Netball is a popular girls sport here. It's like basketball but when you catch the ball you can't move but only can pivot. Basketball is also popular here but, like in North American, unfortunately we haven't managed to convince them to lockout the players and cancel the season here either.
Aussie Rules Football: the team that loses the least blood wins.
The king of sports in Australia is Football. No, it's not the "what an exciting 0-0 match" variety I alluded to earlier, nor the 'two yards at a time in a cloud of smoke' that is almost a religion in the US. I'm talking about Australian Rules Football, or just "Football" in Australia (this drives the Poms nuts). If you've never experienced the game it's like rugby except that when running with the oblong ball you have to bounce it (or dribble in basketball) every few steps or so and if a ball is kicked in the air and cleanly caught then the player that catches it is hands-off to other players. Otherwise, they have carte-blanche, more or less, to try to decapitate one another. This game has some potential...
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Summer in the City
Yesterday we picked up our new car- new to us anyways and our very first GPS device. It took a while but we finally managed to make it into the 21st century. Both are awesome and I can honestly say that I am warming to technology. Today, we took the car out to look at our first home viewing. It was 1 1/2 blocks from the ocean, in our school catchment area, 4 bedrooms and has a pool. The pool and deck area was absolutely gorgeous but the rest of the house was only so-so, including the 80's style pink toilets and bathroom sinks. However, the biggest issue is that it's only available on December 20 and we need to move by December 3. So, it's almost certainly counted out. Hopefully on Monday we'll be able to go into 3 more homes. One of them is going to have to fit the bill or we are looking at being homeless. The good news is thta we probably have enough room to sleep in the car at the beach.
2 out of 4 of us are happy to go driving in our new car:
After the house hunting was finished for the day we went to Hillary's Boat Harbour: a touristy area with a little cove for swimming and a bunch of restaurants and shops. Today they had a fireworks display celebrating the launch of summer. Like the sign says...
The fireworks were pretty good. It was a very festive vibe with lots of people there. There were quite a few of them swimming in the cove during the fireworks and if you look closely you can see their little pea-heads floating in the water. I assume the heads were still attached to their bodies but sharks do come into the area on occasion.
Tomorrow, we are planning on going to Rockingham (just south of Perth) to visit a seal colony and natural area. If we have time we also plan to get mobile phones presuming we can find a mall that's open on Sunday. We would have done it by now but not only are the plans very expensive they are incredibly complicated. The biggest carrier in the country is Telstra and they have a practical monopoly on the business. They also are the largest provider for home phone service and internet service. Finally, they have a true monopoly on digital television. They are literally the only digital TV provider. Other companies are trying to break in to the mobile market but Telstra owns all of the 4G towers and most of the coverage outside of the major cities. That being said, companies like Optus/Virgin are improving their mobile coverage and are hopefully going to provide some competition in the market. If you think mobile phone plans are expensive in Canada you should see them here. I hate to continue to complain about the cost of stuff but it really is mind blowing. The cheapest and simplest plan you can get here is $29/month for $400 worth of calls and text and 500mb of data. Doesn't sound bad until you read the fine print and realize that each minute costs 99 cents plus a 40 cent connection fee for each call. Each text message costs 25 cents. That means, if you were to only use the phone for text messaging and no calling you'd be able to send 1600 text messages per month. Zaren and Cyrus used to do that on a daily basis before breakfast. If you were to only use it for calling you could average about 12 minutes a day. We need more time than that to whine about the lousy and expensive phone plans. You can get full coverage plans but the cheapest one is on a network that doesn't have great coverage and it's $90/month. The bottom line is that we're simply going to have to adjust to living here and eating rice and water for every meal.
Rollin on the River
Last night my department at work had our unofficial Xmas party. They arranged a 3 hour river cruise on the Swan River, departing from the CBD and heading west towards Freemantle and the ocean and then back. The festivities kicked off at 4:30. Everyone was on their best behavior to start. I had a chance to meet a few people I hadn't met yet and a chance to get to know more about some others (in some cases, more than I wanted to know).
Here is the boat departing from Perth. As we were leaving a gentleman sat down beside me and started talking in this funny accent. Turns out he is my boss' boss and he is from...wait for it...Calgary. It was such a relief to speak to someone that knew what I was talking about and could understand me when I said "I'm learnin a lot aboot the company, eh..."
