It is a nice place, where I live it's great, I'm out in the city fringes, no traffic, long lonely beaches, kangaroos only about 1km from my house. Sharks in water a bit if a problem. I have a 750W electric mountain bike with fat tyres and there's heaps of places to ride, see the occasional snake. I ride to beach nearly daily.
https://7news.com.au/sunrise/divers...shark-while-crayfish-hunting-in-wa-c-16629575 This in the stretch of harbour where I live.
Yes, California has lots of issues and challenges, high property prices, high taxes, high cost of living, homelessness, high crimes, illegal immigrants... But, we also have lots of positive things going for us, the weather is great, the sceneries are like heaven, the culture, the people, we are optimistic, forward looking with a great sense of community, we have a never say die attitude, we believe there is nothing we cannot handle, we are innovative, hard working and believe in a better tomorrow.... Wait, I think I am describing Australia? In spite of our problems, I am bullish on California and still prefer to live here than any other states.
We often forget how lucky we are. Yes, it can be better and it will get better no matter who is in charge as long as we work together instead of fighting one another. Peace.
36-year-old in Denmark quit his job and built himself a tiny home in the woods for under $13,000—take a look inside Nov 16 2024 Celia Fernandez@cfernan6 https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/16/denmark-tiny-home-woods-tour.html Anders Boisen lives in a tiny home in the woods of Denmark. Anders Boisen For years, 36-year-old Anders Boisen lived in apartments all over the city of Aarhus, the second-largest in Denmark. Despite having a comfortable living situation — a two-bedroom apartment he shared with a girlfriend at the time — and a job working in city development at a local municipality, Boisen tells CNBC Make It he felt confined by his lifestyle and the societal pressure of what life should look like at his age. “I had this claustrophobic feeling about living in an apartment, not so much because of the size of it but more because of the lifestyle that seems so predefined,” he says. It took Boisen around eight months to finish building his tiny home in the woods. Anders Boisen During that time, Boisen came across a YouTube Channel that featured people living in tiny homes that were totally off the grid. “I thought it was very inspirational, and it opened my eyes to a new possibility where I could actually live more economically free, and I could also live relatively sustainably,” he says. “If I could build a house that is off the grid and in sync with nature, then maybe I could learn how to get a better sense of life on a philosophical level.” Boisen left his apartment and moved into a garden house where he came up with the idea to build a tiny home of his own. In 2018, Boisen started building a mobile one, but it was stolen just a few months later. “It was all over the news here in Denmark, but we didn’t find it,” Boisen says. Boisen’s bedroom is a lofted area above the kitchen area. Anders Boisen But Boisen didn’t give up and started building another the following year. In the spring of 2020, Boisen finished the tiny home after working on it on and off for eight months. He did most of the building himself and estimates he spent 80,000 to 90,000 Danish Krone or USD $11,366 to $12,787. The tiny house is six and a half meters long and two and a half meters wide, or 21.3 feet long by 6.6 feet wide. At the time, Boisen lived on a piece of land he he’d been renting for over a year. To finish building the tiny home, Boisen quit his job and focused on the project full-time. He also started a Facebook group to share his journey, and some of the people he met there helped with the building process along the way. “I realized how personalized this home already was because I had built most of it on my own, so it was filled with my own memories and personal decisions,” he says. “But it also had the memories of all the people who came and helped out. It was qualitatively very different from what I imagine, having a contractor build a house for you.” Since quitting his job, Boisen has made his career creating content for YouTube and giving talks around the country on tiny living and life off-the-grid. Boisen’s kitchen features a mini stove and a lot of shelves for storage. Anders Boisen While Boisen has fond memories of building his tiny home, he admits there were many technical issues along the way, including having to move the house itself and a hole in the roof. “At that time I hadn’t secured the framing enough so it wasn’t stabilized. When I moved the house, it ended up tilted to one side, and it was hard to correct it later on,” Boisen says. “It was a setback and I was kind of bummed out. In my dreams I dreamt about burning the house down because then I would get rid of the problem. But, of course, I didn’t do it but it was very stressful,” he adds laughing. Despite those challenges, Boisen says there is no greater feeling than seeing the tiny home he built be finished. “There were bad things but it was a nice feeling knowing I was creating something that will be my home. You get this giddy feeling because you’re so excited about the things that you’re doing. It was like realizing a dream,” Boisen says. “I wasn’t just building something like a roof over my head; I was actually building a dream. It was like stepping into a new chapter in my life and all the things that will hopefully follow in that life.” Opposite the kitchen is the living area and a mudroom. Anders Boisen In September 2021, Boisen bought a plot of land about 17,800 square feet outside of Aarhus for 160,000 Danish Krone, or USD $22,791, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. “It’s at the end of a dirt road and it doesn’t have immediate neighbors. It also has a meadow and a big forest adjacent to it so it feels a lot bigger than it really is,” Boisen says. A month later, Boisen had the tiny home moved from the property he was renting to the land he now owns. The bedroom has a small window and a skylight. Anders Boisen Living off the grid in a forest Boisen made sure his tiny home was equipped for life off the grid, which he defines as “self-sufficient with water, electricity, and heat.” The house has a rainwater filtration system, solar panels, and batteries to store energy. Boisen has lived in the tiny home for over four years now and says he’s run out of power several times and water just once. Now he