I'm Australian. AMA

[TwistTwoo]

I live in Australia and would be happy to answer any questions you have about it. Things like:

• The weather
• Housing
• Schooling
• Healthcare
• Politics
• Dangerous animals - are they that dangerous and do you come across them often?
• Jobs
• etc.

Australia is a huge country, and many types of people live here. Some may indeed be close-minded, but it is erroneous to class an entire country as such. You're right - all the young people I know are quite engaged with politics in some way or other.

Interesting I find the opposite. It’s hard to break into friendship groups (most of my friends are not people who grew up in this town) but on a day to day basis I find everyone much cheerier and interactive here

It was really tough, and I didn't have the headspace to engage with people/media that was relentlessly negative. If people couldn't read the room and kept ranting/repeating twatty soundbites they heard on Sky News I'm not surprised their friends muted them, I would have done the same. It wasn't an inability to participate in social discourse or whatever insult was thrown upthread, it was about cocooning ourselves to preserve our mental health.

No, this wasn't the situation at all for my family member. They are a generally a very positive person in most scenarios. It was difference of opinion where a discussion was started by someone else then their views were shut down, views that are typically their own and respectfully expressed. I had some similar experiences with friends, not where I was treated as badly, but still very odd. Though, mental health could have of course been a part of it, it would help explain the changes in people.

@TwistTwoo Yes I am although I no longer live there full time.

I'm also Australian, though all of us but my parents have now left the country. I agree on the closed minded attitude.