Australia is a young country – part of the “New World” – and a country that is growing very quickly. In Australia we enjoy a standard of living that is equal, if not greater, than most countries in Europe and North America.

With just 21 million people on an island that is 4 times the size of Europe, Australia does not suffer from problems of over-crowding. In fact most of the population lives in the 4 big cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth – but even these cities are amazingly spacious, relaxed and thankfully free of many of the stressed of big cities.

The Economy

The Australian economy is one of the real success stories of the past 50 years. There is a big middle class and good work opportunities for most. Unemployment levels are very low. Indeed in most cities there is virtually no unemployment when we look at the situation for young people and international students. We often say, if you are not working, it’s only because you don’t want to work!

Multi-cultural Society

Australia is a multi-cultural society. The big cities resemble New York in terms of the variety of faces – with immigration from all corners of the world. In fact one in four people was born outside of Australia. This means, as a foreigner in Australia you will not feel in any way “outside” the Australian society. This has great advantages. In Australia people don’t usually care where you come from. If you have a good attitude, positive personality and you can speak good English (it does not need to be perfect) then you should find excellent job opportunities.

English spoken in Australia

Some people ask about the English that is spoken in Australia. It is as different (and similar) as the English spoken in USA and UK. In Australia there is an accent and some expressions that are different to England or USA, but nothing more than that. If you learn English in the UK or USA and then come to Australia, you will have no problem, and vice versa.