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I guess my biggest pet peeve is the whole Tall Poppy thing. And there's also a certain "inferiority complex"... not so much with Australians themselves, but definitely noticeable in the media. For example, they'll be interviewing someone on TV or the radio and all of the sudden, out of the blue, they'll say something like, "Well at least we're not like America [or the UK]" and insert some disparaging cultural comment. And I'm like: wait..what? What was that all about?

Compared to much of the US, Australia would feel "slower" in a lot of ways. But I think that if you give it a chance and go with the flow, you might find it refreshing. I like being able to take my time, enjoy the moment.

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I've been here nearly 6 months now in Adelaide and I love it. Food I find is dearer than the U.K but eating out is alot less here. I'd say come to Australia for a reccie before you take the plunge and emigrate. Look at Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, Gold Coast and see which area of Aus you can see yourself living in.

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Having lived in Adelaide for way too long for family reasons if you like a VERY quiet life (some call it god's waiting room) surrounded by pretty conservative people who like to stick to the people and the things that they know then, yes, you'll love it.

If you prefer a cosmopolitan lifestyle and mix as well as more open minded people and attitudes then choose Melbourne...or stay in Europe!

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Taxation in OZ is generally lower than in NZ. The higher rates kick in at much higher income levels too, from memory you need to be earning more than $A150k to hit the top tax rate. GST is at 10%. There are some state-based taxes but they're not really all that noticeable.

Cost of living is a bit higher, especially in Sydney, but probably no more than 10%. It's always difficult to compare CoL over different currencies.

A word of caution about salaries though; with at least some employers/industries there is some resistance to overseas experience/qualifications so don't assume you'll get top dollar from day one.

Bottom line: 24,000 kiwis cross the ditch every year to live in Australia. Most do it for the money.

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Comparing New Zealand to Australia, it's generally accepted that incomes -- in your hand -- are about a third higher in OZ. If you have children they're even better; a family of 4 on an income below $A60k essentially pays zero tax when all the allowances are factored in.

It's hard to generalise but cost of living is really not that much different. Petrol here in Queensland for instance is about 30c a litre cheaper (corrected for exchange rates) than in Auckland. It's dearer in Sydney (everything is) but still cheaper than NZ. Fresh food will generally be a little dearer here because of the current drought but five years ago when we moved here food was cheaper than in NZ. It may be still. Somebody told me the other day that a kilo of top beef was retailing around $NZ42 in Auckland. Here it's in the low $A30s. Fruit and veg is expensive though, no rain.

New cars are cheaper. Houses (and rents) are probably higher, especially in Sydney. Domestic air travel is substantially cheaper with Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar all competing (but then, distances are much greater so maybe it balances out).

But don't forget, you also lose some things. It's a faster pace of life in Sydney than NZ (although still much slower than London) and much more Americanised than it is Anglicised. It's a big, dry country and not nearly as pretty as NZ, except for the coastal regions. And Aussies can be very parochial too. Given the game last night Poms are not going to be too popular right now :).

But then there's the weather. At least it's warm and sunny much of the time. You couldn't pay me to live in Sydney but it does suit young people.

On balance, with a country awash in valuable minerals and a population 5 times that of NZ Australia is always going to be a better economic bet than NZ.

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Aussie food is weird and tastes a bit funny, forget sweets - the Aussie range is crap and the chocolate tastes horrible. The TV is the worst in the world (4 stations) and its Ads, Ads, Ads. A 30 min program has 5 add breaks! The TAX, you work so hard for you little Aussie Dollar which is worth nothing overseas and the government take most of it. I use to pay $800.00 a fortnight TAX alone, all that taken out of my income just for TAX.

The education system in world standards its one of the lowest, I did primary school in Ireland and High School in Australia, in Australia my High School education is seen as great and of a High Standard (Aussies think they have a good education) however, on my return to Europe I discovered that an Australian education, even a university degree, is considered to be of low standard and more of a joke. In Australia the states with the worst education System are QLD and WA.

I have probably made Australia sound crap, But once you get used to the people, crap TV, crap food, the tax and crap education system, then the weather, beaches and lifestyle makes up for it.

