Australia - A Top Travel Destination?

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Many people like me who live in Australia would surely rate New Zealand as the top ‘must-see’ destination. It is always true that many people would not want to go too far out of their cultural comfort zone.

Like Australians preferring New Zealand as the top ‘must-see’ destination, many people living in New Zealand prefer Australia as their top ‘must-see’ destination. There are various reasons for this and the one that strikes my mind is that Australia is like New Zealand with the difference being only in bigger size, more diverse and with better weather.

However, in the whole Asia Pacific region Australia ranks top among travel destinations preferred by many people.

The above statement was confirmed by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). They survey reported that about 2.7 million people already visited Australia in 2007 and also this number is confidently forecast to increase in future.

The above statistics are based on door-to-door interviews conducted among various people of nine countries and territories. The survey asked people to list their top five ‘must-visit’ travel destinations in Asia Pacific region in order of priority and among this, a majority responded with Australia as their top ‘must-see’ destination.

There are various reasons for majority of people preferring Australia. Before residing in Australia, I had visited Australia about seven to eight times… What drew me back, time and again?

• amazing scenery
• fascinating Aboriginal history
• an land of contrasts
• remarkable variety in nature
• dramatic night skies

There are various places in Australia - like Kimberley - which bear testimony to the above beauty and features. One more vital reason is these factors remain unaltered for years and are sure to be there for keeps!

Though I have lived in Australia for so many years there are yet a lot of great places for me to see. Australia is a diverse country which contains lots and lots of cities, towns, rock formations, beaches, forests, deserts and islands to be explored which cannot be finished in just one travel visit.

I liked Sydney in Australia which has a moderate climate with warm summers, mild winters and rainfall that is spread throughout the year. The climatic conditions in Australia also make people prefer it as a top destination.

There are many nature lovers like me for whom the best place would be Gold Coast in Queensland. This area is a perfect blend of man made and natural attractions which is an eye-catching treat for nature lovers and is sure to make them prefer it as their top ‘must-see’ destination - even the next time round!

During my travels to Australia, I stayed in Melbourne where I found cost of living is cheap and less crowded than other places.

My visit to Tiwi islands is surely an unforgettable cultural experience and anyone would definitely have this in the top of their travel list each time. All these above factors like amazing scenic beauty, excellent climatic conditions, options for cheaper cost of living, great cultural experience, and abandon natural beauty contribute towards majority of people preferring Australia as their top ‘must-see’ destination.

Being such a cornucopia of natural beauty and such a melting pot of cultures, its no wonder that Australia is fast emerging as the dream destination - not only to travel to, but also to live in!

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1

The Real Australia

What do you know of Australia?

Popularly called the ‘land down under’, not many people are aware that it’s not only a superb holiday destination but its now emerging as an excellent place to relocate to!

Here I am making an earnest effort to throw light about some interesting aspects of the “real” Australia that might not have come under your purview!

To begin with, do you know from where the term ‘Australia’ was derived from?

It originated from the Latin word australis that means southern. “Terra Australia” was the general reference made to the continent that was situated in the South Pacific Region. With the process inaugurated by Captain James Cook and taken forward by Joseph Banks, different parts of the continent came to the limelight. But it was the Gold Rush of the 1850’s that gave a complete face-over to the colony. Settlers and migrants from all over the globe moved into the colony and their influx gave a tremendous boost to the economy.

In 1901, the various colonies became federated as States of the Commonwealth and in 1927, Canberra replaced Melbourne as the Capital. The country of Australia is bound by one parliament, one constitution and one flag.

The Commonwealth of Australia has many unique characteristics that may stun you at the very first instance.

Despite being the smallest continent in the world, it is the sixth largest country. The country exhibits a variety of climatic zones with the northern regions experiencing a tropical climate and the south having a temperate climate.

You come across a secular civilization in Australia.

The educational facility that is sponsored by the state is exceptionally good. The coastal climate, the scenic beaches and the sumptuous and adventurous cuisine have evolved the Australians as hunters of happiness. Nowhere in the world would you come across such a democratic and happy culture.

Initially, the country was dominated by the Aborigine tribes and later it became a British colony. Hence, it has taken a fairly long time for the Aussies to add their individual attributes to their national culture. Today, the Australian culture has strong elements of influence from the culture of America. With an increasing influx of immigrants from Asia, the Australian society has become more profound and diverse.

Australia can be called one of the world’s most successful multi-cultural democracies. Australians are a bunch of tolerant people who believe and follow the policy of toleration and co-existence in a sincere manner. The vast scale of immigration that has taken place over the years has left its indelible impact on the country. It has inculcated a strong sense of diversity in the Australian culture and has paved the way for strong bonds between different countries and Australia.

