Free healthcare, basically no gun crime, far less polarisation, more family friendly, far less homeless, a more successful multiculturalism environment, strong societal bonds i.e. we were able to get most of the country to agree to large scale lockdowns and mask wearing.
Mateship and community are embedded in the DNA of the country whereas in the US it's freedom and individuality. And those different styles permeate through everything.
But then S/V has the incredible IT and startup community which is unparalleled anywhere in the world.
Also, Sydney's cost of living and housing crisis is apparently even worse than SV, though I don't understand how that's possible. We're very dedicated to making housing expensive here.
And Sydney doesn't really have a housing crisis anymore than Manhattan does. It's just that people want to live inner city without having to pay for it. You can find plenty of reasonably priced property if you go further out.
The first thing that comes to mind of many people when thinking about Australia: what about the scary snakes and spiders? How many encounters will I have with them while living in Sydney 'burbs and is it more than zero? What is the chance of randomly waking up with a giant spider on my face?
I would assume this is not across all teams in all cases, just my first hand experience and also second hand anecdotes from colleagues.
