Tell me the bad things about living in Australia.

[ilovepixie]

Following on from the USA thread what's the worst thing about living in Australia.

My nearest supermarket is Coles, so I might have to go further afield and visit Woolies instead. Or maybe I should just put the whole thing out of my mind, for health purposes

I had a similar runaround with Kerrygold butter, until I found out that IGA stock it, in some stores. Usually I'm pretty flexible, but some things are a MUST!

@Kittenlicker I have a Dutch friend here who was told before she came ‘NZ is like a beautiful woman with nothing to say’.

I thought of something else I don’t like - Centrelink Robodebt. For the last six years the federal government has been sending out debt notices to Centrelink (benefit) recipients based on their average fortnightly earnings and making the recipient prove that they don’t actually owe thousands of dollars. Very, very common for these debts to be inaccurate if you’re a seasonal worker or a student who increases your hours during the holidays. People have actually killed themselves over these debt notices.
The government has announced today that this policy has been scrapped and they will be refunding any debts already paid but it’s not going to bring people back from the dead. This is a typical example of the current governments attitude towards anyone who doesn’t have an investment portfolio.

www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/29/robodebt-government-to-repay-470000-unlawful-centrelink-debts-worth-721m

I respect NZ as the only country in the English speaking world to have elected a decent leader.

This is a funny thread.
I don't recognise most of it, despite living here most of my life.

The funniest bit was when someone said everyone has to send their kids to private school. That's just bizarre.

I also never met the Aussies with an air of imminent violence, lol.

Things I think are true:
the flies are awful
the architecture is uninspiring

Things I'm surprised people haven't mentioned (making me think they haven't lived in Melbourne or Sydney?) Many parts are very multicultural. We're a mixed race family and live in a very diverse part of Sydney.

NZ might have a decent leader but it also has the highest rate of teenage deaths in the developed world.
It also ranks highly with adolescent suicide, teenage pregnancy and deaths from cancer and respiratory disease.
I’m just saying this because every country has issues, but most aren’t painted as some kind of utopia like NZ is.

@janeskettle - I respectfully disagree that the architecture is poor in Australia. In the UK unless something is a very high end new build everything new seems to be mock Edwardian (but much, much smaller). In Australia you do get estates of plain brick bungalows with big garages but there are also a lot of mid range new builds with much more interesting modern architecture. I live in Queensland and we have gorgeous old weatherboard homes raised on stumps.

@janeskettle - I don't think anyone actually said that, did they? They said you have to pay for education, which is true - all the public schools ask for contributions every year, which are technically voluntary. But then I gather that's happening a lot in the UK now as well, so not such a difference.

They also said that state schools aren't always that great so if you want a decent education you're better off sending your kids to private school, which is more affordable here than the UK in many cases - our local ones don't go above $10k a year bar one, which is $25k a year.

Having said that, having been through the local mill of sending a child to High school this year, I found that the local private schools weren't necessarily better for an academically bright child, and ended up getting DS1 into an accelerated learning programme at the not-local High School instead.

It seems daft to compare the UK pop 70 mill squashed into mostly the south of UK, and Aus 30 million scattered over a few cities far apart, and certainly crazy to compare to US 300 million, spread far apart in mainly few cities but huge conglomerations LA and NY. Sooo different. Then NZ prob has a pop density similar to the Shetlands.
Different education systems, different health systems, different pension systems ( I think pensions in Aus is v different to us) different climates.
Imv if I had to live other than the UK I could happily move to Aus or NZ , they are great countries, and the US would depend on where. But it is huge and spectacular.

I don’t know about Aus, having never lived there, but agree with most of what’s been written about NZ. I loved the place, our friends and the space we had there, but the pay off was casual racism, sexism and homophobia. We also left just before our kids could get dragged into drinking, drugs and driving their cars half cut down country roads, which was prevalent in the rural town we lived in. I love the place and love going back to visit, but definitely don’t feel like I want to live there anymore.

[quote Antipodeancousin]@janeskettle - I respectfully disagree that the architecture is poor in Australia. In the UK unless something is a very high end new build everything new seems to be mock Edwardian (but much, much smaller). In Australia you do get estates of plain brick bungalows with big garages but there are also a lot of mid range new builds with much more interesting modern architecture. I live in Queensland and we have gorgeous old weatherboard homes raised on stumps.[/quote]
Yes I love the Queenslanders and the Victorian terraces with their balconies. Sorry but Australia seems to cherish their old buildings, compared to a lot of the UK that let’s them fall into rack and ruin, unless it something from pre 1800. We have a meagre amount of Art Deco buildings compared to Australia and NZ.

