# Positive aspects of Australia please!!!!!!



## ellisa (Jul 3, 2008)

Hiya

Can anyone please state some positives of moving to australia as lately not just the forum but other places i look it seems to be very negative. I understand the need to inform us all of the negs, but we also need to hear the positives. For us in the UK and other countries who are making the move 'we need to know more???? We no loads of the bad ( heat, spiders, rubbish clothes etc etc) please whats the good??????? 

Thankyou,thankyou,thankyou!!!!!!!


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi,

I think where some people go wrong is that they think Australia is going to be some sort of Nirvana so when they finally arrive and find that shock of all horrors, there is crime here, there's bureaucracy gone doolally and some people aren't nice.....their 'illusion' is shattered.

But I'd choose Australia anyday.

I have found Australians to be very kind and helpful;
The weather is good;
The scenery is fantastic;
We live close to the bay;
Our standard of life is better here;
Our boys have settled in really well and prefer here to the UK;
The country is huge therefore so much to see and explore;
Love the aussie sense of humour;
Love the wildlife (but not the kookaburra dawn chorus!);

I could go on.........

Dolly


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## ellisa (Jul 3, 2008)

Thanks Dolly

Great to hear your response, just what i needed!!!! 

Thanks
Lisa


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## guerillajack (Mar 5, 2009)

ellisa said:


> Hiya
> 
> Can anyone please state some positives of moving to australia as lately not just the forum but other places i look it seems to be very negative. I understand the need to inform us all of the negs, but we also need to hear the positives. For us in the UK and other countries who are making the move 'we need to know more???? We no loads of the bad ( heat, spiders, rubbish clothes etc etc) please whats the good???????
> 
> Thankyou,thankyou,thankyou!!!!!!!


I always think its funny the things people call negatives about here. I have been here 11 years and only know one person bitten by a spider, let alone a snake, shark, stonefish, koala etc...

The things I like best are:

The weather is amazing, The cost of living is still pretty good (although nothing like 10 years ago), The cities are safe, mixed, vibrant and exciting, the dining out is amazing, It is relaxed, there are fantastic opportunities if you are so inclined, The self employed rate here is about 1 in 8 and that is reflected in the attitude of the population. The class system is virtually non existant, and in 99% of suburbs your next door neighbour could be a banker or a plumber, unlike Europe where the colour or age of your money is as important as the amount of it you have. The Aussie sense of humour tessalates well with the English version it is mainly derived from,
The beaches are amazing and everywhere, time off work is taken seriously and if you make the effort to try new things its easy to integrate and meet people as there are a million outdoorsy things to do.

As a pom I struggle daily with-
The quality of the TV and newspapers. It is as bad as everyone says. Really
The slightly weird, parochial and xenophobic "Aussie aussie aussie" thing. It can feel a bit like Berlin, 1933.
They are rascist. Nearly all of them. Deep down.
You are a very long way away from the rest of the world and it can be difficult, and expensive to leave.
The countryside starts about 25 minutes outside the main cities and while beautiful, it is like visiting the fifties. You will be lucky to find a chinese restaurant or drinkable cup of coffee. Outside of the towns and tourist resorts the towns can be dull, lifeless, unfriendly, dirt poor and unleasant.

I love it here, but I know as many UK expats who have returned home tha have stayed. Maybe view it as a thing to do for a few years, and if you like it you can stay. I recommend it though


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## amaslam (Sep 25, 2008)

I'd like to add my bit:

1. Great climate
2. Outdoors lifestyle easy in most places
3. Safe place to bring up kids
4. Happiest dogs I've ever seen (they all seem to have Hello, how do ya do attitude)
5. Good work-life balance (holidays and knocking off at 5/6 is taken serious here, I know overtime exists but I hope it's still a dirty word in most places).



ellisa said:


> Hiya
> 
> Can anyone please state some positives of moving to australia as lately not just the forum but other places i look it seems to be very negative. I understand the need to inform us all of the negs, but we also need to hear the positives. For us in the UK and other countries who are making the move 'we need to know more???? We no loads of the bad ( heat, spiders, rubbish clothes etc etc) please whats the good???????
> 
> Thankyou,thankyou,thankyou!!!!!!!


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## SNH (Aug 26, 2008)

I simply cannot believe how much the international media plays up the ‘killer wildlife’ thing. When I lived in England every week there would be some ‘documentary’ on the television about sharks or something similar in Australia. The National Geographic Channel – no matter where I’ve been in the world – constantly shows programs about ‘deadly Australia’.