keeps a close eye on his water tank, takes short baths if his tank is starting to run low, and aims to save water in other ways. “I tend to think I need power but then I think to myself is it the lack of power or is it how much power I’m actually consuming and that’s been part of my journey,” he says. Boisen built an outhouse to give guests some privacy. Anders Boisen In the winter, Boisen uses less power and lives more sustainably by storing certain items like milk and condiments outside in the cold instead of using electricity for a fridge. “The point of this house is to teach me how to consume less resources and that was part of the idea from the beginning,” Boisen says. “I wanted to see how low you can go in terms of still living comfortably in a tiny house. My journey is to not only make the tiny home liveable but also adjust my need for resources and my behavior. The house nudges my behavior in a way.” The tiny home has solar panels and batteries to store energy. Anders Boisen Boisen also has a permaculture garden — which Better Homes and Gardens defines as one that ″helps build soils and doesn’t rely on synthetic inputs” — where he’s growing potatoes, several berries, apples, leeks, cabbage, and different kinds of herbs. “I try to plant permanent plants that will give me a yield for the greatest amount of time,” he says. “I will be expanding my entire food production because right now it’s only on an experiment level, but from next season, I will expand the size of the garden considerably.” Boisen says growing his own food is an extension of his original journey to trying to be self-sufficient. “On a personal level it teaches me how I can be more in sync with the seasons and with nature in general. In order for me to grow food, I need to learn a whole lot about gardening. It gives me joy that every season has its own types of foods so you’re always looking forward to something and you’re always eating food that is local and seasonal.” Boisen uses his food scraps to feed his chickens and composts it to use for the soil in his garden. Boisen bought the plot of land where his tiny home sits in 2021. Anders Boisen Since finishing up the initial work on the tiny home, Boisen has added a mud room and upgraded the water filtration system. He’s getting ready to build a new house and sell this one. Boisen says the plan is to build a tiny home that is more practical for having a family and continuing a self-sufficient lifestyle: “I’m in a way, preparing for the future.” He plans to finish the new home next spring.
Here is your government's solution to housing, according to BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c207kgd4l22o 'Dreams quashed': Foreign students and universities fear Australia's visa cap 1 day ago Tiffanie Turnbull BBC News, Sydney Anannyaa Gupta Students like Anannyaa Gupta have been worried about what the new caps mean for their futures For Anannyaa Gupta completing her studies in Australia has always been the "dream". "Their education system is one of the best in the world," the 21-year-old, from the Indian city of Hyderabad, explains. After completing her bachelor’s degree at Melbourne's Monash University in July, she applied for the master’s qualification she needs to become a social worker - the kind of skilled job Australia is desperate to fill amid labour shortages. "I genuinely want to study here, offer my skills and contribute to society," she says. But Ms Gupta is among current and prospective international students who have been swept up in a panic caused by the Australian government’s plan to slash foreign student numbers. The new cap - which would significantly reduce new enrolments - is needed to make the A$47.8bn (£24.6bn, $32bn) education industry more sustainable, the government says. It is the most controversial of recent measures that have also imposed tougher English language requirements on student visa applicants, and greater scrutiny on those seeking further study. Non-refundable visa application fees have also been doubled. However, the sector and its supporters say they weren’t properly consulted, and that the changes could ravage the economy, cause job losses and damage Australia’s reputation, all while punishing both domestic and international students. "[It] sends out the signal that Australia is not a welcoming place," says Matthew Brown, deputy chief executive of the Group of Eight (Go8), a body which represents Australia’s top ranked universities. Education is Australia's fourth biggest export, trailing only mining products. Foreign students, who pay nearly twice as much as Australian students on average, prop up some institutions, subsidising research, scholarships, and domestic study fees. At the University of Sydney, for example, they account for over 40% of revenue. But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government is facing pressure to reduce record levels of migration, in the hope of improving housing affordability and easing a cost-of-living crisis, ahead of a federal election next year. And international students - who totalled 793,335 last semester - have become a target. International students only a small part of migration spike Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics The government has proposed to cap new foreign enrolments at 270,000 for 2025, which it says is a return to pre-pandemic levels. An accurate comparison with previous years is not possible because publicly available data is inadequate, according to an education expert. Education Minister Jason Clare says each higher education institution will be given an individual limit, with the biggest cuts to be borne by vocational education and training providers. Of the universities affected, those in capital cities will see the largest reductions. The government says the policy will redirect students to regional towns and universities that need them, instead of overcrowded big cities. It also says the changes aim to protect prospective students from "unethical" providers, alleging some accept students without sufficient language skills or academic standards and enrol people who intend to work instead of study. "International education is extremely important, and these reforms are designed to make it better and fairer, and set it up on a more sustainable footing going forward," Clare said. Getty Images Education Minister Jason Clare says the limits are a return to pre-pandemic levels Abul Rizvi, a former government official who shaped Australia's skilled migration policy, says the "underfunded" sector has "long