• Hello Members, This forums is for DV lottery visas only. For other immigration related questions, please go to our forums home page, find the related forum and post it there.

Why do you love america

my brother phoned me from australia today , and he was so much amazed and complementing the country he wa in new zeland last week he says its cold over there ! wierd because im also in southern hemisphere and its quite hot in summer now .
never mind hes words were australia is way better that usa (he was in pheladephia last year washinton ) !
so i would like to hear from the australians what is the really the difference between usa and australia beside the exotic part ?!
 
vladek15425 said:
so i would like to hear from the australians what is the really the difference between usa and australia beside the exotic part ?!
Click to expand...

The question is very broad...do you mean the country or the people, the Goverments or the cost of living...there are so many components to what makes the difference between two countries! And everyone's perspective will be different, just like everyone's hopes and aspirations are different.

But yes, I'm always interested to hear more about the Aussie perspective on life in the USA, too (especially from those who have been there for a number of years) - ... I once made a post in the "Australian" thread here on this DV Lottery forum to ask what the main reasons were for Aussies wanting to live in the US, and I also gave a number of bullet points of things we were worrying about initially when it comes to living in the US, but I got only a few replies. (Vichel's input was very helpful to me, and thanks to JessJames, too).

Since we were picked 'winners' in the DV lottery, I have kept absorbing information about the USA as it relates to important things affecting everyone living in the country. So things like health care, tax, cost of living .. etc are things that are the obvious things to compare to what you are used to from your home country (or any other country you have lived before).

At the end of the day, I imagine that the US culture is similar to the Aussie culture in many ways.
Yet certain aspects of the mainstream Aussie culture is what we hope not to experience in the US.
 
OnTheGo said:
The question is very broad...do you mean the country or the people, the Goverments or the cost of living...there are so many components to what makes the difference between two countries! And everyone's perspective will be different, just like everyone's hopes and aspirations are different.

But yes, I'm always interested to hear more about the Aussie perspective on life in the USA, too (especially from those who have been there for a number of years) - ... I once made a post in the "Australian" thread here on this DV Lottery forum to ask what the main reasons were for Aussies wanting to live in the US, and I also gave a number of bullet points of things we were worrying about initially when it comes to living in the US, but I got only a few replies. (Vichel's input was very helpful to me, and thanks to JessJames, too).

Since we were picked 'winners' in the DV lottery, I have kept absorbing information about the USA as it relates to important things affecting everyone living in the country. So things like health care, tax, cost of living .. etc are things that are the obvious things to compare to what you are used to from your home country (or any other country you have lived before).

At the end of the day, I imagine that the US culture is similar to the Aussie culture in many ways.
Yet certain aspects of the mainstream Aussie culture is what we hope not to experience in the US.
Click to expand...

according to my brother the minimum wage is higher is australia than us, the people are way more friendly than the americains (which he says they are COLD!) the technology is just the same everething is computarised, where ever you go you will get exelllent
services not only in big cities , he just point out the high quality of life in there, and for him that went just for one month holliday
may be he hasnt gone deep into the knowledge of the australian society , but still interessting hearing from him that even the nature is more beautiful than US ....and li you say the culture is very similar but he insist that personalities are not!
politicaly speaking i think there is nothing to say or to compare both are democracies.....
my last point and its actualy the one ; why is it lot of aussies are saying that australia is very behind usa a lot behind ?
after my brither testimony its making me wonder!
 
vladek15425 said:
according to my brother the minimum wage is higher is australia than us, the people are way more friendly than the americains (which he says they are COLD!) the technology is just the same everething is computarised, where ever you go you will get exelllent
services not only in big cities , he just point out the high quality of life in there, and for him that went just for one month holliday
may be he hasnt gone deep into the knowledge of the australian society , but still interessting hearing from him that even the nature is more beautiful than US ....and li you say the culture is very similar but he insist that personalities are not!
politicaly speaking i think there is nothing to say or to compare both are democracies.....
my last point and its actualy the one ; why is it lot of aussies are saying that australia is very behind usa a lot behind ?
after my brither testimony its making me wonder!
Click to expand...