This is one of the many communities that line the Swan. Because the river is so close to the CBD it is a very sought-after location to live, even moreso than the beach by some people. THE most expensive houses are close to the ocean and on the river. As a matter of fact, we sailed past the most expensive house in Australia valued at $55,000,000. That's well over 60 million Canadian dollars right now. I would have taken a picture, however, anyone that can afford that sort of house can also easily afford to make any amateur papparazzi "disappear". I'm not suggesting that the owner is engaged in any sort of criminal activities. S/he could be a bit-time mining executive. However, I read somewhere that many succesful CEOs have similar personality traits to sociopaths. Just saying... This particular community reminded me of a Mediterranean style area.
We're gonna need a bigger boat...Didn't see any sharks in the river, although, I was told that they frequent it. However, I saw my first dolphin ever. We saw a fin from a distance and then watched as it made it's way directly to our boat and road the boats wake. I just happened to be standing right on the
Coming back to Perth: The river is a very highly used area. People fish, boat, sail, kite-ski, jet ski, and any other water activity you can think of. Here's one of the many sailboats on the river. We also saw one sailboat that almost sunk and was being rescued. Not sure what happened to it but it didn't look like much fun.
Facing West: The sunset near "The Sunset Coast". We still haven't had a chance to go to the beach and watch what is supposed to be one of the most spectacular sunsets in the world. This was nice anyways.
Some of my co-workers: On the left is Rob my boss. In the middle is Dave who is in my group. Both are Poms. Try to contain your amazement. Everyone has been very nice so far which makes me wonder what the pack of scheming bastards have up their sleeves...
Initially, I wasn't going to post any of the pictures of the liveliness inside but then I changed my mind. Fickle! Thy name is Mike Klamer! Anyhoo, it was an open bar and some folks very much took advantage of it. In fact, it was a very lively event and everyone had fun. There was a little dancing, a little singing (that's what we'll call it anyways) and good times in general. All in all, a good group of people that work hard and like to let off steam.
After the cruise we stopped into the bar at the pier called the...wait for it..."Lucky Shag". Not kidding, that's it's name. When we were exploring the city in our first few days we happened to come across this bar and one of the boys asked "does that mean what I think it means?" To which I replied "yes, but I don't know why they'd name a club after a 70's-style carpet..."
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
On the Road Again
Here it is. This is our 2008 Hyundai SantaFe CM Elite! It is a "Flagship model with seven seats, ally wheels, side steps, full leather interior, roof rails, sunroof and roof mounted dvd player." These pictures are of the actual vehicle that we bought. *Edit*I forgot to mention it only has 40,000KM"s. We got it for $28,500 and believe it or not we got a smokin deal. We bought it at the Alfa Romeo dealership. Not only that our salesmans name is James Bond. True Story!
Most people don't look for Hyundai's at this type of dealership. I'm sure they wanted to get it off the lot. The owner also has the Lamborghini/Porshe dealership next door I found it on-line and we didn't get over to that dealer until after 8, by the time we put in the offer it was after closing and they just wanted to go home. It was originally listed at $34,990 and reduced to $29,990 on the weekend. We drove right by this dealership on Saturday and of course didn't even consider going in. We still have to pay stamp duty on the car which will be around $1000. The government sends a bill to us directly. It is just such a relief to have found a vehicle, not only that but it is also the nicest car we have ever owned. Also it was one of the cheapest options we had and certainly the best value for money with what is available on the market here. Now we can return our car rental and stop burning up that money in the fireplace.
Believe it or not this vehicle has three rows of seats. The back row has two seats and is very comfortable, the middle row has three seats and is still pretty roomy, each row has air conditioning which is a huge bonus. The other types of vehicles we looked at only had air in the front. Not an option after our 37degree day! The only problem is the leather seats. Ouch. I will be looking for seat covers tomorrow! We pick it up on Friday!
Most people don't look for Hyundai's at this type of dealership. I'm sure they wanted to get it off the lot. The owner also has the Lamborghini/Porshe dealership next door I found it on-line and we didn't get over to that dealer until after 8, by the time we put in the offer it was after closing and they just wanted to go home. It was originally listed at $34,990 and reduced to $29,990 on the weekend. We drove right by this dealership on Saturday and of course didn't even consider going in. We still have to pay stamp duty on the car which will be around $1000. The government sends a bill to us directly. It is just such a relief to have found a vehicle, not only that but it is also the nicest car we have ever owned. Also it was one of the cheapest options we had and certainly the best value for money with what is available on the market here. Now we can return our car rental and stop burning up that money in the fireplace.
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We feeling hot, hot, HOT
Today is truly the first day I have felt uncomfortable because of the heat. It's 37 today. At 6 this morning it was in the mid 20's. Nad and the kids went to the beach and I went to my first fabrication shop in Australia. Cyrus got a burn but not too bad. We're off to do some heavy duty car shopping and we're hopeful of success.
