20 Reasons Why YOU Should Move to Australia.

Transcription

What It’s Really Like To Live In Australia.
20 Reasons
Why YOU
Should Move to
Australia.
www.BobinOz.com
All Rights Reserved Worldwide © 2009 Web Products Pty Ltd
Page 1
www.BobinOz.com
First Edition – August 2009
Contact information:
Author: BobinOz
You can contact BobinOz at:
[email protected]
BobinOz.com is owned by:
Web Products Pty Ltd
PO Box 1042
Kenmore
QLD 4069
Australia
This ebook is available free to anyone who enters their name
and email address over at www.BobinOz.com/blog
If you're serious about moving to Australia, where are you
going to live? Get ideas from www.BobinOz.com
Find out more about BobinOz over at
www.bobinoz.com/blog/about-me/
If you find anything in this book to be incorrect, misleading or
upsetting, or even if you just find a typo, I'd be really pleased
to hear your feedback. Contact me at [email protected]
Page 2
www.BobinOz.com
Legal Disclaimer.
All rights reserved.
No part of this report may be reproduced in any way whatsoever,
including electronically, mechanically, or by photocopying, recording
or any other storage media without the express permission, dated
and signed by the author or a representative of the copyright
owners.
The author and publishers of this book make no representations or
warranties in respect of its accuracy. They will therefore not accept
any responsibility for any of the consequences of using any of the
information presented.
The opinions given here in are those of the author who is acting
under good faith. These opinions are based on the experiences of
the author and, in some cases, the research undertaken by him.
Users are therefore urged to seek legal advice and alternative
opinions before entering into any contract or making any personal
decisions regarding their future.
This ebook is distributed free of charge and should not be sold.
Page 3
www.BobinOz.com
My Disclaimer:
Don't blame me!
There, that's covered everything. Although I would like to mention
just a couple more points.
Firstly, before I moved to Australia, I did live in England for almost
50 years; it's the only other country I have ever lived in. So
throughout this book you will see many comparisons with England
and references back to England.
I hope anyone reading this book who doesn’t come from England
can find a way to make my comparisons relevant to the country in
which you do live. In any event, I do hope it does not spoil your
enjoyment of this book.
Secondly, I would like to point out that in spite of the impression I
may give, England was (and still is) a fine country in which to live.
It is just vastly different from Australia, and rains a lot.
Thank you.
On with the book.
Page 4
www.BobinOz.com
Foreword.
Is Australia “The Lucky Country”?
On the 12th November I boarded a plane at Heathrow that was
bound for Brisbane International Airport. It was a one-way ticket.
I have now made Australia my home after having lived in the UK for
almost half a century. Yes, aged 49½ I quit Britain for good. But
what's it really like to live in Australia? Does it live up to the
dream?
Is Australia really “The Lucky Country”?
When the Australian author and former editor of Newsweek
International, Professor Donald Horne, coined the phrase (and
wrote the book of the same title) back in 1964, he was being ironic.
The full context was 'Australia is a lucky country, run by secondrate people who share its luck.'
But Australia's nickname of “The Lucky Country” stuck, with most
people using it to describe the wonderful weather, the beautiful
beaches, the nation's good fortune with gold mines, its remoteness
from world trouble spots and its general laid-back lifestyle.
Even Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's greatest exports, sang “I
Should Be So Lucky, Lucky, Lucky, Lucky!
So, what's it really like?
Page 5
www.BobinOz.com
Some may argue, and successfully, that I can't possibly know
enough about Australia yet to answer that question. But few can
disagree that I am not well placed to compare Australia with the
UK. C’mon – almost half a century! I am very familiar with England.
But in Australia, I am undoubtedly still in the honeymoon period.
That's why I have decided to call this the first edition. If, or when
my opinions change, so will this e-book. That way I hope to keep
the information fresh, relevant and completely up-to-date.
Given my age, I am apparently soon to enter “The Grumpy Period”.
My wife tells me I already have, she even bought me a cup to prove
it.
But am I grumpy here?
No, well not as grumpy as I was in England. But I am sure, given
time, my grumpiness will increase. Expect later editions to be
grumpier. But let's not worry about that now, this is edition one.
They have a TV programme here in Australia, which I have a feeling
has been running for many years. It's called “20 To 1” and is hosted
by a rather surreal looking Bert Newton......
Page 6
www.BobinOz.com
It's a countdown programme, pure and simple. You know the sort of
thing, “Most Embarrassing Moments”, “Great Aussie Songs”, “Best
Australian Commercials” – in 8 seasons and around 50 episodes
Bert's covered it all!
But he hasn't covered ”20 Reasons Why YOU Should Move to
Australia”. So I will.
Let the countdown begin!
Page 7
www.BobinOz.com
Number 20: No More Double Glazing
Salesmen
Making it into the top 20 by the skin of its teeth, we have "No More
Double Glazing Salesman".
This is powerful stuff isn't it? You’ve only read one line of the first
reason and still have 19 more reasons to go, yet you are already
scrambling to find the application forms. I just need you to slow
down for a moment, so I can explain.
Double glazing in Australia is quite rare, certainly in Queensland,
although I understand some houses do have it installed. There are
double glazing companies here in Australia. So I suspect there are
some double glazing salesmen. But I have never met one.
Windows in Australia
As a general rule windows are single
glazed, but an essential addition to all
opening windows would be the insect
screens, which are a fixed mesh
netting, to prevent mosquitoes, flies,
cicadas, cockroaches and all other
airborne enemies from entering your
home.
Page 8
www.BobinOz.com
But guess what?
I never met an insect screen
salesman either!
Salesmen in Australia
Salesmen, or generally salespeople I should say, are a lot less “in
your face” here than they are in other countries, particularly
England and the United States. I am sure the following would not
have happened in either of those two countries.
When we first arrived here we needed a new
kitchen fitted and we found a store over at a retail
park in Jindalee that sold kitchens. It only had
two on display. But we were told the salesman
could show us more designs but we would need to
leave our name and telephone number so he
could contact us.
So we did just that. Did we ever hear from him?
No!
We went to a store in Rocklea who also had some kitchen cabinets
on display and said they could also make replacement doors to
order. Again we needed to leave our name and telephone number.
Again nobody called.
Page 9
www.BobinOz.com
We found a company on the Internet not too far away from us who
specialised in replacement doors direct. We provided them with all
of our measurements and they came back with a quote of around
$3,000 which they said included rebuilding the drawer unit.
We decided to go ahead and telephoned to place the order. About
an hour later somebody called us back and said "sorry, we got our
quote wrong. We haven't included the cost of rebuilding the drawer
unit, so it's now $3,700. Is that okay?"
We didn't think so. So we cancelled the order and I kind of expected
a salesperson to call us back at a later point to try and do a deal.
Did anybody ever call us back?
No!
We found someone called Maurice who specialised in replacement
kitchen doors and his advert said that he would come around and
measure up for free. And he did. He was around our house for more
than two hours with his tape measure.
"I'll get back to you with a quote” he said. Did he?
No!
We began to realise that things work slightly different down here.
Back in England, we would be pestered by salespeople. Here, if you
want something done, you have to pester the salesman. So we did.
We pestered Maurice for his quote until eventually he admitted "I
can't find anyone to cut the doors for your kitchen".
Maurice’s business card said "we supply and fit replacement kitchen
doors". Amazing!
Page 10
www.BobinOz.com
In the end, I straightened out all the cabinets, replaced all the door
handles, repaired the drawer unit and resurfaced it all myself. I
saved about $3200 in the process and, if I have to say so myself, it
didn't look too bad.
Estate Agents
We went house hunting for a brief period, just to see what else was
available on the market. We viewed houses being sold from about
four or five different estate agents and we told each of them we
were considering putting our home on the market.
Did any of them phone us back to ask what we thought of the
houses they had shown us, or if we wanted to put ours on the
