About Australia Life Style Health & Travel Major Cities List

Life Style   Intro The Australian lifestyle is similar to any of the advanced English speaking country. It is fast-paced, result oriented, consumerist, and there is

abundance of means of comfort. However, it has its own uniqueness, charm, and magnetism.   . Leisure And Pleasures Australians are confident and optimistic people. They like working, spending on consumer items, and enjoying their leisure time. They indulge in sports like cricket, Australian Rugby, Cycling, Swimming, etc. eat out, spend their time on the famous beaches and a lot more. All the major international broadcasting agencies broadcast their programmes in Australia. You can easily watch BBC, CNBC, and CNN along with many other channels.   . Transportation Australia is a big country. The cities are far off. Geographical features too present travel problems. Intercity connectivity is slow if you travel by bus and train. Air travel is good value for money in such cases. Within the cities, you have cabs, buses, metro, light rail, and trams system as means of transportation. Metros are most convenient sometimes. Access to a car is the best option that can save you from long walking in Australian cities. For more info, www.131500.com.au You should have proper driving authority to drive in Australia. Some states require you to have international driving license while some insist on you having the driving license of your country too. For more info www.rta.com.au   . Food .   Diversity is the key word in food. You will find all kinds of food in Australian restaurants. Continental, Chinese, Indian, you name anything, you will find. The eateries cater to the vegetarian, and non- vegetarian food habits of customers. In social life, you can be invited to have dinner at the host place. It is considered polite to make your host known what you can eat and what you cannot. If you are asked to bring a plate, you need to take something cooked that you can share with the host.     . Australian Celebrations And Holidays Days around X-mas and Easter are celebration times in Australia. These are major public and national holidays. Other than these, many other celebrations are unique to Australia. They are: Public Holiday Celebrations- Australia Day - Australia's National Day on January 26, a public holiday, Anzac Day - commemorates the day the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915 on April 25, a public holiday, Melbourne Cup Day - world famous horse race day on on the first Tuesday of November, a public holiday, Non- Public Holiday Celebrations- Harmony Day - celebrates Australia's commitment to racial respect and community harmony, on March 21. NAIDOC Week - celebrated each year in remembrance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their heritage. The one week celebrations starts on the second Sunday in July. Australian Citizenship Day - celebrates the importance of Australian Citizenship, on September 17. Other than these some states celebrate Labour Day and the Queen's Birthday and give public holidays. Banks and offices are closed on public holidays. In smaller towns even the shops and restaurants are closed while in bigger towns this is not the case.   . Security Australia is a peaceful country. Law and order situation is of topmost order. Australian citizens, no matter where they have migrated from, have strong loyalty to Australia, to its democratic structure, and beliefs. They respect rights and liberties granted to the people by the law irrespective of their race and colour. The Australian police maintain internal security. The mandate to them is to protect life, prevent crime, and enforce the laws. You can ask for assistance in case of emergency situations. Each state has its own police force in addition to the national police force called The Australian Federal Police (AFP). AFP polices the Australian Capital Territory and investigates all the crimes done against federal laws.   . Professional Life Australians love punctuality. They come on time for all the official and social appointments and meetings. If late, they keep the host informed about the delay with the reason for it. Arriving late in a function is not the Australian norm. Workplaces generally have dress codes. Executives and professionals dress formally for their offices. And call each other by their first names in the work place. In general, people dress themselves for comfort and there are no laws for it.   . Healthcare Australia has one of the best medical facilities in the world. High quality of service and highly qualified professionals are the hallmarks of Australian health care industry. To ensure accessibility of health care for all citizens, the Australian government levies Medicare (an additional tax) to fund the public health system. International students require having Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the duration of their study to make healthcare available to them.   . Religion Australia is a secular country. There is no state religion. People are free to follow their own religion and customs with a responsibility to accept the rights of others to express their religion, customs, views, and values. Christianity is the religion of majority of Australians. Public life and national holidays are mostly dominated by it.   . Public Conversation Australians are very polite and they like other people this way. There is no place of rudeness in public life. Australians' preference for politeness is distinctly apparent in their public conversations. You will get to hear a lot of 'please, excuse me, sorry, pardon me, thank you' and many other similar expressions. It is a norm to call people by their title or family name with mister or miss, if you are not very close to them. Ex. Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith.   . Beach In The Life Of Australians Australians love their beaches. Most of the population lives near beaches. They visit them whenever they feel like. It is not uncommon to see families going there for a barbeque or picnic in the holidays like during Christmas or on long weekends. Families may come together to just spend time with each other. They will have breakfast and dinner jointly and then leave.