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

That's bollocks about the milk (have lived half my life in Oz and half in UK). Aussie milk comes off dairy farms just like in the UK. As any seasoned traveller will tell you, dairy always tastes different in different countries; doesn't mean they've added anything weird!!! And you can get all sorts of artisan cheeses even in some branches of Coles. Sweets (lollies) and packet biscuits have more variety and are yummier. And fresh fruit, veg and meat all very good. But bloody hell is food expensive in Oz now!!!!!

Private schools much cheaper in Oz while still being excellent. Private healthcare actually worth paying for (unlike in the UK) but public still good.

And as an ex-Brisbane girl I miles prefer mozzies to flies - that extra humidity means many fewer flues than NSW. But I still hate the heat.

hillee The beaches, the sun, the sky. Unparalleled.
So typically Australian. They are not unparalleled. I assume you have not lived in the France or Spain or South Africa or California. The best beaches I've ever seen have been in Thailand, (closely followed by Scotland believe it or not.) (and I'm not Scottish)

But you do have the upper hand on the Ozone layer.

How expensive it has got since the last time I was here.
What a positive attitude people have (overall, there are exceptions of course)
In Brisbane some people have 'Christmas in july' because the weather is more appropriate.
How utterly awful the tv & radio is, but you do get used to it.
I like the cheese!
Chocolate is a treat only to be consumed when my lovely mum sends a cadburys shipment.
YOU CAN'T GET CALPOL! (we just used our last sachet & I am quite devastated)

P.s I am in brissie & would really love to meet up for a coffee with anyone who fancies it :)

Nope! Checked with dh to make sure, he lived here from the ages of 3-21 & now for last 5yrs & said there has never been anything like that in SA!

There is an inspection needed of any car imported, any that have been fixed up after a severe accident & something else...(can't remember) but deff not anything like an MOT!

gotobedsleepyhead

Christmas in July is fairly Australia wide! Although I haven't done it!

And Children's Panadol is the same as Calpol...it's all just paracetamol for kids!

lol at seasoned avocado

wtf is seasoned avocado

If you are selling a car you need to provide a roadworthy certificate which is the same as a MOT. Likewise if you are buying a second hand car it must have this certificate for you to be able to register the car in your name.

This is only done when cars are bought and sold. Well here in Victoria anyway.

When you rent a house the landlord is responsible for paying the council tax (rates) and the water company bills (sewage and waste removal). As a tennant you pay for water you use as all houses have water meters.

Drivers here are pretty rude. You will not be let in like in the Uk. There is a real 'fuck you' attitude and I hate it! If you do attempt to let someone else in they will just stare at you very confussed like an idiot!

The main shopping centres have more independant stores here so you don't get the whole indentical high streets as you do in the UK. It can be a pain in the arse sometimes trying to find a certain type of shop. I have found now that I tend to shop around and go to the bakery, butchers, grocers rather than just get everything at the supermarket. I also go to the markets when I get the chance. The checkout staff at the supermarkets pack your shopping ino bags for you too.

I am an Aussie and have been back here for almost 4yrs after 10yrs in London and I still get my MIL to send Calpol over. Childrens paracetamol is revolting here!!!! I also get bisto sent over too - I am a lazy gravy slut, and the local stuff is shit too!

Nice pork sausages are VERY hard to find. Most sausages here are beef.

LOLX at som eof these comments. God it sounds a mad place but looking forward to trying it out - shame it is so expensive and the internet so crap. I do everything by the net. Things I will miss 1) Waitrose 2) my mum - in that order ;-))

The cheese is bogging. It goes by all different kinds of names, including "Tasty" (ha ha) "Coon" (believe it or not) etc etc.

It's all like a very bad plastic cheddar.

