Is it true its cheaper to live in Australia than in the US? Do koala bears eat in trees on the beach?

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Ken E

Any kind of house near the beach will be "expensive", even in small "remote" beach village like Emu Park, where top quality land has been selling for AU$700,000 without a house and recently a house and land package was well over a million. Neither of these were absolute beachfront but were on hilltops overlooking beaches and with views of Great Keppell Island. Down the hill but still not near the beach places were going for AU500,000 and you might as well be living in any little rural village, but 10 - 15 minutes walk from a beach.

You may have been told that Australians pay 47% tax and that it has a socialist economy. Neither are true. We have welfare system that the Federal Government would like to dismantle but the old age pensioners and military veterans would kick them out of office so fast their clothes would be smouldering when they landed. Then they would get a thorough kicking.

Absolute top income tax rates may be 47% for really high incomes. We pay income tax on a sliding scale, the more you earn, the more you pay. Below a certain level, you pay nothing, or next to nothing. My salary is above average and I pay about 26%, that is taken from your pay before you get it.

On top of that there is a 10% "goods and services" tax on everything except fresh, uncooked food. This does not vary across the whole country, no differences in state sales taxation systems as in the USA. State taxes are on cars and some transactions like buying houses. If you never buy a house or car you pay no, or almost no state taxes.

Elementary schools are called primary schools here, they last till the kids are about 13, then it's off to high school. In some areas the last two years are called "college" which IMHO is dignifying them a bit too much. Leave school some months or more after your 17th birthday. To university or technical college, which teaches things like accountancy, carpentry, cooking, hairdressing, you name it. There still may be "instututes of advance education" too, which generally take you to diploma or degree standard in science or engineering, other subjects too, depending on the state and locality. Alternatively get a job, probably not a very good one if you leave school at 17 and specially not before.

Churches are Catholic, Anglican (Episcopalian) Uniting Church which is Congregationalist/Methodist/Presbyterian... also Salvation Army and Baptist etc. Australian are not big church-goers.

Federal elections every 3 years, state elections every 3 years, local elections every 3 years. When things are in phase, that means one election every year. The official Head of State is HM the Queen, represented in Australia by the Governor-General, who is appointed by HM from a (very) short list of 1 person sent to her by the Australian government. There is no President.

The country is ruled by the majority party in the Federal Government, currently a Coalition of the Liberal and Bational parties. "Liberal" in Australia means something different to what it does in the USA. The prime Minister is the selected head of the Liberal Party, his deputy is the head of the National Party. They can be sacked by their own parties and on occasion have been. The cabinet is selected from Members of the House of Reps and the Senate, mostly by the P.M., not from some set of unelected cronies like Ms Rice and Mr Wolfowitz (was) as in the USA. Any of these can also be kicked out by their own parties and at least one or two of them get the chop every year, mostly from the P.M.

Koalas live on particular types of eucalyptus trees. Mostly these do not grow near the beach, but in some places they might.

tentofield

Houses on the beach are not cheap anywhere. Most beaches are separated from forests by either cliffs or dune systems and there are few trees close to the beach, those that are are usually not favoured by koalas.

You might find koalas cute but you really do not want to live close to them. Until you have heard randy koala males roaring at each other, you have no idea what noisy neighbours are.

Generally, Australians are relaxed and friendly. We don't have a gun culture and religion is something you do privately. While the USA will elect a black, Jewish woman as President before an atheist, Australia has no such problems and we have had a number of atheist Prime Ministers.

Don't know about relative cost of living. Houses on the beach are expensive, but most big cities are near the water anyway.
Koalas eat eucalypts, which are not found on beaches; found in the bush.

I think Australia tends to have a more laid-back lifestyle.
Lots of outdoor living. Better public health and social support. Stronger gun control.

Elizabeth

Koalas.
They are NOT bears they are marsupials!
You just call them koalas.

Alan B

You can still get really cheap beach houses if you don't want to live right on the city beaches. The koalas on the beaches are probably on the East coast of Australia (as WA doesn't really have native Koalas if I remember rightly), and the houses in those areas would be getting a bit more expensive. As for the cost of living, the last time I was in the US, fast food was cheaper there, fresh food generally more expensive, clothes and consumer goods cheaper in the US, and salaries in the US were higher.
That said, the standard of living in the two countries is roughly comparable, and I felt more relaxed in Australia than in the US.

Kayla M

i live on the beach (in melbourne) and our house cost approx 1.6 million i think. but i can't compare because i have never lived in the usa. Even if you dont live right on the beach, the capital cities are all situated on the coast so your sure to be near the beach mostly anywhere. And you will never find a koala on the beach, you have to go into the bush to see them.

BeBu

I am a Aussie living in the US and I do not think a house on the beach is hella cheap. You would not get anything descent for under 350'000.00. Housing in Australia has gone through the roof. But don't let that stop you Australia is the best place in the world.

Dino

Yes, its true, But life is very better there. You can find most cheapest Accommodation and Hotel bookings in Australia at http://www.roomseeker.com.au

Ranjeeh D

In terms of disposable income, I think the US is still ahead. We have a lot of hidden costs too, as nothing much is actually made here, everything imported involves some crook charging huge mark ups.

Culture is changing and depends on if you are planning on living in a city or the country. If you go for the cities then you find a significant first generation Asian population, whereas in the country its probably more of the 'Oz' that you are expecting.

Outside the cities the population is fairly sparse and you can go many miles between 'one-horse' style towns.

eja.1931

Yep. And kangaroos collect the fares on the buses.

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