PROS: Overall impression of Queensland, Australia; from a guy who lives in a cheap Asian country.

So I spent the past 10 days in Queensland, mostly in and around the Brisbane area and I have compiled an non-exhaustive list of pros and cons that are completely from my point of view. I am not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings, but this is my opinion. I have tried to list an equal amount of pros and cons.

In part one I am going to focus on the overall pros of Queensland – the cons will come later

The weather is absolutely awesome

I feel it is too hot in Thailand (where I live) I tire of not being able to to anything without breaking a sweat. This is not the case in Brisbane, at least for now. The mornings and evenings are chilly but nothing some long pants and maybe a jacket can’t take care of. In the afternoons you can walk around with jeans and a t-shirt and be completely comfortable. This, in my opinion is the perfect weather conditions and this reason alone says a lot for Australia in general – and yes, I know the temperature is very different down south.

Everything is extremely clean and well-maintained

This can likely be attributed to the high tax rate in Australia but no matter where you go, everything is super clean and the roads, pathways, parks, and public areas are wonderful. Almost nothing is broken and if it is broken it is in the process of either being repaired or taken down. Compare this to where I live in Thailand where broken stuff simply stays broken until it falls to pieces or is stolen by someone.

Incredible beaches

This can kind of be combined with the point from above. The beaches have wonderful water, perfect white sands, plenty of open space and plenty of public access. Also, unless you find yourself in the most popular places like Gold Coast there is plenty of free parking.

everyone speaks English

This might not apply to everyone, but it certainly does to me. I CAN speak Thai and some Korean, it doesn’t mean I want to. Therefore, for me, this was a massive plus.

Clothes are cheap and good quality

This is a bit of a mixed bag compared to Thailand. In Thailand, everything outside of a designer store tends to be cheap but it also has a wonderful opportunity to fall apart after a few washes. When I was shopping in K-Mart and Target in Australia, all the clothes were great quality even though they were not designer brands.

Fun and affordable professional sporting events

If you are a fan of live sports (particularly rugby) you need look no further than here. I encountered multiple tiers of professional rugby matches that you can attend for as little as 10 dollars. This was great fun and the crowds really get into it. I don’t even understand the sport fully and I had a wonderful time at all the games I attended.

Extremely safe roads

This has a LOT to do with the massive penalties and stringent testing systems in place for all drivers on the road. Regardless of how much money you have, the rules apply equally. Many of the rules aren’t even determined by a human. Speed or run a red and your plates are photographed and you get a ticket in the mail and lose points on your license. Basically everyone that I met (except for one guy who was a bit nuts) never messes about on the roads and no one drink drives.

Fantastic wildlife

I speak particularly about the amount of birds that I saw. They were everywhere and there was lots of variety. I had a lot of fun watching this one bird and I forgot the name of it, but they all seem to really dislike the postmen and they attack (not in a harmful way) ONLY the postman. We watched this poor fella go from house to house as he was perpetually stalked and attacked by swooping birds at what appeared to be every single house. He didn’t seem terribly phased by the swoops. I bet he is used to it by now and while he probably gets spooked every now and then, the birds are not capable of hurting him, try as they may.

So there you have it. I wasn’t really there long enough to see everything and I never saw either a Koala or a Kangaroo (and trust me, we were looking.) There of course, are many more pros but I am trying to make this list shorter than a novel.