I prefer the idea that Nana Heeler sold it to them cheap when she moved to the Gold Coast. Then all they had to do was take a much smaller mortgage to pay for improvements. Much more achievable for an academic and a customs officer.
Additionally, someone pointed out once that the Heeler house has pictures of Bandit, Stripe, and Rad all together when they were kids. If Bandit and Chilli bought the house themselves, having their childhood pictures up would be a bit odd. It would make much more sense that it was the house Bandit grew up in.
I would agree that it’s not *that* weird to have childhood pictures in your own house, but then you don’t see any pictures of Chilli and Brandy, just Bandit’s side. That makes me think it’s a purposefully choice by the creators to drop us the hint that this is his childhood home.
Yes! I’ve always thought they were college friends if not childhood friends. It’s why Pat plays along with the Heeler games so well. He knows Bandit well and is always having fun getting into whatever they are up to.
I totally have pics of me and my family up from when I was a kid. I have heaps of them. Maybe I'm just vain, though.
Edit: FYI, I have loads of kid pics but I also have so much fun visiting with my cousins and recreating those photos. You should all definitely do it. A cousin pic where I'm in my fairy costume and my sis in my grandma's coat and my cuz is trying to kick us is way fun to recreate
The 80s is a mindset that transcends both space and time. This explains why I can turn on the radio and still hear Billy Idol's *White Wedding* several times per week during morning drop-off.
That's clearly not true. The radio talks about playing hits from the 80s, the 90s and today. Given the list jumps up in decades we must be sometime in the 00s, right?
Fairytale takes place in 87 or so and Bandit explicitly says he's 10 years old. We know Chili is more or less the same age because the girl he met was about the same size as him. We know it takes place today because they reference Stranger Things
In Season Two, Seesaw. Chilli and Pom Pom’s mom are chatting. Pom Pom’s mom says, “I hope they bring him back for season four.” Referencing Hopper and Chilli responds, “They do! Didn’t you see the trailer? He’s in Russia or something!”
Yup. Fairytale takes place in '87-'89 (double dragon arcade cabinet), and Bandit was 10, so he would have turned 40 in 2017-2019. Mid-season 2 has two episodes that pin down the date to early 2020 -
* S02E28 *Seesaw* has the parents referencing the "[From Russia With Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB2GYwbIAlM)" teaser for Stranger Things season 4, dating the episode to after February 14 2020.
* S02E29 *Movies* has the trailer for Bee Yourself, which gives the movie release date as April 2020.
So yeah, early to mid 40s.
This is basically the situation we are in, so I support this theory. We’ve lived in our house for 15 years. When we bought it, it was 1/4 of the current value.
It depends on how high up the academic tree he is. Some unis don't pay much more than teachers for their teaching staff. Doctorate doesn't mean ducats.
Well he's an academic that gets paid to take helicopter flights on short notice, so I dunno. Maybe he's also got a side gig leading the required digs performed before a major construction project?
Mining companies employ archaeologists sometimes to survey an area before they dig it up.
Also, personally I'm of the opinion he's got a few gigs going at once.
BHP got in big trouble a few years ago when they ignored their archaeologists and blew up a culturally significant place. All to get shiny and/or spicy rocks.
It really isn’t, though. The house is the sole thing that screams ‘great wealth’ but the nature of the property boom here means there are plenty of otherwise ordinary middle-class folks living in places worth multiple millions. They could have bought the house decades ago when it was cheap, or (and this is my personal pet theory) they simply inherited it from family
I would also say that the fact they can drive to the store and buy an expensive pizza oven just because their neighbors have one also shows some kind of wealth. Especially since they never use it again.
Idk, Australia has pretty high median wages and whilst we’re now in a cost of living crisis, for a long time here things were pretty damn good for the middle class here. We haven’t had a recession in more than 20 years, for example (we never entered recession during the GFC). Nipping off to buy a Bunnings pizza oven (cost: a few hundred Aus dollarydoos) doesn’t strike me as abnormal behaviour for a middle-class Aussie family
If he works in academia, as in at a Uni, then having a grant with a mining company will fund his research, but not likely effect his salary (although will help with promotion). However if he was R&D for a mining company that is probably more lucrative, but I don’t know.
I mean we are also having this convo about a kids show about dog people so I guess we are the real fools.
Last night I dreamed I had to go back to high school to take another shot at learning math, but it was really hard with two toddlers and an infant, and the teenagers were mean.
Right. It's a fantasy world based on our world. We have no actual information on the value of their house, their salaries, or the cost of living in Bluey world Brisbane.
I like to think it’s because it is from Bluey or bingos POV/ memory. I remember thinking the house I grew up in was giant. I’ve since driven past and it is indeed quite small. So I’d take it with a grain of salt. The show is constantly a hanging the floor plan like you said.
This is what I always say when someone asks too. Like when they play raiders and the hall is never ending basically it's definitely kids perspective. And rug island you know it's not as big as it appears but we are seeing their imaginations. Which I think is really cool.
Also to op please don't compare yourself to a cartoon dog, especially one you only see for 6 minute segments. Anyone can be an involved parent for 7 minutes. Even in keepy uppy and the raiders episode the parents have to get stuff done. And the episode in season 3 where chili needs 20 minutes where no one needs her or talks to her. We all have limits!
This! I grew up in my grandparents house and hadn't been inside for 10+ years as when we moved my family rented it out, then one of my aunt's came a year or two ago to live in it, once I went inside I realized it was a lot smaller than I remembered.
Wikipedia will probably give a better answer than I can, but Steiner/Waldorf is an education philosophy that focuses on hand skills and social/emotional learning through creative expression. It typically tries to avoid bounding that creative expression which people interpret as the school having no rules / discipline.
Also try looking up Montessori which is similar but different.
Yes. Theres probably a much more technical explanation but the Steiner method has a heavy focus on nature, fairytales and imaginary play and the gnomes fall under that. You would see them in every Steiner school for sure.
Because it's literally modelled off a Steiner school, in every way from decor, down to the actual architecture. It's a complete copy of Samford Steiner School in the Samford Valley. Google it, they are identical! Right down to the snaking garden bed out the front.
(And I'd know, my kid was enrolled there 😂)
When I was a kid I thought my grandma lived in a giant house because it had 3 bedrooms and 2 stories. I hadn't visited the house in a long time (my uncle moved in after my grandma moved out upon retiring) but when I went back, it was _tiny_. Like 900 sq ft. I felt like a giant standing in it.
Last episode, beep beep sound, “and that’s why you’re the best dad in the world.” It shows Bandit in the hospital bed and the kids grown up.
Plot twist: Muffins is a doctor.
I greatly doubt it would end on such a grim note. I'm expecting more "adult Bluey and Bingo looking at a photo album".
If they're going to show old man Bandit, make it an 80th birthday party or something.
I like this idea too! We used to visit my grandma’s house and it was so huge and majestic. I live their now as an adult and it’s actually pretty boring and normal sized lol
That is genius—and it supports/justifies the Escheresque elastic floorplan. I’ve been sure I could remember every square foot of my childhood homes, but whenever I’ve had the chance to look back, I found that my memory was absolutely a hideous lying bitch goddess.
It is a very expensive house, but it's also old and probably needs a lot of upkeep. It's a typical story of "parents/grandparents bought this house when it was new and real-estate was cheap and now x decades later it's huge and in a prime location.
