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AMA
Original poster

I'm Australian. AMA

230 replies

TwistTwoo · 26/03/2024 05:26

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.
OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
theyoungishman · 27/03/2024 05:26

Manyandyoucanwalkover · 27/03/2024 04:54

Is there a shortage of men’s socks?

Grin
AvengedQuince · 27/03/2024 05:39

LadyCassandra · 27/03/2024 02:44

I'll bite on this one, I've lived in Sydney for 14 years.

When Covid hit Australia we were about 3 weeks behind the UK. We watched from afar as it spread across the UK and many many people died.
Australia shut down its borders and we had a short 6 week lockdown in Sydney. We then pretty much opened up and in Sydney we were back to normal until December as the country was at Covid 0. Melbourne had a few outbreaks and people died but the numbers were nowhere near the rest of the world.
The lockdowns in Melbourne were tough, and they had an impact on mental health in a big way. I had colleagues who found it really hard, especially those who were single.
When everything opened back up it was when the population was 80% vaccinated and the death rate was way lower than it could have been if we'd gone with Boris's "let it rip" option.
Obviously there were mistakes made and some things could've been done better but on the whole I think Australia did a good job at preventing catastrophic harm.

Djokovic was an arrogant arsehole who decided that the country's rules didn't apply to him.

Show quote history

Were you in Western Sydney during the July to September 2021 restrictions?

Lifesd · 27/03/2024 05:41

I left the UK to move her last December and couldn’t be happier. Better food, weather, visible investment in local services, general positivity vs uk negativity. Yes cost of living but our wages are 30% more than what we got in the UK. We live in a bigger house and whilst Im aware it isn’t utopia I’ve certainly got no doubt in my mind we have done the right thing. One big hairy spider so far and I’m a huge arachnophobe but luckily it was outside….

LadyCassandra · 27/03/2024 05:44

iloveeverykindofcat · 27/03/2024 04:50

@TwistTwoo they live in the garden? Just....chilling and minding their business? 😐

I'm semi-seriously considering Australia as an emigration possibility in 10 years or so because my job is very in demand there and I am a heat-seeking creature. I'm not suited to the British climate at all. I'm (visibly) mixed race so I do have some concerns about the reputed racism - though its not like Britain is exactly Paradise on that score. I guess I need to get over the stick insect thing though!

My youngest just started primary school (we're in a suburb of Sydney) and the school does a Harmony Day every year. Each class has to pick a country that is represented by one of the kids in the class. I am class parent and messaged everyone and there were 14 nationalities represented in one class! I think it does depend on where you live, our suburb (like most of Sydney) is very multicultural. Even most of the Australians here are 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants.

House prices, my boss's 2 bedroom apartment in Manly just sold for $1.6M which is about 815k GBP. Its on a main road, 2 roads back from beach in an old block. Houses here go for $3M+

grinandslothit · 27/03/2024 06:01

It's still very racist and sexist.

40 temps are more likely in Perth.

I lived in Melbourne during the pandemic, and it affected me deeply. 263 days of lockdown.

I bought my house for 300k in 2016 and sold it for 2.1M in 2023.
So yes, house prices increased a lot.

AvengedQuince · 27/03/2024 06:05

muggart · 26/03/2024 23:17

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

Well as just one example Djokovic was deported and prevented from playing in the Australian Open because he wasn't vaccinated, despite being able to prove he didn't have Covid. The Australian government was also censoring social media posts that spoke up against lockdowns and mandatory vaccines (even posts containing factual information).

Then again, I suppose if the totalitarianism isn't obvious to you that probably tells us why it's been allowed to flourish. Are most people like boiling frogs and not really bothered or has there ever been a significant anti authority movement protesting and trying to push back?

It may depend on where the posters were living as to how they were affected. I had family members in a poor, ethically diverse suburb of Western Sydney and the restrictions were harsher there. There was a curfew at one point, an hour restriction on exercise. My family member was alone in a house with a young child. It was breaking the rules to go to a park 3 miles away. They lost a friend to lockdown suicide.

SuperstarDeejay · 27/03/2024 06:15

Well as just one example Djokovic was deported and prevented from playing in the Australian Open because he wasn't vaccinated, despite being able to prove he didn't have Covid.

Melburnians, who had the strictest and longest lockdowns, still boo Djokovic at the Australian Open for being the arrogant twat that he is. If that gives you any insight into the level of public support for the covid restrictions. They were difficult, but many thousands of people are still alive because of them. Also, some good sprung from them... so many clever online solutions to problems (including working from home, telehealth), the air was cleaner, people hunkered down with their families and had time to practise hobbies like growing veggies, baking bread. And a LOT of people were financially better off due to government support payments.

LadyCassandra · 27/03/2024 06:16

AvengedQuince · 27/03/2024 05:39

Were you in Western Sydney during the July to September 2021 restrictions?

Show quote history

I was in Sydney. It was hard for everyone, it was 12 weeks.
Were you?

AvengedQuince · 27/03/2024 06:25

LadyCassandra · 27/03/2024 06:16

I was in Sydney. It was hard for everyone, it was 12 weeks.
Were you?

Show quote history

It wasn't equally hard for everyone though. Some LGAs were treated extremely harshly. I had close family there and I was concerned for their mental health.

AustralianDropBear · 27/03/2024 06:35

My species does exist..

forgotmyusername1 · 27/03/2024 06:53

Is neighbours and home and away popular?

Are drop bears as vicious as they are made out to be?

