Interesting points - we are lucky to have been able to take advantage of the recent boom by buying in the 90's, renovating and moving on. However we have worked hard and put off alot of things. We had old cars, little or no holidays for a long time. I work parttime and for a while full time to keep things going. We still keep our overheads as low as possible with pretty old mobiles/low cost plans etc and certainly don't have the latest and greatest stuff - no ipad or big screen tvs.
This one hits a nerve with me as I have siblings who will not adjust their expectations in terms of where they want to live and how they live and then lament at how 'lucky' we are to have our own place. Granted we are lucky but we've also made compromises along the way, both in terms of where we wanted to be, the house and all the rest that goes with it.
Also see it alot with workmates trying to buy, if people are paying above what you are unfortunately you will need to compromise, be it area, type of property etc. Sure the underquoting a pain but the prices are dictated by those who buy.
Maybe part of the problem is having so many jobs in the one place. I don't even know how far we live from the city because we go so infrequently, somewhere between 20-30mins without traffic. My partner walks to work (about half hour away) because he is a local butcher apprentice.
We are environmentally conscious and can understand big single person per car commutes are far from ideal but why not invest in more public transport, bikeways and enticing businesses out of the city?
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