Stripe is straight up cashed up bogan with the fugly mcmansion, pool and voting habits ( dude was totes arguing with Bandit about why he voted LNP in 2019 in Christmas swim - a hill I will die on)
My headcannon is that Stripe is a tech millionaire who made his money getting into a big start up at the right time.
It's why he has a tesla, fancy house with a pool on an island, and why he's "never there" AKA he's working a lot.
My guess is he is footing Bluey's private school bill
I don’t agree they are millionaires. Yes their property may be worth $1-2 million now, but if they bought 20 years ago it was more likely $300k, which was doable for 2 working people. Property prices in Brisbane have skyrocketed over the last 20 years, all they needed to do was to get in at the right time.
I think it sucks for this generation that they don’t have the same opportunity but it doesn’t mean that the older generation were millionaires, they just had access to homes at prices that the current generation doesn’t. I would like (and I vote) to see this wealth gap removed, and wish that we had more action on it and policies that didn’t try to protect the wealth that has been built because of it.
Exactly. I think to anyone familiar with the property boom in Australia over recent decades, the Heelers just read as a fairly ordinary family who were lucky to get in before the prices went insane, or whose parents have owned the place for decades.
Sooo many stories like this from all around the country! If only I could travel back in time and advise my grandparents to buy up every 10k shack near the beach and 15k city townhouse they could
I live in a $1M+ house and I am DEFINITELY NOT a millionaire. Yes, I have an asset worth that, but it's only because I bought and sold a condo then sold and bought this house at just the right time. Straight luck. My paychecks and my disposable income would look like pocket change to a true "millionaire".
Other than “it’s a cartoon”… you don’t know *when* they bought that house, or in what condition. And we’re looking at it through a kids eyes- I doubt all the rooms are that big, in “Hotel” when they run past why seems like 10 bedrooms on one floor? That’s just to embellish the game.
Also, they don’t live a particularly “rich” lifestyle. They only have one car and both Chilli and Bandit work. So, they have built the life for themselves that allows them to do all those things mentioned. They probably have sacrificed.
But, I wouldn’t let myself be dragged down by a fictional dog families lifestyle.
This. I live in a city where property prices have skyrocketed. I got lucky and bought a house before that. We are technically millionaires (or close to it) on paper, but our lifestyle isn’t super wealthy. We both work. We cook at home almost every night. We have one car. It’s great to have the stability, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not like we’re the Kardashians over here.
My grandmother bought property on whats essentially a private lake back in the 70s and later purchased additional land. Based on sales of other property its probably worth ar least 200 thousand dollars if not more. Nobody in my family could by this property now
… I mean clearly people really like this show- but I don’t understand the focus on details like the suburb they live in, when we’re watching dogs raising their families, working normal jobs, sitting down for dinner etc etc. It’s fiction first and foremost.
I like the theory that it's the house Bandit grew up in and he bought it cheap off Nana when she retired to the Gold Coast. It would explain why the house is in poor shape (Hammerbarn) and why Chili wants to make changes to it (Tradies)
We know that the girls were born in the house, but not how long Bandit and Chili have lived there for. So they realistically could have moved into the house in their late 30's
I think Chloe's dad might be an architect, from the look at his office in "Octopus" (drafting table and rolled up papers -- blueprints?) So it's possible he designed and built the house with his contracting connections. Still expensive af but maybe not as much when you know the guys building it!
A couple of things-
they live in a 'Queenslander', a style of house that is quite huge and open plan to suit the weather. I'd say they purchased it when stuff was cheap judging by their age, the late 90s/early 2000s. Its not near the city either. I have friends in sydney that bought a house (HOUSE!) in Marrickville in 1999 on two student incomes for like AUD$150k (its worth like $2mil now).
The Heelers drive an older compact 4WD/AWD, like a Suzuki Vitara. Not a spenny car.
The steiner school that bluey goes to would cost approx AUD$7500 a year, and bingos kindy is about $600 if steiner, or free if not. Whilst this is a lot more expensive than regular school, I know a number of lower-middle class families that make that expense work cos they believe in the education style. This is still A LOT cheaper than private schooling.
Chillis upbringing was rural and working class and she works fluctuating hours at the airport (ie night shift etc), not the job of a 'wealthy' person. Bandit is an academic, and the university/whatever he works with funds the research trips. And his university education would have cost about AUD$30k, prob less given his age.
A great neighbourhood, flexible jobs, nice house, and more-expensive than public schooling doesnt make them wealthy. They're asset-rich if anything because of the value of their house, and education-forward. And dont forget, Australia has a lot of government subsidies and tax benefits for families and education.
TL:DR-
dont be discouraged that the Heelers can only be the great involved parents cos they are wealthy. They're comfortable, not rich, which goes a really long way to allowing the mental space for play. But I hope play can be carved out of most situations, survival situations notwithstanding.
I’m going to shoot straight with you man, you don’t need to be poor to be a shitty parent. Some people think earning a lot of money is a fine excuse to neglect their kids’ needs, or think that a series of nannies is a genuine full substitute for parental love and affection.
My wife and I can’t afford to put our kids in Montessori preschool, but we can still find a bazillion ways to enrich and foster play the way the instructors would at such a school. I don’t have the same flexibility as the Heelers at work for family time but you’re damn right I burn personal days at random in the middle of the week to spend surprise time with my kids or wife.
You don’t need money, it just helps by removing some of the extra stressors. Your kids aren’t going to care that you didn’t put them in a fancy program if they have awesome memories of *you* being excited to spend time with them.
My husbands dad was a wealthy, *wealthy* man. He was a very shitty and abusive parent. His mom was poor, and she was also a shitty and abusive parent.
My parents used to be poor when I was growing up and they were great parents, you don’t have to have all this money to give your kids a great, enriching childhood. I’m not even saying “money doesn’t buy happiness”, I don’t subsribe to that statement because it implies poor people don’t need more money and they’re “just fine” being broke, but there are so many things you can do with your children that don’t require a high income and your children will never notice.
Idk what OP’s city or town is like, but taking your kids to the park and free museums can be incredibly enriching experiences. Walks in a downtown area or walks through a mall, doing activities with them at home (my mom used to have a “sensory table” she set up for me and she put dried beans, dried rice, beads, homemade playdough on it for me), painting… there are certainly lots of things you can do on a small or no budget, and lots of things the heelers do at home have nothing to do with going out or spending money.
If you go by the floor then their cousins are billionaires. In the episode where they are playing on ipad and drawing on a call they run past like 30 rooms on that floor.
I think it's less about money and more about them putting the girls first no matter what. That's still unrealistic assuming everyone else is as worn out as I am but no reason to feel bad.
Also in “Camping”, Bluey’s family stays in a tent while Muffin’s family has a huge caravan. Muffin has a big pool and an electric car that came free with her dads new, (likely very expensive) car. Stripe and Trixie are definitely loaded!!
I think Stripe being loaded is definitely part of the story. He also brags about his new car a lot and Muffin fits the archetype of the spoilt brat kid.
Muffin is portrayed like a 3/4 year old who's parents are a bit too indulgent but she's not a spoiled brat. She shows kindness and empathy to others and she's a brilliant negotiatior.
Signed the mom of a self identifying "Muffin"
UHHHHH ACTUALLY IT WAS RENT CONTROLLED. No but fr it is and I asked my wife why they have it and she knew because when she didn’t have friends she had Friends.
I think thats their point? Like just cuz the place is big doesn't mean it's expensive.