By the way you haven't lived until you've heard "g'day mate" in a thick Macedonian accent. I had no idea what my cabbie was saying but I'm confident I heard his entire life story.
By the way you haven't lived until you've heard "g'day mate" in a thick Macedonian accent. I had no idea what my cabbie was saying but I'm confident I heard his entire life story.
To School We Go
I just wanted to say a word or two about the school we picked for the kids. We had an amazing tour with the principle. It says a lot that the principle would take time out to provide this to us. When we were walking around we absolutely got the feeling that this was the school for us, which is what I was hoping for, but hadn't counted on. Except for the boys who where," yah whatever, looks good". Keva was very excited as they do have French classes and a French Club and send kids on International Tours. A girl in year 12 won a trip to France for getting high honours on her French Exams. We understand that Keva's French will probably be at a grade 11/12 level already, so as long as she maintains to she will have a real advantage. Language learning is highly valued here and we were told that if you graduate with a lauguage they automatically add 10% to you graduating average. That is just huge. We also found out that Keva has skipped a grade! Because of the start of school in January, when Keva's birthday is, her age puts her firmly in Grade 9. We have been advised(at every school we spoke to) to put her in Grade 9. She is quite a dilegent student so I'm sure she will catch up soon and her school offers strong support if she needs it. So she will now be the graduating class of 2015! The boys will have to go into Grade 11, their age is fine for this as their birthday is in August, but more important, Grade 11/12 is run as a two years course here. They have to pick a track, either technical college or pre-university courses from Grade 11 and they follow that track through to graduation. So, the boys have some decisions to make. The school is just great. The only downfall is the uniforms aren't quite as nice as some other schools(oh well) and the website isn't all that great. Fine for us as we were able to experience the school first hand, but anyone looking at it wouldn't be able to tell what a great school it is. The kids will be able to pick from some great options, snorkelling and camp is one, tennis, is another, and surfing is also offered. They also have a proffessional photography studio and camera equipment. The photography the students have done is phenomenal and has won all sorts of awards. They also have an amazing metal, woodworking, jewlery designing shop. They just have some great programs. I was wondering how the kids will fit in all the fantastics things there are to do. Besides the options the school scores extremely high in all the starndard testing scores. The surrounding communities are really nice and give us lots of options for housing. All around it is just such a great school. I just can't wait to get the kids in there and get settled in the community. It is just such a relief to not only have found a school, but one checks all those boxes. As soon as we get an address we will be able to register then for the last couple of weeks of school. They will just have enough time to learn their way around and hopefully make their entry in February a little more comfortable! Now we must find a house.
Other than this we are all feeling a little more comfortable in our surroundings. Keva had her first babysitting job(from new best friend Kylie!) and is the first person in the family to recieve Australian income! The weather has been amazing as I'm sure you know from how much we talk about it. The pool has become a need with our home search! I woke up this morning at 7am and it was already 26degrees! Today it is forcasted to be 37degrees, we'll see how it goes. I'm very firmly watching for heat stroke and dehydration, as well the UV index is at "Extreme". You can imagine sun protection is very important here. Well, I must sign off as we must get to the beach early before it gets too hot! Now it's 9am and 29 degrees!!
Other than this we are all feeling a little more comfortable in our surroundings. Keva had her first babysitting job(from new best friend Kylie!) and is the first person in the family to recieve Australian income! The weather has been amazing as I'm sure you know from how much we talk about it. The pool has become a need with our home search! I woke up this morning at 7am and it was already 26degrees! Today it is forcasted to be 37degrees, we'll see how it goes. I'm very firmly watching for heat stroke and dehydration, as well the UV index is at "Extreme". You can imagine sun protection is very important here. Well, I must sign off as we must get to the beach early before it gets too hot! Now it's 9am and 29 degrees!!
Death & Taxes
Yesterday, we had a free 1 hour consultation with an Australian tax attorney. Actually, that's not true. a) we only had 45 minutes because the phone number I was given for the conference room at work was incorrect so then we scrambled to find the correct number, couldn't, and ended up calling him at which time he had to find out his conference room phone number for us to call him on; and b) like (it seems) most people here, he is British, not Australian.
