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I would be interested in the other direction. Would anyone from the EU who moved to Australia care to tell us about their experiences?

by fefe23 7y ago

BFLpL0QNek 7y ago
Trains are meh. The average train speed is 50km/h, so living out in the suburbs is a long slow commute. What should be a 20-30 min journey can be 1hr plus. Forget interstate travel as each state has different line standards. "She'll be right mate" the stereotypical image of Aussies, not so true at least these days. Highly litigious, lots of red tape, and following strict rules, love their fines, if they can fine it they'll be a fine for it! You often find police officers in Sydney CBD fining pedestrians for crossing the road or police sniffer dogs around the train stations randomly plucking commuters for strip searches. Australia often gets a bad write up from the UN on social justice, take the encryption laws rushed in as an example. The car is king. In the EU if you cross the road in a safe manner, cars will back off the accelerator. In Australia, it's a case you shouldn't be on the road, so they speed up intentionally to hit you. Similarly, if you want to cycle, you better be brave. Driving standards seem far worse. On the topic of cars they have high import duties so your average European car becomes very expensive. Instead, there's tons of Toyota Hillux's and Corollas, Landcruiser, etc and the odd Holden but they've stopped being produced in the AU so don't seem as popular as they once were. It's impossible or near impossible to eat out after 8 pm. Shops close at 6 pm so no after work shopping. Sydney has zero nightlife for an international city, it's like a ghost town now after dark. They introduced "lock out laws" essentially killing the nightlife as bars close early, prevent you from getting into bars after a specific time, and limiting drinks that can be purchased over a specific time. They have recently backed down from this and reducing the restrictions in the new year. The damage has been done, bars have shut and turned in to apartments. A high cost of living. You have two grocery stores, Coles and Woolworths, so far less variety. There is a third chain called IGA that tries to carry a little higher quality produce, you see them more in smaller towns. Being so far from anywhere, it's a long journey to travel outside of Australia. Perth to Sydney is a 5hr flight, a 5hr flight you've crossed Europe. Australia is on fire, the prime minister denies climate change and walks into parliament with cole saying don't be afraid it's only cole, kind of sets the standard. Tech jobs, you get your usual low barrier agency knocking out website jobs writing javascript. Then the other popular work is big data doing questionable stuff with user data or cryptocurrencies. When you search on Linkedin, for example, for EU jobs or US jobs compared to Australia, Australia's availability of meaningful, interesting, well-paying tech jobs is lacking/behind other parts of the world. Some do exist but few and far between. The computer science degrees here must be good though worked with some very smart Aussie's. The US companies tend to cherry-pick the graduates due to the special AU-US visa agreements. The housing they've yet to discover double glazing/insulation. A lot of the properties look like they haven't been renovated since the 70's. Slight ignorance that insulation works to keep the heat inside during the winter and heat out during the summer when the aircon is on. Also the mean Sydney house price is $1million +, although that $1 million won't buy you what you'd expect for a $1 million house. Instead, you'd get some shitbox that needs renovating or what is popular knocking down and turning in to apartments. On the plus side, if you like an active outdoor lifestyle, it's fantastic. If you like the beach it has them, bushwalking, lots of that, outdoor sports lots of that. Great coffee that's down to the high multiculturalism, although there's is a lot of quiet racism the more regional you go. Also in the cities etc food is really good. I eat out a lot more in the AU for brunch and dinner. Lots of variety from AU / EU style food to Asian etc. Work-life balance is generally ok. It's certainly a comfortable lifestyle. There's also less crime. I've never walked down a street or through a suburb that's felt unsafe. Life is good in the AU if you get a tech salary, it's a bit of a bubble, though compared to the rest of the world due to the isolation. I don't love it, I don't hate it, it's comfortable, for now. My partner is Australian, so I'll be sticking around as she wants to be here when we start a family. We did plan to go overseas to Europe for a little while to live and work, but due to the mess of the UK and brexit that might not be as easy as we thought. I'm currently waiting on my permanent visa to come through so we can make our next plans until then it's hard for us to plan ahead. Australia, the lucky country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucky_Country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucky_Country
- cookie_monsta 7y ago
  Maybe this is how lame Sydney has become, but from a Melbourne perspective there are a few points here that don't really ring true - in fact it kind of sounds like you're describing the Australia that my parents grew up in... > Forget interstate travel as each state has different line standards While there are remnants of narrow and broad gauge tracks around, all the mainland capital cities have been connected by standard gauge tracks since 1995. > It's impossible or near impossible to eat out after 8 pm. This is true way out in the suburbs, or in regional areas but the closer you get to downtown the more places there are serving until 10pm (particularly Asian food) and a plethora of 24 hour places. > Shops close at 6 pm so no after work shopping. The two major supermarkets open until midnight. Shopping centres (malls) open until 9pm Thu-Sun. K-Mart is generally open until 10 or midnight, sometimes 24 hours. The rest I don't know - I don't really shop recreationally. > You have two grocery stores, Coles and Woolworths ... and Aldi, plus the IGA's as you say. > it's a long journey to travel outside of Australia Not if you're going to New Zealand from Melbourne, or Asia from Darwin :) > The prime minister denies climate change and walks into parliament with cole saying don't be afraid it's only cole Agreed, that was a shameful moment - the only mitigating factor is that he wasn't Prime Minister at the time. > They've yet to discover double glazing/insulation Um, no. We have the internet and we can read, too. Possibly you missed the scandal a few years ago when the govt was subsidising insulation. Another shameful moment. > I've never walked down a street or through a suburb that's felt unsafe Generally agreed, but if you want the counterpoint I'll take you on a walking tour sometime. Just don't bring your good sunglasses ;)
- climb_stealth 7y ago
  This rings true to me. Some other thoughts: Online-banking is great. Commonwealth Bank for example has a great app and website experience. It is very much living in the future compared to Germany for example. Dealing with the city council is mostly great with lots of transactions being possible online. Drivers license, parking permits and things like this. Also, paying the numerous fines is very straightforward. Winters feel freezing cold inside due to lack of insulation. At the same time winter feels super pleasant outside with mid twenty degrees centigrade and lots of sun. You'll bring a woollen jumper to work in scorching summer due to blasting aircon. Lots of interactions are on a first name basis where it would be strictly Mr/Ms LastName in Germany. There are lots of mosquitoes but they are huge and mostly silent. Compared to the ones in Germany that are practically invisible and noisy and keep you up at night. Australians ones will bite you plenty at night without waking you up.

