O k, ok – I messed up. The initial “Uniquely Australian” post was too long and I missed a few key points. So, I am breaking it into two and filling in the gaps.

Speaking of food and going out to eat, there are a few things I found interesting. First of all, Australia has no tipping. Possibly related to that is the fact that in general restaurant wait service is not on the same level as it is in the States. On the other hand life is easier because all prices (not just food) include the sales tax IN the price. So when you see a sandwich for $4.50 it will cost you exactly that. A few years ago Australia switched to a federal sales tax (GST) which has brought both positives and negatives. Some of the states have complained that the federal government has exersiced too much authority in attaching new “conditions” to the sales tax purse strings, but since Australia does not have a strong history of State’s rights the folks in Canberra can be a lot more heavy handed. (side note – read more about the structure of government in my Canberra post).

In general Australian goods, even home grown or produced, are 20%-50% more expensive than in US. Of course back in the day of strong US$ it washed out. A few years back $1AUS was worth only about $.60US. However,  when I arrived to Cairns US$ was worth less than $1AUS. When I left Melbourne the $US slightly rebounded, but was nowhere close to the past levels.

Australia is a good country to be a working poor.The higher cost of living is somewhat compensated by a higher standard of income. A friend told me that Australia is a good country to be a working poor. Many programs exist to help out people – from subsidized housing to concession travel/transportation costs. Minimum wage for an adult is around $16/hour and I heard several university students saying that working for less than $20/hour is beneath them. So when you make $20/hour paying $4 for a soda or a coffee is not as hard.

Oh, and speaking of government, I was a bit taken aback when I heard radio programs talking left and right about various government “schemes.” While for most of Americans the word scheme has a negative connotation, in Australia it is simply a government program e.g. a GST Refund Scheme for tourists.

There are two other financial items that puzzled me. First one was rental property pricing. Most apartments/houses for rent are advertised with weekly prices or sometimes “fortnight” prices (every other week). Yet, when a lease is signed the rent is calculated in monthly terms. Speaking of rentals, most standard leases are signed in 6 months terms and the rental company (usually done through a realtor) does 2-4 “inspections” of the living quarters. There is always a move-in and move-out inspection as well as sometimes one or two mid rental inspections. The inspections check and see if you are keeping the place clean and in good repair.

Speaking of homes, in the cities, the real estate prices are VERY high. Melbourne and Sydney homes and apartments seemed to significantly outpace Atlanta and New York ones. In center of Sydney, near the train station (think near Penn Station in Manhattan) in a middle class building (as in not luxury) a modest one-bedroom apartment  can fetch up to $1M. On the water by the harbor $1.5M+. Of course Aussies do not seem to care for apartment living and prefer single family homes. One interesting note about homes. While most of the building codes seem stricter than those in US (e.g. in some areas you may not do almost any significant home repair without a licensed repair person) most homes do not seem to have much weather protection. In Melbourne, where temperatures do get close to freezing the idea of insulation seems foreign. Because when it gets hot, it is not as humid, people prefer to air cool homes (no AC in most homes) and the homes are generally pretty drafty.

Second financial uniqueness is in relation to gas, or as Aussies call it petroleum, prices. They shift as much as 10 cents per liter (~ 40 cents per gallon) within the same week. Some places have a cycle when Wednesday is the cheapest, others discount on Thursdays, but it is always changing, like a consumer “do you feel lucky” game. There is also a relationship between grocery story chains and gas stations. When you buy over a certain amount of groceries you get a 4c/liter off coupon that you redeem. One thing that is missing at gas stations is “pay at the pump” option.

Of course as most of you know, Aussies, as most folks connected to the British (thankfully Canadians wised up) drive on the left side of the road. I did partake of driving, but only when I made it to Tasmania. It helped to remember that the driver is always in the middle of the road. On some of the tourist roads (e.g. Great Ocean Road) there are regular reminders to drive on the left side. Additionally most street roads are narrower than US ones. Highways, while in good repair are almost never as massive as the ones in US. One small thing I liked on the more rural roads in Tasmania was having a passing lane area every 10-15 kilometers – the road went from 1 to 2 lanes allowing the slower traffic to stay on the left and be passed. That way nobody gets stuck behind a tractor or a slow sightseeing vehicle for too long. Oh and with the roads being smaller, so are the cars. Yes,  there are a few SUVs (bit no Hummers or Suburbans) and Utes (pickup trucks or modernized versions of el camino like the Holden Ute – I actually think I want one) and some mid size sedans. However, most of the cars are in the compact and smaller range. When I rented my car in Tasmania I got a Suzuki Swift (photo in gallery) which was pretty tight, but what is even scarier is that there was an entire class of cars smaller than it. Getting back on the road, you will find  lot fewer stop lights in Australia. They replace many intersections with roundabouts, which, once you get used to them, are actually pretty convenient, especially in the less busy areas.

And when it comes to oil, that is one resource Australia is not rich on. Other resources are abundant. One of the biggest focuses in Australia is on liquid natural gas. In fact a good portion of cars have been converted to use both petroleum and LNG.  Of course there is one interesting curve ball to natural resource development in Australia – much of it is financed by companies from China. One very interesting observation, of course over a beer, was made by a social studies teacher I was speaking to. He said there is a dilemma in Australia. There is a historical relationship with London, political one with Washington, and economic one with Beijing. When push comes to shove, nobody knows where the loyalties will lie. And the fact that China is closer than the other two countries mentioned only makes it so much more interesting.

If this was a review, I would say, make an effort to visitOk, so this became a long and probably way too serious of a post. I just wanted to share a few things I learned about the nation and the people of Australia. The people are friendly, fun, have a unique side to the language we share. They say Sport when we say Sports, Good On You when we say Good for You, and for the cars they buy tyres not tires. Aussies love their country while realizing that there is a lot out there outside the shores of their giant island. If this was a review, I would say, make an effort to visit if you have not. Just don’t mess with the Roos!

Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing.

 

The photos in this post are less scenic than many others I have taken and are mainly for reference purposes. I am only placing a few photos into the blog. If you would like to see many more sights captured through my lenses, please click here to visit my flickr site.