It can't be that bad, I'm moving back in October (for a little while, lol)

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In my opinion eating out is excellent and generally very good value compared to the UK. Supermarkets don't have the huge range of the UK but the fresh produce including meat and fish is far superior. They don't have a massive range of ready meals but thats not altogether a bad thing!

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We arrived in Melbourne a few months ago. We lived in NSW country before and found the people to be very welcoming and warm- except for the general racism we experienced from the general public. Here in Melbourne I am finding that the most interesting people are the migrants. I'll admit I am feeling disillusioned and am going through culture shock, however, I won't pretend that I am not disappointed with the social climate here. I have found Melbournians to be mostly unhelpful and ill-informed. I can't tell you how many times I have been given the wrong directions or misinformation. More often than I wish to believe, I have met Aussies who bear malice towards me- though we have never before met. We are American and we certainly get the feeling that we are expected to pay for the sins of our government. I think racism is wrong against any group- but it seems that many think Americans deserve to be mistreated. Are Aussies friendly, from my perspective it depends on who you are, what you look like and how you talk. And, it depends on the Aussie.

Since I have ventured to tell you the unpopular truth from a slice of my life I'll also encourage you to move to a place where the air is fresh and clean. In Melbourne metropolitan you can't go outside without taking in a huge gulp of filthy exhaust. The air is so polluted! Tasmania is known for it's fresh air- and there are many places in OZ where the air is good, just something to be aware of.

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Education system. Our son is up in Leeds teaching 15year old plus kids he qualified through qld education system and actually rates the aussie workload greater than that of leeds he would never let his children be taught in the uk system,also his wife is a qld lawyer workiing in a large office in Leeds they have just paid over $A5000.00 for her to sit the uk bar exam so she can practice independantly in there office,sounds to me that they have come from sound backgrounds or only the locals would be employed.

Food. Well there's been no nuclear falls no mad cows no foot&mouth or bird flu here this may answer the question of food tastes its called fresh and tastes a lot better than anything in the UK. We have just came back from a 6xmonth visit living in Hitchin its no wonder why thousands want to move away each year.

Dogs. If they have long hair then tics can be a big problem here in qld keeping them clean is a priority i have known of 3xdogs to die of tics.

Locations. s.e.qld is the best areas to live gold coast brisbane and surrounds and were we live on the sunshine coast theres also great infastructure and big hospitals.

Cost of Homes. $A450.000 will get you a good 4xbedoom home within 1klm of the beaches,if you were to build from new expect 6xmonth to work out location and style then another 12xmonths to build as there is a huge skills shortage as most good tradesmen are working in the outback mines.

Cars.new good family size 2.5 ltr are $A30.000 and fuel is $1.12 a litre. The qld gov subsidises the fuel by 10cents a litre from profits from the large mining industries.

Warning=Do not come to Australia without all the correct visa documentation,sure an employer may employ you but the visa paperwork states that you cannot work in Australia while going through the process and you will alredy be in the system,also it can take 6xmonth to get the visa in Australia on a good note though both of you can work on the one visa application.

My wife and i have been to a lot of countries and s.e.qld beats them all.

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If you have a look at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website, it shows you how many people are moving to Australia and how many people are leaving Australia permanently, in 2004 - 2005 over 67,000 people left Australia permanently, the figure is rising each year and in 2007 - 2008 for the first time it is expected that the number of people leaving Australia permanently will outnumber the amount of people moving to Australia.

The reason for this is because people are realising Australia is not the country it claims to be, With high tax, worthless currency, wages to laugh at, 12.9% of Australians live in poverty and a Government that at the moment has the country on the verge of a recession, it's not all smiles and sunshine.

Australia's refugee and asylum immigration also seems to be a problem, the Australian government doesn't seem to stand up to these issues and seems to be letting too many refugees and in, these people are not background checked and not tested for any STD's or Infections. The unfair treatment of white Australians gets to a lot of people (Government handouts to all Aboriginal and torrist strait islander people), Increasing crime rates across Australia and the poor education system on a world standard, try comparing it to that of Norway or South Korea.

