What is the real life like in Australia? Is it really good to immigrate to Australia? Let us take a look at the narration of an Australian immigrant:
This spring, I immigrated to Australia. Although it is called spring, it is actually not so, as it is the Southern Hemisphere; when we arrived in Australia, it was autumn. Now, every morning and evening, Melbourne's autumn is quite chilly, gradually giving a sense of the cold winter.
"Public Housing" Allows the Poor to Live Well
Setting aside the climate, let’s talk about some earthly matters. In Australia, there is also "public housing," equivalent to the "affordable housing" in our country. It is not easy to get into public housing; the government conducts repeated investigations until it confirms that you truly need it and that no other means can solve your housing problem before approval is granted. Therefore, some applications for public housing can take as long as ten years to resolve. However, once you get into public housing, it is like entering paradise.
First of all, public housing is not small; in addition to the bathroom, kitchen, and toilet, there must be a spacious living room, and then bedrooms are allocated based on the number of people. The more adult children you have, the more rooms you get, making it more cost-effective.
The rent is indeed "affordable," only one-fourth of the rent for ordinary housing. Water is very precious in Australia, and water bills can be high, but water usage in public housing is basically free. Additionally, electricity and gas bills can also receive some discounts. What is even more surprising is that since public housing is government housing and the residents are from disadvantaged groups, the government must consider their needs and ensure that their lives are not inconvenienced in any way.
Residents of public housing are certainly poor and mostly cannot afford private cars, so public housing must be built in good locations, close to the city center, with convenient transportation, and nearby public transport options such as bus or train stations.
This public housing in Sydney even has an unbeatable sea view and a view of the Opera House!
In Melbourne, any well-organized building of three or four stories or more in good locations is likely to be government housing, i.e., public housing (the private houses of the wealthy are mostly one or two stories).
The poor should enjoy various household appliances just like the rich, so public housing is mostly equipped with communal washing machines and dryers, and there will be a separate laundry room on the roof for residents to use for free.
These machines are large, powerful, and of very good quality. If there is any malfunction, just make a phone call, and the government will send someone to repair it immediately. The units are equipped with advanced kitchen appliances, including large electric ovens, which are also repaired as needed to ensure residents can use them. All maintenance costs for government-provided equipment are covered by the government. The interiors are also carpeted, and the regular cleaning and replacement of carpets are also the government's responsibility.
The poor are unlikely to afford cleaners, so the government will also hire people to clean the stairs, hallways, etc., daily. The external environment cannot be neglected either; public housing areas must have large green spaces and lawns like those in wealthy neighborhoods, as well as children's play facilities, all of which are also the government's responsibility. Every spring or autumn, vehicles for trimming branches will come, and workers will take care of the surrounding environment.
"To let the poor live well" has become a consensus. Any government that does not treat the poor well will immediately face criticism from public opinion and opposition parties. As for building public housing in remote suburbs where even shops cannot be found, making it difficult to reach hospitals, such things are unheard of and unimaginable here.
Workers Have High Status, Workers Are the First Choice for Partners
Labor is expensive in Australia, and workers' wages are quite high. Digging ditches, fixing toilets, connecting wires, paving roads... often yield astonishing incomes; public servant salaries have an upper limit.
Workers not only earn high incomes but are also protected everywhere, with no allowance for excessive labor intensity. I have seen them paving roads, removing a layer of pavement and adding a new layer, all done with machines; workers only need to control the machines, and there is almost no need for them to handle dangerous tasks personally.
When boarding a plane, the weight of luggage is strictly controlled; luggage over 20 kilograms must be tagged, and if it exceeds 23 kilograms, no one is allowed to move it; it must be moved by machine, as manual handling could lead to injury.
The kind of scene we often see on construction sites in our country, where people are not afraid of hardship, fatigue, or danger, is not visible there. In Australia, work starts early; many workers begin working around six o'clock; of course, they also finish early, often getting off work by three in the afternoon. Chinese immigrants are not used to this; some have been working there for over ten years and still find it hard to adapt. Their common complaint is that it is too lonely, and they do not know what to do after work. This is related to their relocation to a foreign country; local Australian workers may not have this problem.
Many young people in Australia take pride in being workers. If they do not do well in school, there is no need to worry; as long as they can find a job, they can happily start their working years, and parents are pleased with this. Therefore, in some good universities, such as the University of Melbourne, it is often the Chinese and other Asian students who are buried in their studies.
The Highest Happiness Index, Truly Deserving
Recently, several media outlets reported that Australia has the highest happiness index in the world. From my perspective, this is indeed the case. I have been in Australia for almost a year with my husband, and I am increasingly fond of this place. When I first arrived, I was quite reluctant, thinking that going to Australia was not as good as going to Europe or America, but upon arrival, I realized it was not the case. Australia has only 30 universities, all of which are public, so the quality is quite good.
The Australian government has strict requirements for universities, so the quality of Australian universities is relatively uniform, without the pyramid-like university hierarchy found in Europe and America. Australia rarely offers scholarships to foreigners; international students are mostly self-funded, with Chinese students being the majority at the undergraduate level, while there are very few at the postgraduate level. The overall quality of Chinese Australians is also quite high.
It is said that before 1980, Australia did not open immigration to Asians, and the country's racial discrimination was notorious during that time. After 1980, immigration was opened, which also resulted in a different composition of Asians in Australia compared to some European and American countries, with Australia primarily consisting of first-generation skilled immigrants, some business immigrants, and international students.
Most Chinese international students in Australia come from wealthy families, many of whom are children of civil servants or businesspeople, as they are all self-funded students. Their overall quality is much higher than those who struggle to live on scholarships, whether in terms of physical condition, mental outlook, or living standards. Chinese international students in Australia generally come from middle-class families in big cities, and their food, clothing, and daily necessities are quite refined.
Chinese international students in Australia have very good relationships because most do not need to worry about money; even if they cannot immigrate, they can rely on their families back home for good jobs. It seems that the saying still holds true: economic foundation determines moral standards. There are also some students who borrow money to study abroad, working casually for a week and earning at least 300 Australian dollars; although they cannot earn back their tuition, they do not need to worry about food, clothing, and housing.
Most Chinese Australians are skilled immigrants, so their educational levels are generally much higher than in some European and American countries, and generally speaking, finding professional work is not a problem at all.
Due to Australia's social stability and the continuous influx of immigrants as the main force in home buying, statistics over the past 100 years show that housing prices have basically doubled every ten years. Neither World War II nor the financial crisis has shaken this trend, and the returns are very stable, which is why many funds worldwide invest in Australian real estate. However, the Australian government and financial institutions are far more responsible than their American counterparts; financial institutions are very strict about loans for home purchases, and Australia's unemployment rate has consistently been the lowest in the world, making subprime mortgage issues unlikely. The recent news of the depreciation of the Australian dollar has not had a significant impact on the local economy, as the government's macro-control is still reliable.
The Australian government has very strict quarantine regulations, and the use of additives and pesticides in food is also well controlled; both vegetables and fruits taste excellent, and all food in Australia is natural, so there is no need to worry about genetically modified organisms.
Australia's Pension Benefits You Deserve
In Australia, in addition to the pre-tax average annual salary of approximately 72,800 Australian dollars provided by the statistics bureau, employers must also pay an additional 9% of your salary into your pension account.
Speaking of the retirement system, Australia's mandatory pension system should be a model for many countries; regardless of the job, there is an additional 9% pension, which can only be used for investment and cannot be withdrawn until retirement, at which point you can take out a lump sum of at least several hundred thousand, which is a significant income for the elderly.