Larry’s View

Located in the south central part of the continent, South Australia is 380,070 square miles of mostly arid territory. It was first discovered by the Dutch vessel Gulden Zeepaert in 1627 and established by the British parliament as an Australian state in 1834, more than 200 years after its initial discovery. Instead of being the site of a penal colony, South Australia was planned as freely-settled British colony where no religious discrimination would be practiced.

The initial settlement of South Australia was made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island by 636 people from nine separate ships until the site of he new colony was chosen at Aidelaide in 1836. This made South Australia the only colony to be settled entirely by free settlers instead of convicts. The flag of the state of South Australia was adopted in 1904 and is a British blue ensign containing the state badge. This badge shows a Piping Shrike with wings spread on a yellow circle. Finally, South Australia declared limits on women’s suffrage in 1861 and was the very-first place worldwide to permit women to run for parliament beginning in 1864.

The climate of South Australia consists mostly of arid and semi-arid rangelands including several low mountain chains which span northward for 500 miles from Cape Jervis to the north end of Lake Torrens. However, the state’s highest point is Mount Woodroffe in the extreme northwestern corner at 4,708 feet above sea level. The main industries and exports of South Australia are wine, wool and wheat, with more than 50 percent of all Australia’s wines produced in the state. The coast of South Australia abuts the Southern Ocean. The mean temperatures range from 29 degrees C in January to 15 degrees C in the month of July. Daytime temperatures in part of he state in January and February of each year can be as high as 48 degrees C. The highest temperature ever recorded was 123 degrees F in 1960, and the lowest was 17.2 degrees F in 1976.

The South Australian government follows other states. It is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of Australia as its head (Queen Elizabeth II). This is a state of the Commonwealth of Australia with lower and upper houses of parliament where elections are held every four years. The largest city in the state is Aidelaide and there are numerous towns and villages mainly along the coastline. Current population is approximately 1.5 million with a low population density of only 3.9 people per square mile of territory. The state’s official animal is the Hairy Nosed Wombat and its’ state gem is the opal.

Lawrence

While purchasing an Australian property will undoubtedly cost less than a comparable property in and around American cities, it will still represent a major investment. And the same basic ground rules about prices hold true in Australia and in the United States: Property in a major city like Sydney, Melbourne or Perth and associated suburban areas will be considerably more expensive than a similar property in a very-rural location outside commuting range of a major urban center. The property taxes to be expected will also conform to the same general premise.

One very-good way to get a feel for Australian real estate values in different locations is to use the Internet. Here, there are many, many real estate agencies who show listings by photo and description complete with asking prices. There are also extensive listings of homes. Condominiums, townhouses and apartments for rent with the monthly rental costs. Some of these are pick-ups from major newspapers like the Sydney Morning Herald. Others are listings that the agency’s have from sellers and landlords. Most sites have links to properties in Australian states and even provide detailed information on agents, financing, flatmates and jobs in the real estate industry.

In the way of an example, some typical prices in New South Wales locations vary from a average-sized house near Lithgow for $240,000 AUD; a 2-bedroom in Fingal Bay for $330,000 AUD; a larger 4-bedroom home in Caloundra for $440,000 to a rural farmlet in Minden priced at $498,000 AUD. The typical pricing for rentals in and around Sydney include 1 and 2-bedroom apartments in Surry Hills at $295 and $575/Month respectively; a 2-bedroom Surry Hills house at $630/Month; a 3-bedroom terrace home in Surry Hills for $630/Month and still other 2, 3 and 4-bedroom apartments and houses up to $1,200 AUD/Month. There were also a few furnished studio apartments priced between $165 and $275/Month AUD in suburbs nearby the heart of Sydney’s business districts. Compared to comparable residential sale and rental prices in suburbs of U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago or New York, these properties represent quite a nice value for the price.

Of course the online picture and details about a property are just a broad brush with the facts a buyer or renter needs to choose one. However, for an offshore prospect considering immigration to Australia, these online listings are an excellent way to get a feel for what is generally on the market in the desired areas and what it will cost.