market?
Just one of them did, we've heard nothing from any of the others.
What's This? A Door to Door Salesman?
More popular than double glazing is solar heating.
About a month ago, a guy holding a clipboard walked up our drive. I
happened to be in the garage at the time so I went out to greet
him. "Hey, how are you doing?" I asked. We don't get many
visitors.
"I am from a company called Smart on Top and we sell solar power
systems" he said.
Well, I was a little taken aback. This was the first ever door to door
salesman I had seen in Australia. He quickly told me that the
government were offering a grant to anyone who installed solar
power. The normal cost of installation is $11,000. But if I signed up
for the work with his company, they would arrange the rebate
directly with the government. The rebate is 80%.
Page 11
www.BobinOz.com
Only when the rebate was secured would
this company ask me for the balance,
which would be $2200. They would then fit
the solar panels and I would save, not
should save, not possibly save, but
WOULD save 675kw per quarter, which is
$200. He then asked if I was interested.
Yeah, sure I was! I already have solar panels that provide all of my
hot water, and it works great.
I expressed a good deal of interest but as I was in the middle of
doing something, I asked him if he had any brochures. "I will email
you the information" he said. Sure enough, he did the very next
day.
Have I ever heard from him since?
No!
Telephone Sales
What you will get are lots of telephone calls from canvassers, but
you will see it coming a mile off. You’ll pick up the phone and say
"hello" and there will be a long silence followed by a clunk before
someone says "hello, how are you today?" Followed by ….
"Can I speak to the owner"?
Originally, my response would be to ask exactly what the call was
about but that seemed to just make them repeat "hello, how are
you today?"
Again I would ask what the call is about.
Page 12
www.BobinOz.com
"Hello, I am calling from mumble mumble how are you?”
Me: "Calling from where?"
"Hello, I am calling from incomprehensible mumble again how are
you?”
Me: “Look, can you just tell me exactly what you want?”
"Yes, hello, how are you today?"
Me: "please just tell me what you want"
"Yes, how are you today?"
---------------------------------------------It's all very frustrating and can only end by putting the phone down.
These telephone sales people never actually get to the point. I think
they are trained to establish a relationship first. The calls are
obviously coming from offshore call centres, hence the clunking
noise before the connection. Having witnessed the skills of
Australian salespeople firsthand, I can understand why companies
try to employ foreigners to do the sales job for them. But it doesn't
work.
The good news is you can register your telephone number here, at
donotcall to get these calls stopped. Believe me, you will want to do
that.
Page 13
www.BobinOz.com
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Don't buy a house near the main road, it's not much fun when
you leave windows open.
Australia is a land of opportunity, especially if you can sell.
Get your phone number registered with do not call.
Page 14
www.BobinOz.com
Number 19: Hot Holiday Destinations
Without Grabbing Your Passport
Everybody enjoys a good holiday every now and again. When I lived
in the UK I did travel quite extensively around Europe. As much as I
love Australia, Europe is surely the world's most diverse continent.
So I wanted to see as much of it as I could.
But the one downside of every holiday was that it began and ended
with the sometimes lengthy process of getting through border
control and, more often than not, boarding an aeroplane.
With that, of course, would come with the almost obligatory delays,
threats of strikes, the usual baggage reclamation nightmares and all
the stresses associated with that.
Whilst you won't want to holiday in Australia for the rest of your life
if you come here to live, you won't be able to resist it for the first
few years. For how many years that will last, I don't yet know. But I
do know we have plenty to see here.
Do you know how much fun it is to just load up
the car, jump in the driver's seat and hit the
open road? No passports to grab, no tickets to
check, no foreign currency to exchange, no
queuing at airports, no interrogation by
Customs and no delays.
Page 15
www.BobinOz.com
No, your holiday starts the second you start your car. No worries
about whether you'll get to the airport on time, not running out of
petrol is about as stressful as it gets.
We discovered the joys of this kind of holiday on our first ever
Australian road trip which I'm sure many of you have read about on
my blog. We covered 4774 km but we have a lot more yet to do to
cover this great country.
It's difficult to know how long it would take to run out of ideas. If
you visit the Australian Traveller website and take a look at their list
of the top 100 towns or their 100 things to do in Australia before
you die, that will probably keep you going for many years.
Or simply click on their destinations tab on the menu and check out
their top recommendations countrywide or by searching each state
separately.
I do love road trips but depending on where in Australia you live
and where you want to go, sometimes it does make sense to catch
an airplane.
I am in Brisbane, so if I want to see Perth, unless I have a couple of
months to spare, I'm going to need to get on a plane. But catching
a plane here is like getting on a bus, just a lot more expensive.
Airport security is still high, but you won't need to arrive two hours
or so before the flight, as you often do with international
departures.
Some Australian holiday destination suggestions are:
•
•
•
•
The Great Barrier Reef – pretty fish and corals.
The Kimberley’s – stunning scenery, wilderness and gorges.
Broome – North–West Australia coastal town where bush
meets the sea.
The Great Ocean Road – more bush meets the sea plus a
stunning drive.
Page 16
www.BobinOz.com
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Whitsundays – sailing and access to The Great Barrier
Reef.
The Hunter Valley - wine region and Wollemi National Park
Blue Mountains - glass bottomed sky car and caves.
Phillip Island - Penguin Parade, koalas and surf.
Kangaroo Island - unique wilderness and… kangaroos?
Tasmania - just in case you want to be cold again.
This is just a small snapshot of things to do in Australia. I think it
may be a few years yet before I jump on an international flight. It
may be two or three years before I get a domestic flight.
For our next holiday, I fancy driving north towards Cairns, perhaps
even past Cairns and all the way to Cape York. We shall see.
Only when I have exhausted the possibilities that are in Queensland
and New South Wales will I consider getting a domestic flight
further west.
And if I got on a flight, I might go to…………
Mount Wellington – Hobart
Page 17
www.BobinOz.com
Perth – Western Australia
Adelaide – Although I might prefer to drive.
Page 18
www.BobinOz.com
Darwin sounds nice!
…. And wherever this is.
Page 19
www.BobinOz.com
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Rediscover driving holidays, the open roads of Australia really
are that – open.
Plan ahead. There are some fantastic holiday lets available
right there on the beach if you book in advance.
Before you come to Australia, see as much of Europe or
America, depending where you live, as you can before you
leave.
Page 20
www.BobinOz.com
Number 18: Australia Loves Sport.
Australians love their sports and they are passionate about them.
For a country with such a small population, they have had some
remarkable successes.
That passion for sport seems to be a significant part of Australian
culture.
My daughter, who is only five years old, took part in her first sports
day about a month ago. About two weeks before that, she went on
her first cross country run.
What struck me about it was how excited she was to take part in
both of these events. She particularly loved the long jump and was
very proud of what she had done. Pride in sporting performance is
something Australians seem to possess naturally.
Schools in Australia take their sport quite seriously and most of the
ones I have seen have large attached playing fields to prove it.
When I was still going to school in England, (which I assure you was
a very long time ago) part of our school field was sold to property
developers.
I know that trend has continued, but what I don't know is how
many schools in the UK still have significant sports fields attached.
Not many, I would guess.
Australia's results in the Olympic Games, for example, prove that
they can punch way above their weight. Since the Olympics started,
Australia has won 131 gold, 137 silver and 167 bronze medals.
Page 21
www.BobinOz.com
The United Kingdom, with a population three times greater than
that of Australia, has won 219 gold, 268 silver and 255 bronze
medals. I make that a moral victory to Australia. In terms of world
achievement, I believe Australia is the 13th most successful country