What I noticed in some states were lots of poker machines and gaming , like previously mentioned adult shops and also quite noticeable lap dancing joints and brothels.
eaglejulesk This was in Australia it's self not the New Zealand islands off it's coast.😁

eaglejulesk

I disagree. I live in a village full of beautiful Lake District cottages, most of them are listed and cared for. There’s a huge amount of Art Deco stuff around in the U.K. if you know where to look but not all crammed in to one place. There’s also more of an eclectic mix of architectural styles unlike Aus, mainly because of its history obviously.

Lived in Sydney in the late 80s and absolutely loved the lifestyle and partying!!! Definitely want to go back and visit but I know it will be so different there now ,particularly the cost of living and I am 30 years older 🙄

As I said upthread people who have visited one place in Australia don't seem to have taken in how much diversity there is between different cities and states in terms of school systems, availability of different foods and products and general vibe.

The U.K. takes great care over their old buildings. They preserve and upkeep I’m not sure why pp thought not.

OTH Australia does have good architecture. More low key but there’s something in that (thinking mostly of Melbourne where I was a student for five years). I live going back and seeing those curly overhangs on the terrace houses. It’s also good at new / modernising architecture some of the stuff I see online is very nice.

almost sinister with an air of imminent violence about them.
That’s right, it’s exactly like living in a mills and boon suspense romance series

Most new builds in Australia are shocking. We do have some lovely old buildings (some of the Stone fronted houses in Adelaide are just gorgeous) but rezoning means many of these are being bulldozed to be replaced with ugly flats and townhouses. They are also poorly designed for the climate and require the near constant use of air conditioning in summer to be liveable. My 1940’s house is much cooler in comparison.

We’re not all brain dead bogans. My workplace is full of interesting, well educated people from a diverse range of background including indigenous staff members. Many of us are also well travelled

@Puppylucky

The weather - Sydney has more rain than London and the summer heat can be unbearable The lack of things to do culturally even in the major cities The sheer size of the country which means that seeing other bits of it is time consuming and expensive The conformist society The insularity The lack of employment rights The lack of proper heating during the winter The expense of living in Sydney at least The beaurocracy The lack of shopping choice - either high end expensive or KMart I loved living in Sydney but was glad in the end to come home

Agreed! Would add snakes, spiders, jellyfish and enormous flying cockroaches!

🤔🤔 Most posters do not describe the Australia I live in. Never encountered a snake, couple of harmless (large) spiders. Had to pay to see a whale 🐳 (no sharks seen) I must be lucky as I have cooling and heating (you just buy a house with it in or pay for it when building) expensive yes - wages are higher though. No flies round these parts or flying cockroaches. Hot in summer, still warm in winter. Crap TV and Fashion but those weren’t my reasons for moving 10k miles. It may be English speaking but it’s not little Britain or America for that matter. History really does exist. The racism and sexism may be more overt but it’s not like they don’t exist in other places (Brexit!). What you see is what you get here. I work with well educated well travelled people of all nationalities. You need to embrace what it is and not compare to what it cannot be and you’ll appreciate its beauty. Whether that be for a holiday, short time of living of lifetime. Give it a go make your own mind up. You might just like it 😉😉

bluetongue I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to visit some amazing, not general tourist, sites in SA. It’s not old by UK standards, but it’s still old and full of history. And you are so right about the beautiful stone fronted (wrap around veranda) homes compared to new build, but I guess SA is growing?
I’d love to see your 1940s house (said no stalker ever 😬). Mine is only 2000

I love Adelaide (and Oz generally), and the South West UK (and UK generally), so I’m kinda saddened by these threads.
There’s more that unites us than divides us. What I can say is politics, taxes, and the unethical def unite us!

Have never seen a snake in 36 years....except in a zoo maybe. Can't say I've encountered a shark either.

And also, despite being mixed race I've never encountered all the RACISM you're all so sure of.

You'd have to be an idiot not to find good cheese here.

@Livinthedream1 🙌

Yes!

And can I just highlight - the biggest failing of most people immigrating to Oz (massive as it is, I’m still going to generalise), is not the UK abroad, or ‘in the sun’. It’s a totally different country. And totally different mores and customs, and cultures.

Livinthedream1 It may be English speaking but it’s not little Britain or America for that matter.

Exactly.