In any case, the consulation went quite well on two fronts. The first is that the Australian tax system is very similar to the Canadian tax system. In fact, a lot of systems here are similar to Canada. The commercial contract law, which impacts me greatly at work, is often based on Canadian Supreme Court legal precedence. Just yesterday, I was watching the news and they mentioned a Canadian legal case that was used as a basis for judgement here. The second is that we are eligible for LAFHA (pronounced laugha), the Living Away From Home Allowance. Basically, my employer is able to deduct the entire amount of our rent from my taxable income AND a set amount for food. The food allowance is based on age and at 14, for the purpose of this, you are considered an adult. The boys eat like professional sumo wrestlers so I should hope so. In any case, it makes for a very generous tax savings and drives our taxable income down by about 30% if not more. Not bad. In fact, it's so good it honestly seems a touch unfair to Australian citizens who don't get any such tax breaks unless they are literally sent off to the mines. They make it very easy for people to live and work in Australia temporarily. I think they count on the weather and beaches to convince people to stay and give the government more money.
One significant difference between Oz and Canada is that here it is mandatory that everyone pay 9% (minimum) of their salary into what's called a Superannuation fund, or what Canadians call a RSP. So, if you are working you have a retirement savings no matter how small. You do pay 15% tax on it when it goes in. If we stay here, the money also stays until retirement age at which time you get the money tax free (minus the 15% taxed off the top). If we leave, we get the money minus 35% tax. So, they tax it 15% going in and 35% going out for a total of 50%. So, in essence 4.5% of my salary is being held in trust by the Australian governement (not including interest) until we leave. Interesting system and something that I think many countries would do well to consider.
Yesterday, we also went to look at a vehicle we found online at Gumtree- the Aussie version of Kijiji. The family selling it is *surprise* British and they are moving to Malaysia for another work assignment. Actually, their story is pretty interesting in that they set off as a couple in 2002 with a plan to move every two years to a different country. They are now at the end of their Australian soujorn and are moving onto their last two years in Malaysia. In the meantime, they've had 3 kids along the way, all born in different countries. The car was okay but didn't blow our socks off. Even private sales are brutally expensive for what we're looking for.
Today is Wednesday in Oz. That means it is the day when the car dealerships are open until 9pm. It also means that today is the day that we do some hard-core car shopping. Actually, we have been trying dilligently to find a 7 seater SUV but the market is very dry. Of those that are available, they are either very old and run down, fairly new (2010) and very expensive or gone within 5 minutes of being listed for sale. In any case, we need to find a car because our rental is costing us a fortune. We hope to have a vehicle by this weekend. If so, that will be a major headache resolved. It's even possible that we may have a home by this weekend too. If so, all the up front hard work will be done.
In any case, the consulation went quite well on two fronts. The first is that the Australian tax system is very similar to the Canadian tax system. In fact, a lot of systems here are similar to Canada. The commercial contract law, which impacts me greatly at work, is often based on Canadian Supreme Court legal precedence. Just yesterday, I was watching the news and they mentioned a Canadian legal case that was used as a basis for judgement here. The second is that we are eligible for LAFHA (pronounced laugha), the Living Away From Home Allowance. Basically, my employer is able to deduct the entire amount of our rent from my taxable income AND a set amount for food. The food allowance is based on age and at 14, for the purpose of this, you are considered an adult. The boys eat like professional sumo wrestlers so I should hope so. In any case, it makes for a very generous tax savings and drives our taxable income down by about 30% if not more. Not bad. In fact, it's so good it honestly seems a touch unfair to Australian citizens who don't get any such tax breaks unless they are literally sent off to the mines. They make it very easy for people to live and work in Australia temporarily. I think they count on the weather and beaches to convince people to stay and give the government more money.
One significant difference between Oz and Canada is that here it is mandatory that everyone pay 9% (minimum) of their salary into what's called a Superannuation fund, or what Canadians call a RSP. So, if you are working you have a retirement savings no matter how small. You do pay 15% tax on it when it goes in. If we stay here, the money also stays until retirement age at which time you get the money tax free (minus the 15% taxed off the top). If we leave, we get the money minus 35% tax. So, they tax it 15% going in and 35% going out for a total of 50%. So, in essence 4.5% of my salary is being held in trust by the Australian governement (not including interest) until we leave. Interesting system and something that I think many countries would do well to consider.
Yesterday, we also went to look at a vehicle we found online at Gumtree- the Aussie version of Kijiji. The family selling it is *surprise* British and they are moving to Malaysia for another work assignment. Actually, their story is pretty interesting in that they set off as a couple in 2002 with a plan to move every two years to a different country. They are now at the end of their Australian soujorn and are moving onto their last two years in Malaysia. In the meantime, they've had 3 kids along the way, all born in different countries. The car was okay but didn't blow our socks off. Even private sales are brutally expensive for what we're looking for.
