Australia sounds very much like Canada in that sense the very very worst damn place you can be is working poor. In Canada its much better to get fired, stop paying rent and start doing heroin because you still live in relative poverty but without humiliating yourself in low paying jobs that demand great effort (the lower the pay the more demand you work and obey). But point being, in Canada there is nothing worse or more brutal than being in that just-above-minimum wage, probably no benefits, sure, stocking shelves or retail or something like this. Brutal and even worse if you are a single sober white male at 34ish because fuck you is why.

Mind you, I was middle-classish before I came to China. I'd say lower comfy middle-class. Which is better than being upperclass in China. As in enjoying Canadas' noise bylaws, enforced food safety rules, sidewalks that are level and rarely have ankle-breaking holes and seeing wildlife that wasn't being caught and eaten by sneering phlegm-spitting fuckheads.

Can't say much on finding GFs - I did very well with that my entire life no matter where I was though I had one strange exception where I did well with Mexican girls but NOT South American girls (or Central). which is strange since I'm convinced Colombian women and Venezualan women are the hottest most beautiful on the planet and yet for some reason I didn't pull much attention.

*had one Australian GF and she was alright. I could see marrying one*