Lawrence

The culture of modern Australia is mainly a blend of Western cultures, but is also derived from Aboriginal cultures, the ethics of immigrants who arrived for the country’s gold rushes of the 1850’s and immigrations following World War II. The result was the melting pot that Australia is today.

Australian culture was most influenced by British and European cultures and, more recently, by that of the United States. Other influences have resulted from Australia’s natural environment, its settler history, indigeneous native people and geographical isolation from other western nations and nearby Asia.

Australian demographics indicate that it is a highly-urbanized population. Most Australians reside in coastal areas, while the Outback is very sparsely populated. The coastal cities are melting pots of diverse cultures that have been pervaded by the influence of southern European communities. English and non-English speaking immigrants who arrived in Australia after World War II from England, Scotland, Germany, Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands. Those arriving from the Middle East, Eastern Asia and Southeast Asia also had a major impact.

Australian arts such as music, painting, film, dance, theatre and crafts embody vitality and vigor and are globally recognized for their excellence. There are numerous art galleries, theatres, ballet, a strong national opera company and excellent symphony orchestras in Melbourne and Sydney. Sydney’s opera house has gained wide attention for its unique architecture. Other examples of stand-out Australian architecture include the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and Parliament House in Canberra.

Painting and sculpture has thrived in Australia since the first days of European settlement. Many artists have earned international recognition as have some indigeneous artists.

There is a long history of film production in Australia as well. Since nearly all Australian feature films were purchased by American distribution companies, they have all but vanished from the screens in their own country. The 1980s were the peak years for the Australian cinema thanks to highly successful productions like Crocodile Dundee and Mad Max. The indigeneous film industry is continuing to produce some films each year too, and many American producers have moved their projects to Australia since Fox head Rupert Murdoch elected to move the studios to Sydney in order to reap the benefits of costs well below those in the states.

Australia is also well respected for it’s cuisine. Numerous fine restaurants are in the major cities like Melbourne and Sydney as well as in smaller coastal towns.

Lawrence

There is currently growing interest in earning a living by working at home rather than in an office. This trend has really expanded in the United States and is gaining momentum in Australia as well mostly as a result of availability of the Internet as a research and communications medium. Many citizens and women in particular, find this work-at-home system desirable because it permits them to raise children simultaneously with making a necessary living. There is also a growing number of companies who are recognizing the cost-saving advantages of having certain employees non-resident to their offices. Especially those whose work can readily be accomplished by computer and the Internet’s ready resources.

Australia has gone as far as to have a few online employment networks that handle mostly work-at-home job opportunities. One has a website that claims they have over 80,000 work-at-home jobs Australia wide. There are also many, many online websites which promote and sell training and education to prepare people for work-at-home jobs. Many operate on the same promotional wavelength as similar operations in America.

One unique Australian website called flyingsolo.com/au is Australia’s first online community website for those who work at home or who are interested in finding something that will make it possible to do so. They offer e-mail among community members, strategies, and blogs about issue that affect ’soloists’. The website is nearly 100% virtual and has three directors who hold weekly conferences over Skype and a bi-monthly meeting in a location that is equidistant to their homes in Sydney. This website concept underscores the growing popularity of work-at-home possibilities.

Another Australian website offering work-at-home jobs offers 37 in Sydney, 22 in Melbourne, 10 in Brisbane, 3 in Perth, 3 in Adelaide and 1 in a suburban New South Wales. There are sales positions, clerical and data entry slots, website marketing, medical record keeping, recruitment and personnel positions, media promotional jobs and many others listed. Not to be left out of the mix, they also promote the sale of work-at-home books, e-books and CD instructional training related to specific types of work-at-home employment.

There is little doubt that the Internet is a powerful driving force behind the fast-growing work-at-home industry. It seems totally logical that this field will continue to expand in Australia and around the globe in the years ahead.

Although it has caught the attention of people in Australia much later than in United States of America, but it’s not too late and if you want to settle down in Australia, work from home can fetch you almost what it would fetch you here in States and also ensure a much more peaceful lifestyle.

