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I moved from Perth to Berlin. The biggest thing that hit me was the alcohol. I can buy a (good!) beer at anytime (even 3am) for about 2 euros from a spati ("lat

I moved from Perth to Berlin. The biggest thing that hit me was the alcohol. I can buy a (good!) beer at anytime (even 3am) for about 2 euros from a spati ("late shop"- like a deli but mostly selling beer), and then walk around in the open air drinking it. All the supermarkets sell alcohol all day(and so cheap). People gather by the canals in summer, just drinking and talking. No-one seems to get drunk, there's no violence or shouting. It's such a pleasant change. Also smoking in bars. I don't smoke, but I don't mind it.Ny gf hates it and prefers to sit outside in the cold rather than inside in the smoke. The bureaucracy is about the same - Aussie bureaucracy is less finicky but feels more hostile. People are people. Though Germans seem less angry than Aussies. I always wonder why Australia seems such an angry place after travelling abroad. The graffiti and street art is also striking. Perth goes in for tagging, but not on the same scale or creativeness as Berlin. I really like it, but I understand why other people don't. I'm really enjoying my time here. Miss the beach, though.

fit2rule 7y ago
I'm also from Perth, lived around the world, including some years in Germany .. had the same set of observations. On this: >I always wonder why Australia seems such an angry place after travelling abroad. I think Australia has a lot of deep pain in its history, and in its culture, and this manifests in a hostility. Every time I go back, I wonder why its such an angry shithole. Australians just seem to be getting madder and madder... EDIT: Germany does have deep pain in its history. Germans are aware of that, and overt about it. Australians not so much.
- geowwy 7y ago
  I've traveled around a bit but haven't noticed Australians are more angry than anyone else. Interested in this comment.
  - zizee 7y ago
    I'm not sure if it is a thing unique to Australia, but there are seem to be a lot of Australian's that have a chip on their shoulder and will tell anyone that will listen to them about how badly Australian's do things/behave. I suspect they have not traveled very much, or just feel better doing something similar to self-flagellation. Like anywhere Australia has it's issues, but in general things are pretty good compared to most countries in the world.
    - fit2rule 7y ago
      Great Barrier Reef. Concentration camps. Awful pollution stats. Heinous censorship laws. Rotten politics. Racism. There are many things to change about Australia. Sunny dispositions are one thing; true grit to make the effort to change things, something else ..
      - ericmay 7y ago
        This is the first I’m hearing about concentration camps in Australia. Could you elaborate? When I think concentration camps I’m thinking about what’s going on in China - what is going on in Australia?
        fit2rule 7y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_immigration_detention_facilities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_immigration_detenti... See also: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/our-detention-centres-are-intentionally-cruel-and-must-be-closed-20160504-golr04.html https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/our-detention-centres-are-int...
        ericmay 7y ago
        Those aren't concentration camps. You might be able to argue on a technical definition that they are, but that's not how the term is used in everyday language. I'm kind of getting annoyed by everyone throwing around the term concentration camp. It's like when we were calling everyone a Nazi. Concentration camps are what's going on in China. People in their own country are being rounded up, murdered, raped, harvested, forced to work, and other horrific things because of their religious beliefs, nationality, or political beliefs. When someone gets on a boat and tries to immigrate to Australia or any other country without the proper paperwork and then they are held in a center until the government figures out what to do with them (i.e. not harvesting their fucking organs) that is absolutely not a concentration camp. When you try and create this false equivalency between a real concentration camp and a detention center, you devalue what a