Only when you have had experiences with immigration controls do you really realise how utterly unfair the world really is.
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Only when you have had experiences with immigration controls do you really realise how utterly unfair the world really is.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
I can't see why Australia limits their immigration so much. They sure would make even more dosh out of it.
I also can't see why they are so expensive. As if enrolling in a uni was for free or something.
I also can't see why they are so expensive. As if enrolling in a uni was for free or something.
gay_Aleks
from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!
It's mostly because of Red China taking over poor Australia by sending millions of people on boats? Or so Tony Abbot told me in my dreams.
It's probably to do with island mentality. Conservatives (both small and large C) in the UK are seemingly obsessed with immigration.
And may I ask how expensive exactly are they? My annual Shengen visa costed me € 35.-, which I cannot reasonably describe as "expensive as hell." UK visa costed somewhat more but also did not break a bleeding breach in my budget... So, how much can it be?
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
So are France, Switzerland, Austria and so many others. 
Australian Student visa is 415€ ($450) for me alone.
Australian Student visa is 415€ ($450) for me alone.
That actually seems low.
As in, is AUD and EUR that close? Also, that is low for a student visa.
Especially for a country that is (usually...) very out-and-out multicultural and where a quarter of the population are themselves immigrants.
We're a nation of paradoxes.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
It's 550 in AUD, I meant 450 USD.
Even if what they did was brave, it was still their choice of career. There's no need to thank others for the choices they make in their lives.
Similarly to that, I don't get why people thank bus drivers. You pay for the service, and the money you paid should be thanks enough. The driver doesn't even talk or say anything, nor provide any help usually other than drive the bus, so what exactly is the purpose in thanking people that you have already paid for a service?
AUD prices are higher for most services, I'm sure you've heard of how 'expensive' video games are over there.
But the reason is that the minimum wage in Australia is something crazy like 15-20 AUD per hour. So their prices are going to be expensive for people outside of Australia who don't even earn equivalent to 1/4 of that, but based on how much they need to pay their staff, from an economic perspective the prices are fair. I would assume that working in border control / immigration isn't a min wage job, so those people are going to be earning something crazy like 30+ AUD an hour. That money has to come from somewhere.
This is confusing two narratives. In the world of anti-immigration, boats are identified with poor people from Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, and the Chinese are associated with rich people buying all the houses.
I have a friend who is planning to come to Australia on a partner visa, apparently costs about $5000.
Thanking people for every and any little thing devalues genuine politeness.
You don't need to excessively thank everyone to be polite. Not excessively thanking everyone doesn't correlate to being less polite.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
Also because the AUD is a weaker currency than the EUR, USD or GBP. Everything adds up.
Its actually not that proportional.
The min wage by comparison still works out much more than the US / UK min wage in USD / GBP. The major difference being that the min wage in Australia is what they call a 'minimum living wage', while in the US / UK, you need two or more people on a full time min wage to be able to afford day to day living costs.
The min wage by comparison still works out much more than the US / UK min wage in USD / GBP. The major difference being that the min wage in Australia is what they call a 'minimum living wage', while in the US / UK, you need two or more people on a full time min wage to be able to afford day to day living costs.
JohannaK
Heroically Clueless
Hence the 'everything adds up': the rate is currently at 1.5, which is inferior to the difference in both minimum wage and living costs, ofc.
Right, so its a 1.5 rate, but the wage is 3-4x higher than UK / US min wages based on that rate.
So a lot of the services in Australia are affordable to people living and working there, but not to people outside of Australia. The main thing though is that living costs are affordable on a single full time minimum wage, something which is a laughable thing to ever expect to happen in the UK or US.
In the UK particularly, housing costs are astronomical right now. A 4.3 x 4.2m 3 story house (which is pretty much 3 floors of what would normally be half the size of a 2 story house), with no drive way, gardens or garage currently gets advertised as a 'luxury house' with a £169,995 asking price.
Its barely enough room for a single person to live in - one floor a lounge, another the kitchen and the last a bedroom, while the min wage is £6.50 an hour. Not sure how much that works out to exactly per annum, but anyone with enough income to afford that much would have to be an idiot to buy it and live there.
So a lot of the services in Australia are affordable to people living and working there, but not to people outside of Australia. The main thing though is that living costs are affordable on a single full time minimum wage, something which is a laughable thing to ever expect to happen in the UK or US.
In the UK particularly, housing costs are astronomical right now. A 4.3 x 4.2m 3 story house (which is pretty much 3 floors of what would normally be half the size of a 2 story house), with no drive way, gardens or garage currently gets advertised as a 'luxury house' with a £169,995 asking price.
Its barely enough room for a single person to live in - one floor a lounge, another the kitchen and the last a bedroom, while the min wage is £6.50 an hour. Not sure how much that works out to exactly per annum, but anyone with enough income to afford that much would have to be an idiot to buy it and live there.
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