Australia is really now and becoming just a sunny version of the UK.

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If you do want to be somewhere in Australia that has excellent weather, beaches and lifestyle then Queensland is the place to be.

Personally I prefer Sydney, but that's because I'm a City person and love Sydney to bits, the only thing that lets Sydney down is the fact that it is IN Australia.

What's that Queensland slogan? Beautiful One Day, Perfect the Next?

Think that sums up Queensland.

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I am an Aussie born & bred but later this year I will become one of the statistics of those leaving permanently to settle o/seas (UK/Europe) because of a number of reasons - e.g. racism, being soooooo far away from anything, low wages/high taxes & the attitude that Oz is the centre of the universe but really Australians are remarkably ignorant of what is happening in the rest of the world or if they do know they choose to ignore this in favour of yet another sunny day at the beach, beer in hand & a snag on the barbie!! There's nothing wrong with enjoying the good things of life but I believe Aussies do this so much their brains are in a permanent state of stupefication! Not to mention, it makes for a very boring yet hedonistic society!!

And in case you think I'm just a whingeing Aussie(!) grinding my own axe I actually work in a program that helps migrants (including those from the UK) find jobs and I see many demoralised people who have been sold the 'dream' coz the govt. needs to boost migration numbers. I feel particularly sorry for the 495 visa holders who do not get much support & have to live under quite a few restrictions. At a recent govt immigration forum I went to the most common question was "how long do I have to stay here (i.e. in my state) before I can move?" which was quite revealing. Anyway, that's it from me!

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I am an Australian relocating to Dubai. FYI not because I dislike OZ, just for a bit of a change! The funny thing is that people seem to make the same complaints about most countries as I am reading about Austrailia ie ignorant people, poor income, racism and rubbish tv (seriously the TV issue comes up a lot!!!). I think that realistically the comments are often more a reflection of the individuals attitude than true fact. Every country is going to have the good and bad, it will be what you make it. From what I can gather the people who have disappointing experiences move with the expectation that they are going to eutopia! If you do move just look at it as an adventure and enjoy te quirks of your new country!

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It is unfortunate the way that Australia is sold to would be migrants, you know the sort of thing sun, bbqs.Real day to day life seems to get put to one side. Things like health and how it's paid for just for starters. The cost of living ie food which is very expensive,especially fresh fruit and veg and the quality can be quite poor. Petrol is cheaper but the longer distances travelled sort of evens this out. Schooling well you pay out for that too. I know you do in other countries in different ways but it isn't really told to people thinking of coming here via the emigrate to Australia fairs they have in the UK. Skills some people have to go to Australian standards, sorry but I find this a bit odd. You want people for their skills and many then can't get work when they get here because they haven't got the standard? Many have no idea this is going to happen to them and end up going back, in many cases having sold their homes in the Uk. Personally I think Australia takes alot but doesn't give that much.

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I am Australian born and continue to live here. I have lived and worked in many countries myself, including the UK, USA, Asia and the South Pacific.

I personally believe that varying degrees of racism occur in all countries of the world. As an employer in accountancy, I would have to say that most of our staff are of asian origin as most of asia regard Australia as the premier centre for tertiary education. We dont have any racism issues within our firm and anything to suggest so would be illegal and dealt with accordingly.

I think if you consider relative price to income statistics, australia is far cheaper than in th UK. For example, a small simple meal in London recently cost me AU$130, which i would usually pay about au$30 if bought in australia.

I cant really comment on education levels in comparison to the rest of the world, but I do know that Australian Universities are extremely popular with asian students who choose these institutions over and above UK or US alternatives. I do know many many australians go to the UK to take accountancy based positions, simply because they advertise here offering good salaries and ease of finding work. Salaries may be high, but usually the cost of living means that people end up in shared housing arrangements and save nothing even after a a couple of years.

TV - well i have cable tv (foxtel) and have had for years. I get hundreds on channels, live recording and playback (same as TIVO in US) but honestly I rarely watch anything but CNN, BBC, SKY news, Discovery or National Geographic. We also have all the kids channels including Disney, Niockelodeon, Nick Jr etc etc. Ads on cable are non-existent.

