During the 2026 Lunar New Year holiday, I traveled to Sydney, Australia, which is often described as the "Lucky Country" and a highly livable place. Comparing my observations with memories from my undergraduate studies there, I noticed several changes in the city. This article shares insights into Australian culture, current price levels, and housing market conditions from a tourist’s viewpoint.

First, the festive atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere remained strong, with large crowds of tourists. On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, I encountered lion dance performances in Burwood, a well-known Chinese district in Sydney. Lunar New Year decorations were visible throughout the area. The Town Hall area in the city center was bustling with visitors. February falls during the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere, offering pleasant weather. Historically, Australia’s peak tourist season occurs between December and February, aligning with the summer months. In December 2025, short-term tourist arrivals in Australia reached 1.04 million, the highest level since the pandemic. Based on personal observations, many tourists in Sydney came from China, South Korea, and the United States.

Second, over the past few years, Australia has experienced significant price increases, contrasting with trends in some other countries. As a popular tourist destination, Australia offers an excellent travel experience. However, based on firsthand experience, prices for dining and daily shopping have risen noticeably. For example, even in residential areas away from the city center, a simple Japanese meal cost nearly 40 Australian dollars, equivalent to approximately 200 Chinese yuan. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) year-on-year growth remained stable at around 2%. In 2022, it surged to nearly 8%, and in the second half of 2025, inflation began to rise again, with the latest figure around 3.7%. One contributing factor was the Reserve Bank of Australia’s premature interest rate cuts in February, May, and August of 2025. The resulting inflationary pressures led the central bank to resume interest rate hikes in February 2026.

Third, similar to the United States, rising housing prices in Sydney have reduced affordability. Over the past few years, Sydney’s housing market has seen substantial price increases. Key drivers include the low-interest-rate environment during the early stages of the pandemic, significant immigration inflows, and insufficient housing supply. These factors have continuously raised the barrier to homeownership for middle-class and ordinary families, making housing affordability a critical social issue in Australia, mirroring trends in the United States. From the fourth quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2025, the median price for detached houses in Sydney increased by 49%. However, price growth in Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth was even more striking, rising by 84%, 83%, and 76%, respectively.

In summary, Australia’s recent challenges of high housing costs and rising living expenses are not uncommon in Western societies, sharing similarities with the "K-shaped economy" observed in the United States. Against this backdrop, political polarization has intensified in Western countries, with high housing prices and cost-of-living pressures often attributed to immigration or globalization. These issues have become fuel for the rise of populism. As discussed in the analysis "Two Americas: Causes and Solutions of the K-Shaped Economy," historical perspectives suggest that lasting reductions in inequality have typically been driven by four structural forces: large-scale wars, transformative revolutions, state collapse, or devastating pandemics. Every society faces its own difficulties, and finding ways to gently and sustainably alleviate wealth disparities and livelihood pressures without resorting to drastic upheaval may be a defining challenge for developed economies in the current era.