frustations of oz life!

[johnd]

VERY LONG POST ALERT!,hi all, i am thinking of returning back to the uk. i am and have been unsettled since coming here nearly 2 years ago. i had lived in oz in the early 90's and felt that i hadnt given it a "fair go", as the aussies say, so it was my idea to come here my wife had never been to oz before.
she is keener than me to stay as she reckons that nothing is happening in the uk and there is so much to see in our part of oz. fair point, but having been here a while, (we both intend getting citizenship as this was part of plan/aiming point), i just think oz is ok but i sometimes just dont get it. i had always thought of coming back and i knew the types of things which you should and shouldnt do, i.e. we both got jobs quickly, moved into a nice house in a nice area, and i joined a local sports club last year to make friends, so far so good. i also have family here who we get on well with.
but heres the bit which will get up peoples noses, ( i am going to 'whinge' ), i work in the steel industry and my wife is in managment, ( retail ),and i know you shouldnt generalise but we have both found that at work aussies can be very unproffesional in their attitude, and in my job bordering on immature. an example in my job, in a meeting in a uk workplace the vast majority of people turn off their mobile phones, in oz i think they turn them on!. safety wise in the engineering environment i work in, and i am employed for a big well known oz company, the safety is a joke, they are talking the talk but not walking the walk. i have never felt more unsafe unsure of myself in the workplace in my life , this is purely down to the saftey attitude of the management.
further more aussies are obsessed with "paying of my home loan" and "getting ahead" and "i have a wife and kids to support", combine this with other sayings such as," i'm a hard worker" makes them almost american in thier attitude to the workplace, and usually the one telling you how hard he works is a lazy git!, ( i have found that in uk people dont go on as much like this and i have worked in the same environment all my life)
i have never ever met before a bunch of people who seem more scared of losing their jobs in my life, ( and this is pre-credit crunch ), back stabbing and brown nosing are common events, the aussies also work ridiculous amounts of overtime, or in my wifes case unpiad overtime, she is just expected to do it.
the infastructure in this part of nsw is a joke, roads are crap , public transport unsafe and unreliable, local governments are corrupt and everyone seems to be happy living in the 1980's?, ( remember everyone who emigrates to oz thinks its great that oz is 10-20 years behind the uk.....till you get here ), laid back = can't be arsed and aussies can be as rude and ignorant as brits.
now remember before you all want to kill me this is just my opinion, and it is from someone who has a lot of aussie born relatives, ( whom i like a lot ),and also from someone who joined the workplace ASAP and joined up with a local club so its not as if i havnt tried, ( in fact i do not have any pommie mates here only oz ones, and they are good blokes , just different from me).
i feel the problem with oz is that when i lived here in 91-92 the wages and conditions were above uk, for my line of work anyway, paid hols & sickies, but now probably cos of the eu , the uk has had to toe the line with hols etc, which i believe go up to 5 weeks in the uk soon. my fellow workers here cannot believe i got 5 and a half weeks leave in my uk job when we only get 4 in oz. so now oz is trailling behind not only in conditions but infrastructure etc. if a road/railway/development needs building the state gov argue with the federal gov about who should pay and nothing gets done. in certain aspects oz is as far as 30 years behind uk/europe.
it has made me realise that uk has its problems but it wasnt that bad, i have a good life here but it is without my immediate family and lifelong friends , and i miss them all dearly. i think i will make a decision by years end and it will prob be uk for us. its not that i hate oz and love uk i just think i maybe expected too much from oz and now i have realised how important the people are we have left behind.
thats all.

[Tim]

Good Post John - always good to hear folks perceptions and experiences of Oz the good and the bad, being a member for a few years atleast you have seen it from all sides.

I would agree that perhaps a return back to the Uk maybe a good thing - if nothing else to compare and contrast after a couple of years and see if it is as remmebered.

