Having been in Sydney for the last 3 months, the Aussie dream is turning into the Aussie nightmare - I'm not a celebrity but I'm close to shouting "get me out of here" !! For all of those considering a move to Sydney (and yes there are some beautiful beaches) you should be aware of the following, you will meet some of the rudest individuals known to mankind, you will not unless you wish to live in undesirable locations be able to afford to purchase quality accommodation (and rentals are not cheap), you will be amazed at the levels of crime and you will quickly question what the hell you have given up to come here. Public transport is disgusting, quality of supermarkets/shopping outlets is a joke. it's expensive and to be honest in the main it's like living in an era with the "walton's" !! probably 20 years behind any city I have ever been to in my life (and following 25 years military service I have been to a few). 8% + interests rates, average housing costing more than A$500000, ridiculous tax regulations, and real social issues.
If the rest of Australia is similar to Sydney (let's hope not), then I will fulfill my 3 year obligation on my contract, convert my A$'s into a currency of my chosing and get the hell out of here - I think we who contribute on these forums have a "duty of care" to ensure threads (albeit based on personal experience) our honest and reflect reality thus allowing others to have reasonable expectations on arrival.
There will no doubt be those who disagree with my comments - I will read all replies with interest, whilst at the same time be interested to learn how others are maintaining a "quality lifestyle" (without just the beach) that I am yet to discover here in Sydney. Is Perth/Brissie anywhere any better ????
sorry to hear your having it tough,cant say anything about sydney as never been but perth sounds the opposite.friendly people ,good shopping,good public transport network and the housing although i realise it has went up in price is still affordable,hope things work out for you
billy
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BILLY(45) JANETTE(36) MARC(17) GARY(13)
Location: Sunshine Coast Queensland Australia mate!
Posts: 42
Fully agree with you and i'm all aussie..
Sydney's the place the go if your a high flyin party goin night-owl....It's like one huge nightclub full of trouble...(my personal view)
I've lived there a few times and admit...some lovely places..amazing sights...but not the place to go to quietly settle down with family and get on with life anymore.....the northern coast of n.s.w is nice..some of the popular towns have gone a bit yuppy...
queensland..now your talking...
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Location: From Bury,Manchester To Jimboomba, Brisbane
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Seems like you really are having a bad time.From my experience of Brisbane ,they are some of the most friendlist folks ive ever met,shops are pretty good (except for clothes!) and food is reasonably priced , housing still pretty reasonable $300k upwards,rentals are about although becoming harder to secure and work is readily available for most trades.I have no experience of public transport so cant really comment on that.We do have water restictions but its not that hard to adere to the rules especially if you have water tanks,and yes it can get hot but nothing unbearable ,,if i was you i'd have a good look around maybe its just where you are,,good luck with whatever you decide
Cal x
Hi, sorry to hear it's not working out for you. I think people are being honest when they give their opinions as you say they're based only on their own personal experiences. We've had a great first year in WA, happy with where we have settled and like the bravehearts have met many nice people, who have been very generous with their time, help and hospitality. I only visited Sydney briefly, had a great time sight seeing - but I'm not a big city girl and it wasn't for me.
Ali
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I'm sick of following my dreams, I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later
... you should be aware of the following, you will meet some of the rudest individuals known to mankind...
Something I noticed too when I first went to live in Sydney. Families/groups will walk three abreast down the pavement and don't expect to move aside for you.
Driving is crazy too. Something which still scares the **** out of me sometimes.
Its just a different way of doing things. Chill out and go with the flow where ever possible.
I agree with a lot of what you say, but isn't what you describe true of a lot of big cities these days?
I don't think Sydney is any worse than any large British city. I've lived here nearly ten years and never had a break in, been mugged or experienced any major hassles. It depends where you live, I guess. Hang around in Kings Cross or Oxford St and you will certainly see a lot of the ugly side of the city. And there are some shocking suburbs out west.
Yes, Sydney is expensive for housing and if your job allows you to live elsewhere in Australla you will get much more for your $500,000.
I don't agree with you about public transport - having commuted in London I have to say that Cityrail is way better, even with all the cancellations, late trains etc. Can't comment on the buses though.
Maybe some people have unrealistic expectations about Sydney. There's a lot more to the place than the harbour and beaches. It's a big and busy multicultural city and that's not for everyone.
Total agree with your comments. It's sounds like you are in the same place as I'm in.... We are in Melbourne, and yes, we are close to the beach, but even that gets boring after a while... Melbourne has it's social problems to, bashings etc... The public transport is poor at best, it's dirty, never on time, can't get a seat and compared to my commute to London (which I've done for years), it's a lot more stressful (the seats look like somebody has used them as a toliet).
I think that comparing London or any major city in England to cities in Australia is a bit false. I have lived and worked in London and hardly ever saw any problems with crime (ok - the odd drunk etc. but nothing major), but if you compare London with around 12m to 20m people in and around the city (the figures are depending what report you read) to Melbourne which has around just over 2m, the stats point to Melbourne being more dangerous.
I'm moving back to the UK at easter but my reasons are that I miss my family more than the life style. But also I do agree that everything in Oz isn't great but I never thought it would be before we moved out, they have the same issues with drugs and drink related crimes we have, in fact maybe worse. I personally feel that due to the spread of the city and the suburbs, young adults (16-25 years old) have nothing to do apart from drink and then get in a car and drive... (have you seen how many deaths on the roads this year in Victoria!! - it's a bit silly considering they only have 2 pedals to use!).
I wouldn't stop people coming to oz but I do feel agree with the "duty of care" and both sides of the coin need to be aired. The grass isn't greener, in fact it's very much the same just a different shade of green...