in the Olympics.
The whole Australian way of life seems geared for sport.
When the weekend arrives, for many families it is the cue to attach
the boat to the towbar, put the bikes and the surfboards on the
roof, put the kids in the back and head off to have some fun.
Horse riding is also hugely popular over here and you won't need to
travel far to get to the nearest stables. Of course, if you live on
acreage, you can build your own stables out the back.
NOT my back garden.
Australia's favourite sports include swimming, tennis, cricket, rugby,
Australian rules football, golf, the Grand Prix, (with Australia Mark
Webber notching up his first Grand Prix win in Germany in July
2009) horse racing, basketball and netball.
Surfing, no not the one you do on the Internet, is also hugely
popular and the Rip Curl Pro held at Bells Beach in Victoria is one of
the top professional surfing events on the calendar.
Page 22
www.BobinOz.com
Not the Rip Curl Pro
They have even started to dabble in proper football, the one with a
round ball, which they unfortunately call soccer.
Since the formation of the “Hyundai A-League” in 2005, the
Australian national football team has qualified for both the 2006 and
2010 World Cups. They catch on fast!
Yes, sport plays a major part in the lives of most Australians. So
forget your WII’s, your DS’s, forget Nintendo, forget Play Station,
when your kids get here you can introduce them to something
called "the great outdoors" and get them to participate in some real
sports.
Australia is Actionland!
But despite all of that, Australia still gets thumped regularly by New
Zealand (population 4 million) at Rugby. Can’t win ‘em all!
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
If you're a football nut, like me, you may want to consider
getting into rugby or AFL. Otherwise you won't have much to
talk about with the Aussies.
Draw the line at cricket though. You’ll want to keep your selfrespect.
Brush up on "State of Origin" and "The Bledisloe Cup"
Page 23
www.BobinOz.com
Number 17: Outdoor Festivals and
Entertainment.
Outdoor music festivals aren't anything new. I went to my first
festival over at Reading way back in 1975. Top of the bill were
Wishbone Ash. I remember it rained and I had to take shelter in a
Hare Krishna tent.
The last festival I went to in England was Glastonbury. We can all
remember the scenes of revellers sliding around in the mud can't
we? Fortunately for me I went in 1992 when the weather was
absolutely stunning. It was about……. I can’t remember but it was
hot, sunny with clear blue skies.
Would it surprise you to learn that in Australia they have a lot of
outdoor festivals and entertainment? And that 90% or more of the
time it's hot and sunny with clear blues skies.
Outdoor Cinema
The first time I noticed this was with Tropfest, which I blogged
about at the time. Basically it is a short film festival which is
simultaneously broadcast at seven outdoor cinemas throughout
Australia.
It turns out that outdoor cinemas are quite big here in Australia.
The biggest ones are at Sydney where they have them at Bondi
Beach, Centennial Park, the Botanic Gardens with stunning views
overlooking the harbour and over at Sydney Olympic Park.
In Melbourne they have the Rooftop Cinema on top of Curtin House,
another at St Kilda and they also have one in the Botanical
Page 24
www.BobinOz.com
Gardens. Brisbane has a couple and there's one in Adelaide and
another one in Darwin.
Music Festivals
I knew music festivals were really big here and I also knew music
featured quite prominently at most outdoor events. Greenfest was
all about saving the planet but they still had room for three music
stages.
One of the stages at Greenfest
Here are just a few major festivals that take place in and around
Brisbane…….
•
Buddha Birthday Festival - South Bank Parklands, it has
performers, fun for kids, workshops and riverfront fireworks.
•
Noosa Long Weekend Festival – this 10 day festival has live
performances, food from Noosa's local restaurants, music,
dance and film.
•
Queensland Music Festival – a celebration of world music, this
is Australia's largest biennial music festival.
Page 25
www.BobinOz.com
•
Valley Fiesta – is Brisbane's biggest street party and is a
showcase for musical acts both local and national.
•
Woodford Folk Festival - is the biggest folk festival in
Australia. More than 2000 performers and 400 events over six
days. Don't forget to your tent.
Smaller festivals from this year include……………
Soundwave 09 - about 40 different bands including Nine Inch Nails,
Alice in Chains, Bloodhound Gang and more.
V festival 09 - featuring Killers, Snow Patrol, Kaiser Chiefs, and also
including, would you believe, Madness and The Human League.
Future Music Festival – with Basement Jaxx, Paul Oakenfold and
Richie Hawtin as well as Grand Master Flash.
And that's just a very small sample. On top of that there are a huge
number of venues to go and see live bands in and around Brisbane
City.
Now take that national. Check this out if live music is your thing.
There is a list of I believe almost 100 different venues of live music
events taking part across Australia on a regular basis. And I'm sure
they still don't have it all covered.
If you love festivals but hate sliding around in the mud or standing
in the rain, then Australia is the place for you.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Forget what many years of programming tell you about
outdoor festivals, here in Australia they are fun.
Look in your local free paper (you will get one) for news of
local outdoor festivals.
Ignore the two previous tips if you're thinking of moving to
Tasmania. (Brrrrr).
Page 26
www.BobinOz.com
Number 16: The Health Service, Hospitals and
Parking. Parking?
I nearly dropped this entry and replaced it with something else.
You'll see why as you read it.
So, who has the best health service? Is it Australia or is it the UK? I
realised to answer that question would take the wisdom of a
"Kinsey" or the authority of a "Lord Stevens" to write a full report,
and not the dabblings of a BobinOz.
But dabble I will.
First, my experience of the health service in the UK.
I had the same doctor for probably 25 years and never really had a
problem with him. When I went, waiting time could vary between
15 minutes and an hour and a half. But when I did get to see him,
he was usually very fast to make his "diagnosis", write out a
prescription and say "next!"
As for accident and emergency, somewhere I used to go on a more
regular basis than I would have wished thanks to participating in
five aside football twice a week, it's difficult to find anything positive
to say about it.
I once went there at about 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday with a suspected
(confirmed) broken leg and got home at ten to six in the following
morning. I don't think I ever got in and out of A & E in under four
hours.
Page 27
www.BobinOz.com
I once had an operation on my knee to repair my cruciate ligament
and, not having private medical insurance I waited 13 months for
the operation. Again, that's too long to wait.
I also had a fair bit of experience of being referred to "specialists”
on account of strange goings on with my sense of smell. Or rather,
the lack of it. I found that system excruciatingly slow too.
My doctor would write a letter to the specialist and a couple of
months later I'd get one back telling me that my appointment had
been set for another four to 10 months in the future.
If that specialist then thought I should see a different specialist,
they would write back to my doctor and recommend that he writes
to the new specialists and there goes another six months.
Now my experiences in Australia.
Waiting times to see my local doctor seem much shorter and when I
do see him, he has more time to chat. The visit itself is far more
sociable.
Whilst my English doctor seemed to have a system of “One
Appointment = One Medical Problem” my Australian doctor seems
to be keen to see if there is anything else he can help me with
whilst I am there.
I no longer play five aside football here in Australia, so fortunately I
have not yet experienced an accident and emergency ward. But it is
slightly different here in so much as they also have “emergency”
doctor surgeries open from 7am to 11pm as well as hospitals with
emergency departments.
Page 28
www.BobinOz.com
So if you come out in a rash on a Sunday morning, for example,
then the emergency doctor will probably be able to help you. You
will need to pay, but if you are entitled, you'll get a rebate.
If you break a leg, then you will need to go to the hospital's
emergency ward. But here they still talk in terms of waiting three or
four hours. I used to dream of such short waits in England.
They also deal with the "referred to a specialist" scenario differently
here. I've been suffering from dry cracked skin on my hands since
arriving here in Australia, it never happened in England. But then
England is not an overly dry place.
Anyway, my doctor prescribed me some medication but at the same
