There is no question in my mind that Australia is one of the best countries to live, but it does have some very unappealing elements. The problem I have come to realise is that there is no perfect place, and that you really have to 'create your own paradise'. In a sense, you kind of have to live a life in 'transience' to get what you want. For me, living the life as an expatriate is ultimately the way to live, spending time in each of the best places. The modern creates those opportunities, but sadly the world is not entirely a pleasant place. There are several sordid elements, and it relates to people's values. Those elements are:
1. Arbitrary statutory law - unlike common law its a collectivist tyranny divorced from context, and the government which imposes them; whether we are talking social standards, tax laws (to extort as governments do) or self-serving corruption.
2. Narrow minded, unthinking people with low self esteem, low education who engage in proclamations of their intrinsic or socially-defined worth, irrespective of the facts, which convey a different 'reality' to the rationalisation or feelings they conjure up in their own minds, or which social liberals create for them to spare them any guilt for imposing their arbitrary needs on others.
Australia, and for that matter NZ, have those elements, and of course every country has them. One has to acknowledge that its pretty bad in Australia. My solution is to live in Australia, but to not base your business there if you can. You can set up a company in NZ, as Australia, and get a number of the same benefits, but save the cost. Operating a company in NZ is half the cost as Australia, you don't need a local director (like Australia), then just pay yourself a base-line salary in Australia below the desired tax threshold.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
