United States vs Australia (rent, insurance, home)

[FuzzyFoxx]

I am wondering which of the 3 countries had the best education for children aged 9 to 18? Also which one would have the least gun and knife crime? bullying and education in school dont seem to good here in the uk,but i heard that australia had about the same in education to uk.I was wondering how true this is? yes it is hard with children in uk as had 6 so instead of public transport i would have to drive to which i hate doing.Houses are small and you dont seem to get alot for your money.The US houses always seem to look huge is this just tv or for real? neighbours here are rude and dont think of who they might upset as long as it suits them.Long ago people had repect and you could leave your open but not now.So i looking into these countries seems a must and scary as worried we will make a mistake.fuzzys mum.

[NihonKitty]

Originally Posted by FuzzyFoxx

I am wondering which of the 3 countries had the best education for children aged 9 to 18? Also which one would have the least gun and knife crime? bullying and education in school dont seem to good here in the uk,but i heard that australia had about the same in education to uk.I was wondering how true this is? yes it is hard with children in uk as had 6 so instead of public transport i would have to drive to which i hate doing.Houses are small and you dont seem to get alot for your money.The US houses always seem to look huge is this just tv or for real? neighbours here are rude and dont think of who they might upset as long as it suits them.Long ago people had repect and you could leave your open but not now.So i looking into these countries seems a must and scary as worried we will make a mistake.fuzzys mum.

Im not familiar with UK but the US has one of the worst K-12 (elementary high school) in the developed world but it does have some of the best universities. So i imagine australia has better elementary and high school education but not as good universities. American houses will be bigger than the UK and cheaper but like i said australias city planning is more similar to the US than the UK.

[FuzzyFoxx]

Just reading up on some information about moving to the states and it says about " register with the selective service"... do you need to do this?
As our family don't want to go into the military.
Can someone please tell me?

[GUCK]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/gener...n-streets.html take a look at this

[ATLien86]

Your children will not be drafted in the military. They just have to register for no reason. Don't worry about that.

A blanket statement regarding the healthcare in the US vs. Australia is unhelpful. The US has 2 big issues with health care: (1) The government doesn't pay for it, and (2) It is expensive (regardless of whether a country's healthcare is private or public, whomever is paying, is probably paying less than private individuals in the US -- the average person pays about $7,500/y I believe).

That said, if you can afford healthcare in the US, the wait times are very short and the doctors are the best in the world. The overall treatment is the best. Over 5/6's of our country can afford health insurance. Our system is very good for them.

What it really comes down to is how wealthy you expect to be. In Australia, the tax rates are higher (although, I don't think they are that much higher?) and AFAIK they tax the wealthy at a disproportionately higher percent. Poorer folks tend to benefit to a greater degree from the increased taxes in Australia compared to the US (i.e. Australia's tax system is more progressive).
So, the US is a little better in that respect if you're wealthy, and Australia is a little better if you're poor.


I don't know how Australia compares in this regard, but the US has incredible diversity in the locations you can live. We have beaches, mountains, all kinds of climates, very populated areas, very remote areas, areas with a great mix of people, areas completely dominated by one race, and several very distinct cultures (i.e. the northeast vs. Texas). As an American citizen, for good or for bad, your country is more at-the-center of the world politically than anywhere else.

[Sandpointian]

Both are great and offer fantastic platforms to live a great life. Your expectations should be a function of your own vision and efforts, not those of polls and magazine adverts.

[eihab]

If I were you, I would have chosen US without doubt.

[FuzzyFoxx]

Originally Posted by ATLien86

Your children will not be drafted in the military. They just have to register for no reason. Don't worry about that.

A blanket statement regarding the healthcare in the US vs. Australia is unhelpful. The US has 2 big issues with health care: (1) The government doesn't pay for it, and (2) It is expensive (regardless of whether a country's healthcare is private or public, whomever is paying, is probably paying less than private individuals in the US -- the average person pays about $7,500/y I believe).

That said, if you can afford healthcare in the US, the wait times are very short and the doctors are the best in the world. The overall treatment is the best. Over 5/6's of our country can afford health insurance. Our system is very good for them.

What it really comes down to is how wealthy you expect to be. In Australia, the tax rates are higher (although, I don't think they are that much higher?) and AFAIK they tax the wealthy at a disproportionately higher percent. Poorer folks tend to benefit to a greater degree from the increased taxes in Australia compared to the US (i.e. Australia's tax system is more progressive).
So, the US is a little better in that respect if you're wealthy, and Australia is a little better if you're poor.