time said he would write out a letter of referral for a specialist. He
told me this referral letter would be ready the next day for
collection but in the meantime I should call the specialist to make
my appointment.
As he said "it may take a month before you get to see him, by
which time my medication may have worked. If it does, just cancel
your appointment with the specialist. But if it doesn't, you don't
want to be wasting time waiting."
Now that's different!
Page 29
www.BobinOz.com
Many people in
Australia have
private health
insurance. A friend
of mine put a
circular saw through
his hand a while
back but received
excellent healthcare
thanks to his $200 a
month contribution
to private health
insurance, which
covers his family of
five.
But he tells me that if he hadn't got the insurance, he would have
still been fixed up. It would have just taken longer.
So which health service is better? I don't know, ask "Kinsey" or
"Lord Stevens" for a proper answer but BobinOz says there's
nothing much wrong with the health service here.
But my best guess is, if you don't have private health insurance you
will still get treatment. And it might just possibly be quicker than
the treatment you'd get in the UK under the National Health
Service.
I’ll leave the last word on that to these statistics: Australians are
now the second longest living people on earth. A baby born in
Australia today can expect to live to 81.4 years of age. That’s 79 for
boys and 84 for girls. If you want to live longer, go to Japan.
Page 30
www.BobinOz.com
Parking
When I considered ditching the health service entry, this was what I
was going to replace it with. But I decided to talk about the health
service all the same and keep parking in too. So here we have it, in
joint place at the 16th.
This is something that BobinOz can answer. Parking is definitely
cheaper here and much easier. In fact, parking is pretty much free
everywhere except the major city centres and outside McDonald's at
Surfers Paradise.
The parking report: Australia versus the UK by BobinOz. Australia
wins!
There, I have found my level.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
If you move here to Australia and want private health
insurance, sign up within 12 months of arrival. You will get a
better rate for doing that: Otherwise your premium is loaded
by a percentage for every year you are above 30.
Include dentistry too, because you’ll be smiling more out
here.
Throw your parking meter key ring timer in the bin.
Page 31
www.BobinOz.com
Number 15: Swimming Pools That Are FUN To
Swim In.
When I was a young child I went to school in Southend on Sea.
There was a little Infants/Junior School in the Southchurch area that
I attended until aged 11. Lucky me! It had a swimming pool.
I can't remember my teacher’s name, I can't remember any of my
friends’ names, I can't remember which class I was in, I can't
remember the colour of our school uniform and I can't remember
what my classroom looked like.
But I can remember that bloody swimming pool!
I can remember it was an above the ground pool, I can remember it
was situated in the far back left corner of the playing grounds, I can
remember that the walls were painted light blue and the steps were
on the right-hand side of its rectangular shape.
But more than anything, I can remember it was freezing! Outdoor
swimming pools and England don't really mix. But an outdoor
swimming pool in Australia, now that's fun!
Here, swimming pools couldn't be more different. Here, you jump
into a swimming pool to cool down, not to make your lips turn blue.
Page 32
www.BobinOz.com
Boxing Day 2005
This was our third holiday to Australia and we were round my
brother-in-law’s house……
November 2007
Fact: on Monday 12th
November at 10 o'clock in the
evening we got on a flight from
Heathrow bound for Brisbane,
via Singapore.
Fact: around 26 hours later, at
9 a.m. on the morning of
Wednesday the 14th of
November (Australian time) we
arrived at my brother in law's
new house, which also had a
pool.
Fact: at around 10 o'clock in the morning, after my three-year-old
daughter had flown over 11,000 miles, the lure of the pool became
too much for her and she went in for a swim with her cousins... …
err, and a couple of chocolate Labs!
Page 33
www.BobinOz.com
Our New House.
Just a few days later we were christening our new swimming pool…
And in less than four months of living in Australia, my daughter,
Elizabeth, could swim without armbands for the first time.
Yes, swimming pools work well in Australia.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Swimming pools are not that expensive to run.
But swimming pool parts are hugely expensive.
Doing regular pool maintenance will help avoid those
expensive breakdowns.
Page 34
www.BobinOz.com
Number 14: Children’s Play Areas and Dog
Parks
Children's play areas are everywhere. Let me just illustrate that by
showing you all the children's play areas close to where I live.
Here is one that is over the road, just a few minutes walk:
Here's one that is just around the corner, about five minutes walk.
Page 35
www.BobinOz.com
Here's one that's at the top of our hill, which is about seven or eight
minutes walk.
And here’s the one where my wife will take our daughter along with
our dog, Baggy.
Page 36
www.BobinOz.com
It’s got the Brisbane River behind it, which we now call……..
The Chocolate River
Page 37
www.BobinOz.com
They come to this park because it is a lovely children's park. It's got
a flying fox, swings, slides, a sand pit and some climbing frames.
Children have birthday parties here on a regular basis. There are
barbecue facilities, free of course, the river in the background and….
The Dog Park.
Dog Parks are an absolutely fantastic idea. Not just for the dogs,
but for the children too. Here's why. A Dog Park is the only place a
dog is allowed to run around off the leash.
So we have parks for children and we have parks for dogs. That
means it is illegal for a dog to run around off the lead in a children's
park. How wonderful is that?
Back where I used to live in England, a park was a park. Children
played and dogs walked, very often off the leash.
If you've ever been in a park like that with a young child, and seen
a Rottweiler charging towards him or her whilst the dogs owner is
attempting to call it back, you'll appreciate just how good this is.
And Dog Parks are excellent for the dogs too. Because instead of
having a couple of dogs walking in any one of the 10 surrounding
parks, you all get 20 dogs all turning up at the same park.
Do you have any idea how exciting this is for a dog? Instead of just
one other bottom to smell, your dog now has a choice of 19 other
bottoms. This is dog Heaven!
I'm not sure about every Dog Park, but our one has a community
noticeboard and every now and again they put on an event for the
dogs. Last year, the dogs had a Christmas party! Each dog owner
had to bring a doggy present, wrapped of course, and put it in the
lucky dip box.
Page 38
www.BobinOz.com
The Dogs’ Christmas Dinner and Sniff.
Of course Baggy went, he got a squeaky rag doll, and he still plays
with it now.
Page 39
www.BobinOz.com
Another park at Cleveland
This park got into a fight with a tree!
Page 40
www.BobinOz.com
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Kids love birthday parties in the park, and so do adults. The
house doesn't get wrecked!
Unlike in the UK, teenagers here have not yet started drinking
booze in the parks and smashing bottles.
If you are a dog owner and you like to let your dog cr*p
anywhere, Australia is not for you. Try France!
Page 41
www.BobinOz.com
Number 13: Forget Pubs; Barbecues Are In!
It took me a while to get into this one.
When I lived in England, going to the pub was quite simply part of
the tradition. Nobody in the world does pubs better than the UK.
On the other hand, Australia are pretty bad at the whole pub thing.
There is no such thing as a traditional Australian pub. Well, if there
is, it's like a Beefeater pub or a JD Wetherspoon's pub. Except
instead of the teak or oak tables with solid wooden chairs, you can
substitute the kind of table and chairs you used to sit on when you
ate your school dinners.
Yes, most Australian pubs are that bad.
I am probably not being fair here, because I get the impression the
pubs in the Brisbane suburbs do not accurately reflect the average
Australian pub countrywide. Brisbane is comparatively new
compared to the other cities. The pubs I saw in Melbourne were
much better.
We mustn't forget also that Australia is much more than five or six
cities. There are thousands of small communities with populations
of between 500 and a few thousand people, and central to most of
those communities is the pub.
If you really want to make the pub a central part of your life, I'd go
and live in one of those rural locations.
But let's face it, pubs in England aren't what they used to be,
thanks largely to see the big pub chains who are taking over the
Page 42
www.BobinOz.com
industry. The traditional English pub is now a dying breed.
Enter the Australian barbecue.
Barbecues for breakfast…….
Page 43
www.BobinOz.com
Barbecues for lunch………
