Question:

What is the Aussie Way of Life?

The Australian Way of Life

Most Australians enjoy or aspire to middle-class suburban lifestyles. This involves owning a house, having a modest-sized income, a family with two to three children, and a group of friends to socialise with regularly. Like any country, Australians have their own unique preferences when it comes to food, popular culture and fashion.

Australians once had a somewhat bland palate but the introduction of new cuisines by new Australians has led to the development of a thriving food culture. Many cuisines can be seen in the major cities, most particularly Melbourne and Sydney. The country also produces most kinds of food, wine, and other beverages in abundance.

Popular culture is dominated by an emphasis on leisure activities and outdoor recreation. Great pleasure is taken in traditional backyard barbecues, bush picnics, and a wide range of organized sports, including soccer, Australian Rules football, cricket, tennis, baseball, basketball, volleyball, netball (a game similar to basketball, played by women), athletics, cycling, boating, swimming, horseback riding, and horse racing. Fishing and gardening are popular activities.

Australians tend to be a bit more relaxed about fashion than Europeans. Fashion generally follows Western styles of dress. Australian fashion was once around 10 years behind its European counterparts, but today trends take around 12-18 months to cross hemispheres. Australians are also known for forging their own couture paths, and Australian dress is distinctive for the lightweight, colorful casual wear that reflects the absence of harsh winters.

The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef

Every year, about 2 million visitors bundle up their snorkling gear and head offshore to the Great Barrier Reef.
Located near Australia's north-east coast, the world-famous tourist attraction has been added to World Heritage lists for preservation. More than 1500 species of fish and a colourful array of corals inhabit the reef. Like many areas in Australia's north-eastern corner, the reef is subject to monsoonal weather conditions from December to February.
Many ships have run aground among the 3000 coral reefs. One of the most famous wrecks, the HMS Pandora, has been missing since 1791.

Australian Sport: Lawn bowls

Lawn bowls
When Australians grow older, they turn to lawn bowls. Or so it seems if you wander long enough down any street in Australia, watching the white-clothed men and women up to age 80 or so head to the local green. The fact is a growing number of young adults play the game, too.
Lawn bowls, like tenpin bowling, begins with rolling a ball along the ground. The comparison stops there, though, because lawn bowls is a far more tactical game where players try to position balls as close as possible to a smaller ball, called the jack. The game requires patience, skill and touch.
Lawn bowls first came to Australia in 1864, when the country's first club formed in Melbourne. Today, more than 2200 bowls clubs are scattered around the country, with more than 500,000 registered players

Melbourne Cup, Jewel in the crown of Aust. racing

THE Melbourne Cup is the jewel in the crown of Australian horse racing.
With its prizemoney of A$3 million, the country's best stayers, as well as racehorses from overseas, are primed for this annual event.
This is a handicap race with weights set according to an individual horse's record. There are strict requirements for getting into the race to ensure that only the best stayers with proven records get into the Cup.
Cup winners are pretty much part of Australia's horse racing legend, and Melbourne Cup Day is a public holiday in the Victorian capital.
Throughout Australia, offices, clubs and other organisations hold sweeps (where ticketholders are allocated Cup horses at random for the chance of winning the sweeps prize for each of the first three placegetters) and so almost everyone has a stake in the race.
Those who bet at the TAB or with bookies at racecourses throughout the country may have a stronger financial interest in the outcome of the Cup but mostly the average Aussie bets small and hopes for a long-priced win.