Michael Kluckner is in Australia, picking up on the similarities between our two scenes:
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Here’s a cartoon from the Sydney Morning Herald: crocodile tears from the State government about affordability while they dance in the rain of money from stamp duty (property transfer tax) payments, allowing them to deliver lots of education and health goodies in the recent budget.
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Michael also notes:
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“Rents in Sydney are about 50% higher than Vancouver’s, although held back a little by rent control. Typically $600-700 per week for a 2 bedroom. Wages are maybe 15% higher here for the average family; condo and house prices are similar.”
Sydney is a world class city with a world class harbour and weather. It is double the size of Vancouver and is a major financial, advertising and insurance centre. People there can and do make big money. Vancouver doesn’t even come close so lets not kid ourselves here.
Vancouver is also a world class city with even better weather in the summer (not as hot), as many beautiful beaches (I prefer Spanish Banks to Bondi beach personally) more skiing in the winter and similar or even better scenery.
But, Vancouver has poor governments on both the city and provincial level that wastes its collected taxes on a vast bloated and overpaid union controlled civil servants apparatus. http://www.fraserinstitute.org/research-news/news/news-releases/Government-employees-in-Canada-earn-12-per-cent-more,-on-average,-than-equivalent-private-sector-workers/ It needs to indeed raise its “stamp duty” on foreign owned real estate dramatically and monetize its strategic location. But the provincial – city cooperation to achieve that is dysfunctional.
Australia strikes me as more pragmatic here, not as dysfunctional to deal with similar Chinese influence of immigration and money distorting wealth and house prices. Don’t disallow it. Monetize it.
Loads of people in Vancouver have or make big money.
Sydney does have financial, advertising and publishing industries, etc., but it is a long way from anywhere. Vancouver has the most agreeable climate in Canada-by far. Vancouver is also in North America and on the same time zone as SFO & LAX.
One would expect a certain number of similarities and Micheal confirms this. I’d say, from looking, and my friends that have family there agree, that Sydney properties are more expensive than YVR.
It’s also true that Bondi is greatly overrated, although Manley is pretty good.