been chasing tuition revenue from overseas students and sacrificing learning integrity in the process". Institutions themselves are questioning whether they’re too reliant on international student income and how to fix it, Dr Brown says: "It's a discussion that every university is having." But the caps announcement still drew a mostly furious response from the sector. The Go8 has called the proposed laws "draconian", while others accused the government of "wilfully weakening" the economy and of using international students as "cannon fodder in a poll-driven battle over migration". Australia to halve immigration, toughen English test Australia introduces cap on international students The government has not confirmed how long the caps will be in place, but Dr Brown says the Go8’s calculations indicate they will have a A$1bn impact on their members in the first year alone. The broader economy would suffer a A$5.3bn hit, resulting in the loss of 20,000 jobs, according to their research. Australia's Department of the Treasury has called those projections "doubtful" but has not released its own modelling on the economic impact of the changes. Dr Brown also warned that the caps could see some universities rescind offers already made to foreign students, strangle vital research programmes, and may mean an increase in fees for some Australian students. Getty Images The University of Sydney is among those who say the caps will force major expenditure cuts However a handful of smaller universities, for whom the caps are beneficial, welcomed the news. La Trobe University’s Vice-Chancellor Theo Farrell said they supported “transparent and proportionate measures” to manage international student growth in Australia. "We recognise that there is broad political and community support to reduce net migration levels," he said. But Dr Brown argues there is also a hit to Australia’s reputation which is harder to quantify, pointing to Canada as a warning. It introduced a foreign student cap this year, but industry bodies there say enrolments have fallen well below that, because nervous students would rather apply to study somewhere with more certainty. "We need an international education system that has managed growth built in… it’s not for the minister to unilaterally decide on caps based on some formula which satisfies a political end." Mr Rizvi argues that instead of going ahead with the proposed caps in Australia, the government should consider introducing a minimum university entrance exam score. "We’re shooting ourselves in the foot… It won’t deter poor performing students but it will deter high performing students who have options," he wrote on X. Meanwhile in parliament, the Greens have said the policy amounts to "racist dog-whistling", and one of the government’s MPs has broken ranks to attack it too. "A hard cap would be bad for Australia’s human capital and the talent pipeline, bad for soft power and bad for academic excellence and research," Julian Hill told The Australian newspaper. But despite the criticisms, the bill legislating the limits - set to be debated in parliament this week - is expected to pass, with the opposition’s support. Clare has acknowledged that some service providers may face difficult budget decisions but said that any assertion the policy is "somehow tearing down international education is absolutely and fundamentally wrong". However, with less than two months until the changes are supposed to take effect, they are causing extreme anxiety and confusion among students. In China and India - the two biggest international markets for Australia - the news is going down like a lead balloon. "This is going to be very hard on students in India, most of whom come from middle-income backgrounds and spend years planning and preparing for their education abroad. Their dreams will be quashed," Amritsar-based immigration consultant Rupinder Singh told the BBC. Alessandro Russo/Monash University Vedant Gadhavi says the changes are already having an effect on Australia's reputation Vedant Gadhavi - a Monash University student - says that some of his friends back home in Gujarat who had been hoping to come to Australia for their masters have been spooked. "They seem to have changed their plans a bit because of the constant shift… They thought that it might be a bit difficult to plan their careers and life." Jenny - a senior high school student in China’s Anhui province – says she set her sights on Australia because getting a good quality education there is "easier" than getting into a fiercely competitive Chinese university. "It’s all up in the air now," she tells the BBC. She adds that going to a lower-ranked university in a regional location is not an option for her or her peers: "We [just] won’t go to Australia at all." Rishika Agrawal, president of the Australian National University's International Students' Department, says the proposed laws have stoked other uneasy feelings. "Definitely there are other students who think this is a sign of increased hostility towards immigrants in Australia from the government." And, she adds, with the contributions to society made by international students often overlooked, while their post-graduate employment options dry up, there’s growing resentment. "They go back to their own countries, having spent a tremendous amount of money towards their education and not really reaping the rewards for it. "They definitely do feel like cash cows." As the debate continues in parliament, there’s been some relief for Anannya. Shortly after she spoke to the BBC, and only weeks out from her course start date, she received the official masters enrolment certificate and new study visa she feared would never come. But many other students still wait and worry. “If I were in their shoes, I'd feel very helpless, very disappointed. It's already taking away credibility that Australia used to hold,” Rishika says. Additional reporting by Fan Wang in Singapore and Zoya Mateen in Delhi.
India hasn't built enough Universities. That is the real problem. When I worked in PharmaIT I worked with quite a few South Indians and a lot of them had to go study in North India or other countries because there aren't enough mid-tier universities. The smart ones make it to IIT Bangalore but the IIT schools are like MIT or the Sorbonne. [IIT = India Institute of Technology modeled after MIT & CalTech]
There is no need for universities in India as it will just be a tax burden on the poor. 90% of students from good Indian universities apply for jobs outside India.