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- high cost of living (rent, food, clothing, electronics etc.).. heck I've bought Coopers Beer and SA wine in the states for a lower cost than back in Oz!
It was reasonable when the AUD was .70 to the USD but now that its above USD your money does not go as far
- variety of goods for sale not as abundant as in the US (smaller population)
- isolation.. far from the US, Europe
- interstate air travel expensive
- it can get beastly hot in summer (SA)
PROS
- winter warmer than northern US (at least in Adelaide)
- close enough to SE Asia.. easier to get to Singapore and from there Bangkok, Laos, etc. etc. I did a lot of electronic and clothing shopping on my trips to SE Asia.
- good beer and wine. Love Tassie blue cheese and fresh SA oysters.
Australia is a safe, stable country with good opportunities, and a beautiful natural setting so the positives outweigh the negatives for me, but you asked for some negatives:
-Cost of living is very high, especially if you like to eat out/go out.
-Far away from everywhere.
-Suburbs are isolated and sterile.
-Nanny-state government...and the highly spin-doctored nature of federal politics.
-Water shortages/restrictions.
-A generally inward looking national psyche.
- The racism/xenophobia
- The general rage. Seems no one is happy unless they're currently enraged about something, even though they live in some of the best conditions in the world
- Dangerously aggressive drivers
- Political fickleness. People are up in arms about whatever the corporate-run media tells them to be upset about that particular day. (Ex: Kevin Rudd --> mining tax --> carbon tax --> refugees --> Julia Gillard --> Tony Abbott --> etc.)
- The alcohol culture
- Bogans
- The fact that bogans have money and use it to create even more chaos
- The politicians' fear of the monarchy and of any mentioning of starting a republic
- The monocultural high school mentality -- the entire country feels like a schoolyard where anyone different is ostracized or bullied
- Complete misunderstanding of what multiculturalism means (hint: it doesn't mean "we give you permission to bring your culture to this country, as long as you leave that culture behind and completely adopt ours - otherwise go back to where you came from")
- Children are raised with absolutely no discipline and are treated like little deities that are allowed to run rampant and grow up to do whatever they want to whomever they want (see: bogans)
- Seeing environmentalists/progressives like the Green Party as the destroyers of the country, when in fact all they are trying to do is preserve the beauty and sustainability of the country for future generations
- Justice system so incredibly soft on criminals, and too harsh on people who defend themselves
- No medical/recreational marijuana, yet go ahead and drink all you want and wreak havoc!
- Continuing to marginalize and treat aboriginals as second-class citizens
- Bowing to America's every will, including allowing their military free reign to expand the American empire
- Tony Abbott exists (and some people actually support him)
- House prices
- Australia day
- The racism/xenophobia
- The general rage. Seems no one is happy unless they're currently enraged about something, even though they live in some of the best conditions in the world
- Dangerously aggressive drivers
- Political fickleness. People are up in arms about whatever the corporate-run media tells them to be upset about that particular day. (Ex: Kevin Rudd --> mining tax --> carbon tax --> refugees --> Julia Gillard --> Tony Abbott --> etc.)
- The alcohol culture
- Bogans
- The fact that bogans have money and use it to create even more chaos
- The politicians' fear of the monarchy and of any mentioning of starting a republic
- The monocultural high school mentality -- the entire country feels like a schoolyard where anyone different is ostracized or bullied
- Complete misunderstanding of what multiculturalism means (hint: it doesn't mean "we give you permission to bring your culture to this country, as long as you leave that culture behind and completely adopt ours - otherwise go back to where you came from")
- Children are raised with absolutely no discipline and are treated like little deities that are allowed to run rampant and grow up to do whatever they want to whomever they want (see: bogans)
- Seeing environmentalists/progressives like the Green Party as the destroyers of the country, when in fact all they are trying to do is preserve the beauty and sustainability of the country for future generations
- Justice system so incredibly soft on criminals, and too harsh on people who defend themselves
- No medical/recreational marijuana, yet go ahead and drink all you want and wreak havoc!
- Continuing to marginalize and treat aboriginals as second-class citizens
- Bowing to America's every will, including allowing their military free reign to expand the American empire
- Tony Abbott exists (and some people actually support him)
- House prices
- Australia day
- The racism/xenophobia
- The general rage. Seems no one is happy unless they're currently enraged about something, even though they live in some of the best conditions in the world
- Dangerously aggressive drivers
- Political fickleness.People are up in arms about whatever the corporate-run media tells them to be upset about that particular day. (Ex: Kevin Rudd --> mining tax --> carbon tax --> refugees --> Julia Gillard --> Tony Abbott --> etc.)
- The alcohol culture
- Bogans
- The fact that bogans have money and use it to create even more chaos
- The politicians' fear of the monarchy and of any mentioning of starting a republic
- The monocultural high school mentality -- the entire country feels like a schoolyard where anyone different is ostracized or bullied
- Complete misunderstanding of what multiculturalism means (hint: it doesn't mean "we give you permission to bring your culture to this country, as long as you leave that culture behind and completely adopt ours - otherwise go back to where you came from")
- Children are raised with absolutely no discipline and are treated like little deities that are allowed to run rampant and grow up to do whatever they want to whomever they want (see: bogans)
- Seeing environmentalists/progressives like the Green Party as the destroyers of the country, when in fact all they are trying to do is preserve the beauty and sustainability of the country for future generations
- Justice system so incredibly soft on criminals, and too harsh on people who defend themselves
- No medical/recreational marijuana, yet go ahead and drink all you want and wreak havoc!
- Continuing to marginalize and treat aboriginals as second-class citizens
- Bowing to America's every will, including allowing their military free reign to expand the American empire
- Tony Abbott exists (and some people actually support him)
- House prices - Australia day
I completly agree with this list too, except for the bolded ones.
Im not sure if the monocultural school yard thing is such a problem in 2013 , It certainly was during the 1980's and 1990's.
I admit to being a life long liberal supporter, its the economic policies that keep me that way, not the social ones, Tony Abbott however is a complete dick, would love to see Turnbull at the head of the party.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 01-07-2013 at 03:34 AM..
Location: Brisbane, Dubai, London, Dallas, Toronto
34 posts, read 36,709 times
Reputation: 24
living in Brisbane
- 4 am sunrises and 6 pm sunsets in the summer
- way too many clouds for a sunshine state
- prices at retail outlets. i don't even buy clothes or electronics unless its necessary. food prices are double what i use to pay in U.S.
- house prices. my house i used to have in Dallas would be 3X expensive in the suburbs
- Unions
- the speed of construction projects. takes 2 years to renovate the bus entrance and walkway at my uni.
- the isolation. takes 8+ hours to get to another major city outside the country. takes a day to get to Europe.
- people tend not to mix with people of other cultural/country backgrounds
- 4 am sunrises and 6 pm sunsets in the summer
- way too many clouds for a sunshine state
- prices at retail outlets. i don't even buy clothes or electronics unless its necessary. food prices are double what i use to pay in U.S.
- house prices. my house i used to have in Dallas would be 3X expensive in the suburbs
- Unions
- the speed of construction projects. takes 2 years to renovate the bus entrance and walkway at my uni.
- the isolation. takes 8+ hours to get to another major city outside the country. takes a day to get to Europe.
- people tend not to mix with people of other cultural/country backgrounds
67% possible sun in Brisbane cf. 61% in Dallas ...
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