Barbecues on the beach……
Page 44
www.BobinOz.com
Barbecues in the park…..
And barbecues in the mountains…….
Page 45
www.BobinOz.com
With a mountain view…….
Of the city…….
Even though it was a grey day, we still had a good barbie!
Page 46
www.BobinOz.com
I no longer miss pubs because we seem to be going to a party
about every three or four weeks. It's what people do when there
aren't pubs to go to, and it is much more fun.
And if ever I do find myself pining for the pub environment again,
there is always the local Sports and Recreational Centre.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Buy a great big gas barbecue, charcoal is fun, but not
practical.
If you really think you can’t live without a pub, choose your
house based on it being near one. But check the pub out first!
Prepare to take your turn hosting some parties.
Page 47
www.BobinOz.com
Number 12: Australia is a Land of Opportunity
This is quite a difficult one for me to substantiate. But of course, I
will try.
It seems to me that Australia rode through this worldwide recession
better than most countries. The Australian recession was a bit like
the Australian winter. It came and then whoosh! It was gone again,
all in a flash.
As I write this, unemployment in Britain stands at 7.8%, having
risen by another 220,000 in the quarter up to the end of June 2009.
The "official" figures for unemployment say 2.435 million people are
out of work.
Here in Australia, unemployment stands at 5.8% as at July 2009.
Official figures here talk in terms of numbers of people employed,
(currently 10.8 million) rather than the number of people out of
work. But if my maths is correct, Australia currently has around
650,000 people unemployed.
One of the unusual things about Australia is that there is no cheap
labour. Britain has cheap labour from Eastern Europe and America
has its own back garden, with cheap labour coming predominantly
from Mexico.
Australia just doesn't have an equivalent. I don't want to get
political here, but I'm just trying to underline the situation.
Page 48
www.BobinOz.com
Australia Has Resources.
Australia has bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium,
nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas
and petroleum.
I was having dinner once with an older (and wiser) Australian bloke
a while back and he said …..
"Yes, Australia has lots of resources, but do you know the one
resource they don't have enough of?"
Putting on my most serious intellectual face I replied
"I dunno.”
“People” he said.
Just to underline all of this, here are some of my experiences since
arriving in Australia.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gardeners (not landscapers or designers) charging a
minimum of $40 an hour.
It took us eight months to get somebody round to fix our
exterior blinds.
As already mentioned, we couldn't get anybody to supply and
fit replacement kitchen doors.
We couldn't find a plasterer to do any work at all.
Salesmen do not sell. (See Number 20 above).
Five months to get someone to fix an exterior roof supporting
post.
A swimming pool company refused a $10,000 renovation job
because they were too busy.
Eight phone calls to get somebody to come and look at our
air-conditioning.
Page 49
www.BobinOz.com
That's all just off the top of my head. I know there are more
examples.
None of these people are lazy, they just all have more work than
they can handle. So they just pick and choose their jobs.
Add to that the Australian tradesman's (tradies) penchant for not
turning up and you can see what it's like trying to get things done
around here. When I first arrived and I was looking through the
classified ads for people to do some of the work I needed, the sales
slogan of many of the adverts was ….
"We really do turn up!"
I asked one of the locals here why so many adverts include that
sentence. And the answer was simple. Because so many tradies
really don't turn up.
So if you don't mind working and you do turn up and especially if
you have a skill, Australia really is a land of opportunity.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Turn up and you’d already have the edge on the average
Aussie tradie.
Follow up and you’d already be ahead of the average Aussie
salesman.
Get ready to do some DIY.
Page 50
www.BobinOz.com
Number 11: Clothing – One Minute and You’re
Dressed
Getting dressed in Australia is an extraordinary quick affair. Here's
how it works for me.
1. Put on pants.
2. Put on shorts.
3. Put on T-shirt.
And I’m done!
If I'm going out, I will need to find my crocs.
Mind you, I am a bloke. The fairer sex may need to extend my
three step dressing process to a fourth or fifth step.
Where I live, in Brisbane, even in winter my dress doesn't change
that much. Shorts are always still worn during the day but the only
difference with winter (all four weeks of it) is I might put on some
jog bottoms in the evenings when the temperature drops a bit.
When it gets really cold, I will grab a sweat top.
And it's not just me, take a look at some of these pictures taken of
complete strangers, slap bang in the middle of winter. 12th of
August 2009 to be precise……
Page 51
www.BobinOz.com
So those were from winter, but this next photograph was taken
during the summer, back in February.
Page 52
www.BobinOz.com
You see, hardly any difference.
Dress Code: Australian Style.
My 3 steps to getting dressed may be a little tongue in cheek but
the reality is Australia has one of the most relaxed dress codes I
think I have ever come across.
A suit and tie is a real rarity out here. I have seen them, but I am
hard pressed to think where. I haven't seen them much in the
business world, that's for sure. Chinos and a short-sleeved shirt
being more common there.
One of the beauties of living in Australia is that you can go to a
relatively posh restaurant dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and look
no more out of place than a guy wearing a tie and shirt. You will
also be accepted equally, irrespective of what you wear.
There are exceptions though and some places put up a dress code.
I've seen it in a few places and it normally goes like this.
Dress Code
Tops must be worn at all times.
No thongs allowed!
Let me explain all that to you. You can't enter without some kind of
vest or T-shirt. And thongs, out here, are flip-flops. So, put a top on
and don't wear flip-flops. And you're in!
That’s it! How hard can that be?
Page 53
www.BobinOz.com
I just remembered the last time I saw somebody wearing a suit and
tie.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Leave your heavy duty coats at the charity shop if you're
moving to Australia.
Leave your not so heavy duty coats at the charity shop if
you're moving to Brisbane.
Bring your suits and ties if you fancy doing a Charlie Chaplin
impersonation in the city.
Page 54
www.BobinOz.com
Number 10: The Diversity of Wildlife and
Plant Life.
I have talked about the diversity of Australian wildlife a great deal
over at my blog, primarily in the category "Australia's Bad Things".
Taipan: RUN!
So there is little need to repeat myself here about the snakes,
spiders, sharks, crocodiles, kangaroos, geckoes, bees, praying
mantis, cockroaches, lizards, frogs, ants, wasps, flies, moths,
kookaburras, possums, cicadas, cane toads, giant beetles, mozzies,
midges and parrots.
Or the stonefish, cone snails, platypuses, echidnas, WHOA!!! Stop it
will you! We get it.
I know a lot of people are concerned, no, very worried, about what
they might bump into here in Australia. But again, please don't
Page 55
www.BobinOz.com
worry. I have explained this many times on my blog, you may as
well worry all day about being struck by lightning.
Instead, embrace the beauty of the wildlife here in Australia.
One of the first books I bought when we arrived here in Australia is
called "Wildlife of Greater Brisbane". It's published by the
Queensland Museum. I hope they don't mind me quoting an extract
from the back cover.
“Residents of the Greater Brisbane Region are privileged to live in
one of the richest natural environments in Australia. From high
mountain rainforest to the barest cityscape, the region is home to
an astonishing variety of wild creatures, large and small, seen and
unseen.
Worms, snails, spiders, insects, fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, birds
and mammals, many of them rare or endangered, survived
alongside the region's 2.8 million human inhabitants, sharing their
homes, backyards, parks and bushland. Whether biting ants,
brilliantly coloured birds, or tiny marsupial mice, our native animals
are impossible to avoid.”
And The Plant Life.
I’m no Percy Thrower, (he was a famous gardener in the UK from a
zillion years ago), but even I appreciate some of the plants out
here.
It's difficult not to, everything is so lush and so green for much of
the time and then becomes so brown and so dry for the rest of it.
It's fascinating.
We inherited a garden that was reminiscent of a small jungle. Just
take a look at a few of these plants…………..
Page 56
www.BobinOz.com
