Coming to Australia as a foreigner, I'd have to say it's damn cool. I've been to many other countries, and I still can't comprehend how cool Oz is.
It's a new country. It's bigger than the USA, but almost none of it is hospitable. It gets hit by some nasty economic issues and still bounces back. For a desert country (with no oil), it's done remarkably well. The universities are quite new, nowhere near as ancient as some of the others, but the stuff they teach is damn impressive.
It's surprisingly non-racist, and the worst racism is only subtle, against middle eastern-looking people. Everyone's so damn non-racist that they take their concepts of racism from America. Stop discrimination against Negroes? What Negroes? Only black people here are Indian
There's the aborigines, but I don't see them getting disrespected nowhere near what the media suggests.
What I love most is the government. I mean everyone talks bad about their own government, but I think it's doing a brilliant job. It's nice and socialist. The laws actually protect and help most people. It prevents a lot of abuse. And the schools here are fricking brilliant, I'm surprised what a lot of kids here actually learn.
What's not cool:
1. Broadband. Expensive and slow.
2. Everyone else being too fucking smart. I study at least 10 hours a day, every day just to pass, and some shlub gets drunk, passes out, and gets higher grades than me on the exam.
3. Government xenophobia. I mean c'mon, I don't think any other country has such a "do what you're going to do here then get the hell out of our country" attitude.