I would be interested in the other direction. Would anyone from the EU who moved to Australia care to tell us about their experiences?

by fefe23 7y ago

I would be interested in the other direction. Would anyone from the EU who moved to Australia care to tell us about their experiences?

BFLpL0QNek 7y ago

Trains are meh. The average train speed is 50km/h, so living out in the suburbs is a long slow commute. What should be a 20-30 min journey can be 1hr plus. Forget interstate travel as each state has different line standards. "She'll be right mate" the stereotypical image of Aussies, not so true at least these days. Highly litigious, lots of red tape, and following strict rules, love their fines, if they can fine it they'll be a fine for it! You often find police officers in Sydney CBD fining pedestrians for crossing the road or police sniffer dogs around the train stations randomly plucking commuters for strip searches. Australia often gets a bad write up from the UN on social justice, take the encryption laws rushed in as an example. The car is king. In the EU if you cross the road in a safe manner, cars will back off the accelerator. In Australia, it's a case you shouldn't be on the road, so they speed up intentionally to hit you. Similarly, if you want to cycle, you better be brave. Driving standards seem far worse. On the topic of cars they have high import duties so your average European car becomes very expensive. Instead, there's tons of Toyota Hillux's and Corollas, Landcruiser, etc and the odd Holden but they've stopped being produced in the AU so don't seem as popular as they once were. It's impossible or near impossible to eat out after 8 pm. Shops close at 6 pm so no after work shopping. Sydney has zero nightlife for an international city, it's like a ghost town now after dark. They introduced "lock out laws" essentially killing the nightlife as bars close early, prevent you from getting into bars after a specific time, and limiting drinks that can be purchased over a specific time. They have recently backed down from this and reducing the restrictions in the new year. The damage has been done, bars have shut and turned in to apartments. A high cost of living. You have two grocery stores, Coles and Woolworths, so far less variety. There is a third chain called IGA that tries to carry a little higher quality produce, you see them more in smaller towns. Being so far from anywhere, it's a long journey to travel outside of Australia. Perth to Sydney is a 5hr flight, a 5hr flight you've crossed Europe. Australia is on fire, the prime minister denies climate change and walks into parliament with cole saying don't be afraid it's only cole, kind of sets the standard. Tech jobs, you get your usual low barrier agency knocking out website jobs writing javascript. Then the other popular work is big data doing questionable stuff with user data or cryptocurrencies. When you search on Linkedin, for example, for EU jobs or US jobs compared to Australia, Australia's availability of meaningful, interesting, well-paying tech jobs is lacking/behind other parts of the world. Some do exist but few and far between. The computer science degrees here must be good though worked with some very smart Aussie's. The US companies tend to cherry-pick the graduates due to the special AU-US visa agreements. The housing they've yet to discover double glazing/insulation. A lot of the properties look like they haven't been renovated since the 70's. Slight ignorance that insulation works to keep the heat inside during the winter and heat out during the summer when the aircon is on. Also the mean Sydney house price is $1million +, although that $1 million won't buy you what you'd expect for a $1 million house. Instead, you'd get some shitbox that needs renovating or what is popular knocking down and turning in to apartments. On the plus side, if you like an active outdoor lifestyle, it's fantastic. If you like the beach it has them, bushwalking, lots of that, outdoor sports lots of that. Great coffee that's down to the high multiculturalism, although there's is a lot of quiet racism the more regional you go. Also in the cities etc food is really good. I eat out a lot more in the AU for brunch and dinner. Lots of variety from AU / EU style food to Asian etc. Work-life balance is generally ok. It's certainly a comfortable lifestyle. There's also less crime. I've never walked down a street or through a suburb that's felt unsafe. Life is good in the AU if you get a tech salary, it's a bit of a bubble, though compared to the rest of the world due to the isolation. I don't love it, I don't hate it, it's comfortable, for now. My partner is Australian, so I'll be sticking around as she wants to be here when we start a family. We did plan to go overseas to Europe for a little while to live and work, but due to the mess of the UK and brexit that might not be as easy as we thought. I'm currently waiting on my permanent visa to come through so we can make our next plans until then it's hard for us to plan ahead. Australia, the lucky country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucky_Country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lucky_Country

