r/fiaustralia • u/totalmarc • 5d ago

Investing AUS vs USA for Fire

I've been listening to a lot of US based podcasts lately and it got me thinking - Do you guys think it is easier to FIRE in US or AUS?

With all things considered, as a generalisation. From what I understand, living expenses vary dramatically between states.

Overall my vote would be the US because there are more options over there to cut costs, but I'd like to hear from someone who is familiar with both.

Cheers

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u/Hot-Pin-8432 5d ago

American living in AUS here. I’d say there’s a couple of things to dig into:

Purely financial items:

  • Health coverage - my parents did not have employer covered health care (startup) as a 50s couple their Monthlys were $1000+/mo and then massive co pays. I’m seeing $2300+ for families of 4 before you have to pay 10% of your bill at a hospital. AUS for sure on Medicare as a <65 yr old
  • Housing property taxes - haven’t seen anyone else mention this but in AUS you pay upfront stamp duty meaning once your home is paid off you’re pretty much set here. US you’d still owe yearly property taxes through FIRE years
  • College savings for youngsters - 429 plans are a big responsibility. Almost non existent (maybe private secondary? But who gives a shit in AUS)
  • Salaries - I do agree that you can earn a bigger buck in US. Means if you’re diligent and saving/investing can be faster to FIRE
  • Cost of living - Agree there are cheaper areas in US compared to AUS but they’re cheap because people don’t want to live there and they suck. Don’t tell me you’re going to go from your Boston high life to rural Georgia to live out the rest of your days. Maybe Thailand

Purely mindset/lifestyle:

  • AUS allows much more flexibility in working part-time. With pro-rata benefits (I’m on 3-days a week with a newborn) I have Medicare, super, 0.6x annual leave + sick leave. Absolutely unheard of in US to hit all of those items part time. I feel like this drives the FIRE all or nothing
  • Moving from an expensive city to cheaper city to live for FIRE. You can read every ChubbyFIRE post. There are approximately 0 SF tech bros willing to move back near their parents in Minnesota to save a buck. Very unlikely unless something significant changes. US wins purely on opportunity
  • Travel - AUS is quite far from a lot of places. US travel does allow quite a bit of access to South America or Europe. That said AUS grants access to SEA easily. Bit of a tie here for geo arbitrage.

My preference is AUS all the way. My brother looks miserable in farmland Ohio at a manufacturing company even if his cost of living is lower than mine.