Original poster
TwistTwoo · 27/03/2024 06:55

@theyoungishman

Wow! Are you sure? 2L milk is around $3 on Perth which is £1.50! £ is extortionate
And a meal for 2 around $60 or £30

Nope - I made a late-night mistake Blush

OP posts:
Original poster
TwistTwoo · 27/03/2024 07:08

@AvengedQuince

It wasn't equally hard for everyone though. Some LGAs were treated extremely harshly. I had close family there and I was concerned for their mental health.

If in NSW, if your LGA was a declared hotspot (surging cases and deaths) then, yes, they were closed off for a set period. This happened to my LGA several times. It meant a curfew, no moving out of the LGA, exercise for an hour a day within the LGA, no socialising with people outside of LGA, only one member of household can shop once per day, etc.

It was hard. But it wasn't a competition, either. The State government weren't "treating" some LGAs harshly for the fun of it. Other people had it worse, and it did eventually end. Thank you for looking out for your family.

OP posts:
PurpleKittyKnitting · 27/03/2024 07:10

Hi...what would be a typical/traditional Christmas present?

In the UK there's often gift sets of hats, gloves and scarfs, fluffy socks, hot chocolate mug sets etc with it being our winter.

For some reason last Christmas I was wondering what the Australian equivalent was! 🙂

Original poster
TwistTwoo · 27/03/2024 07:12

forgotmyusername1 · 27/03/2024 06:53

Is neighbours and home and away popular?

Are drop bears as vicious as they are made out to be?

I'm not sure about Neighbours as I've never watched it or kept up with news about it. I used to love Home and Away 30 years ago, but it's a different show now and I can't say who watches it. I guess it must be popular as it still gets airtime, though.

OP posts:
Original poster
TwistTwoo · 27/03/2024 07:29

PurpleKittyKnitting · 27/03/2024 07:10

Hi...what would be a typical/traditional Christmas present?

In the UK there's often gift sets of hats, gloves and scarfs, fluffy socks, hot chocolate mug sets etc with it being our winter.

For some reason last Christmas I was wondering what the Australian equivalent was! 🙂

Hmm ... candles, a perfume/anti-perspirant set, beach towels, power tools, games to play on the day ...

OP posts:
whoamI00 · 27/03/2024 07:45

Would you consider Australia as a happy country in general?
How important is the weather for you, does it affect the quality of your life?

AvengedQuince · 27/03/2024 07:55

It was hard. But it wasn't a competition, either. The State government weren't "treating" some LGAs harshly for the fun of it. Other people had it worse, and it did eventually end. Thank you for looking out for your family.

It did feel to my family that government were targeting their LGAs while going easy on the rich in the east and inner west. They were incredibly angry about Bondi in particular. It was very difficult no longer being a 24 hour flight away and unable to be there with them when they were struggling.

StartupRepair · 27/03/2024 08:11

Different parts of Australia had quite different experiences of the pandemic.

Hippyhippybake · 27/03/2024 08:19

I’m Australian but live half the year in the UK. I am always baffled by the thing people have in the UK about Australia’s insects / spiders / snakes. Unless you live in the real bush (a tiny tiny proportion of people) it is irrelevant to daily life!

I was aghast by the cruelty of the Covid restrictions and there is a lot of residual anger about them, particularly in Melbourne. I found the Djokovic episode embarrassing and of course it has now been well and truly established that as a young, fit, healthy male who had already had covid he had no need of the vaccine.

Original poster
TwistTwoo · 27/03/2024 09:09

whoamI00 · 27/03/2024 07:45

Would you consider Australia as a happy country in general?
How important is the weather for you, does it affect the quality of your life?

Yes, it's a fairly happy, relaxed country in general.

Hot weather does affect me due to a medical condition I have, but I've learned ways to offset that. Some years are worse than others; so while this summer was particularly hot, next year we may not swelter as much. I've found things seem to cycle like that, and that helps me cope.

OP posts:
Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 27/03/2024 09:12

The only Aussie about my age I know who used to live there (50) she grew up in Kuranda and Cairns/Brisbane were her nearest cities. Her dad is South African and her mum was English, dad mined opals and grew weed.

She told me lots of things like acid trips in the rainforest, holidays to Bali and she went to work as a golf caddy and English teacher in Japan. She now lives in Switzerland after meeting her French Swiss husband in Australia where he went to learn English and she was the teacher. She did tell me it felt a bit remote growing up in Kuranda.

I am surprised but pleased to hear that salties are a protected species.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 27/03/2024 09:14

TwistTwoo · 27/03/2024 00:12

Mullets arenʼt that popular, no.

Pools are reasonably common but I wouldnʼt recommend one. Our pool, while lovely, is such a problem to keep up my DH wanted to fill it in. The pump is always having some kind of issue, then there will be a chemical problem. Then, of course, someone needs to clean on a regular basis year-round, and they are rarely the right temperature for swimming.

I think Prisoner was popular in the 80s - I remember my Mum watching it.

Show quote history

I guess the mullets being popular is you see them on MAFS. But they're gaining in popularity in the UK too.

KitchenSinkLlama · 27/03/2024 09:23

Nothing much to add but I prefer the Australian version of 'The Dog House' to the British one.

I'm not sure why.

The Australian Grand Designs is good too.

wandawaves · 27/03/2024 10:11

PurpleKittyKnitting · 27/03/2024 07:10

Hi...what would be a typical/traditional Christmas present?

In the UK there's often gift sets of hats, gloves and scarfs, fluffy socks, hot chocolate mug sets etc with it being our winter.

For some reason last Christmas I was wondering what the Australian equivalent was! 🙂

A lot of families I know do matching pj's for every member of the family, I think they give them on Christmas eve.