[matt_trentini]

I've lived in Australia all my life and can't say I share the same opinion. Racism, while clearly present (notably in some parts of QLD and generally outside of the "urban core" as Tloewald succinctly described), is pretty mild from what I've seen. And, in my experience, it's become less of a problem over the past couple of decades. I remember many more reports of race-related violence when I was young.

And within the major cities (especially Sydney and Melbourne) it's a remarkably tolerant environment especially considering the diversity of cultures. I'm often amazed looking around at people in the streets and see so many countries represented!

Then perhaps I'm biased. I'm a white male born and raised in Melbourne which is probably the most cosmopolitan city in Australia.

[I agree about the cost of living though; housing in particular is exorbitant!]