What should I know about Australia that I might not

[overthesea]

Hi

I was just wondering if any Aussie based MN could give me tips on what has surprised you about living in Oz.

We are coming over in a few weeks to visit with a view to moving over in six months. I keep thinking it'll be just like the UK (well except wildlife/accents) but are there things that weren't as you expected? Do I need to investigate anything that I might not obviously think about?

Thanks

KateBush - you need to move to Sydney or Melbourne - Brisi sounds dreadful!

Oh and another thing is that almost no houses are rented furnished.

KateBush - aww. I'm in Brissie too - fancy a delicious but overpriced coffee?

I just asked the dc what surprised them about Australia and their answer was how hard the biscuits are. It's true - they are like rocks!

I also just thought about bottle shops - you can't buy alcohol in the supermarket, you need to visit an offy or bottle shop.

Very useful tips guys. I'm moving to Brisbane on the 31st from NZ. Couple of questions from me please:

Do you have to enrol at the doctor's like in the UK?
Are there public health nurses doing baby checkups like in NZ (Plunket)? If so, what are they called?
Who does immunisations? The GP or the Public Health nurse?
Was it a pain enrolling in Medicare?

As you can tell I have a newborn and a toddler, so these things are important...

Medicare wasn't too bad actually, just a case of having the right forms and waiting your turn in the office.

I haven't yet enrolled at a doctors because I'm not used to having a choice because I don't know who to choose!

I believe that there are immunisation clinics in the city where they will do them for free - but my dc are older so I'm not quite sure on that one.

Drop me a pm when you arrive if you fancy a coffee. I've only been here a month but it seems longer.

GapsAGoodUn - Thanks so much!! Will definitely take you up on coffee as I will be desperately trying to meet people. Have a couple of friends there, but don't want to make a nuisance of myself!

Hope the move is going well. We are really looking forward to it and hear great things. Exchange rate is a bit shit at the moment, but the NZD is no worse really and apparently the comparative cost of living in Brisbane is lower than NZ.

If you are taking a container with you the things I'd suggest are:

Nappies and wipes. No big multiboxes so stock up if you need.

Undies - get yourself to M&S before you leave although they do delivery pretty quickly for about £7 to Australia.

Public Transport, particularly the trains are pretty good in Perth.

Food and energy costs are expensive. Fruit is particularly expensive but try and find a good weekend market. Coles do deliver in some parts of Perth. All other internet shopping is virtually nil.

If you are renting the landlord will be responsible for the council tax equivalent.

As has been said TV is terrible. Get yourself a VPN and download from the UK anything you really miss.

The weather in perth anyway has the same effect as rain in the UK. It keeps you indoors.

it gets cold in winter! No heating. Bring blankets, coats and your tumble dryer.

Listen to triple j radio. Kept me sane when we lived there.

Oh and I agree with sprinkles77. They take themselves very seriously and you will ways be a whinging pom.

That they are careless drivers, who don't consider the safety of other road users...
That you will receive a million catalogues from shops through your letter box
That you will get very bad service, but they will think it is great
That no one will ever offer you a seat on the train, however frail you are
That they won't take kindly to any implication that other countries are better in even the smallest way
That you can get a mortgage for more you'd dream
That the expanse of sky will make your heart sing

Childish - a VPN - please explain... (have been fretting about missing the next series of Spooks, and yes I know it won't be starting for 6 months but I neeeeed to know)

You can go to any doctor you like and you can go to a different one each time if you want. Some you pay up-front and claim some costs back on medicare and private insurance, and others (Bulk-billing) will deduct Medicare in advance so you pay less. Generally the best practices don't bulk-bill.

Most kids get there vaccs at their GPs. GPs surgeries generally don't have a nurse at all.

Don't think there are Health Visitor types that visit you like in the UK, but my Kids are too old for that now anyway so not too sure how all that works.

Never before heard of a school without a lunch break! Weird!

I buy my nappies in huge bulk boxes, but maybe that's a Sydney thing?

To avoid sounding whingey, don't spend too much time commenting on things that are different. It's not just an English thing - Australians do it when they go to England too and find that the English get defensive when they feel they are being compared and contrasted. Save it for home or the company of other Poms who are "fresh off the boat".

Grass is not soft here.

PieMinister - how succinct and spot on.

Forgot to add this one which is another bugbear of mine. We go to our usual favourite restaurants and know the staff etc now but we always get tiny, tiny glasses of wine poured. They don't ever give you a drink on the house or show any acknowledgement that you are good customers. I feel in the UK and other European countries once you have a relationship with a restaurant they usually acknowledge that.

Oh...if you want good fruit and vegetables go to the farmers markets in Brisbane (not the supermarkets). Farmers market on a Wednesday in city centre and my favourite at the weekends at West End and also at PowerHouse.

Different name for this - Book Depository are fantastic aren't they. I never buy books in the shops here - far too expensivwe. Book Depository arrive within a week - great service.