cookie_monsta 7y ago
Maybe this is how lame Sydney has become, but from a Melbourne perspective there are a few points here that don't really ring true - in fact it kind of sounds like you're describing the Australia that my parents grew up in... > Forget interstate travel as each state has different line standards While there are remnants of narrow and broad gauge tracks around, all the mainland capital cities have been connected by standard gauge tracks since 1995. > It's impossible or near impossible to eat out after 8 pm. This is true way out in the suburbs, or in regional areas but the closer you get to downtown the more places there are serving until 10pm (particularly Asian food) and a plethora of 24 hour places. > Shops close at 6 pm so no after work shopping. The two major supermarkets open until midnight. Shopping centres (malls) open until 9pm Thu-Sun. K-Mart is generally open until 10 or midnight, sometimes 24 hours. The rest I don't know - I don't really shop recreationally. > You have two grocery stores, Coles and Woolworths ... and Aldi, plus the IGA's as you say. > it's a long journey to travel outside of Australia Not if you're going to New Zealand from Melbourne, or Asia from Darwin :) > The prime minister denies climate change and walks into parliament with cole saying don't be afraid it's only cole Agreed, that was a shameful moment - the only mitigating factor is that he wasn't Prime Minister at the time. > They've yet to discover double glazing/insulation Um, no. We have the internet and we can read, too. Possibly you missed the scandal a few years ago when the govt was subsidising insulation. Another shameful moment. > I've never walked down a street or through a suburb that's felt unsafe Generally agreed, but if you want the counterpoint I'll take you on a walking tour sometime. Just don't bring your good sunglasses ;)
climb_stealth 7y ago
This rings true to me. Some other thoughts: Online-banking is great. Commonwealth Bank for example has a great app and website experience. It is very much living in the future compared to Germany for example. Dealing with the city council is mostly great with lots of transactions being possible online. Drivers license, parking permits and things like this. Also, paying the numerous fines is very straightforward. Winters feel freezing cold inside due to lack of insulation. At the same time winter feels super pleasant outside with mid twenty degrees centigrade and lots of sun. You'll bring a woollen jumper to work in scorching summer due to blasting aircon. Lots of interactions are on a first name basis where it would be strictly Mr/Ms LastName in Germany. There are lots of mosquitoes but they are huge and mostly silent. Compared to the ones in Germany that are practically invisible and noisy and keep you up at night. Australians ones will bite you plenty at night without waking you up.