Life in Australia — or, as I like to call it, pro-crisis Greece 2.0

The deteriorating financial situation of a previously prosperous nation is a sight I’ve seen before in my life. But this time, there seems to be an added caveat.

Australia. The land of equal rights and opportunity. A place where everyone gets a free shot at a fair life and where they are only held back by their own limitations. A land that provides people of all shapes and sizes the chance to be whatever they want to be. A country accepting of all people, no matter where they come from or what their history may be.

…Or at least that’s the story we like to tell people. The reality is far different and things are getting worse by the day. As someone who has lived through one financial crisis — which resulted in a social crisis as well — I’ve gained the uncanny ability to read the signs that can lead to a nation’s economic downfall. And in my few years in this country, I’ve seen far too many of them already!

Too many mortgages!

One of the most common elements is housing. In Australia, it is a life target for people to grow up and buy a house. It’s part of the “Australian ideal” of the perfect life. If you’re a local and you don’t manage to have the triptych of good job-happy family-backyard house by the time you’re in your 30s, you’re considered a failure (for some fucked up reason that’s causing social anxiety to skyrocket).