Lawrence

Australia is a good place to live and raise a family. However like almost everywhere else you’d live, the opportunities are there if you take advantage of them. It’s a big country despite the fact that it is the smallest continent in the southern hemisphere with the exception of Antarctica. Most of the interior is hot, dry desert, but the locations where the majority of Australia’s residents live are in a much more temperate climate. On the northern side, there are large areas which are tropical, complete with mangrove swamps, forested terrain and and grasslands. If you’re in love with the ocean and things like scuba diving and snorkling, the northeast coast offers access to the Great Barrier Reef which is nearly 2,000 miles long-the largest coral reef in the world.

The people of Australia are a friendly, diverse group numbering a bit over 21 million. That’s not too many considering they are living in a country with an area of nearly 8 million square miles. This explains the low population density. Two percent of the total are indigeneous people, mostly aborigines who add to the cultural and ethic diversity of the country. The lion’s share of the Australian populace actually reside in cities and suburbs concentrated on the northeast and southwest coasts. These include the largest city, Sydney and Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra which is the country’s Capital Territory.

Australians love the outdoors in every way, shape and form and all kinds of sports are popular. The coastal areas boast many of the world’s finest beaches, some of which face what are called “the biggest waves there are” to the delight of the surfing crowd.

You will also be exposed to unque animals, plants and birds that are found nowhere else. These include kangaroos, wombats, koalas and, on the offshore island of Tasmania, the ferocious Tasmanian Devil.

Major cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Perth are quite cosmopolitan.They offer a variety of good restaurants, great shopping and fine entertainment. Excellent employment opportunities result from a fast-growing business sector and there are fine educational institutions as well. Tourism contributes to the economy too, with more than 2.5 million visitors to Australia each year. In spite of all these things, the pace of life is much lesser than United States of America and it makes life far more peaceful. All this results in Australians being able to enjoy excellent wages for a higher than average standard of living and an outstanding quality of life.

Lawrence

What they knew was that Australia is one of the finest tourist destinations anywhere in the world. That it has more adventures to offer than anywhere else. And that it has friendly, warm residents that make every tourist’s visit truly enjoyable. These seem like excellent reasons why all those people visited Australia in the 12 months that ended on July 30, 2007. These figures also represent a 3 percent increase over the same period in the year before, so the secret must be out.

Where did they come from? Official Australian data shows that in the period between January and July of this year, 278,000 were from the United States; 82,100 from Germany; 65,800 from Canada; and 626,100 from nearby New Zealand. The remainder visited from every corner of the world.

One good reason that Australia is such a great tourist destination lies in the fact that the country has a diverse climate and topography to suit everyones taste. Adventures can be planned for all of the six Australian states, Tasmania and several offshore islands. There are outstanding locales for hiking, backpacking, swimming and surfing, fishing, road trips, off-road excursions and more. There’s even downhill and cross-country skiing available in one or two locations during the winter months. Perhaps you just want to tour the countryside, visit historic coastal villages and take oodles of pictures. There are plenty of places to do that too like the 168-mile long Great Ocean Road skirting the scenic coastline in New South Wales. Whether you like wind-swept waves crashing against coastal rock formations, mountains, deserts or rain forests, you will find them in Australia. And don’t forget that you can see unique animals, birds and plant life here that you can’t see anywhere else except on Animal Planet or The Discovery Channel on your TV.

In the event you want help from experts in planning your Australian tour(s), there are numerous tour operators available online via the internet that can put the entire trip together for you well in advance of your arrival data. They can show you how to tour by cars and campervans, see the country in a comfortable train or jump from state to state by airlines that provide flights within Australia. They can arrange the transportation, the accommodations and even recommend the finest restaurants to eat in and things to see on your tour. There are also bus tours hat come complete with a professional tour guide who can steer you to each destination and point out the best things to see and do along your route. Whatever you prefer, Australia will make it a reality.

Lawrence