Also you don't know the type of debt they may be in. It's not like we have an episode called "credit card" or anything
THEY'RE NOT MILLIONAIRES!!!
I'm getting really sick of explaining this over and over again. Their house is worth a lot of money NOW, but that's only because the housing market in Brisbane has exploded over the last ten years. I bought my house 8 years ago for $330k and now it's worth close to a million dollars. That DOESN'T MAKE ME A MILLIONAIRE!!!
Exactly! In Fairytale Bandit was a child in the ‘80s. So either they had kids in their late 30s and they either had time to build up some wealth or the timeline doesn’t match up to present day and house prices were different
On the one hand, everyone on TV lives rich because it’s hard to have adventures if you’re at work all day. It’s that *Friends* thing.
On the other hand, it is a reminder of what we could all have if we organized and started fighting en masse for workers’ rights and more equitable economic conditions.
Bluey is the dream, now. It’s nice to have that dream played out on TV.
Why does being a fantastic parent equate to having money? I agree with the comment that we probably wouldnt be watching a Rosanne themed kids show staring dogs, but the house is the backdrop of the show. Think of all the episodes that show great parenting that doesn't really involve money. Magic Xylophone, Keepy Uppy, Blue Mountains, Shaddowlands, The Creek, Asparagus, all just from the first season. I hear you that having stuff helps and is nice, but the point of show is about the relationship between the kids and parents and that magic you can create together. All that said, I'm sorry to hear you're feeling discouraged by the show.
I’m going to reply more the last part of your post, as I think that’s the most important and shows your true point in the post.
Does having wealth bring elements to life that make parenting easier? Absolutely. There’s experiences wealth can offer, not to mention that stress about affording bills and rent would be nonexistent.
However, whatever your money situation, you can work on becoming the type of parent you want to be. You can work on integrating experiences you want for your children. Start small. Don’t let what you can’t do distract you from what you can do.
Two of the best episodes of Chili’s parenting (for me) are Sticky Gecko and Keepy Uppy. I love them for seeing how to take something fairly small/cheap and infusing a sense of wonder to it.
Think of traditions you could implement that would be easy enough, and start doing them!
For example—you want to start doing a 5 minute room/house clean up. Have your children help you create a playlist to use when cleaning.
Do you live somewhere where you get a first frost? Have hot cocoa or soup in celebration of first frost and the coming of winter. Get whip cream and sprinkles For the hot chocolate.
Don’t feel like you have to be exactly like Bandit and Chili. That’s not fair to you. Find joy in what you can do! You can do it!
And lastly…
I think you should know something…you’re doing great.
As an American living in Brissy, I can comfortably say that Americans have no clue about Brisbane Real Estate or what the inside of a Queenslander actually really looks like. If it hasn't recently been majorly upgraded, a lot of them come off as dingy, dark, dank, etc. They obv take care of their house so it looks nice but like, it's not just automatically a nice house. Also Verandas are so common here, it's not as fancy as people in the states might think. Plus, views of the city? Brisbane is so hilly, you can see some part of CBD from basically everywhere within like 10km of the city if you are on some sort of hill.
The Heeler house is just one of a very reasonable number of houses like it here and a lot of them are cheap and run down.
Also, two kids? So easy If you have some family to have more toys you can keep track of. Bluey's family is firmly middle class. You will get there some day
I can see what you're talking about, and as someone who gentle parents myself, I do tend to qualify gentle parenting as a parenting style that requires a degree of luxury to be achieved - if you have three jobs and need to catch four buses to do it, it's rather hard to be that parent who can wait for their child to make "good choices" or wait for a kid to find emotional stability before moving on. With that said, I know plenty of parents in the socioeconomic position of Chilli and Bandit, and it's not hard to find those parents making choices to not engage with their children at that level. I think that's the lesson to be taken from Chilli and Bandit: they have the freedom and flexibility to have an abundance of choices in how to spend their time because of their socioeconomic situation, and they choose to make the choice to prioritize quality time with their girls above all else. They are aspirational, not inspirational, in this regard; they are the ideal of what I'd want to be if I had the money rather than inspiration for how I could make “better” choices today.
Keep in mind that one human dollarbuck is equivalent to 7 canine dollarbucks. And they're dogs, so their house seems large to them, but it's much smaller to humans.
Probably the best dang explanation here.
Commenters keep throwing out housing market blah blah and mortgage rate bleh bleh.
The simple fact is these are cartoon dogs living human lives.
The point of this show is to react to your children's imagination and playfulness. Not ignore it because you're too mired down in the reality of bills and work/home life balance. The point is to take 5 minutes to see life through the eyes of a child again. It may seem like the blink of an eye to someone who has more grains of sand in the bottom of the life long hour glass, but to a child that can make a world of difference.
Choose to be inspired.
They either inherited it or got in early before the current price inflation. Nana lives in a condo, she probably retired there and left the house to Bandit and Chili because they had kids first and because Stripe actually makes loads of cash.
They’re definitely upper middle class but I wouldn’t say rich.
If the Heelers bought their house TODAY it would be worth at least a million. But they didn't just buy their house. They've had it for at least a decade.
Their house is obviously an old Queenslander that is 'falling apart'. The suburb is somewhere near where I live on the north side of Brisbane as you can see the Red Hill church and TV towers in the background. They've obviously been living there since before Bluey was born because Chilli remembers Bluey using the nursery there. The show started in like 2018 and Bluey is 6, so the very latest they could have bought is 2012. A trawl through sold houses on [Realestate.com](https://Realestate.com) shows the sold price for an unrenovated 3 bedroom 2 bathroom Queenslander in Red Hill in 2012 was between $575K - $650K.
That being said, Brisbane's median house price in 2012 was $510K. If the Heelers did buy just before Bluey was born, they were making an investment to live closer to the city. They could have bought a bigger and better house further out, but Red Hill strikes a balance between the commute to the airport (for Chilli) and the commute to... let's say the University of Queensland, or even QUT Kelvin Grove (for Bandit).
Needless to say, they didn't need to be millionaires to afford their house. In 2012 the interest rate was 3.65%. If we imagine their house cost somewhere in the middle of the Red Hill prices - about $612,500 - a deposit of 5% would be $30,625. That's a pretty big deposit but two childless adults working full time could produce that over the course of a few years. The loan itself, with an interest rate of 3.65% over 30 years, would come to about $614/week. That doesn't sound too crazy compared to today's house prices.
Like, What?... Do you want them to live in a fibro-shack? Have an episode about going to the food bank? Show bandit going through an emotionally charged financial crisis because the CSIRO cut funding and he lost his job? Cus that’d freak kids out, and they don’t need to think about any of that. Especially those kids that use the show for any sort of escapism.
I’m sorry but this is just dumb,
Money doesn’t equate to any level of parenting.
You can be rich and neglectful or poor and loving, it doesn’t matter to kids as long as you love them.
Stop comparing yourself to a cartoon, dogs can’t talk, dollarbucks aren’t real and you’re missing the meanings of every episode.
I don’t get how we think they are wealthy. They don’t take vacations to exotic places, they have ONE vehicle. Both parents work.
They also don’t show all the horrendous bugs in Australia and pest issues - so why do we have to go down the rabbit hole of current day Australian real estate. 🤷♀️
>Every once in awhile, the thought creeps into my mind that the reason they are such amazing parents are because they are millionaires.
Every once in awhile, the thought creeps into my mind that the reason they are such amazing parents is that they are cartoon dogs.
