Positives about living in Australia

[Thedramasummer]

So after seeing a glut of negativity regarding Australia I though I would try balance with a bit of positivity!

Please no shit throwing or nasty unfounded comments.

A beautiful country with the most interesting animals.
Egg laying mammals? ☑️
The most venomous snakes?☑️
Beautiful and noisy birds?☑️
I even enjoy the spiders here!

What do others love about Australia?

@thelonggame

another Brit living in Australia here.

parrots everywhere - but boy are they noisy
pelicans hanging out on lake in front of my apartment
dolphins in the river
great food in even the smallest cafe
friendly people
driving slower
wide roads made for cars
bigger parking spaces
easy access to health care, can always get to see GP the next day

so many fine things here - obviously negatives too, there would be anywhere.

I’m not sure driving slower is a positive! The speeding fines are so high that loads of drivers tend to drive at a good 5-10km per hour under the speed limit. Was driving on a 60 km Road this evening and even in the right hand lane I got stuck behind a driver doing 50km.

Apart from that I’m the worst person to ask. I’m convinced I was born in the wrong country and hate summer. I want to live somewhere that I need a good collection of boots and coats

@HoppingPavlova

megapack I challenge you to find my current job role anywhere other than Syd or Melbourne. It simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. Not a case of it existing somewhere else but money is less so I don’t want it. I simply have no choice other than 2 locations. It genuinely doesn’t exist anywhere other than that. This role can be done remotely - 100%, as pandemic lockdowns have shown as we have been remote for 12 months now. We have been ordered back in as of next month. I know for a fact the few companies that have this role will not allow remote to continue. I need to hire staff due to retirements. There are none. Usually we import for the role, generally UK. It’s a faff, takes forever, I can have an empty seat and everyone else working 24/7 until the person gets here after accepting the role, 12 mths not uncommon as lots insist on working it in with school years, then this, then that and my hands are tied as not exactly spoilt for choice. I proposed we just employ from that location if person was flexible and would do meetings out of hours over there. The horror. Nope. Got to stuff around and bring them out here to do same thing we have all been doing from home for 12mths. So not exactly a progressive line of work in that regard.

Also, not to be blunt but not sure what specialty area of finance you and your DH are in given each friend I know in finance telling me they can’t get jobs in other locations are on more each than the combined figure you have given for yourself and husband? Your jobs surely can’t be that niche and if they are you have not exactly done a great job negotiating. One of my kids is in a finance related industry (skill set transferable to super/insurance/banking), I would not say a niche job, certainly not a large pool of people with that skill set though and they would earn nearly half of what you claim as a combined income and that’s 3 years out of uni and now with full quals. Out of interest I have asked them if they could get a job elsewhere and they said they could. They could go to QLD, or WA and get work, they would never be unemployed but they would automatically drop to 50% of their current salary and it would be a lower level job with a wider applicant pool as the jobs they would be competing for wouldn’t need the skills or quals they are using now. Although they did admit they thought scoring an interview would be challenging as a prospective employer would just assume they may want remuneration in line with current work which would work against them so unless you address this up front you may well be unemployed. 50% is a pretty big drop well above the difference in cost of living in Syd/Melb as opposed to other places. But at least they are lucky, as I said my job literally does not exist elsewhere no matter how much of a drop in package I would be willing to accept. Still, next step is retirement and then I’m certainly free to go to SA, WA, QLD, heck even NT or Tassie.

Do fuck off @HoppingPavlova. In SA 500 a year is a huge salary. Negotiate my ass.

Hopping my dh earns the higher salary, I've worked part time for a while. His salary in our area is very good. We live a lifestyle here not many could afford. Kids are in great private schools, big house, lots of holidays pre covid. No failure here. There are plenty of people on 50k a year. But you are convinced you are right so who cares.

And like I said, he travels. No idea what finance your friends are in.

I am an Aussie but living in UK past 20 years.

I went on holiday to Oz with my family in 2013. Little things struck me like the vast difference in customer service. An example we put our luggage in left luggage at Sydney Airport. The guy said to the kids. Aww don't worry about your teddies I'm going to put them up here in the cubby hole so they can see you when you get back. If I'm not here when you get here press the bell and I'll be here in a jiffy. The whole holiday was full of people providing exceptional service as just a matter of course.

Still, next step is retirement and then I’m certainly free to go to SA, WA, QLD, heck even NT or Tassie.

I hope you aren't going to bore the people there bragging about your wonderful job and huge salary!! Not everyone is obsessed with wealth.

AFL - I call it the real life quiddich. The worlds hidden a-class game. Even if you don't like sport, it's just fun to watch and attend games

Even if you watching just for the short shorts lmao

I love Australia. i worked there for a while and my DSIS lives there so I visit often.

I love how friendly people are- it is just a natural unaffected friendliness.

And the food really is something amazing. very fresh. I also recommend if anyone goes they should go on a trip out the the Great Barrier reef, It is magic.

