I thank the good man for generously sharing his day with me and allowing me to share it with you. Darwin's landscaping reminds me a bit of Singapore's in the 80s. Even this picture of a marketplace does. Back then, life was rustic, simple and unhurried. (though not as much as life in the 60s, of course)
I wonder how much Darwin is alike to those days I missed in Singapore. It is good to know someone like Encik G can still knock off at 4pm. We need to live you know? After I moved to Perth, I realise how sad it was to go home after the sun had long set during my Singapore working days. If that was what we call world class living, I'll choose to be backward forever.
No doubt one day, Australia will need to do catch up. Perhaps the day will come sooner than we think, that, we will need to work long hours and never see daylight. Perhaps one day, the traffic on the roads in every major city and their suburbs will be clogged up like most first world cities in the world. If all these are inevitable, then I count my blessings for every day it hasn't happen yet. I feel like I have bought a costly time machine that bought me time to enjoy this lifestyle while it lasts. If such a product exist, it is worth every penny to buy it. If you look at it from another angle, such a machine does exist, but not in the form that we imagined. The cost comes in sacrifices that you have to make. For many, the price is simply too high.
GUEST BLOGGER
Encik G
20 Nov 2015
I live in the Matrix, an altered perception of ‘paradise’.
A forsaken place, the last anyone would consider in the land down under.
But this is my red pill… a day in my wonderland
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| 3:58pm: As I am at an external clinic, I’m given an early mark to head back to the office or in this case home. |
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| 4.27pm: Home. Hmm, should I have coffee? |
5.59pm: Time for a hit at the tennis courts
7.19pm: Dinner with Chiobu Kopi Maid
Damage for the day 1 (Money that left my wallet): $20
6.50am: Breakfast. Oats
7.38am: Time to head to work.
7.55am: Ready for work. (17mins it took and its not even school holidays yet)
4.40pm: Home
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| 5.23pm: Time to take the trusty bike out for a spin |
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| Damage for the day: $2.40 ($1.80 for 4 prawns, $0.60 2min noodles) |
Higher food cost? Yes, eating out cost more. But national grocery prices from woollies and Coles do not differ much for the rest of Aus. And if you need to learn to live cheaply, Nix exemplifies those qualities better than me.
Think about this. From a migration point of view, the State gives you extra points and moving from Darwin to a Southern state is much more easy than moving from Singapore. After the 2 years state sponsor, depending on your industry, you would have not only acquired the local experience but some that are yearned for when you have the NT experience.
Do I have a vested interest? Sure I do. The Northern Territory has a small, diverse population spread over an area of 1.35 million square kilometres, 1.7 times larger than New South Wales and six times the size of Victoria, but with a population at the time of the 2011 census of only 228,265.
There is substantial additional costs delivering services in the NT as compared to more densely settled populations. The other states also have far greater populations, larger economies and a correspondingly larger tax base to fund health care, education and the advantages of economies of scale.
Positive influx migration equates to increased government revenue, improvement in essential services and prosperity for the State and local business (amid more competition). Sounds familiar? It’s the same one your Ah Kong is using. The only difference is that the high cost of blue collar workers and a minimum wage helps to redistribute that government revenue among the lower end of the pyramid.
So which rabbit hole will you take?
That is entirely up to you and in Nix’s parting message, “if all else fails, at least you can survive on mangoes”
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| Mangoes for $2 - $2.50 per kg |
Can also give the mangoes to chiobus for other favours.
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