Aibu to wonder about the perception of life in Australia?

[TheVoiceWithin]

im British living in Australia.
Everybody seems to think the Australian way of life is constant BBQ's/swimming with dolphins/working 10hrs a week and bringing home $300k a year. Everybody spends everyday at the beach. Nobody can't surf. Etc.
It's ridiculous. So, Aibu to wonder what gives people this idea?

Is it the TV shows? I've seen wanted down under (once) and I have to admit I was a bit at the whole thing, because the particular family hadn't seemed to have done a bit of research, figured out they'd be financially worse off AND she'd have to go back to work too. but they wanted to go anyway. But couldn't because neither would qualify for a visa anyway. if not that, then what?

I know what you mean about the sex shops. Less the number than to openness. There's a chain called Sexyland, big supermarket style shops. I went past one that proudly proclaimed on a banner: "If it's on your mind, it's on our shelves!" :o

Oh, and I live by the sea and have just found a redback spider under a cushion on the garden bench. I'm leaving it there because I have UK visitors next week and want them to be able to say they were no sooner unpacked than they had a G&T in the sunshine, sitting on a highly venomous spider.

My perception, having been there and having a job which would allow me to emigrate, is that parts are nice and others less so (like anywhere). It is bloody miles from anywhere and expensive. It can be very insular and sexism and racism is more common place than in UK. Most people I know who have moved there have regretted it and some have lost everything in the cost of the move there and subsequent move back. I love that DIY programme The Block though, wish it was still shown over here!

I’m Aboriginal.

To my fellow Australians, this is such a frustrating and difficult thread to read. It’s quite upsetting to see ridiculous anecdotes about outrageous behaviour being trotted out as though it is representative of all Australians (drink driving is okay, racial insults are flung around freely, men push women out of the way to get served first etc etc). The sense of colonial superiority coming from some of the posters is palpable. You can tell they really do believe themselves to be superior in terms of their intellect, morals, ethics, culture etc. The complete absence of irony when making disparaging generalisations about Australians in terms of racism is quite breathtaking really. It’s not everyone of course. There are plenty of examples of fair representation and respectful critique. You can tell that many think you’re inferior though. It’s not something that us usually gets said out loud. But if you scratch the surface with a thread like this, it soon comes flooding out.

This thread is actually a perfect analogy for the type of racism you’re most likely to encounter in Australia. It’s rare to experience overt name calling etc, although it can happen. It’s far more common to experience this sort of nonsense. People will believe that they’re simply fair minded and forthright, and that they’re telling it like they see it. They will never entertain the thought that their own behaviour could be problematic. Calling someone a racist is literally the worst insult there is. Yet, they will tell a negative story as though it represents all Aboriginal people. They will harbour false beliefs about Aboriginal people being lazy and getting everything for nothing. That colonial superiority really is palpable. Like on this thread, it comes out whenever the surface is scratched, even a little. It also isn’t everyone. There are plenty of Australians who work hard to put an end to it and they deserve acknowledgement.

One more thing. To the pp who were lamenting the lack of culture in Australia, how unfortunate for you that you could not find anything of interest from within the oldest continuous culture on Earth.

Super I’m also in SE NSW. I love it but admit to being a bit selfish. I personally think we should keep perpetuating the myth that’s it’s terrible here. No culture, too many spiders etc. People should definitely not move here

DozyDotes well said 👏👏👏👊👏

Wish there was a like button for your post Dozy dotes.

DP is Australian. Lived there and visited numerous times. Lots of BBQs, swam with dolphins and earnt x 3 times what I do here.

@DozyDotes

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Thank you DozyDotes.

I do think many people in the uk know Australia from tv shows (neighbours and H&A - both made specifically for export to Britain) and from gap-year experiences. But the stereotypes and assumptions is this thread are a little, lacking in nuance, maybe?

This is a huge country, and population density is entirely different to most of Britain/UK. There are definitely differences in culture between here and there, and also between parts of Australia.

I can say that the casual antisemitism in the UK made me happy to be raising my children in Australia.

I can say that the vast majority of the people I know and interact with are socially aware, aghast at what our government are doing in our name and work towards a better future.

I can say that while we BBQ a lot in summer, and eat outside dinners often, it’s just a perk of living somewhere with good weather much of the year, and houses designed with kitchens opening onto outdoor eating areas.

I grew up between Melbourne and Sydney and married someone from Canberra. We’ve spent months in the uk a few times, and have family over there still. I love London. I enjoy travelling in the uk because things are close together and there’s lots to see that is interesting TO ME. But I love driving here too. And I much prefer our (still broken) school system. I’m glad I could keep my children home till 6.

We have theatre. We have art. We have museums and galleries. We have music. We have amazing coffee and gelato. And frozen yoghurt.