Brunch. I missed that so much when I was overseas. Going out on a weekend morning to sit outside, have the world's best coffee (sorry Italy, but you don't make the cut) and have food that has roots in the English cooked breakfast, but usually also has Mediterranean and Central American options.

While I hate what has happened to First Nation people in Australia secondary to colonialism, the presence of a culture that's been in this land for over 30,000 years is amazing. The importance of Culture and connection to Country is slowly being better acknowledged among the wider community.

A country that does not have Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and does not have the so-called foul mouthed 'comedy' Mrs Brown's Boys on Saturday night and Christmas Day tv.

Asian food particularly Thai and Vietnamese.
Chicken twisties, burger rings, the pizza crackers I can't remember the name of!
The outback, it's kinda weird, but also amazing, just miles and miles of red dust.
Kalgoorlie, its a mining town in WA, I lived there and its completely bonkers, but I have very fond memories of it.
Carlton Cold, a lager from WA.
Roadhouse food, particularly cheese sausages and chicken wings.

Ill probably be back with more

Vegemite
Tim tams
Sunny weather p, it’s easy to be fit and active outside
More room in housing, our house is 5 bed plus study with a pool and a 960m2 block 20 mins from beach
Heaps of different dining options and cuisine
Wine
Decent cheap or free schooling
Space in national parks and most beaches (except busy ones like Bondi)
Koalas
Not far from NZ and hobbits and thermal areas and glaciers 😁

@peak2021

A country that does not have Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and does not have the so-called foul mouthed 'comedy' Mrs Brown's Boys on Saturday night and Christmas Day tv.

I dunno. Scotty From Marketing isn't much better.

@butterfly990
The last time zi went to Australia they x-rayed my Teddy incase he had drugs in him and rummaged through my whole bag emptying most of it out!
I don't hold that against them but you met a nice guy, I didn't!

Last time I went to Oz one of the drug sniffing beagles sniffed my hand luggage and then sat down to indicate he ahd found something. Cue loads of searches. Finally after they went trhoguh everything the handler asked'Did you have food in there?' i said I had had a prawn sandwich but had eaten it in Hong Kong while transiting. She said; 'Oh he LOVES prawns'.

@alwayscrashinginthesamecar1 you must live near me!!!
The Perth symphony are doing a free concert on the green tonight which I will go to.!!
The comment about the lemons and the beer nearly made me chock on my wine🤣🤣🤣 so bloody true

Is there anywhere in Australia that doesn’t have humongous spiders? It all sounds amazing but the spiders genuinely put me off going I really am that much of a wuss about them.

@spudlet don’t go sticking your hands in dark places and you’ll be fine!!! Red backs are part of the furniture in our back garden🤣 ds2 got bitten by a huntman . They look yucky but he’s fine ( we are getting used to his second head now🤣🤣🤣) it’s the magpies that are the most scary animal over here

I saw so many snakes out there, it was unreal. Mostly around the outside dunny! As much as I dislike U.K. at the moment, I enjoy the ‘most animals aren’t going to kill you’ bit. 😂

I loathe when people come on mumsnet and complain about the "lack of culture" in Australia. That's remarkably racist; just because the European history here is short, does not mean there's not deep, ancient culture. It's just not presented in a classically European way.

[quote Aebj]@spudlet don’t go sticking your hands in dark places and you’ll be fine!!! Red backs are part of the furniture in our back garden🤣 ds2 got bitten by a huntman . They look yucky but he’s fine ( we are getting used to his second head now🤣🤣🤣) it’s the magpies that are the most scary animal over here[/quote]
My DBIL found this out firsthand! They have a holiday home in a rural area in the middle of some farmland. DSIS and DBIL arrived late one Friday night and DBIL carefully insterted his hand between the watertank and the house wall where the electricity would be turned on to feel something very very smooth. He said he withdrew his hand equally carefully and after obtaining a torch discovered that a red bellied black snake was there.

(They are generally very shy snakes and this one did not attack him).

Personally I am not so bothered by snakes but I am NOT a fan of spiders. Even though I have been back in the UK for years I still bang my shoes before putting them on!

We don’t get many of the real venomous spiders in SA( only the red backs) so I’m not fussed about spiders. I’ve not had any huntsman in the house yet. (I’ve been here 3 years).

Snakes we’ve got a lot of browns here but I’ve yet to see any!

[quote Aebj]@spudlet don’t go sticking your hands in dark places and you’ll be fine!!! Red backs are part of the furniture in our back garden🤣 ds2 got bitten by a huntman . They look yucky but he’s fine ( we are getting used to his second head now🤣🤣🤣) it’s the magpies that are the most scary animal over here[/quote]
[faints]

It’s no country for arachnophobes, is it

I didn't see single snake in two years, I saw a redback but they are quite small and don't actually chase after you!
I had a Huntsman in my room once in a motel I was working in but I told the manager and he got rid of it for me, but that was the only time.
I stayed out in the bush for a while too on an old bus and saw nothing bad.