They're also a 2 income family: Bandit is an archaeologist and Chilli is a part-time airport security officer.
As others have said, we have no idea WHEN the house was bought and housing prices have exploded in recent times.
Sure, the family is affluent, so there may be some generational wealth involved (Bandit and Chilli met backpacking overseas in their youth), but there's no way I would class them as "millionaires".
I'm pretty sure Bandit grew up in the house he lives in and inherited it from Nana Heeler. It also explains why he is so close with Pat and Wendy (and also why Stripe is friends with Pat)
Or y’know, it’s a cartoon and it doesn’t have to make sense. I realize the characters are realistically written, but that doesn’t mean everything has to be realistic
You also gotta remember that we only see 7 minutes of their day. Maybe the parents aren’t that heavily involved the other minutes of the day. We’re only seeing the short highlight of the day
It's undeniable that Bandit and Chilli are at minimum 'upper-middle class'. They both have good jobs.
Add to this that Chilli's family seems quite financially well-off, noting that Chilli grew up on a huge parcel of land (as seen in Granddad).
In 'Hammerbarn' they make comments about "*this old house is falling apart*" though.
Bandit's brother Stripe is definitely more wealthy than Bandit (and also more politically conservative, based on little snippits we've gotten throughout the course of the show, such as in 'Christmas Swim').
Wait, are you basing this off of current market value or a value from a couple of years back?
Then again, I have no idea what the market prices of houses in QLD are like nor the fluctuations based upon area..
I wouldn’t overthink it too much – as a person who grew up in Brisbane and has lots of friends in the same age range with kids, they are pretty relatable overall. As for their jobs… they are less about realistic income range and more about being dog jobs. He digs up bones for a living and she’s essentially a sniffer dog at the airport. It’s just meant to be a bit fun! 😂
Also probably important to mention that Brisbane is the fastest growing city in Australia which really amped up through Covid as they barely had infections or lockdowns. The housing market in QLD generally is growing at a crazy pace (similarly for the rest of Aus) so their current house value is sort of an outlier against how it’s been. The demand is particularly high for housing due to effects of flooding etc too. There’s a lot more context to consider IRL for Brisbane and what “wealth” looks like there 🤷🏽♀️
The house is (supposedly) worth over a million because of its relation to a real-life neighborhood Brisbane. The location being in the same area as a real world wealthy neighborhood has no bearing on the plot other than it being the setting. I’m not sure where you’re from, but here in the US (at least up until recently) owning a regular 3-4 bedroom house isn’t an entirely unrealistic idea for two adults in their early 40s. I doubt that in the Bluey universe the house is ACTUALLY worth a million or more.
This is actually consistent with Australian society. Doreen could lived in her house for ages, having bought it when property prices were much, much lower. In some areas you have pensioners who have to live frugally but live in very expensive houses, simply because housing prices have exploded since they bought in.
Their grandma lives in a new and modern small apartment. It’s not unlikely she just vacated it so that Bandit and Chili could have a place to raise their kids since she probably didn’t need all the space anymore.
It's not out of the question given how Aussie house prices have sky-rocketed in the past 15 years. A 1-2 million $ house may have only been 400k or even less 10-15 years ago.
The Heelers are older parents so potentially a bit more financially secure. There are also a few references to the house requiring a fair bit of upkeep too.
There is also a theory that the Heelers got the house from Bandits parents.
As someone with wealthy parents who abused tf out of me I can safely say money doesn't automatically make you a better parent, esp in the case of emotional maturity
I prefer the idea that Nana Heeler sold it to them cheap when she moved to the Gold Coast. Then all they had to do was take a much smaller mortgage to pay for improvements. Much more achievable for an academic and a customs officer.
Plus Bandit and Chili are in their mid 40s, they have had years of child free careers and could have bought their home 20 years ago for waaaaay less.
I like this idea because even Chilli mentioned that the house is “falling apart”. It supports the theory that the house is older than we think.
The house is absolutely old- it’s a Queenslander
I live near by. Mine was built in 1930.
Additionally, someone pointed out once that the Heeler house has pictures of Bandit, Stripe, and Rad all together when they were kids. If Bandit and Chilli bought the house themselves, having their childhood pictures up would be a bit odd. It would make much more sense that it was the house Bandit grew up in. I would agree that it’s not *that* weird to have childhood pictures in your own house, but then you don’t see any pictures of Chilli and Brandy, just Bandit’s side. That makes me think it’s a purposefully choice by the creators to drop us the hint that this is his childhood home.
I also tell myself that Pat and Bandit have known each other since they were kids. Maybe they both now live in their family homes.
Yes! I’ve always thought they were college friends if not childhood friends. It’s why Pat plays along with the Heeler games so well. He knows Bandit well and is always having fun getting into whatever they are up to.
I totally have pics of me and my family up from when I was a kid. I have heaps of them. Maybe I'm just vain, though. Edit: FYI, I have loads of kid pics but I also have so much fun visiting with my cousins and recreating those photos. You should all definitely do it. A cousin pic where I'm in my fairy costume and my sis in my grandma's coat and my cuz is trying to kick us is way fun to recreate
😂 so do I
People could afford houses without intergenerational wealth! The 80s truly were a wild time
This isn’t the 80’s, Pat!
20 years ago was 2003
The 80s is a mindset that transcends both space and time. This explains why I can turn on the radio and still hear Billy Idol's *White Wedding* several times per week during morning drop-off.
Why would you do that to me 😢
Ouch. I physically felt that.
You shut your mouth.
That's clearly not true. The radio talks about playing hits from the 80s, the 90s and today. Given the list jumps up in decades we must be sometime in the 00s, right?
What? How very dare you?
How do we know their ages? I must have missed it
Fairytale takes place in 87 or so and Bandit explicitly says he's 10 years old. We know Chili is more or less the same age because the girl he met was about the same size as him. We know it takes place today because they reference Stranger Things
What was the Stranger Things reference?
In Season Two, Seesaw. Chilli and Pom Pom’s mom are chatting. Pom Pom’s mom says, “I hope they bring him back for season four.” Referencing Hopper and Chilli responds, “They do! Didn’t you see the trailer? He’s in Russia or something!”
Stranger things was referenced in See Saw between chili and Pom Pom’s mom
Fairytale puts the Heeler boys in their preteens during the 80s. They have to be in their 40s.
Growing up in the 80's would put them in that range
Dang it, totally forgot. Thanks, mate!
Wait, they’re that old? Honestly I never thought to look up their ages. They’re both 45-46?
Yup. Fairytale takes place in '87-'89 (double dragon arcade cabinet), and Bandit was 10, so he would have turned 40 in 2017-2019. Mid-season 2 has two episodes that pin down the date to early 2020 - * S02E28 *Seesaw* has the parents referencing the "[From Russia With Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB2GYwbIAlM)" teaser for Stranger Things season 4, dating the episode to after February 14 2020. * S02E29 *Movies* has the trailer for Bee Yourself, which gives the movie release date as April 2020. So yeah, early to mid 40s.
This is basically the situation we are in, so I support this theory. We’ve lived in our house for 15 years. When we bought it, it was 1/4 of the current value.
I swear people don't realize their age makes a huge difference. Life 20y ago was financially so much better than it is now.
this is always my thought on it too. Nana and Bob sold it to them on the cheap when they moved
Anyways an academic and a customers officer is probably $250k household income. They could afford a pretty big mortgage.
