Since the onset of the economic crisis in Greece, articles and misinformation about the Promised Land, Australia, began to appear with an increasing frequency in the mainstream as well as the fringe Greek media, ‘over there’.

Unconfirmed and exaggerated data in relation to the wave of Greek migration to Australia began to be published and, not so significant or widespread success stories for several Greek newcomers in Australia were highlighted again and again. A repeated and distorted narration for the land Down Under helped create unrealistic expectations about the prospects and the quality of life in the Promised Land, for most of the Greeks in the far away and crisis hit country. If only they could find a way to migrate to Australia…

Yes, Australia, which is approaching more and more the individualistic way of life in the USA, by disbanding at the same time its welfare state, has a lot to offer, but,this can happen only if…

If you are a businessperson, if you have skills above average, if you exercise a profession where vacancies exist, if you already have a support network in place, for example Australian citizenship or family ties, and if you are destitute, down and out in Greece.

Australia might have more than 20 years of continuous growth, or an unemployment rate significantly lower than most crisis hit European countries, however…

The acquisition of a home, for example, a ‘fundamental’ right in Greece, where home ownership is way above the European average, is a very difficult and expensive exercise. No one tells the Greeks, over there, that houses, apartment real estate property in general are seen nowadays mostly as an investment, and that their median prices have risen a lot more than the average weekly or monthly earning of the vast majority of working Australians.

Another comparison. A good education in this country is quite expensive, and 30 per cent of students in primary and secondary education attend private schools. Furthermore, Australia’s universities charge tuition fees amounting to several thousand dollars per year, and these fees, as we all know, are expected to increase substantially even further, after the recent budget from the Coalition government. This widely available knowledge and information is unknown territory, even for the so called credible media in Greece, let alone the people. Readers are reminded that education in Greece is free for all, and the numbers of students attending expensive private schools are not all that significant.

Yes, the health system in Australia is good and the health infrastructure impressive, as described in various surveys such as The Economist and others, but … the waiting periods in various hospital emergency departments or the waiting lists for a treatment or for an operation, for non-life-threatening situations, are also impressive, for an advanced country.

Yes, Melbourne was declared for another year as the most or as one of the most liveable cities in the world, but this good fortune applies for its residents who live near the centre of the urban sprawl, and enjoy all the extras in infrastructure, facilities and options available to them. This is not the case though for outer suburban Melburnians…

Another characteristic example from everyday life in this great Babylon of the South called Melbourne, which is ‘unknown’ or forgotten by many in Greece, is the way people move around. Public transport in Melbourne and other Australian cities, at least during off peak hours, is much worse than in Athens or Thessaloniki. At the same time, many working people in Australia need to travel for two hours and more to and from their work places, something which is unheard of for many in Greece.

On the other hand of course…

We need to acknowledge that Australia is a country that is geographically and economically ideally located in the Asian 21st century.

We need to acknowledge that this country is a place where its citizens enjoy the benefits of private space, and where regularity, order and rules of engagement define the parameters of everyday life and make most people’s lives easier and on many occasions better.

However…

Life in Australia in 2014 is not as easy as implied by almost all Greek media. Media which have created for their readers, listeners and viewers a distorted image of Australia and of the prospects that an ‘ordinary’ Greek migrant might have in this land, if they manage or choose to pursue their dreams here.