Today is Wednesday in Oz. That means it is the day when the car dealerships are open until 9pm. It also means that today is the day that we do some hard-core car shopping. Actually, we have been trying dilligently to find a 7 seater SUV but the market is very dry. Of those that are available, they are either very old and run down, fairly new (2010) and very expensive or gone within 5 minutes of being listed for sale. In any case, we need to find a car because our rental is costing us a fortune. We hope to have a vehicle by this weekend. If so, that will be a major headache resolved. It's even possible that we may have a home by this weekend too. If so, all the up front hard work will be done.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Going to the Birds
One of the interesting features about Australia in general and this part of Australia in particular is how many birds there are here. There are so many of them that they really become part of your life here. I've heard some Paleontologists say that dinosaurs didn't really go extinct but they evolved and branched into two trees: reptiles and birds. This continent has no shortage of either, although, we haven't seen many reptiles yet. This is really the "land of the lost" when you consider how wild it is and the types of animals that live here, a couple of which would have no issues eating you (Salty Croc, Great White Shark). So, without further adieu here are some of the local feathered fauna:
The Pigeon, aka "feathered rat". These are everywhere but they are quiet and tend to stay out of the way.
The Australian Magpie:
This is quite different from the North American Magpie in a couple of ways. The first is their appearance but more importantly is their noise. Magpie's here are fairly quiet and almost make a nice, soft singing sound.
Some of the local Cockatoo's
In parts of Australia they are considered pests and are culled. Here there aren't too many of them and people still tolerate them. We've seen quite a few of these around town. I've always loved these birds. Hopefully that won't change now that I'm surrounded by them.
Black Swan
Here is Lake Monger (very close to where we currently are) with Perth CBD in the background. Perth is one of the only places in the world where these swans live. The main river (Swan River) was named after these birds. There are a tonne of these in this particular lake along with thousands of ducks. Apparantly, they are very aggresive if you have food.
Rainbow Lorikeets
We saw a whole flock of these 5 feet away from us in a tree...they were just resting, beautiful plummage...
It's not a bird but related (if you believe the Paleontologists). Blue-tongued skink:
We almost stepped on one of these while walking to the beach. It was actually kinda cute. It didn't seem too concerned about us and just slowly went on it's way. It didn't flash us the blue tongue as a warning so it's obviously accustomed to being around people.
And lastly, the star of the show... the Australian Raven or Crow (can't quite figure out which):
For as unobtrusive as the Magpie's are compared to their Canadian counterparts, these little buggers make up for it. They start at the crack of dawn (about 4:30am right now) and don't stop until the sun goes down. They constantly make this god-awful noise that literally sounds like a cross between a duck drowning and a cat mating. When we first heard it we were looking around to make sure that there wasn't a drunk, sun-stroked cat stuck on a ledge. If Edgar Allen Poe had encountered these Ravens the story would have ended with the bird being caught, killed, roasted and eaten.
Haven't seen any snakes or spiders yet. They are quite uncommon in Perth.
The Pigeon, aka "feathered rat". These are everywhere but they are quiet and tend to stay out of the way.
The Australian Magpie:
This is quite different from the North American Magpie in a couple of ways. The first is their appearance but more importantly is their noise. Magpie's here are fairly quiet and almost make a nice, soft singing sound.
Some of the local Cockatoo's
In parts of Australia they are considered pests and are culled. Here there aren't too many of them and people still tolerate them. We've seen quite a few of these around town. I've always loved these birds. Hopefully that won't change now that I'm surrounded by them.
Black Swan
Here is Lake Monger (very close to where we currently are) with Perth CBD in the background. Perth is one of the only places in the world where these swans live. The main river (Swan River) was named after these birds. There are a tonne of these in this particular lake along with thousands of ducks. Apparantly, they are very aggresive if you have food.
Rainbow Lorikeets
We saw a whole flock of these 5 feet away from us in a tree...they were just resting, beautiful plummage...
It's not a bird but related (if you believe the Paleontologists). Blue-tongued skink:
We almost stepped on one of these while walking to the beach. It was actually kinda cute. It didn't seem too concerned about us and just slowly went on it's way. It didn't flash us the blue tongue as a warning so it's obviously accustomed to being around people.
And lastly, the star of the show... the Australian Raven or Crow (can't quite figure out which):
For as unobtrusive as the Magpie's are compared to their Canadian counterparts, these little buggers make up for it. They start at the crack of dawn (about 4:30am right now) and don't stop until the sun goes down. They constantly make this god-awful noise that literally sounds like a cross between a duck drowning and a cat mating. When we first heard it we were looking around to make sure that there wasn't a drunk, sun-stroked cat stuck on a ledge. If Edgar Allen Poe had encountered these Ravens the story would have ended with the bird being caught, killed, roasted and eaten.
Haven't seen any snakes or spiders yet. They are quite uncommon in Perth.
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