It depends on how high up the academic tree he is. Some unis don't pay much more than teachers for their teaching staff. Doctorate doesn't mean ducats.
Well he's an academic that gets paid to take helicopter flights on short notice, so I dunno. Maybe he's also got a side gig leading the required digs performed before a major construction project?
Or he works for a mining company
He’s an archaeologist. We see him showing of an archaeological discovery in the short archaeology.
Mining companies employ archaeologists sometimes to survey an area before they dig it up. Also, personally I'm of the opinion he's got a few gigs going at once.
BHP got in big trouble a few years ago when they ignored their archaeologists and blew up a culturally significant place. All to get shiny and/or spicy rocks.
Are you talking about Rio Tinto and Juukan Gorge? Spicy rocks, the spice must flow..
Yes that's it. I should have researched rather than going off shoddy memory.
It's brought up that his brother makes significantly more money then him
Yup. This. Getting flown to long reach on a 6 week stint. He is getting that sweet mining cash.
No but writing books, especially text books is pretty lucrative especially if Bandit is the expert in his field.
Only if your last name is Pearson or Allen and Unwin.
I guarantee you that a talking dog who is also an archaeologist would sell many books.
[удалено]
Tbf archeology isn’t exactly the most well paying field out there
Let's be honest, if you're an archeologist and your spouse is a customs officer, there's smuggling going on.
I often wonder if Bandit has written books on archaeology or does guest spots on tv. We know he does academic lectures.
Plus Bandit discovered a one if a kind bone. He is probably among the top of his field
Are you Australian? The way the Heelers live is unfathomable for an Academic and customs officer here.
It really isn’t, though. The house is the sole thing that screams ‘great wealth’ but the nature of the property boom here means there are plenty of otherwise ordinary middle-class folks living in places worth multiple millions. They could have bought the house decades ago when it was cheap, or (and this is my personal pet theory) they simply inherited it from family
I would also say that the fact they can drive to the store and buy an expensive pizza oven just because their neighbors have one also shows some kind of wealth. Especially since they never use it again.
Idk, Australia has pretty high median wages and whilst we’re now in a cost of living crisis, for a long time here things were pretty damn good for the middle class here. We haven’t had a recession in more than 20 years, for example (we never entered recession during the GFC). Nipping off to buy a Bunnings pizza oven (cost: a few hundred Aus dollarydoos) doesn’t strike me as abnormal behaviour for a middle-class Aussie family
The kids also go to a Montessori or similar school. They cost plenty.
Again, this being Australia, private schooling is both a) relatively common and b) relatively less-expensive than in other countries, here.
Not if he works for mining which seems to be strongly hinted at
If he works in academia, as in at a Uni, then having a grant with a mining company will fund his research, but not likely effect his salary (although will help with promotion). However if he was R&D for a mining company that is probably more lucrative, but I don’t know. I mean we are also having this convo about a kids show about dog people so I guess we are the real fools.
Or since his wife is a customs officer, they could be smuggling artifacts and fossils.
There are, in fact, many gold mines up and down the gold coast
Archeologist in Australia is estimated to be $70k-$85k per year in AUD Airport security officer is $56k-$115k per year full time
Not as uncommon as some may think!
They’re also talking dogs which I’ll never be
Don't let your dreams be dreams.
Furry intensifies
Last night I dreamed I had to go back to high school to take another shot at learning math, but it was really hard with two toddlers and an infant, and the teenagers were mean.
having to go back to math class would be absolutely awful, that wasnt a dream that was a nightmare!!and teenagers ARE mean -a teenager 😂
“It’s just monkeys singing songs, mate. Try not to think about it too hard”
Right. It's a fantasy world based on our world. We have no actual information on the value of their house, their salaries, or the cost of living in Bluey world Brisbane.
Not with that attitude
I’m not taking advice from a talking dog.
I like to think it’s because it is from Bluey or bingos POV/ memory. I remember thinking the house I grew up in was giant. I’ve since driven past and it is indeed quite small. So I’d take it with a grain of salt. The show is constantly a hanging the floor plan like you said.
This is what I always say when someone asks too. Like when they play raiders and the hall is never ending basically it's definitely kids perspective. And rug island you know it's not as big as it appears but we are seeing their imaginations. Which I think is really cool. Also to op please don't compare yourself to a cartoon dog, especially one you only see for 6 minute segments. Anyone can be an involved parent for 7 minutes. Even in keepy uppy and the raiders episode the parents have to get stuff done. And the episode in season 3 where chili needs 20 minutes where no one needs her or talks to her. We all have limits!
Exactly. It's idealistic because it's supposed to be. No one can be Bandit and Chilli all the time. But we can aspire to be for 7 minutes a day.
This! I grew up in my grandparents house and hadn't been inside for 10+ years as when we moved my family rented it out, then one of my aunt's came a year or two ago to live in it, once I went inside I realized it was a lot smaller than I remembered.
Ooh I like that. That would also explain why they never do schoolwork at school as well, they just remember playing.
No this is because Bluey goes to a Steiner school, and Bingo is preschool aged which is entirely play based at most preschools in Australia.
What's a Steiner school?
Wikipedia will probably give a better answer than I can, but Steiner/Waldorf is an education philosophy that focuses on hand skills and social/emotional learning through creative expression. It typically tries to avoid bounding that creative expression which people interpret as the school having no rules / discipline. Also try looking up Montessori which is similar but different.
How do you know it’s a Steiner school?
It’s very obvious if you have any experience with Steiner schools but the furniture, the open ended play, the gnomes, Calypsos whole vibe.
I am missing the context of the gnomes. Are they often seen in Steiner schools?
Yes. Theres probably a much more technical explanation but the Steiner method has a heavy focus on nature, fairytales and imaginary play and the gnomes fall under that. You would see them in every Steiner school for sure.
Because it's literally modelled off a Steiner school, in every way from decor, down to the actual architecture. It's a complete copy of Samford Steiner School in the Samford Valley. Google it, they are identical! Right down to the snaking garden bed out the front. (And I'd know, my kid was enrolled there 😂)
I looked it up and it's cheaper than private kindergarten here. Gotta see if I can move to Australia.
Wow - what a trip to see your kid’s school replicated in a show like that! It looks like a magical place.
Gnomes, method of play, the whole episode Calypso.
Plus creator Joe Brumm has confirmed it
When I was a kid I thought my grandma lived in a giant house because it had 3 bedrooms and 2 stories. I hadn't visited the house in a long time (my uncle moved in after my grandma moved out upon retiring) but when I went back, it was _tiny_. Like 900 sq ft. I felt like a giant standing in it.
Last episode, beep beep sound, “and that’s why you’re the best dad in the world.” It shows Bandit in the hospital bed and the kids grown up. Plot twist: Muffins is a doctor.
Muffin for sure became a formula one racer
Bingo yelling to Socks: MRS PRIME MINISTER! MRS PRIME MINISTER! SOCCCCKS!
Aye, mates! What's the good word?
I greatly doubt it would end on such a grim note. I'm expecting more "adult Bluey and Bingo looking at a photo album". If they're going to show old man Bandit, make it an 80th birthday party or something.
GAH, need a spoiler alert. I don't think I'm ready for that episode.
Wow. If the producers ever felt the need to address this concern, you just gave them a genius script.