concentration camp is, and the terrible experiences of the victims of the holocaust. When people think concentration camp, they are horrified. When you call these detention centers concentration camps, they start forgetting what a concentration camp actually is, and start associating it with these detention centers. It actually enables white supremacists; what great gift you're giving them when they can gaslight us into thinking that Jews were just held at these detention centers and not these horrific concentration camps. That's not ok. These aren't concentration camps. It's not even close to the same thing, and be propagating this idea that they are, you devalue past experiences, lessen the horrors that people are currently experiencing, and generally make the world a worse place to live.
- ryder9 7y ago
  >I think Australia has a lot of deep pain in its history, and in its culture, and this manifests in a hostility. Yeah.. Germany doesn't have any of that..
- ObsoleteNerd 7y ago
  I’m from Australia, lived a decent portion of my life overseas in various countries, and traveled extensively (never lived anywhere more than a year in my life). I’ve always noticed Australians in general are very easy to get mad, take things the wrong way, etc. I’m constantly surprised by how many of my friends have so much loud hatred for things that seem so.. trivial? I’m constantly made fun of for being a “hippy” and “not caring about anything” because I prefer to always try stay positive and as stress-free as possible. Of course this is a vast generalisation, but it’s purely my experience and something I’ve distinctly noticed too, and I agree it seems to be getting worse. I don’t think the nations history has anything to do with it though. I don’t know where it started but I think it’s just a cultural thing that spreads like most cultural things.
  - cylinder 7y ago
    People raised in Australia are just used to things being easy and when they're not they get grumpy. Which is happening more as the population grows and the big cities become proper cities and not giant suburbs. It's even happening to me as a migrant after becoming too comfortable. Also read comments pages on press sites and blogs etc. They have no sense of perspective for their complaints as they've spent no time living anywhere else. Another issue is cultural cringe.
- zizee 7y ago
  > Every time I go back, I wonder why its such an angry shithole. Australians just seem to be getting madder and madder... Anectdata, but the last German I talked to said "When i first arrived in Australia I was really confused by strangers smiling at me in the street and supermarket. My family doesn't understand it, but I want them to visit so that they could experience a different, more relaxed way of life."
  - nmnim 7y ago
    Also anecdata, Germans don't smile at you on the street often but imo they're generally not very angsty. Australians smile often but have higher road rage and that kind of thing. British people neither smile at your nor do they have patience on the road etc. Worst lot.
rlander 7y ago
I think a lot of responses in this thread are taking the author’s words literally. In my experience, it’s not about being more or less angry. Germans are more restrained with regards to showing strangers their true feelings, while Australians are more comfortable sharing their emotions. It goes both ways: if an Australian is feeling happy, he/she will smile at you but if he/she is feeling frustrated, it’ll also show.
dgellow 7y ago
> No-one seems to get drunk, there's no violence or shouting That’s ... not my experience. I felt really safe in Berlin, even outside during the night in the middle of the city, but people definitely get drunk in bars and in public, really a lot by my standards. And with that you have the unavoidable shouting, random acts of violence, property damage. I enjoy Berlin but the place really has an alcohol issue IMHO.
- marcus_holmes 7y ago
  I've never seen a random act of violence, or even shouting yet (except for the obviously mentally disturbed characters in the U-Bahn station). In Perth, it's not at all uncommon for Northbridge on a Friday night to see half a dozen people passed out, another dozen vomiting, a few fistfights, and a thousand drunken shouting matches. Honestly, it's a different level.
deleted 7y ago
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fit2rule 7y ago

