Partly because of the weather, and partly for greater opportunities. We have more than our fair share of juvenile crime, with very little in the way of punishment if the criminals are caught, and attempts at rehabilitation just not working. People are as fed up with it here as they are in Britain. The highest temperature I remember was 45 degrees, and the lowest was about -1, so we do have a huge range. One memorable Christmas Day soon after we arrived, it went up to 109F, and all we had was a small fan.
Books are expensive.
Meat is cheap. Petrol is a lot cheaper here at about 75c a litre. Australian wines are fairly cheap. The road toll. Hope you find my answers interesting.