Sydney house prices

I think we’re staying in Sydney. We kinda decided a couple of weekends ago, when we went on a road trip to Tuncurry (we often make big decisions on road trips). I say “kinda” because, although it makes so much sense to put the dream on hold (there have been no jobs advertised for Alan in the more-than-a-year he’s been looking out for them, whereas Sydney is a geotechnical engineer’s wonderland right now; we know all of 7 people in Adelaide, 3 of whom are under the age of 5), I’m still a bit hesitant to let go of the plan just yet. We would dearly love to live closer to those 7 people! The school we saw for Moses was amazing! The lifestyle we pictured for ourselves in the Hills was peaceful and tree-filled and lovely!

ALSO, the PRICE of real estate in Sydney is RIDICULOUSLY STUPID, and I’m so angry about it that I can’t even think of a worse insult than RIDICULOUSLY STUPID. Actually, I just did: RIDICULOUSLY STUPID. There are lots of other people (who know far more about it than I do) bitching about house prices in this city, and rather than getting me riled up, hearing things being constantly bitched about makes me suddenly feel sorry for the thing being bitched about even if the bitching is completely justified (two words: Tony Abbott). And I’m aware that though I’ve mentioned being flabbergasted by the prices at least twice before (here and here), maybe I’m not a great guide to what’s expensive and what’s not given that I’m a tightarse who will start hyperventilating if asked to spend more than $5 on a milky beverage. But I'm going to bitch about the prices anyway, because LOOK:

This is what $580,000 will buy you in Sydney: a 2 bedroom villa (approximately 112m²) in Bexley, which is 23 minutes from Sydney CBD.

And this is what $580,000 will buy you in Adelaide: a 3 bedroom house (approximately 4000m² [i.e. an acre]) in Bridgewater (25 minutes from the Adelaide CBD).

It just seems so stupidly unfair. 

(Okay. I know there are millions of people in other parts of the world camped in cramped and uncomfortable conditions because of the fact that their family home has been destroyed thanks to war, or because they’re at risk of being killed if they return there. I know there are people struggling to afford to eat, let alone thinking about where to settle down and plant their vegetable patch. I know it’s a privilege to be able to pay the rent required to live close enough to the city to allow Alan to spend time with Mo and Hazel during the week. I know that on the Unfair Scale, Sydney house prices probably don’t rank very highly at all. Be quiet.)