Yeah this.

As an Australian that moved to the USA as an adult, I don't get why school starts so damn early in this country.

In Australia it started at 9am. Both primary (elementary) and high schools. 9am-3pm for primary, and 9am-3:30pm for high school, though there were usually some after school activities (e.g. music, sport) that went through until 5pm.

I found getting to school at 9 tough as a teenager. I don't know how they do it here where school starts at 8am or 7:30 or whatever ridiculous time it does.

Australia and NZ are by far the most âoeorganisedâ Western countries. Most highly governed, most compliant ârule followingâ(TM) population etc. Its why immigrants from elsewhere in the Western world often express surprise at how much of a ânanny stateâ(TM). But that nanny state has its advantages as the pandemic has proved.

The public service in Australia is excellent and the interoperability and cooperation between states far surpasses anything the US or even Canada could muster. Governmentâ(TM)s communication with the people in Australia is always top notch and the same can be said during this pandemic.

On top of that, a strict and early international border closing, and world-leading contact tracing, produced the results it did in Australia and NZ. Every case in Australia is tracked to its original source. Every case in Australia is subject to full genomic testing (which they only do for a subset of cases in other countries), which also provides clues about how the virus is moving.

In North America and Europe borders remained far more open, and contact tracing quickly became impossible to perform for every case - the numbers became too great and the intermixing of the population complicates things too much.

As someone thatâ(TM)s lived for extended periods (years) in the US, Canada, UK and Australia, I can confidently say Australia and NZ succeeded because their government presented a consistent message, imposed tough and early restrictions, and generally had a population all fighting as one to eliminate the virus, who were 99% willing to comply with even the harshest restrictions.

Well since you mentioned N95s, that's one thing he could have done. Used his power and the supposed industrial might of the US to churn out N95s so that, you know, people could actually GET them. It's still virtually impossible for the general public to buy N95s in the US, even six months into the pandemic. Meanwhile in other countries they are still easily purchasable in any hardware store, and in some cases the government has just given them out to the public for free.

"Graham Ivan Clark, a 17-year-old teen"

What, as opposed to a 17-year-old in his thirties?

Yes, Star Trek Picard is an Amazon Prime Video exclusive in Australia (and most non-US markets).

I was eyeing that new Snow Joe 100V battery powered snowblower. It's much more powerful than the Ryobi 40V and others. Supposedly as good as gas. But it also costs twice what the Ryobi one would...

https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Jo...

Range loss in the cold is real, which does mean that if you live in a cold climate you're better off getting the longest range EV possible rather than something like a Leaf or Volt. But it's not a deal-breaker. It might mean you get 220 miles instead of 300 off a full charge or something, but very few people commute 200 miles every day. With fast DC chargers becoming more common, you'll be able to up ~75 miles in ~5 minutes if you need to, so you can always use that on days where the range isn't quite enough. Five or ten years from now when chargers are everywhere and EV ranges are pushing 400+ miles I think a lot of this problem will go away. Gas cars also get worse mileage in the cold ... the only difference is that gas stations are more common than charging stations currently.

I'd also agree that they are a bit of a pain in the ass if you live in an apartment currently (though I suspect that will change in the next decade and charge points in parking lots will become the norm ... they aren't particularly expensive to install).

But if your car is garaged at home and you aren't travelling 300+ miles a day ... EVs are already the clear choice IMO. And I say that as someone living in a cold climate. I think your final statement is a very bold claim. Many countries are outright banning the sale of (new) ICE cars after 2030ish, and I think even in the US, the majority of cars/SUVs sold will be electric within the next decade. The Tesla Model 3 is already the fifth highest selling car in America, and one the Model Y launches I suspect you'll see similar results in the SUV segment. Trucks may take a while longer though.

Indeed, but I think the point MooseTick was trying to make is that HOAs are a uniquely American thing and seem utterly bizarre to the rest of the world, given that they seem to be in stark opposition to the general American ideal of individual freedom and property rights. Like, we just don't get how such a concept exists and is actually legal.

Pretty sure there are plenty of Brits, Aussies etc. on here. Including myself.

How have they gotten away with using trademarks like Oreo and Kitkat, I wonder? Did they actually ask the relevant companies for permission? I assume so given there hasn't been a lawsuit. But it's interesting that the companies agreed to it.

Thank God. Fully 90% of calls I get are spam these days, to the point where I'm tempted to just let everything go through to voicemail.

What on earth are you talking about. Australia isn't Europe. The overall tax burden in Australia is roughly the same as the US (and I actually pay a little MORE tax in the US, on the same income, than I did in Australia, though the difference isn't massive).

I didn't literal mean 'the average' (or median) home is a million bucks. As you said, the actual average is less than that. I said that a typical, average home (as in, an unexceptional looking home that's not huge, not fancy, etc.) was pushing million bucks, and you could pick up similar homes in the US for a couple of hundred thousand. I was using the word 'average' in the colloquial, rather than mathematical/statistical sense.

Or to put it another way, I was saying that homes that would cost a couple of hundred grand in the US would be approaching a million in Australia if you tried to buy something equivalent. I know because I've bought in both countries.

My home market is Canberra and there has been no bubble burst there so far (indeed, prices have continued to modestly increase in the last quarter, even as Sydney and Melbourne have fallen). $626k in Canberra would buy you a fairly ratty old dogbox in dire need of renovation (or, a pretty nice apartment). For a stand-alone house with a yard in decent condition (comparable to a typical American house you could get for $200k in much of the country), it would indeed be close to a million bucks. My Canberra place is a small 3 bed, 1 bath place built in the 1960s, on 690 square metres, nothing exceptional at all, and is valued at approx $930k AUD, to give an example. Whereas my US place in a similar sized city is easily twice the size, with a bigger yard, and only a touch more than half the price, after currency conversion.

This is true ... but it's also true of the US itself. I've applied for (and been granted) professional work visas for both Canada and the US over the last decade and the process was similar in both, in that you had to prove there was no local person who had the necessary knowledge or background to do the work. You also have to prove you wouldn't be being paid substantially differently than the local for the same work.

The US is no different in this regard (at least for the L1 type visas typical for professional work). It's always a pain hiring a foreigner in any country because the company takes on the burden of sponsoring them, processing all the immigration paperwork etc.

Yep absolutely. I moved to the US from Australia a few years ago and holy hell, housing is cheap here compared to much of the world.

A very typical, average suburban home is pushing $1 million in most Australian cities. Here, outside a few bubble zones (e.g. Bay Area), you can pick up similar houses for a couple of hundred thousand. I've lived in Asia (Singapore, Japan) and Europe (England, France) as well, and the US is cheaper than all of them.

Mind you, there is a downside ... and that is property taxes. I pay a pretty hefty property tax bill in the US on my place that would not be an ongoing expense back in Australia, so I supposed I have to factor that in. Still it would take many decades of property taxes to add up to the difference in initial cost.