Being an Aussie who has lived in the UK for the last 8 years I think I can safely talk about the issues here..
Firstly, some people have said Australia lacks culture... where compared to here? What culture is here and exactly what sort of things are you referring to as culture? The only culture I am aware of is going out and getting slaughtered as much as possible, or going to the same place for a holiday, and as long as there are other British around, it makes it all good.
For the ones that say, there is no culture... what exactly are you talking about, and what do you think makes up this "culture"..
Australia is multicultural, and is a mixture of all different people from different places, and if you look around, you have so much diversity of culture. Kind of makes me wonder where people went and what people did who have been and say there is no culture. The larger cities have a vast range of cultures, and everyone is proud of the different cultures, and I know as an Australian, I love the fact that Australia is so diverse. It just isn't "one" culture, it is many...
The thing is, Australia doesn't have much in the way of "white" history... but it has a lot of aboriginal history... it might not be the "same" but it is still very interesting and also part of Australia.
Let me give examples.. Melbourne would have to be one of the most diverse culture cities in the country. You have Vietnamese with a really wide range of places to go and eat, markets, celebrations. You also have a massive Greek population as well. The food is amazing, and everyone gets in and participates in all sorts of celebrations.
Perth, is where most English seem to go, and well, it is the worlds most isolated city. Being australian, I even feel isolated there, but it is a great place. Kind of think of it as Benidorm, or where every other Englishman/woman seem to take holidays. Great if you are into that sort of thing.
Sydney, is expensive, busy, and well, not sure why everyone seems to be attracted to living there. Definitely not on my cards of places I want to live that is for sure. Very pretty harbour, and the diversity there is also amazing like Melbourne. Great place to visit, just not great to live. Kind of like London really... and when I use to work in Sydney, I would always just fly out and fly back the same day..
Brisbane, is to me, one of the best cities in Australia. I guess to me it is big enough to have loads happening, but you can escape it if you want. You have nice beaches north and south, and a few close by, but the diversity here is also amazing. To me, if you were going to move to Australia, I would honestly pick Brisbane. It has an international airport, and to me is just a lovely liveable city.
Adelaide... not much happens in Adelaide, but still a great city... kind of like a big country town...
Hobart... pretty much the same sort of weather as the UK... really pretty scenery, and a great place to visit... only isolated if you make it feel that way.
North Queensland... is warm, (same weather as the summer here, but during the winter)... most cities are located on the coast, and you have to be careful here, as some towns are more expensive than others, due to the proximity to the mines and lack of housing.
Costs of living... when I first moved here 8 years ago, I found the costs of living here absolutely crazy, and didn't get very much for my money. Some places are of course going to be expensive in Australia, depending on where you live, and how close to the city you live. Generally, it is cheaper to buy, rather than rent. The thing is, that Australia is booming, and the economy is in a much better shape than here... and also don't forget that it is a much larger country as well, and it costs more to move things around. Fuel is cheaper than here though too.. There are swings and roundabouts... some things cheaper, some things dearer.. Don't forget it is a much larger place than the UK, so it is going to cost you more to get around.
As for racism..... racist people exist everywhere... and to be honest, I have actually found racism more active here than Australia. It is a complicated thing in Australia... and I will attempt to say why... Firstly, the British came to Australia, and brought with them a class system, where they saw the Aboriginal as slaves and less than them.
I want to make it very clear from the outset, I believe no matter what your colour you are a person, and should be treated as such, I don't care if you are black or white, or in between you are a person.
There were loads of issues, which needed to be worked out and Australia is still going through that process. There is a term called "The Stolen Generation".. and will attempt to explain what this was all about. The thing was that, the aboriginal community were mixing with the white/asian/everyone else who weren't aboriginal. Sometimes, and in a majority of cases, the aboriginals females were raped, and had children, which were mixed race. The thing was though, that at the time, these children were not identified as being aboriginal nor white. I know of cases where in the aboriginal communities, these children and their mother were put isolated into separate parts of the community... they weren't accepted as being aboriginal... but they didn't really have anywhere else to go. Then the god fearing Christians came in, and setup camp in these communities... Now basically the government at the time, saw what was going on... where these kids weren't seem as being aboriginal, but white, and decided to give them an education. Maybe wrong decision, but at the time, it was a lot more different to it is nowadays. They then took the children who were "half cast", and took them to the mainly Chrsitian (Roman Catholic) schools in various places to give them an education.
Mainly at the time, and still to this day, the aboriginal don't really participate in education, and don't see the point in it. Mostly as well, the parents live in disgraceful conditions, and are drunk. There are a lot more aboriginal communities who are now becoming completely dry, and are on the road to recovery, but they are scampered sometimes by people wanting to make a quick buck, and the reluctance of some of the aboriginal community to become what they consider "white" Australian. One of my friends use to go around and build houses for the aboriginal communities, and to me it is quiet disgraceful at how much money was thrown into this. They would provide housing, cars, food and everything else, only to find a month later that the car was sold, the house completely torched and destroyed. Alcohol plays a massive factor in this demise, but then when it is controlled and not able to be purchased, claims are then made about human rights.
It would be like here... if for example, a none "white" British community were to receive more money on the dole than a "white" British person. Have their housing paid for, if they showed interest in playing a musical instrument, have it purchased for them, and then after a week giving it up, and selling it. But also, the people who represent that community, giving themselves massive wages and taking most of the money for themselves. In a nut shell that is basically what is happening in Australia.
Now we are making the move back to Australia... and am looking forward to it...