Australians barely give any of that a single thought. Yes, there are some killer things around – but they mostly live a long way from civilisation. I have NEVER seen a snake in the wild, and I have spent more than twenty years in Australia. The only snakes I have seen have been in the zoo. There are spiders, but the only person I know who has been bitten by one was bitten by a white-tailed spider – it requires antibiotics, but does not kill.
There have been some sharks this summer, but they’re hardly a regular occurrence. There are box jellyfish in the summer months in Far North Queensland, but most Australians live nowhere near there. I've never even lived anywhere near a beach!!






guerillajack said:


> As a pom I struggle daily with-
> The quality of the TV and newspapers. It is as bad as everyone says. Really
> The slightly weird, parochial and xenophobic "Aussie aussie aussie" thing. It can feel a bit like Berlin, 1933.
> They are rascist. Nearly all of them. Deep down.
> ...




Hey! I wouldn't say it quite like that.

Australia was a VERY racist country up until the end of World War Two. Then the European war refugees started arriving, creating a divide. The British-origin Australians showed their racism in full force, banning Europeans from schools, forcing them to use British names etc.

But now Australia is made up of people of many different cultures. My family is Eastern European, and suffered terrible discrimination. But look at the way Eastern Europeans are treated in Britain these days....

But to say nearly every Australian is racist is grossly unfair. Many of your so-called 'racist Australians' are actually people who have experienced discrimination themselves.

In places like Sydney there are racially-charged gangs, but this is hardly white Australia versus the rest. The gangs fighting each other are generally different ethnic minorities who practically live in ghettos in the Western Suburbs. Authorities are at a loss as to how to deal with them.

And it's true Queenslanders don't much like anybody else - they are rude to people from interstate, let alone overseas!!



But the rest I agree with. People working in the media don’t even seem able to speak basic English these days.

You must remember though that towns in Australia are not going to have the charm of towns in Europe. There is next to no history attached to them – they are just places that have sprung up as truck stops or whatever. You generally don’t come to Australia for the manmade aspects.


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## ellisa (Jul 3, 2008)

Thanks to all who replied....i will take your comments on board

Thankyou!!


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## Beth_anne_o (Mar 6, 2009)

Guerilla Jack - I am really offended that you generalise nearly all Australians to be racist!!


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## Baby75 (Jul 18, 2007)

ellisa said:


> Thanks to all who replied....i will take your comments on board
> 
> Thankyou!!


I think it depends on were you live and what you want from life!

I lived on the Sunshine coast Queensland....

this is what we found:
The weather was lovely but it does get very very hot in summer so hot you would rather stay in than go out, not great if you have a walk to bring your kids to school but great when you can head to the beach and body surf all day now that was fun the kids loved that, 
it has been very hot this summer and after dropping my lads to school I used to spend my day in the Plaza in Maroochydore in the Air con, till I could pick them up. I wasn't alone though most Australians did the same and I met some lovely people. had some lovely days there with my friends as well lol 

I think cost of living was the same if not more expensive than Ireland and the wages were not so good but The variety of food was good I loved Pumpkin you have to try it roasted you'll have it all the time. also Australian gold cheeses they come in loads of flavours and are delicious great with crackers pickled onions crisps are not great and called chips . we did find when living and earning Australian dollars it was hard at times.

Kids, I loved the fact that Australia has so many parks every were they are great for the kids and for getting out meeting people. most have BBQ areas as well. great for a Sunday afternoon with the kids. Breastfeeding is more popular and the baby rooms in shopping centers were brilliant private little cubicle play area for small children, baby changing, toilets with a small toilet for kids, and of course microwave and water for drinking. Kings beach in Caloundra was brilliant it had a free pool fully supervised my son had a scare at a friends pool and he came on leaps and bounds at the pool and was swimming before we came home. my two year old even had a go at body surfing in the sea (with us holding on) .

work: (going to be honest)
well when we first arrived there were plenty of jobs and you could pick what you wanted. but the recession has hit may be not as bad as Europe but enough to effect jobs. my Dh is a welder and just before Christmas he was made redundant as were all his co workers, then the company closed down, when he went looking further a field no one else was hiring and they all closed down after Christmas as well. 3 mines closed down early December and had a knock on effect on the trade industry. 
there are two ways you can work
Full time casual = you are full time get paid may be about 2 dollars more but get no holiday pay at all or over time rates in some cases. so you have to save for the year to cover your Christmas and summer holidays. or try and get some other type of work to cover you.
Full time permanent= less wages than casual but paid holidays. you have to be made permanent if you have been working with a company for 6 months. 
I think jobs in the trades are very hard to find at the minute for Australians and expats, we are still in touch with friends and they cant find work and most have taken any other job they can get. most employers at this time esp take on Australians first so can make it very hard to get work, its the old saying you have to know some one to get in. this was in the building only i cant speak for any other jobs.

ants, spiders,snakes,etc
well we seen lots and i mean lots of ants they are every were and if you are not diligent on clearing away food esp any thing sweet. you'll wake up to ants every were in the house. my 2 year old dropped cake on the floor and we came in to the kitchen and it was covered lol watch the big black ones in the garden they bite and it stings esp in between the toes. 
spiders only saw a few they didn't worry me, it was the mossies and sand flies they eat you a live horrible. 
we saw lizards loads of them, possums, kangaroos, cane toads, cool owls some other little fur ball in a tree  plenty of cool wild life to see. my dh saw snakes when he was working in the hinterland. stingrays when he was fishing.


