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.

Have you lived/worked abroad, or always lived in Australia?

Quite a bit. We donʼt think much of travelling, say, 7 hours by car to get to another city. Thatʼs a normal thing to do. Iʼve never been to the middle - so not to Uluru - but Iʼve been to all the capitals bar Darwin.

I actually own that one and I really enjoyed it! I love Bill Bryson. Much of what he wrote was spot on.

It is expensive to fly and stay elsewhere, so for many people it is difficult to afford holidays like this. I didnʼt until my mid-20ʼs, and only again just last year - at 50.

Wow - I hadnʼt heard this! Iʼll have to look into it. Thereʼs a PB school near me.

@TwistTwoo thank you that's really interesting to know about BB's book

I donʼt really recognise any of what youʼre saying, sorry. I suspect youʼre reading too much Daily Mail.

Always Australia.

@TwistTwoo Surely you’re aware that the Australian covid restrictions were amongst the toughest, longest and most anti democratic in the world and are you not aware that a number of Australian states have introduced gender self id? I am about as far from a Daily Mail reader as it is possible to be.

Australia used to be famed for its anti authoritarian / establishment attitude. Now it is one of the most conformist societies in the western world. I’m curious as to what happened.

Iʼm not going to be drawn into these things, sorry. Iʼm not responsible for those policies, so I canʼt tell you what happened, if anything did.

Well, no one’s suggesting you’re responsible for those policies, but you’re presumably aware of them? I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question, and I’d have answers if they or similar were asked about my own country’s political development over the last 50 years.

Hit me with your best Aussie slang

@TwistTwoo your response neatly sums up the modern Aussie attitude ; ask no questions and cause no trouble. It used to be such a spiky spirited country with a real kick back attitude. Not any more.

Is Turbo from Outback Truckers a bit of a sex object over there?
I don't know why but I absolutely love that programme.
If it was a fly-on-the-wall on UK truckers going up and down blocked motorways very slowly in drizzle, desperately looking for somewhere to go to the loo/eat/sleep, I'd be bored witless. In fact, I'd rather watch the wall.
Started off finding Turbo annoying, but he ended up being a bit of a hopeless legend in this house.
The scale and the scenery of Aus is absolutely mind blowing to me!
Sorry, not a very intellectual question 😬

@TheSolstices

Well, no one’s suggesting you’re responsible for those policies, but you’re presumably aware of them? I thought it was a perfectly reasonable question, and I’d have answers if they or similar were asked about my own country’s political development over the last 50 years.

Sure, Iʼm aware of the Covid policies. I lived through them. Every state was different, though. They were tough, but required. Itʼs such a touchy subject with some people, and a complex one.

The gender ID one? I canʼt say I know much about that one as it pertains to Australia.

Okay, thanks for that.

Try this list

www.vu.edu.au/sites/default/files/aussie-slang.pdf

Not that Iʼm aware of! Heʼs sweet though.

Jesus, I'm in Sydney and we've never had anywhere near 47 degrees! I think 41's the absolute maximum, and that's possibly just once or twice per summer? Average wouldn't be any higher than 30 in summer I reckon.

Is it common to see kangaroos in Australia?

I've heard lots of times that house prices, especially in Sydney, are high. I was wondering how high? eg how much would you pay for a two bedroom modern flat in the suburbs of Sydney? And how much for a three bed bungalow with pool where you live?

How much is a 2l jug of milk?

How much is a casual meal out- so not a maccas but not fine dining either.

I live in Brisbane. The first time the temperature dropped below 20 degrees this year was the 15th of March. It went down to 19.8. And we are far from the hottest part of the country!

Depends where you live. Where I live, wallabies graze in gardens. It would be less common in city areas. We also get the occasional dingo.

Do you like shrimps on the barby?