Thread: What ever happened to the lucky country?

Great Life style and very low cost of living..........no more.


Now, great life style but the cost of living is up there with the more expensive countries in Europe.


Power water wages have all sky rocketed of the last 8-10 years which has really had an impact on the "Australian Way".


Way of life has also changed, with kids infront of game consols,houses now on 600 square metre blocks with no back yard and the biggest thing a lack of inventiveness as what ever we do, someone or thing is there telling us how it should be done. From Government to Bunnings or BCF.


My thoughts

Having been around the World, once or twice, I still thank my lucky stars for where I live. There has been change, but change is inevitable. No one, or country, stays constant in their life. Look for the positives, don't dwell on the negatives. It's too easy to do the latter, takes a bit of effort for the former. When you feel the negatives are overpowering, take a look at how people overseas are living. Then ask your self if you would swap.disclaimer, [ not directed at any one in particular] spoken by Bob, written by Bob , Bob.

Originally Posted by Road Stone

Great Life style and very low cost of living..........no more.


Now, great life style but the cost of living is up there with the more expensive countries in Europe.


Power water wages have all sky rocketed of the last 8-10 years which has really had an impact on the "Australian Way".


Way of life has also changed, with kids infront of game consols,houses now on 600 square metre blocks with no back yard and the biggest thing a lack of inventiveness as what ever we do, someone or thing is there telling us how it should be done. From Government to Bunnings or BCF.


My thoughts

Only if you let them!!

Its still a great country and we're still very lucky to live here. However, what we think of as luck was often the result of hard work by previous generations. For example, the freedoms we enjoy, the opportunities to climb the ladder, the protections from being exploited all result from the sacrifices of previous generations.
Seems to me over the last decade there has been a push to water down those freedoms and make us more like the USA, which would be a bad step in my opinion. For example, do we really want a minimum wage of as little as $4? Do we really want a large part of the population unable to afford a doctor or hospital? Do we really only want two weeks of holiday a year? Do we really want a tiny percentage of very rich people owning more than the bulk of the population?
I don't want any of those things.
After living overseas I came back and felt this country was rich and complacent compared with other places I had seen. Maybe we need to stop relying on good luck and become smarter and more determined.
Just my musings...

Originally Posted by bob10

Having been around the World, once or twice, I still thank my lucky stars for where I live. There has been change, but change is inevitable. No one, or country, stays constant in their life. Look for the positives, don't dwell on the negatives. It's too easy to do the latter, takes a bit of effort for the former. When you feel the negatives are overpowering, take a look at how people overseas are living. Then ask your self if you would swap.disclaimer, [ not directed at any one in particular] spoken by Bob, written by Bob , Bob.

I totally agree. Having spent time living in a Asian country (and washing on a washboard as there was no access to things like washing machines) I have a much better appreciation for the opportunities we have here in Australia.

We still are living in a lucky country, we live in a country where we have a chance at an education (and not in a country where you are expected to work to support the family at 12 years of age), a country where that education and hard work will see you able to raise your standard of living (and not in a country where no matter how hard you work the most you can expect is to maybe not starve).

We live in a country where we have access to medical help - no matter your financial status. We live in a country where there is a welfare system, many countries have no welfare system at all, if you have no job you don't eat.

We have access to housing, food, clean water, electricity, transport. We have a government that will provide assistance to gain employment by subsidising or paying for retraining - instead of a government that 'makes people disappear'.

We have clean air, a sewerage system, clean water (on tap!) and a road network that allows free travel between states. We live in a country that cares about the environment.

The list goes on... and on... and on... We must be a selfish and greedy race really because how anyone could have all of this and still complain about living in Australia is beyond me.

I have a saying-

'Look around son. It will give you a ton of confidence'

Now tell me where you would prefer to live.

I come in 1969 and was blow away by the nice attitude of the Australian people and trust on the new comers.
I arrived to Australia one Sunday morining with my wife and my twins boys only 10 weeks old.
My wide speak English but the one that you learn at the school in an non English speaking country and I was able only to say few worth ( I learned money with in minutes )
By thee next day I have a job..
With the proof that I have a job and the international DL I was able on Tuesday to rent a unit and have a loan (given by the shop owner) for the furniture and white goods
There is not way that you can get that now and IMHO it is not because the Australian people have changed it is because some new comers abused that trust and fair go nature of the Australian people.
When we moved to Childers (Qld)back in 1995 we enjoyed again that type of life that we lost in the big cities, dealing with people was a pleasure and a hand shake agreement was like a contract "set in concrete"

Now, we live OS (Tasmania ) and IMO the life here is far better that the ones in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.
Australia was and still a great country with wonderful people.

I think it's just perception.

A lot of that comes from where you live and who you spend time with. (Probably how much ABC you get too).

Those that go to extraordinary lengths to get here still hold the place in the highest regard.

Your view tends to change as you age too...

World travel puts it back in perspective (in my experience).