We also get triffids but they were out of season at the time of writing.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Respect the wildlife but don't be fearful of it.
Learn as much as you can about our creatures so that you know
whether to say "Ah, that's cute" or to say "Aaargh!” and run like
Billyo.
The same with our plant life, some of it is poisonous. Brush up
on the baddies and wear gloves when gardening.
Page 57
www.BobinOz.com
Number 9: Driving - Less Traffic, Less Road
Rage and Cheaper Petrol
I was astonished whilst watching "20 To 1”, the TV programme
mentioned in the foreword, when in at number 17 or 16 in an
edition called "Madness and Meltdowns" was road rage.
Road rage? Here in Australia? They have no idea!
The worst I have ever seen, and I have been looking out for it, is a
waived fist or a raised middle finger. About three times I have heard
somebody honk their horn, but I've never really seen who honked
or why they honked or who they honked at.
Back in the UK, it was much easier to trace the source of the
honking. Just look for the red-faced driver whose temple was about
to explode, he'd be the one driving the car with plumes of tyre
smoke behind him.
If you're still having difficulty tracking him down, just look in the
direction from where the noisy wheel screeching is almost, but not
quite, drowning the sound of foul language which is filling the air.
A Road Rage Opportunity Missed.
When we went to Mooloolaba, there was free parking on the beach
in a prime location. So, just like in a car park in England (even
paying car parks) if someone was about to leave, another car would
just stop behind, and wait to fill the soon to be vacant space.
Page 58
www.BobinOz.com
It was my friend, Lisa, who was preparing to reverse out of this
parking space. But with three kids to pack into the car it took her
some time. She didn't rush herself either, she seemed oblivious to
the fact that a car had stopped behind and was waiting for her
parking space.
And behind that car was slowly building up a long line of cars. I
watched this situation with some fascination. Lisa took fully five
minutes, possibly more, before she finally got in the car and fired it
up. By this time the line of cars behind her was about 30 to 40 long.
Not one of those cars honked their horn. Not one!
And Australia has a road rage problem?
Open Roads.
To Australians, a traffic hotspot is anywhere where you have to slow
down because there are other cars about. Anything that takes more
than 10 to 15 minutes to get through is a traffic jam.
But from what I can see, these kinds of situation are pretty much
restricted to the major cities and their immediate surroundings
during rush hour only.
So here is the major difference. In England expect traffic jams on
the M1, the M25, M6, M5, M3, M anything. Expect traffic if you're
driving from Chelmsford to Southend. Expect traffic if you're driving
from Liverpool to Manchester. Expect traffic if you're driving from
Sunderland to Newcastle. Expect traffic.
I have watched the sunset from the M25.
Here in Australia you may find traffic if you are in Sydney, Brisbane,
Melbourne, Adelaide (possibly), Perth or Canberra. Other than that,
the roads are clear.
Page 59
www.BobinOz.com
Part of the fun of road rage is that you need a really bad traffic jam
with very long delays to wind you up first. You just can't beat sitting
nose to tail for more than an hour in cold, rainy and grey conditions
to put you into the perfect mood for punching somebody's lights
out.
Somehow, driving along an open road, with no traffic, brilliant blue
skies and beautiful scenic surrounds just doesn't create the same
feelings of aggression.
Page 60
www.BobinOz.com
And the petrol is cheaper! What more could you ask for?
Page 61
www.BobinOz.com
After driving in England for 32 years, driving here in Australia is a
sheer delight. I love it!
Any Australian reading this will be wondering what cave I live in to
think there is no road rage and no traffic jams in Australia. But I
suppose everything is relative. I'm sure there is more traffic and
trouble on Australian roads today than there was say, 10 years ago.
So compared with how it used to be, perhaps traffic is "bad". But I'd
say you don't know when you have it so good.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Leave your road rage, if you have it, back in England, you
won’t be needing it here.
Prepare for a major change in the way you feel about driving.
Try not to laugh when Australians complain about traffic.
Page 62
www.BobinOz.com
Number 8: Schools
•
•
•
•
•
•
They
They
They
They
They
They
still have "assembly" - they call them parades.
sing the Australian national anthem.
instil pride in Australia.
nurture a passion for sport.
all seemed to have large playing field attached.
all look pretty good too.
In the picture of the school above, you can just about make out the
school building, top left. Behind the tennis courts are the large
green playing fields. This school is 20 minutes from the city centre.
Page 63
www.BobinOz.com
Playing fields, some climbing frames at the back and the school to the left.
Most of the schools I know of in England are chaos at around 8.45
in the morning with cars all over the place, struggling to find
somewhere to drop off their young children.
That same chaos is repeated at around 3 p.m. in the afternoon.
That sort of chaos doesn't happen here. Most of the schools have
plenty of room around them and those that don't have large car
parks in their own grounds.
But again, as with traffic jams, schools in the centre of cities may
be different.
Schools are also far more communal here, in as much as they are
often asking for volunteers to help around the school. Parents are
also encouraged to sit in the classroom for an afternoon and help
out.
Page 64
www.BobinOz.com
They don't have school dinners like they do in the UK, but some
schools do run a canteen known as a "tuck shop". Again, these tuck
shops are run by volunteers.
Bullying.
Bullying does happen in schools and often if it does, the local police
are called in to lecture the guilty child. In fact, such an incident hit
the national news the other week.
The incident was described like this "An older girl bullied a
classmate in the toilets, while the younger girl took photos on a
mobile phone.”
The State School Teachers Union's David Kelly said bullying should
not be taken lightly.
"When the police get involved it sends home a message to all
concerned that it is indeed serious," he said.
WOW!
Imagine that in the UK.
"Good afternoon Hackney police station, how can I help you?"
"Ah yes, good afternoon. It's the school here, there's been some
bullying in the toilets, we'd like you to come down and talk to one
of the older girls. Oh, and bring “The Sun” with you, this is a big
story, I'm sure they'll be interested in the scoop ".
Page 65
www.BobinOz.com
Brisbane Boys’ College
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Get involved, volunteer, be part of your child's school.
Get good at making packed lunches.
It is mandatory to pack sunscreen and a hat for your child.
The motto is “no hat – no play!”
Page 66
www.BobinOz.com
Number 7: Australia – It’s The Great
Outdoors.
Somebody, somewhere along the line, called Australia "The Great
Outdoors" - and it is.
I have given “Australia – It’s The Great Outdoors” its own position
here at number seven in my countdown, simply because it deserves
a mention all on its own. It is so influential in how much I love
Australia.
But if you look at all the entries so far, and you will also see in
entries yet to come, there is a theme of outdoor life in almost all of
them.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Number 19: Hot Holiday Destinations Without Grabbing Your
Passport - all the suggested holiday destinations are of great
outdoor places.
Number 18: Australia Loves Sport. - All of the sports I talk
about are outdoor sports.
Number 17: Outdoor Festivals and Entertainment - speaks for
itself.
Number 15: Swimming Pools That Are FUN To Swim In - I am
talking about outdoor swimming pools.
Number 14: Children’s Play Areas and Dog Parks - all are
outdoors, of course.
Number 13: Forget Pubs, Barbecues Are In! - Barbecues may
be "in" but they sure take place outdoors.
Number 10: The Diversity of Wildlife and Plant Life - that
would be outdoor wildlife and plant life, unless something
creeps in to your house!
Number 9: Driving - Less Traffic, Less Road Rage and
Cheaper Petrol - more great outdoors.
But everywhere has an outdoor life. Back in England there was an
outdoors too! But here is the big difference.
Page 67
www.BobinOz.com
The outdoors of England would more often than not be either cold,
wet, windy or grey. More often than not, for the people who do not
know England, means around 75% of the time. (Source: I'm
guessing!) England does have a summer, they had one in 1976. But
since then, the summers have tended to be more like brief sunny
spells.
You have heard of "Seasonal Affective Disorder" or “S.A.D.” haven't
you? Well not many people have around these parts. Because out
here, every day seems to be hot, sunny with clear blue skies.
