Rural vs. Melbourne

Here are a brief list of small observations I've noticed that rural life is somehow better than metro:

(1) No traffic - able to leave house just 5mins before work starts, which also means coming back home for lunch as well. The only time there seems to be traffic jam is really just after school finishes, and then it'll probably last 5-10mins. Another plus is the absence of traffic lights - there are only about 3 sets of lights in the whole town, and a handful of roundabouts.

(2) Cheaper living - was quite surprised that car registration in rural is cheaper than metro (by about $100 pa). Also, car insurance is a lot cheaper too, maybe cause there are just hardly any cars for you to crash into!

(3) Cheaper ski passes - I found out the other day that if you live around Hotham/Falls, you can obtain discounted lift passes for $34 per day (rather than standard $100) after paying $340 for a local ID. This would work out cheaper if skiing more than 5 days, but less than 25. Unfortunately they don't advertise this on the websites, only on leaflets at local ski shops.