So, all up I ended up spending 8 Months in Australia and had a KILLER time. I wouldn't have traded that time for anything. Made some great friends, went to some amazing places, and had heaps of memorable moments. However, I ended up moving into Brisbane and living and working there so I had a different expereince than most backpackers. I also got plugged into a church, worked in construction, and stayed up with international friends... so I think my view of Australia is pretty broad and accurate. That being said, I have MANY positive and negative things to say, and in no way do I mean any offence to anybody.
One more time:
I loved Australia, and the people are great!
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The people of Australia were very friendly to me. I have never had a hard time making new friends and Australia wasn't an exception. Many of the friendships I made will last me a lifetime. On many an occation I was also invited to eat dinner at different peoples houses: People from my church, from work, and other locals I met along the way. Australians were very open and wanting to share their culture with me.
Australia is amazing. All you have to do is get outside of a city just a little bit and you're in bush land. I was very spoiled as far as nature goes in Australia. I saved up and went Scuba diving on the
Great Barrier Reef, I got to go to the Glass House Mountains (with church folks), Beach Drives (with my housemate Aaron!), and many other awesome sites. Every day you get to see parrots flying around like you would see bluejays in the states and it's no big deal to them! I'm like "Good gravy there's the most beautiful parrot I've ever seen RIGHT there!" and people are like "Just a parrot dude"
I liked the public transportation system a lot while I was in Brisbane. Some people gave it a hard time but it was always good to me! It's very handy for a backpacker because I never HAD to have a car. True, I would borrow one off of people when I wanted one but Brisbane can be lived in without having a car.
So far the only country I know of that is more expensive than Australia is New Zealand. Beer and Tobacco have crazy sin taxes on them. Bottles of alcohol are easily twice as expensive over there, and their locally not imported stuff is also crazy expinsive. The cheapest of cheap rent would be $100US per WEEK no matter where you go. The minimum wage is much higher there ($18AU - Almost the same as $18 US) so it balances out some, but no doubt about it, Australia is an expensive place for a backpacker to live!
Wanta own a gun in Australia. Prepare yourself for an amount of paperwork, screenings, and restrictions that is unheard of in the USA. I won't get into all the details, but I was SHOCKED when I heard about all the gun laws here. It's an ingrained part of their culture now. It works for them, but it wouldn't work for us. It is one of the biggest reasons I couldn't move to Australia long term.
- The Racism: Negative 5 Stars
I am from Forrest County, Mississippi. Named after Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest who, (after the county was named,) went on to found the Ku Klux Klan. I have met my far share of racist.
Mississippi has NOTHING on Australia in terms of racists. People I would call my friends, coworkers, buddies (not the church going crowd, but that's a minority in Australia)... I have heard MULTIPLE people on completely different occasions saying to a group of people "We just need to go kill all those F***ing Ab'os (Aboriginals)! All they do is drink booze, steal stuff, and live in freaking stick huts" - A level of extreme hate that I had NO IDEA existed in Australia. And then people wouldn't argue with them... Not all Australians are racist by any stretch... but man oh man do they have a lot of them. It doesn't come up every day... but when it does... true colors show.
Besides the racism and gun laws, Australian culture is pretty similar to many parts of the States. There were a couple of difference that I really appreciated though. Australia is very focused on small business. Just about every neighborhood has its own butcher, baker, mom-and-pop food shops... it's a really nice feeling. The little shops are king. Coffee, Sushi, Pie(meat pies)... it was a strange thing, but it was awesome.
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Australia is also a big country for giving each other a hard time (this might be skewed from my construction jobs) but it's funny. You call your friends "*&^%s" (words that I will not even hint at in my blog or dare to say to people in the states) but you call your enemies "Buddy". Also most people cuss all of the time, it's just what they do. Australia made me a much "Better Cusser" if that can be said.....
All in all, there are several pro's and con's for Australia. I really enjoyed my time there and would love to go back one day and visit friends and places. I would say it would be a good spot to live for some people, but me personally, I don't think I could.
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