Gloriously clear blue skies. Like this….
Page 68
www.BobinOz.com
And because it is so hilly around here, you will often find yourself
driving past stunning views like this…….
It's really hard to wake up feeling miserable here in Australia,
thanks to the great outdoors.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Buy a house with a good outdoor eating area.
Buy a hat that you really like.
If you enjoy being miserable, you’ll need to raise your game
to keep it up out here.
Page 69
www.BobinOz.com
Number 6: Australia versus England on
Crime.
Crime is everywhere. So are statistics for crimes. Here are some
that I found…..
•
There were 664 killings and 575 attempted killings in the UK
in the year 2008/09.
•
There were 266 killings and 241 attempted killings in Australia
in the year 2006/07.
•
There were 277 fatal stabbings in the UK in 2008/09.
•
There were 90 fatal stabbings in Australia in 2006/07.
•
There were 284,000 domestic burglaries in the UK in
2008/09.
•
There were 74,200 domestic burglaries in Australia in
2006/07.
Not much in it, is there?
But the statistics get a lot worse for Australia when
you take a look at the figures for rape.
According to the figures I've looked at, 12,165
people were raped in the UK in 2008/09. In
Australia I believe the figure is somewhere in the
region of 16,000, although I don't have the exact
numbers.
Page 70
www.BobinOz.com
But in a world league table showing rapes per capita for 65 different
nations, Australia comes third (UK 13th), only South Africa and the
Seychelles are worse.
According to the same source, Australia is the world leader when it
comes to stolen cars per capita. The UK comes third.
That source also has a category called “total crime victims”, here's
what they say about that category.
“DEFINITION: People victimized by crime (as a % of the total population).
Data refer to people victimized by one or more of 11 crimes recorded in
the survey: robbery, burglary, attempted burglary, car theft, car
vandalism, bicycle theft, sexual assault, theft from car, theft of personal
property, assault and threats. Crime statistics are often better indicators
of prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, than
actual prevalence.
SOURCE: UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice
Research Institute). 2002. Correspondence on data on crime
victims. March. Turin”
So who tops that chart? Here's the one two three……..
#1
#2
#3
Australia:
30.1%
New Zealand:
29.4%
United Kingdom: 26.4%
Source: www.nationmaster.com/
I have no idea who United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice
Research Institute are but I'm sure the figures are reasonably
accurate, albeit based on old data from 2002.
So now it no longer looks like there's "not much in it" and more like
Australia has a worse crime rate than England. So why do I have it
in here as reason number six?
Page 71
www.BobinOz.com
Because (drum roll) it feels safer!
I am aware how pathetic that sounds so I suspect I need to explain
it a little better.
First off, I've never been a great fan of statistics and crime statistics
are probably more dodgy than most. If I want to collect statistics on
rainfall, I stick a bucket out into the open and I buy myself a ruler.
What can possibly go wrong?
If I am collecting statistics on crime, then firstly that crime has to
be “reported” and secondly whoever it was reported to has to
“record” it.
As one New Zealander commented about the table which revealed
his country second highest in the "total crime victims" list……
“I am in New Zealand and while we don't consider crime to be a big issue the low
crime rate means the police spend more time looking for it. You are far more likely
here to be brought before a court for a minor issue than in say UK (where I am also
familiar) where you will just be let off with a warning. I also know that a minor
assault in UK is not a 'recordable' offence whereas in NZ it is.”
Fair point I say.
Secondly, it's easy for me to say "it feels safer", but what do others
think? What better place to go to find out than at a forum full of
people who used to live in the UK and now live in Australia.
I found comments from:
A woman who was a police officer in Birmingham for eight years when she lived in
the UK, she said that she found Australia to have less crime than the UK and that she
felt safer here.
Another woman who acknowledged that Australia wasn't crime free but said that she
felt much safer here than in the UK. She was happy to walk her dog in the dark here
because she would meet people happy to say hello, instead of yobs getting drunk.
Page 72
www.BobinOz.com
A man who said he had never felt unsafe here in Australia. He also pointed out that
the distance between pubs and houses meant you didn't see drunken louts walking
home, unless you lived right in the city or inner suburbs.
And probably most interesting of all was a comment from a woman who asked her
14-year-old daughter what she liked best about living in Australia. On the very top of
this girls list of things was "I feel safe here going out". And these people didn't live in
a "bad" area in England before they moved to Australia.
So it's not just me, other people feel safer here too. Including the
14-year-old girl of that last quote - and it is her statement that I
think is the most encouraging in regards to the state of law and
order in Australia.
There is a culture of teenagers hanging around outside of shops in
the UK which hasn’t yet taken a grip here. And I don't think it will
ever take a grip. Housing is so much more spread out here, people
do not live on top of each other. So you can't just walk for three or
four minutes and join up with the rest of the gang.
And if you could, it probably wouldn't be much fun. There wouldn't
be enough passing foot traffic to have fun with. Because most
people would drive to the shops on account that they'd probably live
at least a couple of clicks away. (That’s Aussie speak for 2
kilometres).
You may think a 50 year old man like myself clearly doesn't get into
the kind of areas where trouble is likely to happen. So what do I
know? Well, I have been to the city many times to uphold that great
British tradition of going on a pub crawl.
I've been in the bars until 3 am in the morning; I've got the last bus
home at 12:15 am with all the other drunks; I've eaten kebabs in
the streets at 2 am; I've watched the FA Cup final live in the early
hours with 600 other chanting football fans; but I have still never
seen a hint of trouble.
But that’s not to say that there isn’t trouble, because in certain
notorious hotspots, there certainly is. For example, on the Gold
Coast, at Surfers Paradise, you won't want to be mixing it with the
Page 73
www.BobinOz.com
kids on the beach, or around the mall after midnight on a Friday or
Saturday night guzzling down the alcopops.
Similar trouble spots are at Melbourne, mainly around the central
business district and in Sydney you would probably want to avoid a
few areas including King's Cross and the back of Surrey Hills late at
night. Brisbane's Fortitude Valley can turn a bit ugly at times, as
can Canberra’s Civic, Perth’s Vincent St and Adelaide’s Hindley St.
But these are all in major city centres and known for their high
concentration of drinking venues. Kids go there to have fun but end
up drinking too much and sometimes it goes pair shaped.
It is everybody's choice to avoid those sorts of areas late at night if
they wish. I think those choices are reduced in England because
there are more “city centres” – they seem to be everywhere.
I know this has not been my most convincing chapter. I actually
considered pulling it out, but decided it is too important a subject,
just like the health issue, to skip. So it stayed in and what's more, it
stayed at number six.
Why?
Because just like the others have said above, whatever the
statistics say about Australia and despite those city trouble spots,
generally speaking "it feels safer" here.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
You can stare at stats all day long about crime in Australia,
but only by living here will you see how much safer it feels.
Avoid those city trouble spots.
Gang culture is not in evidence on the streets.
Page 74
www.BobinOz.com
Number 5: People per Square Mile.
As we head into the top five, we are entering areas that have been
well discussed on my blog, for obvious reasons; we are now looking
at the five things I like the most about Australia.
I have certainly mentioned this before, but nonetheless it is at
number five…..
Yes, just seven people per square mile.
The benefits of that are endless. We've already mentioned less
traffic on the roads, parking being easier, but did I tell you the
queues at the Kentucky Fried Chicken are much shorter?
Sometimes you can go to a park and have it all to yourself. When I
go to my local post office, there are never more than two or three
people in front of me. Same at the bank.
Going to the supermarket in England, for me, used to be a bit of a
nightmare. Those places would get so crowded. Then, once you
were done with your shopping, it was time to try and "guess" which
