A Global Settlement
Australia: A Builders Paradise
The inquiry question that I will be focusing on is "If you could choose anywhere in the world to live, where would it be?" The criteria I will be using is; nearby resources, infrastructure in country, availability of jobs nearby or opportunities to make a job, natural disasters that happen and the living standards of that country. Based on this criteria, I have decided to research Australia to see if it fulfills the criteria.
Australia has a mostly linear settlement that is on the coast for the most part and some scattered towns in the middle of the country. The country has 7.692 million square kilometers in it, with a total population of 23.13 million people, giving the country a population density of only 3 people per square kilometer. Much of the middle of the country actually has no people living there, and is known as the "outback", with most of the population living in urban areas on the coast such as Sydney, home of the most well known Australian landmark, the Sydney Opera House
Reasons for living there
Jobs
Australia has a high income per person rate at $40,640 per person and an employment rate of 62%. Both of these numbers are very close to Canada's, with our income per person being $41,430 and our employment rate being 64%. While there are cities that certainly have plenty of office jobs, with that much open space in the country in the form of the outback, and a high income per person and employment rate, the building industry could flourish.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is what makes a country run, asides from the government and money. Infrastructure involves necessities such as food, water, communication, roads, power supplies and commercial, residential and industrial buildings. Australia has a very good infrastructure, with 100% of the population having access to clean water and food, 653 automobiles per 1000 people, 101 cellphones per 100 people and 12,750 kilo-watts of electricity per person. The infrastructure of Australia is very good, and with the level it is no extreme measures would have to be taken for building projects further away from more established areas.
Natural Resources
Australia is a island country home to one of the natural wonders of the world, the great barrier reef. The country is also home to large sections of deserts, rainforests and mountain ranges. 55% of the land is used for agricultural purposes and 1,520,600 square kilometers are forests. Australia also has many minerals that are being mined up. These ores include iron, gold, lithium, uranium, lead, zinc, silver, coal, nickel and aluminum, along with others as well.
Natural Disasters
The amount of natural disasters that affect people in Australia is very low, no people are affected by drought because of the amount of water available to them, no people are affected by earthquakes and 55 tsunami's have hit Australia since 1805. 5,009 people are affected by flooding annually and 9 die. 2 people are killed and 822 are affected annually by storms.
Living Standards
Australia has a high standard of living in the form of its high economy, which allows it residents to not have to worry if the country is falling apart and the amount of open spaces and parks the country can invest in. The birth rate of the country is 12.19 per 1000 people and the death rate is 7.07 per 1000 people, giving the country a natural increase of 5.12 people, a life expectancy of 82 years of age and a literacy rate of 99%.
Other Information
The yearly CO2 amount released is 379,200 1000 tonnes, which is not horrible but is not the best either, the country doesn't directly neighbour any countries as it is an island country, but it is near New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia and is apart of Oceania. It is the only country that is also a continent. The seasons in Australia are reversed to ours, meaning that it is currently winter, and when we have winter they have summer. The average temperature is 25 degrees Celsius. The climate is quite warm, and the continent and averages only 600 millimeters of rain every year, making it one of the driest places on earth.
Final Reasons
While I have no personal connection for moving to Australia, based on my research Australia is one of the best countries to live in on all accounts, from the environment to the amount of natural resources available for use. The opportunity for a large building business is in my opinion the number one reason for moving there. Everything fit into place. The infrastructure is strong enough for more residential areas, the amount of forests there will provide plenty of resources, ores necessary for construction are available as the ground in Australia is plentiful of them, there is plenty of land to build new communities on and until there is a solid profit from the houses that are being built, there are jobs to support ourselves and fund the building of the houses. While 55% of the land is agricultural, there still should be plenty of room on the huge country for building new residential and commercial buildings, and if tsunami's or floods hit the country, the only way it will directly effect construction or the homeowners is if the entire continent is over taken by water and sinks under the sea. While it is quite warm and dry there, with the amount of water available and the pros from everything else the country has to offer, the few minor inconveniences like it being hot out and a not great CO2 emissions number can be easily overlooked. Australia is said to be one of the most beautiful places on earth and the opportunities that are available there are amazing, so that is why I am choosing to move to Australia.