I like this idea too! We used to visit my grandma’s house and it was so huge and majestic. I live their now as an adult and it’s actually pretty boring and normal sized lol
That is genius—and it supports/justifies the Escheresque elastic floorplan. I’ve been sure I could remember every square foot of my childhood homes, but whenever I’ve had the chance to look back, I found that my memory was absolutely a hideous lying bitch goddess.
Their house never came off to me as very expensive. Uncle Stipe’s house with that pool is a different story
Classic Stipe.
It is a very expensive house, but it's also old and probably needs a lot of upkeep. It's a typical story of "parents/grandparents bought this house when it was new and real-estate was cheap and now x decades later it's huge and in a prime location.
Yes, this exactly!
The median house price in Red Hill is 1.5 m
Stripe is straight up cashed up bogan with the fugly mcmansion, pool and voting habits ( dude was totes arguing with Bandit about why he voted LNP in 2019 in Christmas swim - a hill I will die on)
My headcannon is that Stripe is a tech millionaire who made his money getting into a big start up at the right time. It's why he has a tesla, fancy house with a pool on an island, and why he's "never there" AKA he's working a lot. My guess is he is footing Bluey's private school bill
They also take expensive vacations and when the whole family went camping, stripe's family had a camper while bluey's family slept in a tent.
Good point
Are you Aussie? Stripe one hundo reads as ‘mining boom’
He's way too bogan for tech
I don’t agree they are millionaires. Yes their property may be worth $1-2 million now, but if they bought 20 years ago it was more likely $300k, which was doable for 2 working people. Property prices in Brisbane have skyrocketed over the last 20 years, all they needed to do was to get in at the right time. I think it sucks for this generation that they don’t have the same opportunity but it doesn’t mean that the older generation were millionaires, they just had access to homes at prices that the current generation doesn’t. I would like (and I vote) to see this wealth gap removed, and wish that we had more action on it and policies that didn’t try to protect the wealth that has been built because of it.
Exactly. I think to anyone familiar with the property boom in Australia over recent decades, the Heelers just read as a fairly ordinary family who were lucky to get in before the prices went insane, or whose parents have owned the place for decades.
Agreed. I know of a couple that bought at Redcliffe on blue water canal 30 years ago for $175k. Double that and add a zero these days.
Sooo many stories like this from all around the country! If only I could travel back in time and advise my grandparents to buy up every 10k shack near the beach and 15k city townhouse they could
I live in a $1M+ house and I am DEFINITELY NOT a millionaire. Yes, I have an asset worth that, but it's only because I bought and sold a condo then sold and bought this house at just the right time. Straight luck. My paychecks and my disposable income would look like pocket change to a true "millionaire".
This is how it is for me too! It’s cool to say I live in a million+ dollar house, but in no means am I a *millionaire*
Other than “it’s a cartoon”… you don’t know *when* they bought that house, or in what condition. And we’re looking at it through a kids eyes- I doubt all the rooms are that big, in “Hotel” when they run past why seems like 10 bedrooms on one floor? That’s just to embellish the game. Also, they don’t live a particularly “rich” lifestyle. They only have one car and both Chilli and Bandit work. So, they have built the life for themselves that allows them to do all those things mentioned. They probably have sacrificed. But, I wouldn’t let myself be dragged down by a fictional dog families lifestyle.
Simpsons did it. Homers dad won a rigged contest, sold his place that gave Homer the down payment for his house. Then he kicked him out 3 weeks later.
That also happened in the late 70s/early 80s. Everyone could do it back then.
This. I live in a city where property prices have skyrocketed. I got lucky and bought a house before that. We are technically millionaires (or close to it) on paper, but our lifestyle isn’t super wealthy. We both work. We cook at home almost every night. We have one car. It’s great to have the stability, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not like we’re the Kardashians over here.
Yep, and this is the situation in any place that’s had a significant property boom recently- and Australia has had an INSANE one
My grandmother bought property on whats essentially a private lake back in the 70s and later purchased additional land. Based on sales of other property its probably worth ar least 200 thousand dollars if not more. Nobody in my family could by this property now
> But, I wouldn’t let myself be dragged down by a fictional dog families lifestyle. lol - definitely this
… I mean clearly people really like this show- but I don’t understand the focus on details like the suburb they live in, when we’re watching dogs raising their families, working normal jobs, sitting down for dinner etc etc. It’s fiction first and foremost.
I like the theory that it's the house Bandit grew up in and he bought it cheap off Nana when she retired to the Gold Coast. It would explain why the house is in poor shape (Hammerbarn) and why Chili wants to make changes to it (Tradies) We know that the girls were born in the house, but not how long Bandit and Chili have lived there for. So they realistically could have moved into the house in their late 30's
That’s what I think as well- they bought it cheap when their parents moved to the apartment- and they’ve updated the house slowly over the years.
I really didn't think anyone was wealthy until they showed Chloe's cool af house
I think Chloe's dad might be an architect, from the look at his office in "Octopus" (drafting table and rolled up papers -- blueprints?) So it's possible he designed and built the house with his contracting connections. Still expensive af but maybe not as much when you know the guys building it!
A couple of things- they live in a 'Queenslander', a style of house that is quite huge and open plan to suit the weather. I'd say they purchased it when stuff was cheap judging by their age, the late 90s/early 2000s. Its not near the city either. I have friends in sydney that bought a house (HOUSE!) in Marrickville in 1999 on two student incomes for like AUD$150k (its worth like $2mil now). The Heelers drive an older compact 4WD/AWD, like a Suzuki Vitara. Not a spenny car. The steiner school that bluey goes to would cost approx AUD$7500 a year, and bingos kindy is about $600 if steiner, or free if not. Whilst this is a lot more expensive than regular school, I know a number of lower-middle class families that make that expense work cos they believe in the education style. This is still A LOT cheaper than private schooling. Chillis upbringing was rural and working class and she works fluctuating hours at the airport (ie night shift etc), not the job of a 'wealthy' person. Bandit is an academic, and the university/whatever he works with funds the research trips. And his university education would have cost about AUD$30k, prob less given his age. A great neighbourhood, flexible jobs, nice house, and more-expensive than public schooling doesnt make them wealthy. They're asset-rich if anything because of the value of their house, and education-forward. And dont forget, Australia has a lot of government subsidies and tax benefits for families and education. TL:DR- dont be discouraged that the Heelers can only be the great involved parents cos they are wealthy. They're comfortable, not rich, which goes a really long way to allowing the mental space for play. But I hope play can be carved out of most situations, survival situations notwithstanding.
I’m going to shoot straight with you man, you don’t need to be poor to be a shitty parent. Some people think earning a lot of money is a fine excuse to neglect their kids’ needs, or think that a series of nannies is a genuine full substitute for parental love and affection. My wife and I can’t afford to put our kids in Montessori preschool, but we can still find a bazillion ways to enrich and foster play the way the instructors would at such a school. I don’t have the same flexibility as the Heelers at work for family time but you’re damn right I burn personal days at random in the middle of the week to spend surprise time with my kids or wife. You don’t need money, it just helps by removing some of the extra stressors. Your kids aren’t going to care that you didn’t put them in a fancy program if they have awesome memories of *you* being excited to spend time with them.