Racism and domestic violence and misogyny are problems. But we aren’t the only country dealing with these issues. Right wing white blokes in politics are not (unfortunately) a problem that is unique to Australia either.

Both have their positives and negatives in my experience of living in both:

UK - wet, windy for half the year, busy and expensive
Australia - way too hot, lots of poisonous things, horrid houses, expensive

U K- Amazing history, beautiful architecture, London is a world city and close to other world cities, connected

Australia - nice people, lovely beaches, cities are small, laid back and unconnected.

Both countries are great, but Australia is not the land of milk and honey and has the same problems all countries have.

DozyDotes sums the thread up perfectly.

And I agree, maybe we should continue to perpetuate the myth about how shit Australia is.

for dotes. Honestly this thread is embarrassing. But symptomatic of so many British people - smug and myopic in their colonialism.

And there is so much factually incorrect in this thread I don’t even know where to begin. The post above a classic example. Australia has “small” cities? Melbourne & sydney both have over 4m people, with Brisbane & Perth at the 2m mark and Adelaide having over a million. In the uk, outside of mega London, the biggest cities are Manchester and Birmingham which are just on a million (if even that in he case of Manchester). It’s just factually wrong! #pedant

Well said dotes.

DozyDotes re culture....exactly. As though "real" culture HAS to be something created by old white men and be in a museum or "the canon".

The Australia I've come to love absolutely thrives on art and on shared experience. People are open-minded and giving and friendly.

I love it here.

Also the suggestion that the UK someone has a more unique, distinct or interesting history. It has a longer history, in terms of what can be observed and what has been written down, certainly, but it's no more unique or interesting than the history of any other country.

For example, the US has a shorter history than the UK, but it's a dynamic, interesting and incredibly distinct history nonetheless and is every bit as interesting. The same goes for Australia though I guess British schools don't teach the histories of countries they colonised

DozyDotes well said.

There is racism everywhere. I feel like the Brits say it more about Australia to wipe out their atracious history colonising Australia.

There is a lot more we can do in Aus for sure but I come across a lot of racism in the UK but it's usually stage whispered to me

Great post Em.

I’m sorry for ranting earlier. I am probably more sensitive than most when it comes to feeling the sting of colonialism. It’s difficult to explain the depth of frustration. Seeing posts about the lack of culture in Australia over and over again. Imagine being so insignificant that you don’t even exist. It’s basically what got us into this mess in the first place.

I also wanted to say that I love visiting the UK too. I’m always treated well. My sister and her family have just moved back from there but I’m sure I’ll find a different excuse for visiting. I think it’s fair to say that there is a great life to be had in either place. And we can all be better too.

Your rant was justified.

Culture and history exist outside of Europe. And don’t start with colonisation, even if that’s the perception of the people who colonised this country in the first place.

And by the by, Melbourne takes up almost as much physical land as London does. We just have more suburbia, less inner city living and not enough public transport. I’m not sure either here or Sydney are small by any standards.

To be fair though, the people who colonised Australia were white Australians. Don't point the finger at people whose ancestors stayed in Britain and Ireland and had nothing to do with it. If the UK likes to bury its colonial guilt (as it certainly does) so do the resident populations of ex-colonies by claiming the British did all the bad things before mysteriously transmogrifying into ever-so-enlightened Australians as if the people who did those things were not their ancestors. It's every bit as weaselly.

Emerencealwayshopeful

Your rant was justified.

Culture and history exist outside of Europe. And don’t start with colonisation, even if that’s the perception of the people who colonised this country in the first place.

The culture and history to which you refer must be that if the original Australian people - and not the colonists or assorted others who lay claim to it.

...of the

rocketgirl "horrid houses"

Could you clarify, please?

With regard to the sex shops - I think it is the openness of them maybe more than quantity that actually surprised me. It's like florist, butcher, sex shop, optician for example just in your average row of shops. This is not a criticism at all - just a peculiarity I noticed that seems unique to Aus.

Toad

To be fair though, the people who colonised Australia were white Australians

What? No they weren't. They were English and Irish men and women in the main.

They remained very much English and Irish for many, many years.

The whole White Australian identity is complex and still developing.

To be fair though, the people who colonised Australia were white Australians. Don't point the finger at people whose ancestors stayed in Britain and Ireland and had nothing to do with it.

What on Earth are you talking about? They were British. Macarthur, Macquarie, Bligh, Phillip, Hunter, Gidley King, Brisbane... the list goes on. Not one of them was born in Australia.

If your attitude is that the Brits shouldn't have to take responsibility for actions their direct ancestors didn't take, why should the descendants of convicts etc. who were sent here without their consent, have to take responsibility for it? Ridiculous assertion.