There are some nice cheeses (mostly from Tasmania) (Tasmania has great food) but otherwise stick to European imports.

that LOUNGE and manchester thing
and calling vegetables veggies

eeeeergh

Fornlorn they have lots of abbreviations: rellies, regos, arvos (that means afternoons) ambos (basically shorten everything and add an o). Bit like chav talk I suppose.

Coon cheese is named after Edward William Coon - the man who originally made it!

I think it tastes very nice actually.

That would be bogan talk...

shudder

All Aussie men are like

gregssausageroll what exactly is a VPN?

Is there anything nice about Oz my husband wants to know LOL!

Ah yes different, I know panadol is the same as Calpol, but my DD knows it's not! esselle, is it ok to send in the post? We were worried as auspost seem to be very thorough & a bit picky about what you can send!
overthesea, we were recently home (uk) for a couple of years & spent the whole time doing the same thing but other way around, you will always find some things you miss about the uk, but I LOVE living here & feel more at home than in the uk now, the Aussies are smug for a reason!
Eating out is so much better than at home - it can be expensive but you get far better value for money IMO.
Customer service is as it should be, not like at home!
People are generally happier & more pleasant I think.
Workplaces encourage a proper work/life balance.
There's always something to do with the kids, especially outdoors.
Ooh, the communal bbq's - you'll find them in parks & on beaches, people use them, and then clean them for the next person - properly clean too - in the uk I imagine they would be vandalised.
It's wonderful here!

Here's a good thing: I live less than a mile from the Harbour Bridge and have just hand-fed 15 or so Rainbow lorikeets who regularly turn up at my balcony for breakfast.

Yes the communal BBQs surprised me...I did think "If we had those then the kids would all be barbequeuing each other!"

All the shops are shut on Good Friday (as I silently curse that I didn't go out and get bread and milk yesterday!)

Cheese is fine and so is the milk. I live next to a heap of dairy farms and there is no dried milk added.

Brisbane people - shall we arrange a meet up sometime in May? Where is best for everyone? I am waaaayyyy over on the southside. I know I will start a thread.

The communal bbq's are great, I loved them.
Also the drive through bottle shops, and pubs with properly cold drinks, and that were easy to re-stock (I worked in them).
Aussies have a real can do attitude, and they will do so long as you smile.

It's a fab place, but it's not anything like the UK, and I think that's the mistake lots of people (me included) make.
We expect it to be like here and it's not. It's more USA influenced I'd say.

Oopsy, Eralc! you can't buy alcohol on Good Friday either - apparently it's the one day in the year that no bottleshops are open! DH is a tad miffed because we went to the EAster Show yesterday afternoon (BIG mistake) and we got home too late to do anything about the wine situation.

Things I love about Australia that are different to the UK:
the beef sausages. I don't do pork, it makes me ill, and I'm wheat intolerant - so knowing that sausages here are routinely beef with rice flour makes my life much better.

Also the spelt bread - it's a sliced loaf that doesn't go rock hard within 2 days - I like that.

And the rice crackers - different brands, even! Sakata did come to England but pulled out again after a while, sadly. And Jacobs' (or whoever it is who did Thai bites) put fucking wheat flour in their rice crackers!

Mind you, over here, Uncle Toby's put wheat flour into all their breakfast cereals apart from porridge, so no oatbrites for us either (thanks a bunch for that). Means we bring 8 boxes of Oatibix back from the UK whenever we go.

In the UK, I mostly ate red leicester cheese. I buy the organic cheddar; can't even remember what UK cheddar was like now but I've never been a fan of ultra-strong stuff anyway, gives me acid reflux. I do miss a decent range of nice cheeses though - I have only found 3 organic cheeses so far - mild cheddar, edam and gouda. Could get loads more than that in the UK. Including decent mozzarella - oh GOD - the MOZZARELLA!!

Don't, if you value your stomach, buy the hunk of mozzarella - if you want proper Italian style mozzarella, you need to buy the Bocconcino stuff. the other stuff is only any use for putting on pizzas.

For Cheese Lovers