There are Early Childhood Health Centres here in Sydney (don't know about the rest of Aus) - they are pretty much the equivalent of Health Visitors. Our one runs drop in clinics a couple of days a week, and appointments on the others. Children get checks at 8 weeks, and then 6 months and 1,2, 3 and 4 years if you choose to take them. There aren't weighing clinics in the same way - you weigh the baby yourself, and then see them if you have any concerns. Ours also has a weekly breastfeeding clinic. I've been really impressed by them so far (DS2 is 8 weeks) - they have been very good, and very keen to refer you to places for extra help if needs be.

I used a VPN when I lived in Oz. Basically if you try to watch iplayer or similar for BBC or ITV then you will be blocked as they recognise that you are out of the UK. If you register for a UK VPN you basically override the system so you make the server believe you are in the UK!

Mine cost 20 euro a quarter but used it for heaps of stuff. Will try ad find the name for you.

Either that or you need to register with someone like the box and try and get downloads that way.

aah, bubaluv thanx for the correction. So the magpies look a bit different to UK ones. And I got divebombed by them.

We did get furnished rentals.

Oh and you will get a ticket if you you park on the wrong side of the road (they call it "pommy parking")!
The tea tastes different, but nothing wrong with it.

Def agree about the weather: not well set up for the colder weather. We used convector heaters.
Don't drive after dark in the Bush: a kangaroo can write your car off and worse!
Check under the toilet seat if camping, or don't sit on it: spiders hang out there.
Join a camping club e.g. "Big 10" (i think that was the name). you get great discounts on camp sites. You can rent a static caravan which is lovely, and the sites often have great facilites like pools and rec rooms. We stayed in a wonderful one in Rockhampton (Nearish Brisbane).
It's wonderful, it's not that different really, the hot is hotter, the cold is generally less cold, if you can take yourself less seriously than they take themselves it's a wonderful place. I did not have kids yet when I lived there and did lots of camping and road trips. If you get the time and your family are cooperative, rent a big car and do it.

To follow on from pieminister:

That they will never EVER mention the fact that England beat them at the cricket. An utter silence will descend. It is NOT happening.
That they go round corners very slowly in their cars because they all drive automatics.
That the bathroom doors don't have locks on them. Generally.
That clothes are expensive.
That houses invariably have two bathrooms - which is nice in one way, but another room to clean
That houses are mostly open plan; noisy, expensive to heat and to cool
That farmers' markets are fab and everywhere
Dog owners are good at picking up shit
Bins are emptied on the dot, even if that dot is Christmas Eve.
Home post is delivered into tiny boxes, which can be raided from the street; though I haven't known this happen
The quiet at night is unnerving, and wakes you up
Despite daylight savings, you still get dark mornings, though all Aussies say how unlike England they are in this respect
Magpies tootle melodiously; beautiful, the quintessentially Aussie birdcall.

That the weird cackling from your nutty neighbour is actually a kookabura (even in the city).
That you can feed beautiful tropical birds (rainbow lorikeets, cockatoos) from your kitchen window.
That if you're not careful you'll end up being donated animals (I acquired a cat and a very lovely ex-racehorse).

In Perth the sunset is so quick it is like someone turned a light out.

No late evenings. Dark by 6 in winter and 7 at the latest in summer.

When you turn left at traffic light, pedestrians have right of way and often have a green walk sign.
And as Sprinkles mentioned, you have to park in the same direction as the flow of traffic so you can't park on the other side of the street without turning around first.
There's nowhere near as much organic produce and it is expensive.
Your kids REALLY need to learn how to swim FAST! I booked my kids into a water survival course as soon as we got here so that at least I knew they would cope if they fell in.

Oh and possums in your roof can be VERY loud and you have to get them out or they wee up there and make a terrible mess.

That people will tell you their whole life story within half an hour, which can be endearing or very dull ...

Brisbane people - Im keen for a coffee.

Kids see the school dentist at primary school. A big van goes to every school and the kids get free dental treatment. You can get free dental care - basic and nothing fancy - at the dental schools and some hospitals.

Get private health insurance. Is nothing like UK health insurance. It is much better. MBF and Medibank are the big ones.

The snakes and spiders will not lurk in every corner waiting to get you. The things that will get you are green ants (check the grass before sitting down) which bite and the mozzies. Oh and bindii's, which are prickles that grow in the grass in summer.

You can drive at night in the bush. Just remember that if you are speeding and swerve you will die and the kangaroo will survive as you skidded off the road and hit a tree. But then again if you hit a roo at high speed and it comes through the windscreen you will die as it will kick the shit out of you as it dies. So miss it if you can safely.

Buy fruit and veg from the local markets. They are held at schools and town halls etc. Just look in your local free magazine/newspaper that every town has.

You will get a load of junk mail (free brochures from the stores). Put a no junk mail sign on your letter box if you dont want it as you get heaps of it.

And yes magpies are territorial and will dive bomb you as you walk under their nests. If they come for you put your head down, wave your arms around your head like a loon and run. They attack everyone and people will yell if they see one coming. Luckily they only nest in spring and the councils remove the evil ones. We used to wear ice cream containers on our heads at school when we were outside.

One thing I did when I moved back in January was go to poundland and buy a heap of toiletries which I shipped over. Is saving mea fortune. Also makeup. Vitalumiere at boots is £31 here is is $100.