@kaurmigration,
You're probably right about Australian lifestyle. Since I last posted on this thread, our economy has been picking up, and Apple Computer is building a saucer-shaped building at a cost of $5 billion that will house some 13,000 workers not one mile from our home. I think I read recently that Apple is the richest company in the world today. The US economy is showing some strength growing at about 2%/year. Job growth seems to be good too!