What is the difference between America and Australia? (And a few questions about Australia in general)?

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Ozmaniac

I'll do my best to answer as many of your questions as possible:

Our laws are basically the same as in any other developed country, but some obvious differences are:
Our drinking age is 18 throughout the country.
We drive on the left hand side of the road.
You can't drive anywhere with a blood alcohol concentration of more than .05.
Seatbelts are compulsory for everyone in a car.
Handguns are illegal without a permit and it's very difficult to get one.
All other types of guns are strictly controlled.
We have very strict racial and other discrimination and vilification laws.

Our cars are generally smaller than most cars in the US though larger ones are available
We have trains and buses just like in the US
Some cities have trams as well.

Australia is completely metricated - we use Celcius instead of Farenheit for temperature, litres instead of gallons, kilograms instead of pounds, metres instead of yards etc.
Our seasons are the opposite to yours, Summer is Dec-Feb, Autumn is Mar - May, Winter Jun - Aug, Spring Sep - Nov so it's hot at Christmas time and many people spend Christmas Day on the beach.

Most of our population lives within 100km of the coast and the population density in the inland is very low.
We have a very multi-cultural society and more than 20% of the population has one or both parents born outside Australia.
Our food, wine and dining out are great. At home, most of us eat a wide variety of ethnic (particularly Asian) inspired food plus food like steak, lamb chops etc. and of course our outdoors lifestyle means that BBQs are common.
Our school kids all wear uniforms
Their long vacation is in Dec and Jan
We celebrate Christmas and Easter just like in the US. Our other main holidays are Australia Day (26th Jan), Anzac Day (25th April), Queens Birthday (mid-June), Labour Day (varies between states) and a few local holidays in each state. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving.
We watch a lot of American television and movies and will know a lot more about your country than you know about ours.

The cost of living in Australia is generally a bit higher than in the US. Petrol (gas) is more expensive and so are a number of other things like personal products, cars, and electrical goods. Our salaries are high which tends to compensate to some degree.
Our minimum wages are higher than in the US.
We have universal healthcare for citizens and PRs which is paid for out of our taxes.
We have very good social security safety nets like enemployment benefits, income support, disability allowances, childcare subsidies and many others. We have no separate social security payments - everything is paid out of taxes.
There is no need to tip in Australia. If you experience excellent service, a tip is appreciated but will never be demanded.
Our money is Australian dollars with 100 cents to the dollar as you would expect. Currency denominations are 5c, 10c, 50c, $1 and $2 coins and $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 notes. We have no 1c or 2c coins. Items can be priced in increments below 5c e.g. $1.49 and the total of all items purchased in the transaction is then rounded up or down to the nearest 5c.

As far as temperature is concerned, it's just as difficult to answer that question as it would be in America. Australia is nearly the same size as continental USA and our climates vary from sub-equatorial tropical in the north to cool temperate in the south with large variations in between the two including hot deserts in the centre of the continent. About the only generalisation that can be made is that it doesn't snow anywhere except in a few mountains.

I'm an Australian and have lived here most of my life but have lived and worked in America for varying periods of time over the years. I enjoyed my time in America, but Australia is a better place to live. It's safer, cleaner, warmer, friendlier and we have a far more relaxed lifestyle while still having a vibrant economy and good work opportunities.
Americans fit in well in Australia, but coming here to work and live is very difficult. Working visas and residency are only available to people whose skills and experience are in great demand in Australia. For information about emigrating to Australia, go to:
http://www.immi.gov.au/immigration.htm

A few general websites:
http://www.about-australia.com/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/pacific/australia/
http://www.australianexplorer.com
http://www.australia.gov.au/About_Australia

EDIT:

And Jayjay - Australians are probably the least racist people in the world. We have one of the most multi-cultural societies on Earth and people of every colour and creed are welcome here. Like every country, we have some racists but they're very much in the minority and there are strong and well enforced laws against them acting upon their prejudices. I have no idea where these ridiculous statements come from.