of the 16 checkouts had the shortest queue.
Page 75
www.BobinOz.com
After deciding it was checkout number five, you would make your
way there with great speed only to see two other shoppers appear
from separate aisles just nanoseconds before you secured your spot
at the end of that queue.
So you would choose a different queue, yes the one where the till
roll will run out.
I'm not saying we don’t have queues here at the supermarket, but
they are shorter that's for sure.
As I pointed out in my blog post when I talked about the population
of Australia and its size compared with the UK…..
The UK (population 60 million) would fit into Australia (population
20 million) 31 times.
‘Nuff said.
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
None needed here; just enjoy the space.
Page 76
www.BobinOz.com
Number 4: It's All One Big Wraparound
Beach!
I am, of course, aware that the same thing could be said about
England. It is actually a fact that you are never more than 70 miles
away from the beach in England.
But do they look like this……….
Or this……..
Page 77
www.BobinOz.com
Page 78
www.BobinOz.com
Or this…..
Page 79
www.BobinOz.com
Page 80
www.BobinOz.com
Page 81
www.BobinOz.com
Page 82
www.BobinOz.com
Page 83
www.BobinOz.com
Australia has 26,735 kms of coastline with 7,000 beaches. If you
include the coastline of Tasmania and some of the larger islands
that belong to Australia, it's actually 47,070 kms of coastline.
By my calculations if everybody in Australia all went to the beach on
the same day, it still wouldn't be as crowded as Southend Beach
was when I was a kid.
Southend beach 1964 – busy huh?
Without a doubt, Australia is the place to be beside the seaside.
Page 84
www.BobinOz.com
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Beaches are not as commercial here as they are in the UK, so
take an esky (cool box) with some supplies.
If there are lifeguards on the beach, swim between the flags.
You can drive your car on some beaches……..
Page 85
www.BobinOz.com
Number 3: The Price of Houses.
I wrote a post about house prices on my blog and I think it is the
only post I have written that gave me a headache!
Trying to compare house prices between Australia and the UK is not
easy. I got into a right mess trying to prove Australian houses were
cheaper. It seemed the more I tried to prove it the deeper the hole
I was digging for myself.
What makes it even more tricky is the price differential in the UK
between some areas, in particular the often talked about at NorthSouth divide.
But here in Australia, in many ways, we have the same thing.
Houses up north, where the crocodiles are, are much cheaper.
Similarly, houses NOT in one of the six major cities are also
cheaper. If you want to live in a small inland town, expect to pick
up a bargain.
So, I decided I didn't want to give myself another headache trying
to compare houses, this time I am going to approach it differently.
Like this….
Page 86
www.BobinOz.com
Example 1
•
•
•
•
•
•
Detached.
Three bedrooms.
One bathroom.
Garage.
On 1012 square metres of land.
46 km from Brisbane.
Price: $305,000 AUD
Page 87
www.BobinOz.com
Example 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Detached.
Four bedrooms.
Three living areas.
Outdoor spa and barbecue area.
No neighbours in sight.
Minutes from M1 and schools.
Beautiful gardens.
Secluded.
On over seven acres of land.
44 km from Brisbane.
Price: $879,000 AUD
Page 88
www.BobinOz.com
Example 3
•
•
•
•
•
•
Detached.
Five bedrooms.
Two living areas.
Close to shops and beach.
On 556 square metres.
108 km from Canberra.
Price: $290,000 AUD
Page 89
www.BobinOz.com
The house I used to live in back in the UK can be seen on my blog
in another post I did about house prices.
The house I bought here in Australia cost two thirds of the price I
sold the one in England for, is on land at leased six times bigger
and the house itself is twice as big inside compared to my old one.
There, I will leave it for you to decide, based on where you live, if
houses are cheaper here or not.
I'm done and no headache this time!
Bob’s Oz Tips:
•
•
•
Research house prices for yourself over at this Australian Real
Estate portal.
Forget the "south facing garden" syndrome, people here buy
houses based on how shaded the outdoor area is.
If you need help deciding which area to live in, check out
www.BobinOz.com and join the membership area.
Page 90
www.BobinOz.com
Number 2: The Weather.
This won't take long.
I just love the weather here. The sky (nearly) always looks like
this……..
Page 91
www.BobinOz.com
But is it too hot?
Well, not for me. After almost 5 decades of English weather, which
comprises of course of mainly grey, dull skies, drizzle, (Australia
doesn't do drizzle), wind, cold and out and out rain when it's not
drizzly, the continuous sunshine is a real treat.
Here in Brisbane, the summers seem to average out at
temperatures of around 32°C. That's certainly not too hot for me.
But on a real hot summers day it can reach around 40°C. Yes that is
hot, but I still love it.
In Sydney and Melbourne, summers can be even hotter. But it is
certainly more seasonal down that way, they definitely have colder
winters. I have also been told that Canberra and a place called
Armidale can get really quite cold. You can read about the places
that get snow, on my blog.
I have said it before, but it is worth saying again. Dull and grey
equals depressing. Sunny with clear blue skies equals happy.
So for me, the weather is the second best reason to move to
Australia.
Page 92
www.BobinOz.com
No time for Bob’s Oz Tips….. too excited…….
Beaches third, the weather second, what could possibly be number
one?
This……….
Page 93
www.BobinOz.com
Number 1: A Total Lifestyle Change.
When I think about what it's really like to live in Australia, and
especially when I try to compare it with how my life used to be in
England, I can think of only one thing.
Total lifestyle change.
It's everything that I have discussed here and more. It’s….
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
No More Double Glazing Salesmen
Having a huge country to explore.
Living in a “can do” country that loves its sport.
Outdoor entertainments.
Efficient healthcare and no problems parking.
Jumping in the swimming pool.
Children's play areas everywhere.
Barbecues.
Living in a land of opportunity.
Wearing shorts all the time.
Loving the wildlife.
Driving on the open roads.
Cute looking schools with large playing fields.
The outdoor life.
Feeling safer.
Not being overcrowded.
The beautiful beaches.
The big spacious houses.
The glorious weather.
Page 94
www.BobinOz.com
But far more than all that, and most important of all, it's spending
much more time with my family.
Australia is a country that is just perfect for families. When we were
in England it was always a struggle to think of things we can do as a
family. But here, we never run out of ideas.
Every weekend we do something as a family and it's not going to
the shops!
We'd go to the beach, or we’d go to the mountains, we’d have a
picnic, or we’d have a barbecue, or we'd go for a drive in the
countryside or we’d go to an outdoor event.
There is always something on, we've been to the Ekka, we've been
to Greenfest, we've been to the Brookfield Show, we've been to the
local school fete, we've been to Queensland Day in the park.
We've been to a
classic car show in
Cleveland, we've
been to a regatta
on Bribie Island,
we've been to
beaches
everywhere, we've
been to theme
parks, we've been
to the zoo, we
have been to so
many places.
The regatta on Bribie Island
Page 95
www.BobinOz.com
In England the problem seemed to be finding something to do, here
the problem is deciding what to do from all the options.
Six months after arriving in Australia, I celebrated my 50th birthday
over at Surfers Paradise. But I don't feel like I'm 50, I feel like I
have just been born!
I expected a lot of things moving to Australia, but I didn't expect
that.
Bob’s Final Tip:
•
If you get the chance to move to Australia, take it!
Cheers and thanks for reading.
Bob
www.BobinOz.com
What It's Really like to Live in Australia.
Page 96
www.BobinOz.com
Contact information:
You can contact BobinOz at:
[email protected]
This ebook is available free to anyone who enters their name
and email address over at www.BobinOz.com/blog
If you're serious about moving to Australia, where are you
going to live? Get ideas from www.BobinOz.com
Find out more about BobinOz over at
www.bobinoz.com/blog/about-me/
If you find anything in this book to be incorrect, misleading or
upsetting, or even if you just find a typo, I'd be really pleased
to hear your feedback. Contact me at [email protected]
Page 97

20 Reasons Why YOU Should Move to Australia.

Transcription

Similar documents

AVS24 2.4 GHZ Wireless Audio/Video Sender

PDF - Monex Europe

PDF

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

Australia in Style - Outback Encounter

Paula Brennan, Greater Dandenong

ERL-0631-GD PR

Joining forces to fund national cancer research

Hassad Australia - Grain Trade Australia

January2015 - Lafon Nursing Facility