Food in Australia is great. We have fresh seafood, world class beef, lamb, anything you could possibly desire. The population is diverse and so is the food. As with anywhere, look around and you can find great places to eat on any budget. I dont eat "sweets" myself so I cant really comment on the confectionery available, but we do have ready availabilty of popular swiss chocolates, Herseys from US, Lindt etc etc. if thats what makes you happy.

Melbourne, my hometown, has been rated as "worlds most livable city" by Londons own EIU and I wouldnt disagree. I love coming home from anywhere in the world.

From my perspective, most Australians are a welcoming, warm and friendly lot. We are a melting pot of cultures and we embrace that.

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Out of Melbourne and Sydney I personally find Sydney the best place to live, it's not as expensive as people think, and yes it is very possible to live near the beach.

The areas to avoid living in Sydney are west and Southwest, but anywhere along the coast, the southern suburbs, the northern suburbs or the eastern suburbs is nice.

The best beaches to live alongside are the Northern Beaches, they are nicer and not full of back packers like Bondi and Cooge etc, the only problem with living in the Northern Beaches suburbs is that there is no train line, so you'll have to bus or drive it. Every other part of Sydney is on the train line.

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We are American, moved from Oregon to Melbourne, and hated it so much we are now moving back to New Zealand, after living there in the past. I will give you the down side of Melbourne, from our perspective as nobody told us the truth or we just didn't pay attention.

Melbourne is very big. Huge in fact. And housing is extremely expensive and hard to come by if you are renting. I don't know much about purchasing. If you want to live near the beach you will pay ALOT of money. If you want to live close-in to town, you will pay ALOT of money. If you want to live in inexpensive housing close-in, you will live in a slum and pay ALOT of money. It can takes weeks, if not months to find a place to live. There is alot of anti-Americanism. Many people openly discriminate, others are more covert in their actions, but the results are the same. Sometimes, as an American, you can feel that you have been relegated to persona non grata status. Real estate agents are notoriously discriminatory. If they don't like the sound of your voice over the phone they may likely tell you they have no properties for rent. If they are in a bad mood that day or haven't yet had their coffee, they may give you bad news. We made over 150 calls over one month's time. Private parties seem more reasonable. Because of the huge urban sprawl problem, most people who live outside of the city will tell you they live 45 minutes out. It doesn't matter if it is a 1 1/2 hour drive, there seems to be some denial there so people can cope with the realities of commuting.

Melbourne is highly polluted. In some areas close-in you can smell the sulfur as it leaves the smokestacks. Maybe due to extremely heavy traffic on the freeways and roads, there is much heavy pollution from exhaust throughout the city. Food is shockingly expensive. The websites we spied before arriving here made the cost of living seem reasonable. It is not. A small jar of mayonnaise costs $5.00, bananas as $6.99 a kilo, broccoli is $5-6.00 a kilo, apples are $5.00/kilo, meat is very expensive as is most everything else. They say it is because of the flooding, but the prices aren't too much different from the drought prices. There are only a few supermarket chains and they have a virtual monopoly. But you can find produce shops selling fruit and veg at lower prices.

Unless you find skyscrapers uncommonly beautiful, Melbourne is a gray, ugly city. Honestly! I have never seen an uglier city. Aside from the interesting architecture of some of the CBD buildings, the suburbs are boring and unattractive and there isn't much of beauty to look at. Unless you live "45 minutes" away from the city, you can't see the beautiful country scenery. It is like living in a filthy, grubby cage.

Melbournians, from my perspective, come off cold hearted, cold-blooded and indifferent to others, overall. I have never seen a more cold-hearted populace. If you ask for directions on the street, nobody seems to know anything or they lie or misdirect you. Sometimes you get lucky and find a nice, helpful person, but you have to keep trying, it is not easy! There is a disheartening "me-first" attitude wherever you go. The egalitarian Australian I knew in NSW, has not been present here in Melbourne. Many websites will tell you this is the most livable city in the world. Perhaps it is for some. It depends on your level of privilege.

