The Australian Housing Crisis

One of the things that often come into the mind of many Australian permanent visa applicants is that they will be able to settle into their own home in the country. Often, they would go on further to dream of a house and lot complete with a garden at the side and a car of their own. And just like native Australians, they consider this to be the ultimate achievement that they must accomplish.

Indeed, this one is an ideal picture that many immigrants would want to see. However, with the current situation in the country, this seems to be getting harder to get. You see, Australia is actually suffering now from a huge housing crisis.

How so, Australia is such a large place? You might probably be thinking about this one right now. To further understand the issue, it would be a good idea for you to know more about the Australian landscape further. Despite the country's large size, it being a continent, much of it is actually an arid desert area. Thus, the habitable regions are limited only into certain places.

Since most of the Australian population live in these small regions, they have pretty much filled up the areas. However, the country's population is not static. In fact, it is actually growing at a fast rate yearly, immigration being one of the major reasons behind the increase. And to make things even more difficult, the rate of housing development can't barely keep up with the growth of the population, which leads to the current housing shortage.

But this not yet the end of the housing crisis story. Another major factor with regards to housing is price. And as the demand for housing in the country goes up, the prices also actually follows it. This makes it unattainable for many average Australians to even just rent a house, more so to buy one of their own.

The government has responded to the crisis by ordering the hastening of housing development in the areas where the crisis is most severe. They have also started releasing large tracts of government land solely for this purpose. Also, the release of housing loans have also been increased, in order for those in need of it to quickly purchase their houses.

However, according to some experts, the problem can not be solved by these methods alone. They suggest a total revamp of the housing price rates in order to make these more affordable to the wider public. They said that the price increase that was brought about by the demand in the previous years have actually left out a huge surplus of housing units left unoccupied, mainly due to them being unaffordable. They argue that getting these units within the reach of more people would be better than building more houses.

Whichever way it goes, the housing problem is unlikely to be solved quickly. And for that, the immigrant will have to wait a little while more for his dream house to come true. .

More Ways To Travel Australia

One of the things that many Australian travel visa holders like about the country is that there is a lot to see and do here. However, if you do travel a lot to the land down under, then you have probably seen a lot of the most popular sites. And the tours offered by travel companies often offer you basically the same thing and get old very fast.

Thus, you are probably wondering if there still other ways to get the most out of your stay in here. Luckily, there are actually a lot of other ways that you can go around and explore Australia. And many of these will give you a great experience that you would often not get with tour packages. Here are some suggestion that you might want to consider and try out on your next vacation.

Surprisingly, walking is actually first on the list. Some people might be thinking that this one is such a crazy idea, considering how hot the Australian climate is. However, traveling on foot is actually a very popular means of exploring the country, such that a lot of tourist eagerly arrive in the country for a backpack trip.

Strictly speaking, you don't actually walk all the way during your trip (doing so will make you drop dead after just a hundred kilometers). However, you will be doing just that for the most part. Here, you will be able to enjoy all the scenery of Australia even more, as you get to travel at your own pace.

And if you want something a little bit faster, then you can go out on a bicycle tour across the country. There are actually a lot of bicycle trails that crisscross the lands here, some even taking you from one end of the continent to the other. Here, you have two options, you can either have your own bike for travel or rent one and drop it off at stopover points to get another. Not only will this get you to most places, it will also actually be a very healthy experience, both physically and mentally.

Australia's numerous rivers and streams are also another great way of going across the continents. Ferries and cruise liners plow through the waters regularly, and since most of the cities in Australia are actually within the banks of a river, you can easily catch them wherever you are. And for those who want a more solitary means of travel here, kayaking is also fast becoming a popular activity, with many travelers often going through all the effort of bringing their own kayaking gear just to explore the country.

And this is actually just the tip of the whole story. There are a lot of other ways to go around Australia. And you will probably use up all of your time trying all of them.

Australia And Turkey: Bond Made In The Battlefield

If you look at the lot of people coming into Australia, visa holders would often come from many different places around the world. This is not really that surprising, because the land down under is considered to be one of the best places to move into nowadays. And one of those countries that have a lot of people moving in to Australia is Turkey.

However, aside from immigration, it is surprising to note that both countries actually share a lot with each other. Though many Australians don't really know where Turkey is (they often think that it's a kind of dish) and vice versa, the two countries actually has a long history of relationship with each other. And as you read on, you will gain a better appreciation of the bond that these two have despite the distance that separates them.

The first meeting between Australia and Turkey actually occurred on the battlefield almost a hundred years ago. In World War I, Australia was one of the major participants in the Gallipoli Campaign, led by the British. The campaign was intended to capture the city of Istanbul, then the capital of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, for the Turks, this was to defend themselves from invasion.

The battle was recorded as one of the fiercest that was fought in modern times with heavy casualties on both sides. Though the intended purpose of the campaign did not succeed, the war did eventually led to the formation of the current Republic of Turkey. The war has since been remembered by the two countries with a commemoration every April 24 and 25 in Canakkale, Turkey, where much of the battle took place. Also, both countries contributed in the building of the memorial in ANZAC Cove, also in Turkey, remembering the soldiers from both sides that have died in battle.

After the wars, it took a long time before formal diplomatic relations between the two countries was began. Finally, in 1967, the two opened up diplomatic relationships with each other. Turkey was the first one to do so when it opened its embassy in Canberra that year. On the other hand, Australia followed suit a year later, when it established its own office in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

It would be interesting to note that, despite starting out as enemies, there has been no point of major conflict between Australia and Turkey in their almost fifty years of diplomatic relations. Though there were often clashes of opinion with regards to certain issues, the two countries seemingly are able to easily patch them up. This one many attribute to the mutual respect that both earned from each other during the wars.

And as indicated by the large number of Turks moving into Australia yearly, this is likely to continue for many more years to come.