Difference is accepted in outback Australia.

Mitchell, in outback Queensland is the sort of town where difference is accepted -- most of the time.

A few streets from our home lives a bloke who believes the world will end next year, on May 27. A sign out the front of his house declares the news for all to see -- to the accompaniment of loud music.

In the outback space is abundant. Consequently, house blocks in Mitchell are large (usually three-quarters of an acre or more) and the streets are wide. For this reason there doesn't seem to be much of a "Keeping up with the Joneses" mentality. People cut their grass and wash their cars when they feel like it. People have time to smile and say, "G'Day."

The indigenous population blends in with the rest of the town; along with the disabled and those hard on luck.

In Mitchell, you can be whoever you want to be.