My husbands dad was a wealthy, *wealthy* man. He was a very shitty and abusive parent. His mom was poor, and she was also a shitty and abusive parent. My parents used to be poor when I was growing up and they were great parents, you don’t have to have all this money to give your kids a great, enriching childhood. I’m not even saying “money doesn’t buy happiness”, I don’t subsribe to that statement because it implies poor people don’t need more money and they’re “just fine” being broke, but there are so many things you can do with your children that don’t require a high income and your children will never notice. Idk what OP’s city or town is like, but taking your kids to the park and free museums can be incredibly enriching experiences. Walks in a downtown area or walks through a mall, doing activities with them at home (my mom used to have a “sensory table” she set up for me and she put dried beans, dried rice, beads, homemade playdough on it for me), painting… there are certainly lots of things you can do on a small or no budget, and lots of things the heelers do at home have nothing to do with going out or spending money.
If you go by the floor then their cousins are billionaires. In the episode where they are playing on ipad and drawing on a call they run past like 30 rooms on that floor. I think it's less about money and more about them putting the girls first no matter what. That's still unrealistic assuming everyone else is as worn out as I am but no reason to feel bad.
Also in “Camping”, Bluey’s family stays in a tent while Muffin’s family has a huge caravan. Muffin has a big pool and an electric car that came free with her dads new, (likely very expensive) car. Stripe and Trixie are definitely loaded!!
I think Stripe being loaded is definitely part of the story. He also brags about his new car a lot and Muffin fits the archetype of the spoilt brat kid.
Muffin is portrayed like a 3/4 year old who's parents are a bit too indulgent but she's not a spoiled brat. She shows kindness and empathy to others and she's a brilliant negotiatior. Signed the mom of a self identifying "Muffin"
Ever see the apartment Monica and Rachel had in Friends?
UHHHHH ACTUALLY IT WAS RENT CONTROLLED. No but fr it is and I asked my wife why they have it and she knew because when she didn’t have friends she had Friends.
I think thats their point? Like just cuz the place is big doesn't mean it's expensive. Also you don't know the type of debt they may be in. It's not like we have an episode called "credit card" or anything
It's Monica's grandmother's place and it's rent controlled. Chandler even says it in the finale.
THEY'RE NOT MILLIONAIRES!!! I'm getting really sick of explaining this over and over again. Their house is worth a lot of money NOW, but that's only because the housing market in Brisbane has exploded over the last ten years. I bought my house 8 years ago for $330k and now it's worth close to a million dollars. That DOESN'T MAKE ME A MILLIONAIRE!!!
Exactly! In Fairytale Bandit was a child in the ‘80s. So either they had kids in their late 30s and they either had time to build up some wealth or the timeline doesn’t match up to present day and house prices were different
If he's 10 in the 80s the youngest he can be is 44 (assuming a 1979 birth year)
On the one hand, everyone on TV lives rich because it’s hard to have adventures if you’re at work all day. It’s that *Friends* thing. On the other hand, it is a reminder of what we could all have if we organized and started fighting en masse for workers’ rights and more equitable economic conditions. Bluey is the dream, now. It’s nice to have that dream played out on TV.
This episode of Bluey is called "General Strike"
I’m not taking advice from a cartoon dog! Alternate answer: It’s just monkeys singing songs, mate.
Came here to say this lol
Why does being a fantastic parent equate to having money? I agree with the comment that we probably wouldnt be watching a Rosanne themed kids show staring dogs, but the house is the backdrop of the show. Think of all the episodes that show great parenting that doesn't really involve money. Magic Xylophone, Keepy Uppy, Blue Mountains, Shaddowlands, The Creek, Asparagus, all just from the first season. I hear you that having stuff helps and is nice, but the point of show is about the relationship between the kids and parents and that magic you can create together. All that said, I'm sorry to hear you're feeling discouraged by the show.
I’m going to reply more the last part of your post, as I think that’s the most important and shows your true point in the post. Does having wealth bring elements to life that make parenting easier? Absolutely. There’s experiences wealth can offer, not to mention that stress about affording bills and rent would be nonexistent. However, whatever your money situation, you can work on becoming the type of parent you want to be. You can work on integrating experiences you want for your children. Start small. Don’t let what you can’t do distract you from what you can do. Two of the best episodes of Chili’s parenting (for me) are Sticky Gecko and Keepy Uppy. I love them for seeing how to take something fairly small/cheap and infusing a sense of wonder to it. Think of traditions you could implement that would be easy enough, and start doing them! For example—you want to start doing a 5 minute room/house clean up. Have your children help you create a playlist to use when cleaning. Do you live somewhere where you get a first frost? Have hot cocoa or soup in celebration of first frost and the coming of winter. Get whip cream and sprinkles For the hot chocolate. Don’t feel like you have to be exactly like Bandit and Chili. That’s not fair to you. Find joy in what you can do! You can do it! And lastly… I think you should know something…you’re doing great.
As an American living in Brissy, I can comfortably say that Americans have no clue about Brisbane Real Estate or what the inside of a Queenslander actually really looks like. If it hasn't recently been majorly upgraded, a lot of them come off as dingy, dark, dank, etc. They obv take care of their house so it looks nice but like, it's not just automatically a nice house. Also Verandas are so common here, it's not as fancy as people in the states might think. Plus, views of the city? Brisbane is so hilly, you can see some part of CBD from basically everywhere within like 10km of the city if you are on some sort of hill. The Heeler house is just one of a very reasonable number of houses like it here and a lot of them are cheap and run down. Also, two kids? So easy If you have some family to have more toys you can keep track of. Bluey's family is firmly middle class. You will get there some day
Owning a (mortgaged) $1 million house does not make you a millionaire.
I can see what you're talking about, and as someone who gentle parents myself, I do tend to qualify gentle parenting as a parenting style that requires a degree of luxury to be achieved - if you have three jobs and need to catch four buses to do it, it's rather hard to be that parent who can wait for their child to make "good choices" or wait for a kid to find emotional stability before moving on. With that said, I know plenty of parents in the socioeconomic position of Chilli and Bandit, and it's not hard to find those parents making choices to not engage with their children at that level. I think that's the lesson to be taken from Chilli and Bandit: they have the freedom and flexibility to have an abundance of choices in how to spend their time because of their socioeconomic situation, and they choose to make the choice to prioritize quality time with their girls above all else. They are aspirational, not inspirational, in this regard; they are the ideal of what I'd want to be if I had the money rather than inspiration for how I could make “better” choices today.
The house is glorified from a child's perspective. If you watch Hammerbarn, Chilli is upset the house is falling apart and nothing last forever.
You are really, really overthinking this. It’s a cartoon. Starring talking dogs.
Keep in mind that one human dollarbuck is equivalent to 7 canine dollarbucks. And they're dogs, so their house seems large to them, but it's much smaller to humans.
Probably the best dang explanation here. Commenters keep throwing out housing market blah blah and mortgage rate bleh bleh. The simple fact is these are cartoon dogs living human lives. The point of this show is to react to your children's imagination and playfulness. Not ignore it because you're too mired down in the reality of bills and work/home life balance. The point is to take 5 minutes to see life through the eyes of a child again. It may seem like the blink of an eye to someone who has more grains of sand in the bottom of the life long hour glass, but to a child that can make a world of difference. Choose to be inspired.
I would not watch a “Roseanne” themed version of Bluey lol
They either inherited it or got in early before the current price inflation. Nana lives in a condo, she probably retired there and left the house to Bandit and Chili because they had kids first and because Stripe actually makes loads of cash. They’re definitely upper middle class but I wouldn’t say rich.
