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What is the downside of Australian life ? This is a _grownup_ question, for grownups.? |
Travel Info As a holder of an Australian residency visa, who has not left yet at this point in time, I have scant information of negative aspects of life down under. Having heard all the good stuff, which I do believe is quite factual, I am nevertheless of a mind to question any nettlesome problems in your country. Face it, there MUST be a few. How about maybe... ...health care ? ...living costs ? ...the old bugaboo...taxes ?. I am stabbing widly in the dark. Psycho revisited. Any honest input will be appreciated. Abstain from smart-alecky jokes, please. TIA. Travel Tips Well, just to put my two cents worth in... I'm an aussie but have spent part of my life living in both the UK and New Zealand. I have also travelled through a variety of other parts of the world, and so had ample time to draw comparisons and realise what really is good and bad about the places I've lived. As you said you've heard a fair bit about the good aspects of OZ so I won't harp on that, but there are a few negatives (which I personally don't believe should put you off). The medical system is improving in some respects but it's got a ways to go yet, it looks good on paper (free GP consults, a safety net so if you spend more than $X per family the gov. picks up 75% of out of pocket expenses etc) however there are some issues. Waiting lists for elective surgery are very long in some places, it can be hard to get an appointment with a bulk-bill(free) doctor at short notice, and there may be an initial period during which you are not entitled to medicare services depending on your permit class and country of origin. Education is another area of controversy: there is a broad system of publicly funded (free) schools all over the country, but like many places teachers are sorely underpaid, and so the quality of education is variable. In some places it is indeed excellent, but others are simply underfunded andunderresourced. Don't get me wrong any teachers reading, you guys do an outstanding job, but some schools, as I'm sure you'll agree, simply don't receive the resources they need. However, many public schools are just fine, so it pays to look into the schools in the area you're planning to live if you have kids of school age. Tertiary education is of excellent quality but the cost is rising rapidly. Fees have gone up a lot in the past few years, although that said, you don't have to pay anything up front as a permanent resident/citizen, and there's not real interest on the loan amount, just indexation of like 3%. Living costs are pretty reasonable compared to income in my experience. IE significantly lower than UK, and only marginally more if at all compared to NZ, with noticably higher pay (~25-30% higher). Taxes are not wholly unreasonable. Income tax rates are a little lower than the UK. Compared to NZ they are better for low income earners, as there is a $6000 tax-free threshhold, and then a lower first bracket rate. The brackets also are set higher, commensurate with higher rates of pay. Property rates are fairly pricey, and there is the good old GST on most common items and services, though not on fresh food, and "essential" items. Whatever the goverment in their wisdom decrees they are... Other things to consider are where you are living in the country makes a huge difference to your life. Some people find the sense of isolation of living in a small outback town overwhelming. Of course, depending upon where you come from and what you're used to, this may or may not concern you. There are of course cities to be had, with the benefits they like ot crow about, but where you live makes a difference too. Pay attention to stereotypes of suburbs and areas of different cities, not because they're true, but they can tell you a lot. There is a very high immigrant population in all Australian cities, which is by no means a bad thing, but you should think about it. It affects the flavour of these areas, and it is fantastic but some places for that reason will suit you better than others. Do you want to live in your little slice of suburbia (huge project-built houses, little fountains and statues in the garden and columns on the front porch - live in parts of SW Sydney) if you want to live on a street with 14 thai restaurants, 16 different ethnic cuisines bookshops open till midnight and cramped little flats with crazy decor and you won't go a day without seeing a transvestite couple with a purple-haired poodle- live in Newtown - inner west sydney). In short I'd advise you pay attention to both positives and negatives of the country as a whole and the parts of it you're considering. Others Well, just to add to your consideration, here are some points that you might want to consider: - The latest Industrial Relation law is a big hiccup for those working, but I think you should be spared if you are in professional white-collar work force. Having said that, I am not sure how things will be in the next few years. Employers could really make this IR law into a very very good use. - Health care, well, yes, the Health care in Queensland (and Australia in general) is very much quite bad at this stage, but I think the private health insurance is still reasonable, as compared to United States. But again, not everybody can afford private health insurance. Nevertheless, they are still good in comparison to other countries. So, not knowing where you are originally, i can't give opinion. - Living costs , yes, it is expensive here in australia, but if you work and make money here, it pretty much cover the cost. Of course it is almost impossible to buy a house now, so, good point. Unless you have some good inheritance, or some good money in your bank that you can use to buy property, or even to put in the down payment, housing is pretty much not an option. - THe crime level here is not that bad, I mean, you hear people being killed every now and then, but do you seriously think that other countries do not have the same crime or even worse level? I doubt it. My opinion is that while there are many negative aspects of living in Australia, I still think it is one of the best countries to live in. In my opinion, only Canada and New Zealand that have the comparable or better living standards (just a personal opinion). Hope my opinion helps! Too many hours spent at work and not enough enjoying life. Homelessness and drug users are becoming more visible in the city (Melbourne). Public transport can be great when it's running, very frustrating when it's not. Schooling is advertised as free, but it's not. Can't think of anything else. The public health care is bad. The public transport is average. And certain laws are not the best. Other than that its great! :) i suppose this wouldn't really apply to you because you are on a visa, but I am on on centrelink payments, and they jib you so much its not funny and they are compleatly stupid, im having a baby in 4 weeks and they have been making me get a docs cert again i have given them about 4 already, a docs cert telling them why i can not work. stupid!! |
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