Originally Posted by
Tannin
Or the fact that, simply by moving to a nicer part of Australia than Sydney or Melbourne (which is pretty much all of it, after all) and buying one of the best houses in that town (rather than the below-average one you get for 1.1 million in Sydney), over your 30-year mortgage you save enough to buy eighty three 500/4 lenses with a 300/2.8 in change. Go on, don't take my word for it, do the sums for yourself. Look up the median house price in Sydney, assume a 10% deposit, assume a sensible interest rate (I used 5%, which you'd be absolutely dead lucky to get over 30 years, but let's be generous and assume it anyway) and do the sums. In Sydney, over the 30 years, you are paying a total of $1,932,577.84. (Melbourne is not a whole lot better.) Now get out into the real Australia - you might have to take a bit of a pay cut, who cares? You will have healthier kids, a better lifestyle, a bigger back yard, and $300,00 will buy you a nice little house; $600,000 will get you one of the best, most luxurious houses in town. Let's say you go with the beautiful $600,000 mansion (it will be about equal to a $1.8 million house in Sydney - we aren't talking wooden shacks here) and you pay that same 10% deposit and take that same 30-year mortgage. Your total cost over the 30 years: $966,278.92. You have just saved a cool million bucks, or 83 Canon or Nikon 500mm f/4L IS II lenses with a 300/2.8 thrown in.