Thane Morgan wrote:
> He's not kidding. I find myself looking wistfully at Austrailia. Give us
> some down sides, or else your going to get a bunch of american moving
> in, making you play football properly and weakening the beer.
Funnily enough, there are only two countries in the world where a
significant number of US citizens emigrate to. Canada, where about
USA->Canada is about 1/3 that of the opposite direction (or was a few
years ago), and USA->Australia, where it's 50/50 (ABS statistics 1996).
The only ones that catch the public eye are the sports and pop stars
(our basketball teams have gotten vastly better, as many US Blacks seem
more comfy here than at home - the "grass is greener" effect in all
probability).
We've even gotten telecasts of local baseball matches, since many
US-based teams send individuals to Oz to practice in the off-season. But
it's less popular than, say, Rugby in the US :)
OK, disadvantages.
Tax. I pay 48.5c in the dollar marginal rate. And that's on less than
50,000 US per year.
Pay. An engineer with 20 years experience in Software Engineering would
get less than $50,000 a year. Most Lawyers earn less than this, most
Doctors about $60K. VERY few senior executives get over 100K per year
US.
Prices. A Big Mac is about US $2.50 here, Gasoline about US $2 a gallon.
3-bedroom house in Sydney, about $200K if in the outer suburbs, double
this or more for inner suburbs.
Internet costs. Telstra, the monopoly carrier, charges 19c a megabyte,
so no ISP can charge less than this and break even.
Skin Cancer. We're always in the top 5 countries, usually at #1.
Asthma. Currently #1, usually in the top 5.
Heat. Australians go to New Mexico to cool off. I live in one of the
coldest parts of the Mainland, near the snowy mountains. 3 months ago,
at Ivanhoe, not far from here, the temperature reached 52C. It's not
that rare for Sydney to get 40+ temperatures. ( 40C = 104F).
Disease: The nasties are Ross River Virus, Queensland Fever (aka Q
Fever, a favourite biological warfare agent), and a few other diseases
only found in Australia. Malaria and Anthrax are comparitively rare.
Basically, there are a number of rare diseases for which there's no
effective treatment. I've had one, (Echo II EncephaloMeningitis) and was
one of 6 survivors of that minor outbreak. And one of the three who
could both walk and see afterwards.
Dangerous Beasties.
Spiders:
We have both Funnelwebs (Tarantulas), and Redbacks (Black Widows), plus
one that's so far unidentified that's even more dangerous. It can cause
galloping necrosis - a bite on the hand causes the hand to rot, then the
arm, then you die. Amputation just slows it down, it's not a cure.
Snakes:
The Taipan is not the dangerous snake in the world. One particular type
of Indian Cobra has a less toxic venow, but uses more of it. But few
adults have recovered from Taipan bites. Then there's yellow-bellied
black snakes, tiger snakes, death adders, etc etc etc
Sharks:
I've actually seen a shark bigger than the fake one in Universal Studios
(the "Jaws" one) swimming around an aquarium in Sydney. There are a
number of attacks every year, usually on surfers, or on people fishing
in the shallows at night.
Crocodiles:
Biggest confirmed one was just short of 8 metres long. But 20 feet long
is not unusual. They kill far more people per year than the sharks do.
Jellyfish:
Jellyfish? Yes, the Sea Wasp aka Box Jellyfish has a venom that causes
paralysis of the lungs in about 3 minutes. When they're about, swimming
is VERY dangerous, there are plenty of warning signs about. Only found
in subtropical waters, though I once saw one in Pittwater, Sydney.
Conefish:
This Cone shellfish is the famous one that the CIA used to get its
neurotoxin from in the 60s. Found on many Australian beaches.
Blue-Ringed Octopus:
In the 1960s, 2 USMC grunts on leave from Vietnam played with one.
They're only a few inches across, and brightly coloured. Their coprses
were found a few minutes later.
Then there's Sea Snakes, Lion Fish, Toadfish/Puffer fish ("Fugu"),
electric rays, etc
Oh yes, on land we also have Parenties, cousins to the Komodo Dragon.
Big enough to take your arm off anyway. Goannas, at only 8 ft long, will
only take off a few fingers. Dingoes of course. Tasmanian Devils are
only dangerous in packs, but that's the way they usually come.
Drop Bears. Fully described in pervious posts to this list.
Stinging Trees. These nasties have ultra-fine hollow silicate hairs,
whose tips break off, injecting a neurotoxin. Like poison oak/posion
sumac on steroids. Fortunately only found in the tropics.
Now to bring this back vaguely on topic....
The "Deathworld" stats described in RT often seem fairly pale in
comparison with some of Australia's wildlife. OTOH they're not as deadly
as usually made out: I've been bitten by a bird-eating spider only
twice, and only personally know two people who were attacked by sharks,
and one by a crocadile.
--
aebrain_at_... <> <> How doth the little Crocodile
| Alan & Carmel Brain| xxxxx Improve his shining tail?
| Canberra Australia | xxxxxHxHxxxxxx _MMMMMMMMM_MMMMMMMMM
abrain_at_... o OO*O^^^^O*OO o oo oo oo oo
By pulling MAERKLIN Wagons, in 1/220 Scale
Received on Sun Mar 22 1998 - 08:29:52 UTC