We have resorted to cultivating fake Aussie accents just to insure we get treated fairly.

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I think you are being a bit harsh on Melbourne and Aussies in general. Although, I haven't been there in 7+ years, when visiting from Sydney, I found it a great city to been in and could easily find myself living there. What city did you move from in Oregon? I think if you moved there from New York, Chicago, LA or any other large city, your perspective would be completely different. Many aussies coming from the idyll of small town Oz to the "big smoke" would echo your comments. My country town family said the same things about Sydney.

As for anti-Americanism, there has always been a undercurrent of that in Australia. No real discrimination, just snide, ignorant comments. My American wife experienced it while living in Sydney in the 90s. I get the impression, however, that it has become worse in the last 6 years, especially since Australia followed the US into Iraq. For some stupid reason, Australians don't blame themselves for letting Johnny Howard take them to war, they blame America(ns).

I have to disagree with you about the cost of food. When I visited Oz last year, I found the cost of living to be quite low compared to the US. The supermarket prices were usually lower or equal to here in the US. Granted , I usually buy my groceries from organic providers here in the US, but it is the only way to get the same quality as i would get in the Australia. Also remember that a kilo is about double the weight of a pound, so $2.50/pound for apples doesn't sound so bad. Also, when comparing the cost of living, do you take into account the minimum wage? The minimum wage in the USA has JUST gone up to $5.85. What is it in Oz? Approx $13?

It funny/sad that you mention having to cultivate a fake Aussie accent to talk to the phone company. I have to cultivate a fake yank accent to talk to the phone companies here!

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I just recently just relocated to Sydney, I'd have to say so far I have not regretted it at all. As for discrimination, I've not really experienced any. I got a place within 1 week with some extra stipulations in the contract which are expected. They wanted me to pay 6 months rent up front since I did not have a job, I was able to negotiate that down to 3 months. My utility connections where all connected within 24 hours without hassle.

I've visited Melboune for a couple weeks as well since I got a friend there. I'd agree that the city is kinda grey. The cbd is quite boring but I'd NOT say the same of Sydney. Anyway, I'd just like to say that whenever you try to compare cities in 2 countries, its almost always the one in the lesser developed one that will come up short and depending on where you're from in the states, its pretty certain Sydney or Melbourne will not be as good as it should be. On the other hand, I've lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan for more than half a decade and in Rochester, Minnesota for a couple years as well. Guess what? They are small villages compared to Sydney or Melbourne. As for discrimination, well guess what, it happens everywhere you go. I've experienced it a lot when I lived in the states. If you think it is a show stopper for you, then dont leave where you're from cause the moment you do, whether it is Australia or not, it will happen.

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Regarding the above comments, keep in mind, we have been here for 6 months. We are definately going through culture shock and the bad is much worse when you are feeling bad. There is alot of discrimination, but there are many, many wonderful people here as well. I agree there is discrimination anywhere you go. There will be plenty in NZ. I think if we had gone to Tasmania first we may not have wished to leave as Tasmania is clean and green and lovely, which is what we are looking for. NZ is beautiful and small and we loved the island lifestyle when we lived there before. Plus, it feels like home. Melbourne doesn't. I know that country Oz is much more friendly and lovely than city Oz. But, due to career plans, the country won't work. I DID come off as harsh towards Oz. Remember all of this is subjective and is being filtered through my cultural eyeglasses. Oz is not a bad country. There are many pluses. And all told, if I had a choice between only Oz and America, I'd not hesitate to pick Oz. It comes down to finding what feels right for yourself and your family. With regard to cultivating a fake Aussie accent, it occurred to me that this must be what others must do when immigrating to a country where they are marginalized. I can remember many times now when, in America, people would at speak with an American accent and once they realized I was tolerant, began to speak in their natural accent. Today it occurred to me that, although I want to adopt the cultural ways of my adopted country, I want to always remain authentic- isn't life more interesting when everyone is unique? Well, all the best you'all. Don't let my rave put you off from coming to Oz. You might just love it here! When we lived in country NSW several years ago we thought it was a slice of heaven.

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