Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I also think Australia is too detached from the world to be a superpower.
You need active relations with other countries like trade, tourism, culture...etc.
Apart from New Zealand and other island countries closest mainland routes take more than 5 hours.
You can't have it like that.
And frankly no need to be a superpower.
It's just draining our money, we don't see any benefit of this.
We have record number of homeless people, lowest labor participation, infrastructure is crumbling...etc.
I mean there is literally no good thing happening for common people of this superpower situation.
Just focus on your lives.
What? You don't think there's any trade or tourism with any other country? What rock do you live under? As for homelessness, unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, evidence please.
What? You don't think there's any trade or tourism with any other country? What rock do you live under? As for homelessness, unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, evidence please.
Of course they're happening but at a much slower rate.
It's a lot easier to build influence when you have many neighboring countries.
These are our homelessness, unemployment...etc. data.
I didn't refer to Australia.
There's no benefiting from this situation for ordinary people.
Of course they're happening but at a much slower rate.
It's a lot easier to build influence when you have many neighboring countries.
These are our homelessness, unemployment...etc. data.
I didn't refer to Australia.
There's no benefiting from this situation for ordinary people.
This is the the Australia forum, we're talking about Australia becoming a superpower, that's referring to Australia. Who else would "we" mean? The German, the Italians, the Chinese?
Actually for part of my time, I stayed in Melbourne at a friend's house and went grocery shopping with him and found that still very expensive and he lived in a suburban area. I also stayed in hostels the rest of the time and didn't end up in hotels because they were too expensive. Australia is expensive compared to the US/Canada for almost everything
Generally-speaking, I think you're right. And those were certainly my experiences; I lived in Sydney for a little over 3 months in later 2013. Being from NYC, I can't say that Sydney was more expensive (certainly not noticeably so). However, compared to certain other major U.S. cities, Sydney was a little more expensive. Currently living in Honolulu, however, I can easily say that its more expensive here vs. Sydney. This comparison site seems about right in my book: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
With that out of the way, I could see Australia becoming a super power, but it'll need to pave the way for greater immigration first IMO. Still, if I was an Australian, I'd be more than happy with how things are.
Generally-speaking, I think you're right. And those were certainly my experiences; I lived in Sydney for a little over 3 months in later 2013. Being from NYC, I can't say that Sydney was more expensive (certainly not noticeably so). However, compared to certain other major U.S. cities, Sydney was a little more expensive. Currently living in Honolulu, however, I can easily say that its more expensive here vs. Sydney. This comparison site seems about right in my book: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
With that out of the way, I could see Australia becoming a super power, but it'll need to pave the way for greater immigration first IMO. Still, if I was an Australian, I'd be more than happy with how things are.
How was the experience? Do you think AU is a better place to live in, than the US overall? What were the differences you found?
How was the experience? Do you think AU is a better place to live in, than the US overall? What were the differences you found?
I LOVED Australia and could see myself living there full time. The weather was favorable and I could find just about everything that I'm used to (plus a whole lot of different, unique things) in the US there. Coming from NYC originally, the prices weren't so much of a shock for me, though I understand if they are for some others. The food was also good, and I had mostly pleasant interactions with people. Being by myself in a foreign land can be somewhat of a challenge, but I didn't feel like that in Australia and it was pretty easy to make new friends quickly. One major personal downside was that Australia is so far from the US, which is a problem for me as that's where my immediate family is.
In terms of being an overall better place to live than the US, I honestly would have to see more of Australia before coming to such a conclusion (I was only in Sydney). But, here are some things I can compare living in Sydney/Australia vs. NYC or Honolulu (where I live now) or the US in general:
1) Politics: I actually prefer the parliamentary system to the presidential system we have here as it encourages/requires greater compromise to get things done. However, I prefer the more robust constitutional protections that we have in the US.
2) Safety: although NYC is generally fairly safe (as is Honolulu), Australia on the whole seems to be safer than the US (from what I've seen/witnessed/read about/etc.). While I'm not saying that Australia is crime free, it was refreshing to not have to regularly read about multiple mass shootings in the local news when I was in Sydney. And this is coming from someone who is a strong 2nd Amendment supporter.
3) Weather/climate: overall, Australia wins, but you can easily find comfortable/tropical/sub-tropical places to live within the US.
4) Diversity (racial/cultural/ethnic/etc.): while Sydney (and perhaps some other cities) is fairly diverse, the U.S. wins this one overall hands-down. And its reflected in the food and experiences (if you couldn't tell, I'm a major foodie ). Its great living in a city (referring to NYC, although the same is true for many U.S. cities) where I could go and grab some great West African food one day, followed by amazing West Indian cuisine the next, followed by great Hispanic/Latin food the next day, outstanding Italian or French the next, to-die-for American Southern cuisine and BBQ the next, and so on and so forth. And I also feel that exposure (specifically, meaningful exposure, which we haven't mastered in the states yet either) to people of different backgrounds is beneficial in terms of combating prejudice and just being a more well-rounded person.
All in all, I'd be quite content living in Australia.
4) Diversity (racial/cultural/ethnic/etc.): while Sydney (and perhaps some other cities) is fairly diverse, the U.S. wins this one overall hands-down. And its reflected in the food and experiences (if you couldn't tell, I'm a major foodie ). Its great living in a city (referring to NYC, although the same is true for many U.S. cities) where I could go and grab some great West African food one day, followed by amazing West Indian cuisine the next, followed by great Hispanic/Latin food the next day, outstanding Italian or French the next, to-die-for American Southern cuisine and BBQ the next, and so on and so forth. And I also feel that exposure (specifically, meaningful exposure, which we haven't mastered in the states yet either) to people of different backgrounds is beneficial in terms of combating prejudice and just being a more well-rounded person.
Having lived in both cities (as well as other parts) diversity doesn't always equal tolerance. Certainly Australia's cuisine choices in both Sydney and Melbourne are increasing to other parts of globe outside of Asia. It's remarkable how far cuisine diversity has come in a decade.
Back to the diversity doesn't equal tolerance issue, New York is a great melting pot but still there is clear segregation and prejudice. It's the same everywhere whether it's New York, Orange County, Sydney or Melbourne. Even such liberal cities as Seattle and San Francisco have their fair share of prejudice. One of the great influences is unfortunately socio economic, if someone who is different is either poorer or richer that seems to be where the prejudice comes into play.
Not likely in any of our lifetimes. Australia doesn't have enough people. Australia has 24 million people, the US had 24 million probably in the 1840s, and will likely have ~500 million in 2100. Since Australia's birthrate is at best at replacement, I don't think it could practically absorb the requisite numbers of immigrants to become a superpower within even a century.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). Its great living in a city (referring to NYC, although the same is true for many U.S. cities) where I could go and grab some great West African food one day, followed by amazing West Indian cuisine the next, followed by great Hispanic/Latin food the next day, outstanding Italian or French the next, to-die-for American Southern cuisine and BBQ the next, and so on and so forth. And I also feel that exposure (specifically, meaningful exposure, which we haven't mastered in the states yet either) to people of different backgrounds is beneficial in terms of combating prejudice and just being a more well-rounded person. 
