I left Australia 17 years ago, for what seems like similar reasons, although I have a hard time articulating them. Perhaps in another 13 years..... However, as

I left Australia 17 years ago, for what seems like similar reasons, although I have a hard time articulating them. Perhaps in another 13 years..... However, as time passes, my views are starting to change somewhat. There is a large enough body of literature to lead me to believe that there are more progressive elements of Australian society, that I was not broadly exposed to previously. Perhaps this realisation has come in time, through maturity, and I am also seeking it out more. I'm currently reading Reynold's The Other Side of the Frontier[1], a ground breaking work from 1981. Other publications like The Monthly[2] are also worth reading (Noel Pearson's essay this month particularly so). The more I seek out such alternative views, the more I'm convinced there is a large enough minority who do give a damn and that positive change is still possible. If I was to return on a permanent basis, which seems ever more difficult as I'm seriously embedded in my current European location now, I'm quite sure I will not live in a major metropolitan location like Sydney or Melbourne. I'm thinking now more like Tasmania, maybe Adelaide region or even far north Queensland. Somewhere the white noise of boganism may not have penetrated quite so deeply. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Side_of_the_Frontier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Side_of_the_Frontier [2] https://www.themonthly.com.au/ https://www.themonthly.com.au/