I'm going to stop there lol Ive gone on to much lol , ask away if you have any other questions.


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Beth_anne_o said:


> Guerilla Jack - I am really offended that you generalise nearly all Australians to be racist!!


To be fair, you don't have the greatest reputation for being race tolerant !


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

guerillajack said:


> I always think its funny the things people call negatives about here. I have been here 11 years and only know one person bitten by a spider, let alone a snake, shark, stonefish, koala etc...
> 
> The things I like best are:
> 
> ...


Agreed on everything - apart from the sense of humour! Sorry!


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## Beth_anne_o (Mar 6, 2009)

scottishcelts said:


> To be fair, you don't have the greatest reputation for being race tolerant !


To be fair - I DO have a reputation for being very tolerant of all races, and I don't think that your added comment was called for. Guerilla Jack's comment is a generalisation - and unnecessary. 

I think YOU should stop listening to reputations and the media and get out there and meet some more Australians before you go around making hurtful comments.


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

Beth_anne_o said:


> To be fair - I DO have a reputation for being very tolerant of all races, and I don't think that your added comment was called for. Guerilla Jack's comment is a generalisation - and unnecessary.
> 
> I think YOU should stop listening to reputations and the media and get out there and meet some more Australians before you go around making hurtful comments.


For YOUR information i have met LOADS of Australians - and they have all been racist in their own way - especially more recently with all the cricket shenanigans, but just not that example, there are plenty more. So sorry if the truth hurts.


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## guerillajack (Mar 5, 2009)

Beth_anne_o said:


> Guerilla Jack - I am really offended that you generalise nearly all Australians to be racist!!


Whilst I concede that is a generalisation, it is also my experience.

The White australia policy was still in full swing in the late seventies. For those who are unaware of it, a good example of it in action would be an asian trying for immigrant status would arrive in Oz and be tested in a European language, say... Serbo Croat, or German. Suprise!!!!

I travel through regional New South Wales for my job, and I employ some pretty rough blokes. Nothing out of the ordinary, just country boys. Go to the local pub in Moree, Dubbo, Parkes or Stanthorpe and you will hear guys using terms like "****" or "******" quite openly,loudly and comfortably, to describe aborigines.

Even in relaxed, reasonably sophisticated towns like Byron Bay that have an aboriginal population, you will NEVER see an aborigine drinking in, say, the Great Northern Hotel. That is because they are, frankly, not welcome. The locals, the police and the blacks all know it, they just dont talk about it. A good friend of mine managed that pub for ten years, so that is not merely speculation. In tourist towns the blacks can buy booze at the bottle store, but they have to drink in the park. Just look at Port Douglas, Cairns, Byron, Maroochy etc.

I could also mention the fifteen year mortality differential between black and white australians, or the appalling imbalance in juvenile and adult incarceration, or the school finishing ages, but if you feel this is not related to an overall issue of racism, but perhaps due to socio economic factors, or past injustices, or the colour blue then I doubt I will be able to change your mind.

I like it here. I choose to live here, I just do it with my eyes open. Sure some of my australian friends are not rascist, but a lot of them are, whether they realise it or not. I accept this, albeit begrudgingly, because otherwise I would simply not have very many friends.

Still, the weather really is fantastic.


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## scottishcelts (Aug 5, 2007)

guerillajack said:


> Whilst I concede that is a generalisation, it is also my experience.
> 
> The White australia policy was still in full swing in the late seventies. For those who are unaware of it, a good example of it in action would be an asian trying for immigrant status would arrive in Oz and be tested in a European language, say... Serbo Croat, or German. Suprise!!!!
> 
> ...



'hear hear'


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## ellisa (Jul 3, 2008)

Hiya Baby75

Thanks so much for the info!! its a great help to hear good and bad! Do you think its that hot that it gets on your nerves or do you think you can actually get used to it...given time? You know i went on holiday a few years back to cancun and my daughter held onto the hand rail while making our way down the steps to the beach..next it was loud screams and when i looked down her arm was covered in massive ants, which actually bit her. Is that whats its like? we just aint used to that are we!!!!!! Also what did you think of brissie,sun and gold coasts??

Thanks Lisa


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## Beth_anne_o (Mar 6, 2009)

scottishcelts said:


> For YOUR information i have met LOADS of Australians - and they have all been racist in their own way - especially more recently with all the cricket shenanigans, but just not that example, there are plenty more. So sorry if the truth hurts.


You are a very unkind and rude person - for absolutely no reason.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

This thread is becoming a personal slanging match so I am closing it.


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