Comment by PebblesHD

Not sure if Australia's current housing situation is analogous to America's one, but one of the primary motivators on our side of the pond is financial. Rents within 60km/35mi of the main Sydney CBD have crossed well over 50% of the average persons wage, at around $700/week. I currently live 45km from Sydney and pay $800/wk for a detached house primarily because I don't want to live in a 1 bedroom box in the city. Unfortunately, for that $800, I get next to no public transport and a local government that doesn't actually do anything useful. If I had the option I would gladly have stayed at home for a few years to start saving for a deposit on a house, which is no easy feat since the national average price is creeping closer to the $1m mark, and the average around major cities is already well over that mark.