ddb

Hi,

I have spent about 2 years in USA but never been to AUS. Thus I am well aware of the environment, culture, education, infrastructure in US and would like to know the same about AUS.

How these two fare when compared in terms of infrastructure, public services (healthcare, law and order etc), education etc.

People who have been to both these nations, pls share your views.

mohogony

The crime rate in the USA is four times higher then in OZ and very few people in OZ own guns compared to the USA. But some people have said they felt safer walking in New York at night then Melbourne with all the drunks and bashing going on there recently. The western suburbs of Sydeny has ethnic based gangs and drive by shootings so OZ is'nt exactly crime free either.
Healthcare is much more affordable if you are on a low or average income. OZ is about the same size with 10 times a smaller population , only Sydney and Melbourne would compare with population denstity and therefore strain on infastructure such as public transport.

torcraw

Overall, crime may be higher in the U.S., but it is largely concentrated in specific bad areas within or close to city centers. In a decent city neighbourhood, suburb or smaller town where an average middle-class person is more likely to live, it is just as safe in the U.S. as it is in Australia (and definitely safer than areas where drunks and hooliganism are common).

Consumer goods are cheaper in the U.S.

Quality of transport (expressways, airports, trains, public transit), infrastructure, culture (whatever you mean by that), education largely depends on where you specifically live, in either country.

Devlin

What part of the USA do you live in? This may give people a better idea of what to compare it to?

From my experience the USA and Australia are similar in many ways, my key observations from my time there and from friends who live there:

• Healthcare is cheaper in Australia, but not by as much as you think as income taxes are higher and some things like dentists aren't really covered by Medicare/Private insurance there
• Wages are much lower in Aus for skilled professionals than they are in the USA
• Property is MUCH more expensive in Aus relative to income, and yes even when you compare it to NYC or San Francisco
• Crime stats indicate that homicides are higher in the USA (due to gang violence mainly), but I believe burglaries, rape etc. and about the same.
• Working hours for professionals are about the same these days. In Aus you get a bit more Leave (PTO) but can't always use it.
• Despite indications that the economy is worse in the USA than Aus at the moment professional friends of mine seem to be losing their jobs faster in Aus at the moment. If you are in construction I think it's a different story though.

Deutschmaster

Americans seem to be afraid of one another - all those guns and stuff. Australia is more friendly


I found when in the US that people seem to dislike government - they prefer decision making on a local basis. The state governments in Aus luckily don't have that attitude. My impression from the US is that the country really doesn't spend as much on itself (infrastructure, government services etc) as it should do and find it surprising given how rich the US is.

Education in Aus seems very hit or miss to me (coming from the UK) - there are good schools here and really awful ones. Although at least there is some government supervision over education. I'm always surprised how the government in the US doesn't seem to want to get involved with educating its citizens. I've met the odd person who has been bought up in a hardcore religious school - so surprised how all those bits of science they didn't agree with were completely removed.

Deutschmaster

Just out of interest -

Gun deaths in Australia - about 300 a year
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...908906612.html

Gun deaths in US - about 30,000 a year
http://www.ichv.org/Statistics.htm

Assuming that the population of the US is about 10 times that of Australia, that works out 10 times more likely to be killed with a firearm in the US than Aus.

jayr

Some areas (which are avoidable) of Australia have some of the world's worst crime statistics

Palm Island in Queensland had a homicide rate in 1976/7-1981/2 of 94.3/100,000 of population, more than twice the rate in Washington DC in the same period.

torcraw

Deutschmaster, I'm not American, but have spent a good amount of time there and currently live in Canada just 2 hours from the U.S. border.

What you wrote are some of the usual lefty ignorant comments that are written about Americans. I disagree with much of what you wrote. Americans are very friendly, their university education system is top notch, and they want their governments to be accountable and productive, but not be wasteful or interfere with people's individual or economic choices. For guns, yeah there are some nutjobs, but the majority of guns owned are shotguns or rifles used for hunting, the same as guns that are used and owned by people up here in Canada for hunting.

As for your link to those stats, as I wrote in my first post, most violent crime in the U.S., like they are here in Canada, the UK and Australia, are overwhelmingly per capita in the really bad inner city neighbourhoods. Anyone in a middle class suburb, small town or rural area is unlikely to see that kind of violence.

Both Australia and the U.S. are great countries with friendly people. I'm applying to live in Australia, but I could happily live in the U.S. as well.

Deutschmaster

Yup uni education is top notch for those with the money, same with the health system. and don't you think that the government should do something about those bad inner city neighbourhoods - or will you dismiss that as a leftie argument that 'I don't live there why should I bother?'

and so what if most guns are used for hunting? Unless most hunters have the accuracy of Dick Cheney I'd say that most of the fatalities are due to gun crime.

It is interesting how different countries deal with gun crime. Most say to restrict usage in some way. I love it how some Americans reckon that arming everybody to the teeth is best 'to defend themselves'

Deutschmaster

by the way what happens when the nasty people from bad city neighbourhoods decide to venture out into the nice middle class neighbourhoods?

I saw somebody get shot in Boston when I was there in 2001. I was drinking a coffee in the downtown area where the department stores are - and it was on a Sunday afternoon. I read about the shooter in the paper the next day. It was gang related and the shooter was a teenager. Perhaps the teens involved forgot to stay in their 'bad neighbourhood'

asprilla

The Flintstones

That's a very negative biased statement. First of all, its an Island 30km off mainland, so isolated and contained. Second, its nearly double that distance to any populated area, Townsville (140k). That ratio is nonsense, since Washington DC has 600,000 population compared to Palm Island's 2,000 residents. The Island was used by the government for many years to send Aboriginals which they thought committed a crime. Comparing the capital city of the worlds most powerful country with Palm Island is most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.

Deutschmaster

And as for the US not spending enough on itself - my experience of that (rather than ignorance) include:

Driving along roads which look as if they really should be replaced

Amtrak trains, although noting that the staff do an outstanding job - have seen better days and should have money spent on them. From riding around the US on trains it seems that a delay of a day or so isn't unexpected. Compare that to the Swiss who will tut if their train is a minute late.

The New York city and chicago rail systems are extensive and its a good system - but more money really needs to be spent renewing it.

Flew around on AA. Oldest planes I had ever seen on a domestic route. Surprised they still work. Their salespitch seems more 'we're great because we're American' rather than 'we're great look at our service'

I've had academics complain that it's really hard to get research funding in the US from the government, unless it's defence orientated.

Government departments complain themselves about lack of money in newspapers

And, as evident from road bridges collapsing because they're old - not enough money is spent sorting them.

Have you seen that telly programme with the bounty hunter - what's he called 'Dawg'? Sorry but doesn't the US have enough police to round the crooks up?

Devlin

I guess that one incident has clouded your view of a huge and diverse country. your loss.

Deutschmaster

Nahh I'd say it was more nearly every experience of that huge and diverse country which clouded my view

I've been to the US four times now. Thanks but not really my cup of tea.