I don't know how Australia compares in this regard, but the US has incredible diversity in the locations you can live. We have beaches, mountains, all kinds of climates, very populated areas, very remote areas, areas with a great mix of people, areas completely dominated by one race, and several very distinct cultures (i.e. the northeast vs. Texas). As an American citizen, for good or for bad, your country is more at-the-center of the world politically than anywhere else.

Yea, healthcare is something that needs to be good like you said the doctors are the best there.
What about schools?

[minibrings]

Originally Posted by FuzzyFoxx

The poll does gives me some idea, whats people also think is best.

It really won't as CD is a US based forum and the majority of posters are American!

I've lived in Oz (Adelaide), Toronto and now the seacoast area of New Hampshire. I am happiest here in NH.. great state.. second lowest tax burden in the US after Alaska. No state income tax or sales tax! Beautiful mountains, lakes and seacoast.

While I love Oz here are a few things to consider. It IS remote. Seeing family in North America was an effort; seeing your family in Europe will be a bigger effort. Do a search for housing affordability - you will find a NZ study that shows Oz and NZ are among the least affordable (when you factor in average salaries), in general. Of course there are affordable areas and more expensive areas in both countries. Consider as well that Oz has a high skin cancer rate so if you go be sure to wear a lot of sunscreen and protection; adverts extolling people to be careful are common in Oz. If you or your kids are asthmatic this may be a factor -- there is a reason why they had asthma awareness posters at Sydney airport. Mine was horrible in Adelaide.. much worse than when I lived in North America. In Oz I never left the house w/o an inhaler (and a backup at work) and used up 1-2 inhalers a month (at least). Since I returned to north America I have used one. Pollens are different down under and with the dryness they will be flying about. Economically it is getting hit by the recession, not as bad as the US but it is catching up. Read the online version of theaustralian.com.au to research this. They say unemployment will be up to 9% by the end of this year. Their economy is tied to exports, primarily to China. When the US economy goes down, less demand for Chinese products and China has less demand for raw materials from Oz.

I would never tell anyone not to go to Oz. I love Oz. My happiest years were spent there primarily because I met great mates. No country is perfect, I just wanted you to know the facts about Oz, at least from my personal experience.

If I were you I'd check out Oz and the US/NH. For me career wise and for quality of life, NH was the better choice. Crime in the US is overblown by the media. If you are living in a place like NH, it will not be an issue. If you were in a bad part of in an inner city neighborhood, it will be worse. Its the same as in the UK and in Oz. You learn where to go and where not to go. I would not worry about crime in the US. Funny part is a study juse came out that stated that the safest big city in the US is NYC, the biggest city.

If you have access to private medical insurance the US will be the better choice. There is a reason why the best medical schools are here and as to why many of the most talented medical practitioners come here. As for education, I went to University in Oz and have no complaints. From a Uni perspective, check k the Times of London annual survey of top Unis and you will see the US and UK are much better represented in the top rankings (Oz does not have as many Unis due to the lower population).

Good luck with your decision!

[ATLien86]

As far as education, I don't know anything about Australia in that department, but I know a bit about the US, most of which has already been said.

In the US, the deal is that the K-12 system is generally pretty bad. I'm not sure if it is because kids are not disciplined enough or vice versa. I always liked the idea of a more liberal education environment, but maybe that doesn't actually work.
At any rate, the K-12 average test scores are generally pretty bad. But, this varies to a great extent by area. There are some areas that are very bad, and some that are very good. And, the private K-12 schools are generally exceptional.
Maybe the environment just isn't conducive to learning in public schools, but imo, if your children want to get a good education, they can still get one in the US.

Now, as far as universities, the US is the best in the world, BUT, that might be partly because our very elite schools are really, really, elite. If your children are not scoring in the top 1% on standardized tests, then they probably won't be able to go to an elite university. And, that's a common trend, I think. Our typical students are pretty far behind. Our top students, from K-12 and beyond, are at the very top.

http://www.topuniversities.com/unive...0_universities
This site gives the US 11 of the top 15 universities. (Note: Some of the rankings on this site are kinda crazy, though. i.e. UCSD is not a very good school and it's in the top 50. And Princeton is somehow #12, even though it should probably be #1.