The picture that everyone has of Australia is only the result of the superficial analysis of Australia’s obvious characteristics.

However, the true glory of the country and continent lies in its culture and evolution of its diverse society.

The “Real Australian feeling” as we may call it, needs to be experienced!!

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1

Invest in Australia You Must

I always believe that getting the right Property, at the right Price, at the right time fetches the right results in future. In this aspect investment property in Australia offers high capital growth potential and I personally found higher gains in my properties at Melbourne and Sydney. I recently had one my property around Perth sold and it fetched me a higher gain of 39%. All property investors are sure to get solid projected medium to long term growth for their investment properties in Australia. Read more

Brought to you by the Australian Immigration Experts at Synch1

Property Crash Not Likely

Author: David Koch
Date: June 2, 2008

Rapid increases in interest rates have slammed Australian home owners with a mortgage to a point where they are now making the highest repayments in the developed world. Thankfully, one consolation is that generally house values are holding up.

I know there is a big increase in home repossessions and loan defaults, and property values are relatively stagnant, but compared with the rest of the world our real estate prices are staying pretty solid.

The question now is whether Australian residential property prices are overvalued and could we see the same sort of cracks which are happening overseas.

The news from overseas is just appalling. A recent US house price survey by the National Association of Realtors recorded an average 7.7 per cent drop for the year to March - the biggest fall since records started in 1982.

Would you believe states such as California and Florida are seeing average falls of up to 30 per cent over the past year as the credit crunch bites hard. At this stage 1-in-194 homes in the US have been repossessed and that ratio is climbing constantly. There are reports that some financiers are repossessing homes and then asking the owners to stay rent free to protect the property from vandals.

Now there are fears this sort of property crash could spread to Britain based on its current valuations. Average house prices in Britain are running at six times average earnings, which is way above the historic average of 3.7 times wages.

Australian residential property values are currently double Britain’s historic high - 12 times earnings in Sydney and 10 times in Melbourne.

Australian mortgage repayments are 57 per cent of average incomes compared with 50 per cent in Britain where the historic average is just 30 per cent.

A recent survey in The Economist magazine says Australia has the most overvalued residential property in the world.

All these comparisons make for very nervous reading and you’d think would point to an impending crash the size of that in the US. That may very well be the case a few years down the track.

But for the moment there appears to be a couple of significant planks underpinning Australian property values.

Firstly, the high skilled and business immigration numbers combined with low construction levels is creating a shortage of supply accentuated by the banks tightening development financing.

Full employment also means that even though higher loan repayments are stretching family budgets, household incomes won’t fall.
The other factor is the rental crisis. Strongly rising rents are usually a precursor to rising values as investors chase property to take advantage of the strong yields.

For property owners it looks like a crash in values isn’t on the cards for at least a few years. For those looking to get on the property merry-go-round for the first time, property is not going to get any more affordable either.

But it seems there is hope of picking up an affordable bargain if you know where to look.

Last week on my Sunrise program we interviewed Terry Ryder who is a former property writer and now runs a business called Hot Spotting, which analyses property issues.

Terry Ryder put together a list of the top 12 places to buy a house for under $200,000. Yep, $200,000 and many on the list are well below that level down to $90,000 in one area.

Now before you chortle and say they must be in the middle of nowhere, Ryder’s 12 locations all have good community facilities and reasonably good employment prospects for people moving there, because they’re booming.

There are only two locations on the list close to a capital city - Melton near Melbourne and Elizabeth on the outskirts of Adelaide.
Ryder says most areas close to Sydney and Brisbane were priced out of this list.

His personal pick is Parkes in regional NSW because of its location as a transport hub.

In Queensland, Charters Towers is the best pick while in NSW there’s Broken Hill, Glen Innes and Inverell.

In Victoria, the best buys are Gippsland, Melton and Mildura.

Further south in Tassie, George Town and the Rosebery-Zeehan area are on the list.

In South Australia, Elizabeth rounds out the top 12.

Source: The Sun-Herald

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Work Visa Australia

Want to work in Australia? All you need is a valid passport from your home country and a work visa of Australia. The Australian work visa options are plenty depending on whether you want to work on a temporary or permanent basis. So be it Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne – working in Australia is now within your reach!

Synch1 assists you in getting a work visa for Australia in a prompt and hassle-free manner. So, whether you are looking for a temporary or permanent residence, Synch1 specializes in all types of visas to Australia. Read more

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