Vladek, like everything else people are just different. I know people who have moved to Australia and love it, and people who have hated it. A good friend of mine left because she couldn't stand the "nanny state" and conformist mentality there. Someone like that would far prefer the US. And she has actually lived in both so she can compare. But others love Australia.

(Also just because minimum wage is higher doesn't mean it buys you more....)
 
SusieQQQ said:
Vladek, like everything else people are just different. I know people who have moved to Australia and love it, and people who have hated it. A good friend of mine left because she couldn't stand the "nanny state" and conformist mentality there. Someone like that would far prefer the US. And she has actually lived in both so she can compare. But others love Australia.

(Also just because minimum wage is higher doesn't mean it buys you more....)
Click to expand...

you right sussie i also think its just a personnel choice at the end because i have seen americans that moved in australia and vice versa ! because the two countries are very similar.
 
vladek15425 said:
according to my brother the minimum wage is higher is australia than us, the people are way more friendly than the americains (which he says they are COLD!) the technology is just the same everething is computarised, where ever you go you will get exelllent
services not only in big cities , he just point out the high quality of life in there, and for him that went just for one month holliday
may be he hasnt gone deep into the knowledge of the australian society , but still interessting hearing from him that even the nature is more beautiful than US ....and li you say the culture is very similar but he insist that personalities are not!
politicaly speaking i think there is nothing to say or to compare both are democracies.....
my last point and its actualy the one ; why is it lot of aussies are saying that australia is very behind usa a lot behind ?
after my brither testimony its making me wonder!
Click to expand...

Everyone's perceptions and experiences are different. Yes, minimum wage is higher in Oz than US - about $15/hr, which results in higher costs for a lot of things. Restaurant serving staff are paid a decent wage, no tipping, but that results in higher eating-out costs, by a lot.

Personally, as an Australian, I find Americans friendlier overall than my fellow Aussies, especially initially. With Australians I find there's a wariness at first, which some might feel is unfriendliness. But after warming up, Aussies are friendly.

Technology is just as good, just more expensive in Oz. My internet & TV cable bill in Perth was $225/month. Here, it's $80/month, with faster speeds. I think Aussie banking is better than here in the US which still relies a lot on cheques (checks - can't get used to that spelling!). The whole BPay system in Oz is great and a handy and efficient method of payment. Plus the whole credit score thing here is bizarre - so easy to get a bad score through not doing anything really "bad".

I certainly can't agree on your brother's assessment of nature in Oz. I prefer it here - much more variety in landscape and less of that endless, flat, scrubby bleakness that is a lot of Oz. Only exception is the beaches - Oz rules on that score. In Perth the year-round dog-beach was nicer than most people beaches here. They even have year-round horse beaches in Perth. Oh, but the flies! The flies in Oz are a nightmare. More flies than I encountered even in Africa. Must be trillions of them in W.A. alone.
 
I completely agree. It is just perspective and personal preferences. I work for a Yankee company in the UK but travel to the US a bit. The company mothership (headquarters) is located near Canadian border so I work with Brits, Yankees and few Canucks. And judging by where all of them prefer to live makes no sense to me. There is no order. Here are the examples:
-my mate from Texas living in UK for last 25 years says he will never go back, prefers UK,
- my wife's ex boss moved with his American wife to the US, he is British and wants to stay in San Fran, she American prefers Cotswolds in the UK,
- my friend from work, British would move to the US in this very minute,
- couple of Canadians from my company moved to the US the day yet could,
- few of the Yankees moved over the border to Canada and they commute to work , they prefer Canada,
- my work mate, British is spending loads of money to move to Oz with his family, loves it there

I see no patern there :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I could write a long reply as to my take on the differences between Aus and the US, or I could simply write this:

Gypsy spirits and adventurous souls aren't restricted by nationality :)

Q
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top