I'm also from Perth, lived around the world, including some years in Germany .. had the same set of observations. On this: >I always wonder why Australia seems such an angry place after travelling abroad. I think Australia has a lot of deep pain in its history, and in its culture, and this manifests in a hostility. Every time I go back, I wonder why its such an angry shithole. Australians just seem to be getting madder and madder... EDIT: Germany does have deep pain in its history. Germans are aware of that, and overt about it. Australians not so much.

geowwy 7y ago
I've traveled around a bit but haven't noticed Australians are more angry than anyone else. Interested in this comment.
- zizee 7y ago
  I'm not sure if it is a thing unique to Australia, but there are seem to be a lot of Australian's that have a chip on their shoulder and will tell anyone that will listen to them about how badly Australian's do things/behave. I suspect they have not traveled very much, or just feel better doing something similar to self-flagellation. Like anywhere Australia has it's issues, but in general things are pretty good compared to most countries in the world.
  - fit2rule 7y ago
    Great Barrier Reef. Concentration camps. Awful pollution stats. Heinous censorship laws. Rotten politics. Racism. There are many things to change about Australia. Sunny dispositions are one thing; true grit to make the effort to change things, something else ..
    - ericmay 7y ago
      This is the first I’m hearing about concentration camps in Australia. Could you elaborate? When I think concentration camps I’m thinking about what’s going on in China - what is going on in Australia?
      - fit2rule 7y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_immigration_detention_facilities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_immigration_detenti... See also: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/our-detention-centres-are-intentionally-cruel-and-must-be-closed-20160504-golr04.html https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/our-detention-centres-are-int...
        ericmay 7y ago
        Those aren't concentration camps. You might be able to argue on a technical definition that they are, but that's not how the term is used in everyday language. I'm kind of getting annoyed by everyone throwing around the term concentration camp. It's like when we were calling everyone a Nazi. Concentration camps are what's going on in China. People in their own country are being rounded up, murdered, raped, harvested, forced to work, and other horrific things because of their religious beliefs, nationality, or political beliefs. When someone gets on a boat and tries to immigrate to Australia or any other country without the proper paperwork and then they are held in a center until the government figures out what to do with them (i.e. not harvesting their fucking organs) that is absolutely not a concentration camp. When you try and create this false equivalency between a real concentration camp and a detention center, you devalue what a concentration camp is, and the terrible experiences of the victims of the holocaust. When people think concentration camp, they are horrified. When you call these detention centers concentration camps, they start forgetting what a concentration camp actually is, and start associating it with these detention centers. It actually enables white supremacists; what great gift you're giving them when they can gaslight us into thinking that Jews were just held at these detention centers and not these horrific concentration camps. That's not ok. These aren't concentration camps. It's not even close to the same thing, and be propagating this idea that they are, you devalue past experiences, lessen the horrors that people are currently experiencing, and generally make the world a worse place to live.
ryder9 7y ago
>I think Australia has a lot of deep pain in its history, and in its culture, and this manifests in a hostility. Yeah.. Germany doesn't have any of that..
ObsoleteNerd 7y ago
I’m from Australia, lived a decent portion of my life overseas in various countries, and traveled extensively (never lived anywhere more than a year in my life). I’ve always noticed Australians in general are very easy to get mad, take things the wrong way, etc. I’m constantly surprised by how many of my friends have so much loud hatred for things that seem so.. trivial? I’m constantly made fun of for being a “hippy” and “not caring about anything” because I prefer to always try stay positive and as stress-free as possible. Of course this is a vast generalisation, but it’s purely my experience and something I’ve distinctly noticed too, and I agree it seems to be getting worse. I don’t think the nations history has anything to do with it though. I don’t know where it started but I think it’s just a cultural thing that spreads like most cultural things.
- cylinder 7y ago
  People raised in Australia are just used to things being easy and when they're not they get grumpy. Which is happening more as the population grows and the big cities become proper cities and not giant suburbs. It's even happening to me as a migrant after becoming too comfortable. Also read comments pages on press sites and blogs etc. They have no sense of perspective for their complaints as they've spent no time living anywhere else. Another issue is cultural cringe.
zizee 7y ago
> Every time I go back, I wonder why its such an angry shithole. Australians just seem to be getting madder and madder... Anectdata, but the last German I talked to said "When i first arrived in Australia I was really confused by strangers smiling at me in the street and supermarket. My family doesn't understand it, but I want them to visit so that they could experience a different, more relaxed way of life."
- nmnim 7y ago
  Also anecdata, Germans don't smile at you on the street often but imo they're generally not very angsty. Australians smile often but have higher road rage and that kind of thing. British people neither smile at your nor do they have patience on the road etc. Worst lot.

rlander 7y ago

I think a lot of responses in this thread are taking the author’s words literally. In my experience, it’s not about being more or less angry. Germans are more restrained with regards to showing strangers their true feelings, while Australians are more comfortable sharing their emotions. It goes both ways: if an Australian is feeling happy, he/she will smile at you but if he/she is feeling frustrated, it’ll also show.

dgellow 7y ago

> No-one seems to get drunk, there's no violence or shouting That’s ... not my experience. I felt really safe in Berlin, even outside during the night in the middle of the city, but people definitely get drunk in bars and in public, really a lot by my standards. And with that you have the unavoidable shouting, random acts of violence, property damage. I enjoy Berlin but the place really has an alcohol issue IMHO.

marcus_holmes 7y ago
I've never seen a random act of violence, or even shouting yet (except for the obviously mentally disturbed characters in the U-Bahn station). In Perth, it's not at all uncommon for Northbridge on a Friday night to see half a dozen people passed out, another dozen vomiting, a few fistfights, and a thousand drunken shouting matches. Honestly, it's a different level.

deleted 7y ago

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