T

[snow white]

hi john
just want to say at least your honest enough to say what you see, hope everything works out for the best for you and your wife, and a lot of what you say is exactly what my oh says after being here nearly 2 years also
lesley x

[proud2beaussie]

further more aussies are obsessed with "paying of my home loan" and "getting ahead" and "i have a wife and kids to support", combine this with other sayings such as," i'm a hard worker" makes them almost american

When I spent three months in the UK last year I found exactly the same attitude,I have also been in meetings in the UK where people took personal phone calls,and I have seen almost non existent compliance with health and safety regulations in the hospitality industry in the UK.so it can happen anywhere.and as regards public transport being unsafe in NSW,have you been on the London tube lately? I have and could tell you some horror stories about what I saw in only three months.

Having said all the above I congratulate you for having a go,and at least trying the OZ way of life,the fact that it hasn't really been that fantastic for you is a shame but at least you tried which is all that can be asked of you.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[lady_lynda]

John If my OH reads this he will be saying "hear hear" we have been here for over 5 years and he is still not settled.

[Stuju]

John,
Sadly i have to agree with most of what you have said, i thought it was only me who continued to see the not so good ways & lives & lack of professionalism over here,(or so i keep getting told) I too work for a very large company & they coudnt organize a chook raffle !!!
Just out of interest which part of NSW are you in ?
stuju

[Aldo]

When I spent three months in the UK last year I found exactly the same attitude,I have also been in meetings in the UK where people took personal phone calls,and I have seen almost non existent compliance with health and safety regulations in the hospitality industry in the UK.so it can happen anywhere.and as regards public transport being unsafe in NSW,have you been on the London tube lately? I have and could tell you some horror stories about what I saw in only three months.

Having said all the above I congratulate you for having a go,and at least trying the OZ way of life,the fact that it hasn't really been that fantastic for you is a shame but at least you tried which is all that can be asked of you.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Nigel, your post is typical "t!t for tat, mines bigger than yours" nonsense. Although what you say may well be true, the thread is titled frustations of oz life!

[proud2beaussie]

John,
Sadly i have to agree with most of what you have said, i thought it was only me who continued to see the not so good ways & lives & lack of professionalism over here,(or so i keep getting told) I too work for a very large company & they coudnt organize a chook raffle !!!
Just out of interest which part of NSW are you in ?
stuju

And the UK is so much better?
I was in London for three months last year and in that time I bought three restaurants that had been left to rot by the previous owners,in two of them the local health authorities had closed them down due to failure to comply with hygiene regulations and in the other the place was so bady managed that it was running at a 60% loss on turnover.however the underlying businesses were sound,since I have owned them I have put in new managers and all three now make a profit and employ 9 new staff.
Every business in every country has it's share of unprofessional employees ,Australia included,and most businesses in the world could do at least a few things better,but having worked in every state of Australia I don't believe that Australia is any worse than any other countries,and in many industries it's a lot better.

[proud2beaussie]

Nigel, your post is typical "t!t for tat, mines bigger than yours" nonsense. Although what you say may well be true, the thread is titled frustations of oz life!

Sorry Aldo,I can accept your point,I was simply pointing out that "frustrations of OZ life" are not exclusive to Australia and can happen anywhere,even in the UK.
That does not in any way invalidate the points that John made,but simply makes it clear that Australia as a country is not always at fault,the things he complains about happen anywhere so why would going home to the UK solve those issues,that's my point.

[Stuju]

And the UK is so much better?
I was in London for three months last year and in that time I bought three restaurants that had been left to rot by the previous owners,in two of them the local health authorities had closed them down due to failure to comply with hygiene regulations and in the other the place was so bady managed that it was running at a 60% loss on turnover.however the underlying businesses were sound,since I have owned them I have put in new managers and all three now make a profit and employ 9 new staff.
Every business in every country has it's share of unprofessional employees ,Australia included,and most businesses in the world could do at least a few things better,but having worked in every state of Australia I don't believe that Australia is any worse than any other countries,and in many industries it's a lot better.

Eeerrr excuse me but did i say anywhere in my reply that the uk was better ? NO i don't think so !!!! So before you decide to jump down my throat with what you have done,where you have worked,what you have brought etc read the damm post properly - if you wanna stick up for oz good for you, we all have our own comments,experiences of where ever we are in the world & if what i put happens to be mine then except it - jesus christ where do these people get off ? you dont know my situation, my life or anything about me