Freedom? Australia is a nanny state. Can't do this, can't do that, one person died from this so now it's forbidden for everyone, lock down this, lock down that, ban this, ban that. Not being able to mow your lawn on a Sunday in Switzerland pales in comparison.

That's because it's one huge country. Of course there's no borders. Vs Switzerland being small and literally surrounded by other countries, of course you encounter some form of border here fairly quickly (though I'd be hard pressed to recall the last time there was actually any control at any border and I cross them all the time).

I've been away since 1981 so things have changed ALOT

Jep clearly in the last 38 years, things have changed. Read up on some of it. It's become ridiculous. Everything is forbidden and often/usually indeed enforced.

And despite that, it's one of the worst countries when it comes to recreational drug use and heavy drinking.

Maybe at some point there was a "relaxed" or laid-back mentality in Australia. I didn't see much of it when I lived there for a few months. Unless you count drinking yourself into a stupor "relaxed", though admittedly, at least that was less extreme as soon as you left the Sydney/Brisbane area.

(and yes, this is in part anecdotal, and no, it doesn't necessarily take away from some of the natural beauty in Australia)

Well it always was a bit of a police state.( From personal experience.)
Maybe the " no worries mate " philosophy is long dead!
There was was something positive said back in the old days comparing USA and Australia. They said in the USA if you are down on your lack they will give you a kick in the head. In Australia they will give you a hand and help you up.

Well if it was like that 40 years ago, you can imagine how it is now. But for me, "police state" and "having a lot of freedom" are mutually exclusive.

Freedom is maybe the physical space but also for me its the " she'll be right mate " attitude. And that won't ever be taken away.Police state or not!

But as an Australian you learn to deal with that. Rather strange for a non Australian

Ha ha ha i hear you. Well, i think they're a bit hipster at least my in-laws are Total hipsters yet they try to deny it with some for of supeficiality ...in the US we say "my Sh*t don't stink" .... but totally down to earth at the same time. Again balance..i like it. Hmm..Australia is resonating with me now... bring on the Tucker and I'm OK to chunder!

Having lived in Australia for the past 4 years it seems to us that it is probably one of the easiest countries to live in, we lived in Switzerland for 10 years and got totally fed up with the petty officialdom and laws for everything, we got to realise that the locals ignored most of the rules, but if a non local did something they didn't agree with they would find an obscure law to stop them. The can do attitude here and lack of mountains of paperwork is a breath of fresh air.

Well, the locals don't really ignore the rule, they interpret them flexible

Two Scandinavian friends of mine did exchange studies in Australia, one in Sydney and the other one in Melbourne (both in the past 10 years).

The first guy disliked Australia (Melbourne) so much he left earlier than planned, taking a small financial hit on changing the plane ticket and paying rent as previously anticipated (large hit for a student's budget...).

The second guy stayed the full stay but couldnt' wait for it to end to come back home - and first words were "there's no place like Europe".

Both found Australia to be a complete police state and the aussies to be friendly but somehow rather simple... fair enough, both friends are rather "academically oriented", so I guess they set the bar rather high. (note, not my opinion, just quoting)

For me, I just couldn't imagine living in a place where there was no culture or "history" 300 years ago, and where any trip abroad (excluding NZ) would mean a 12-hour flight at a minimum. Switzerland has it all, either within its borders or just a few hours away by plane, train and car.

No culture 300 years ago! You ever heard of the original culture of the aborigines

And you can even install the App " My Police State". Its really good!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlUQMH19BkQ

My son is doing a year of uni in Melbourne (he just flew down a few days ago). I'll ask him in 3 months what he thinks. (hipster wanna-be perspective)