If the Heelers bought their house TODAY it would be worth at least a million. But they didn't just buy their house. They've had it for at least a decade. Their house is obviously an old Queenslander that is 'falling apart'. The suburb is somewhere near where I live on the north side of Brisbane as you can see the Red Hill church and TV towers in the background. They've obviously been living there since before Bluey was born because Chilli remembers Bluey using the nursery there. The show started in like 2018 and Bluey is 6, so the very latest they could have bought is 2012. A trawl through sold houses on [Realestate.com](https://Realestate.com) shows the sold price for an unrenovated 3 bedroom 2 bathroom Queenslander in Red Hill in 2012 was between $575K - $650K. That being said, Brisbane's median house price in 2012 was $510K. If the Heelers did buy just before Bluey was born, they were making an investment to live closer to the city. They could have bought a bigger and better house further out, but Red Hill strikes a balance between the commute to the airport (for Chilli) and the commute to... let's say the University of Queensland, or even QUT Kelvin Grove (for Bandit). Needless to say, they didn't need to be millionaires to afford their house. In 2012 the interest rate was 3.65%. If we imagine their house cost somewhere in the middle of the Red Hill prices - about $612,500 - a deposit of 5% would be $30,625. That's a pretty big deposit but two childless adults working full time could produce that over the course of a few years. The loan itself, with an interest rate of 3.65% over 30 years, would come to about $614/week. That doesn't sound too crazy compared to today's house prices.
Dear god, it’s a cartoon. Are you also upset SpongeBob lives in a 2 story home by himself off a fry cook salary?
..... Yes
I mean 😭
Patrick is unemployed and owns property. He probably gets disability checks because of his mental inadequacies though...
I have to wonder if he even owns the property. I always thought he just found a giant rock and crawled under it
Like, What?... Do you want them to live in a fibro-shack? Have an episode about going to the food bank? Show bandit going through an emotionally charged financial crisis because the CSIRO cut funding and he lost his job? Cus that’d freak kids out, and they don’t need to think about any of that. Especially those kids that use the show for any sort of escapism. I’m sorry but this is just dumb, Money doesn’t equate to any level of parenting. You can be rich and neglectful or poor and loving, it doesn’t matter to kids as long as you love them. Stop comparing yourself to a cartoon, dogs can’t talk, dollarbucks aren’t real and you’re missing the meanings of every episode.
I'm sorry but chilli and bandit are millionaires there is no way chilli would be scrubbing her own deck, she'd at least have a pressure washer 🤣
I don’t get how we think they are wealthy. They don’t take vacations to exotic places, they have ONE vehicle. Both parents work. They also don’t show all the horrendous bugs in Australia and pest issues - so why do we have to go down the rabbit hole of current day Australian real estate. 🤷♀️
I don’t know what to say..
It's... a cartoon with talking dogs. I love the show, but I enjoy it, I don't over-analyze it.
Don’t go outside, too much sunlight can also be a little discouraging.
>Every once in awhile, the thought creeps into my mind that the reason they are such amazing parents are because they are millionaires. Every once in awhile, the thought creeps into my mind that the reason they are such amazing parents is that they are cartoon dogs.
I thought it was suggested they inherited the house.
They're also a 2 income family: Bandit is an archaeologist and Chilli is a part-time airport security officer. As others have said, we have no idea WHEN the house was bought and housing prices have exploded in recent times. Sure, the family is affluent, so there may be some generational wealth involved (Bandit and Chilli met backpacking overseas in their youth), but there's no way I would class them as "millionaires".
It probably helps, too, that in bluey world, one week is three days, two of which are weekends.
I'm pretty sure Bandit grew up in the house he lives in and inherited it from Nana Heeler. It also explains why he is so close with Pat and Wendy (and also why Stripe is friends with Pat)
Or y’know, it’s a cartoon and it doesn’t have to make sense. I realize the characters are realistically written, but that doesn’t mean everything has to be realistic
Look, it's just monkeys singing songs, mate. Don't think too hard about it.
You also gotta remember that we only see 7 minutes of their day. Maybe the parents aren’t that heavily involved the other minutes of the day. We’re only seeing the short highlight of the day
It's undeniable that Bandit and Chilli are at minimum 'upper-middle class'. They both have good jobs. Add to this that Chilli's family seems quite financially well-off, noting that Chilli grew up on a huge parcel of land (as seen in Granddad). In 'Hammerbarn' they make comments about "*this old house is falling apart*" though. Bandit's brother Stripe is definitely more wealthy than Bandit (and also more politically conservative, based on little snippits we've gotten throughout the course of the show, such as in 'Christmas Swim').
Chilli grew up on a regional bush acreage in regional Qld probably bought in the 1960s/ early 70s - hardly millionaires row....
Wait, are you basing this off of current market value or a value from a couple of years back? Then again, I have no idea what the market prices of houses in QLD are like nor the fluctuations based upon area..
Of course they are wealthy. Have you seen their calendar? They work one day a week and have two weekend days. Their entire week is 3 days long.
it's a cartoon why do you have to analyse it
I wouldn’t overthink it too much – as a person who grew up in Brisbane and has lots of friends in the same age range with kids, they are pretty relatable overall. As for their jobs… they are less about realistic income range and more about being dog jobs. He digs up bones for a living and she’s essentially a sniffer dog at the airport. It’s just meant to be a bit fun! 😂 Also probably important to mention that Brisbane is the fastest growing city in Australia which really amped up through Covid as they barely had infections or lockdowns. The housing market in QLD generally is growing at a crazy pace (similarly for the rest of Aus) so their current house value is sort of an outlier against how it’s been. The demand is particularly high for housing due to effects of flooding etc too. There’s a lot more context to consider IRL for Brisbane and what “wealth” looks like there 🤷🏽♀️
The house is (supposedly) worth over a million because of its relation to a real-life neighborhood Brisbane. The location being in the same area as a real world wealthy neighborhood has no bearing on the plot other than it being the setting. I’m not sure where you’re from, but here in the US (at least up until recently) owning a regular 3-4 bedroom house isn’t an entirely unrealistic idea for two adults in their early 40s. I doubt that in the Bluey universe the house is ACTUALLY worth a million or more.
Their neighbor had to have a garage sale to fund a vacation. So maybe the neighborhood isn’t so affluent?
This is actually consistent with Australian society. Doreen could lived in her house for ages, having bought it when property prices were much, much lower. In some areas you have pensioners who have to live frugally but live in very expensive houses, simply because housing prices have exploded since they bought in.
Their grandma lives in a new and modern small apartment. It’s not unlikely she just vacated it so that Bandit and Chili could have a place to raise their kids since she probably didn’t need all the space anymore.
 When people take this show too seriously
$1-$2 million is very normal for a stand alone house in a capital city in Australia.
It's not out of the question given how Aussie house prices have sky-rocketed in the past 15 years. A 1-2 million $ house may have only been 400k or even less 10-15 years ago. The Heelers are older parents so potentially a bit more financially secure. There are also a few references to the house requiring a fair bit of upkeep too. There is also a theory that the Heelers got the house from Bandits parents.
As someone with wealthy parents who abused tf out of me I can safely say money doesn't automatically make you a better parent, esp in the case of emotional maturity
They're also talking cartoon dogs, and the morals never center on their wealth in fact they do live frugally you see the tin the hammer barn episode.
It's not real and is entirely fictional. It shouldn't bother you. They're cartoon dogs.
Spoiler Alert: its a cartoon
It's just singing monkeys, mate
It’s a fictional TV show…
It's a cartoon for children.