Ronatronic

There is alot of difference between America and Australia. I am Australian and I have traveled thu America (Canada, USA, Mexico). I'm assuming your stating America as the USA. First of all Australians are very laid back and arrogant people. Our government works properly and we have 'normal' laws i.e. no capital punishment and no guns. We have free health treatment and social security. Americans (U.S. Citizens, not Canadians) are highly strung and ignorant people that live in a state of fear. The media has them brainwashed into false beliefs. Americans have strange laws like their constitution states that they can own a gun (why? I don't know) and some states still have capital punishment. Doctors will not look at you unless you have private health insurance (so if you don't have, your in a lot of trouble if you get sick) but they do have social security. Public transportation in Australia is really good, but transportation in the USA is poor. You can only travel thru LA in buses. Although, NYC has the best train system I have come across. Fashion is better in the USA, NYC is a great for fashion. Australia is still a bit behind in terms of fashion depending on where you go. Melbourne and Sydney is good for shopping. Australian currency is the Australian Dollar. Hard to say with holidays... The USA has more of a variety but we have the outback, nothing else like it on the planet. Depends what you wanna do. Australia has nothing like NYC or Las Vegas! Australia is generally very dry and hot. It has monsoonal weather in the north and it can get very cold and wet in the south. Australia does get snow in the alps during winter but its all crap snow, best to go to NZ. I would prefer to live in Australia over the USA but only because of the government system. I just don't think the USA government works and I need a good health system. Having said that I would love to live in NYC. I don't think it would be hard for a American to live in Australia because it would be very laid back for them, If anything they may not like it ouside the cities because it is very different world there.

fruitsalad

One other difference not already mentioned is that Australians are not nearly as religious as Americans, and tend to hold what Americans call 'liberal' views.

Elizabeth

Australia has a much smaller population than the USA.
Our population is just over 20 million where as the population of the USA is over 300 million.

We have extremely strict gun control laws.
Very few private citizens own any type of firearm.
The practice of people carrying privately owned hand guns is very, very rare.
We do not have capital punishment (death penalty).
Drinking age is 18.
Voting age is 18, voting is compulsory in all elections.

We drive right-hand drive vehicles on the left hand side of the road. Which is the opposite of the USA.
Driving while talking on a hand-held mobile (cell) phone is against the law.
Blood alcohol limit, while driving, is .05.
For taxi drivers, bus drivers etc it's zero.

Our currency is the Australian dollar AUD.
The exchange rate between the AUD and USD, at the present time, is almost equal.
0.9442 US Dollars (USD) is equal to 1 Australian Dollar.
See the website below for images of our notes.
http://www.rba.gov.au/CurrencyNotes/NotesInCirculation/index.html
See website below for images of our coins.
http://www.ramint.gov.au/making_coins/default.cfm?DefaultPage=coin_designs.cfm

Workers in Australia receive 4 weeks paid holiday (vacation) every year.
By holidays do you mean public holidays (a paid day off from work such as Christmas Day) ?
Some but not all of our Public Holidays in Australia include:
26th January - Australia Day
25th April - ANZAC Day
http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/
Easter - Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday
Labour Day - can vary from state to state
Queen's Birthday - first Monday in June
25th and 26th of December - Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

We don't tip in Australia. If we find we have received exceptional service we may leave a tip but in most cases we rarely tip.
Workers are paid a living wage and do not rely on tips to live. Although I'm sure they would be very grateful to receive extra money from a customer, but it isn't normal practice.

What is the temperature like in Australia?
You answered it yourself.
Rainy, snowy, cold, hot, humid or dry.
It all depends on where in Australia you're referring to and which season of the year. We live in a vast country approx the same size as the continental United States.
It's winter here at the present time and where I am the temperature early this morning was 5 Â°C or 41 Â°F.
At the same time in North Queensland the temperature was 20Âº C or 68Âº F.

We also spell some words differently to the US such as:
defence, jewellery, favourite, realise, colour, litre, metre and numerous other words.

We use the metric system of measurement metres, kilograms, litres etc.

I'm only too happy to answer your questions.
By asking questions and having people who know the truth answer is far better than making foolish assumptions.

Let me assure you we are not a rascist society. We do have idiots who are bigots and rascist but they are a small minority.
I have no idea where these crazy generalisations come from.

Jayjay

Australians are quite racist and unless your white they wont accept you or treat you well

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