Lambethlad

So true. When I lived in England I reckon 90% of my whinges were about the bloody weather. Now in Queensland I have no complaints whatever as it suits me here perfectly. Funnily enough I hear my (Australian) golfing buddies whinging about pretty much everything from politics to prices and even the weather sometimes. For me at least emigrating has given me a much better perspective on things. I had a good life in England and I knew it too, yet it didn't stop me whinging about mostly minor stuff. I suspect I may end up doing the same here once my 'honeymoon' period has ended.

Most of my whinges are about the weather too.

My dad gave up smoking (a pipe) at the age of 70 and lived to 94. (He decided he'd given the government enough extra money by way of tobacco tax and wasn't going to give them anymore.)

 

Mind you, he did play the bagpipes most of his life (and the flute and trumpet) so maybe his lungs were given regular extra helpful reamings.

 

If your joints are so stiff, get into a heated pool - even a special hydrotherapy pool if necessary - and get them moving again with non weight bearing exercise. If you start moving and exercising and get your circulation going, you are not going to feel Melbourne winters nearly as much.

Well done for your dad. My smokes are $33 a pack now and most of that would be tax. I know heat is good for my joints - on my annual two weeks in Port Douglas I feel so much better. I also need to lose about 20kg - my joints would love that. One thing I did learn from watching the Cyndi Lauper Show was that she carries balloons with her which she blows up to exercise her lungs - so I guess the bagpipes would do the same thing.

I was up at 5am due to wife's snoring but I went and microwaved a plate full of leftover dim sims, potato cakes and chips and sat watching a crap TV reality show about Cyndi Lauper and her family (why?). Mate was diagnosed with 3 tumours yesterday - he's a heavy smoker like me - so today I'm off the smokes and eating a stick of celery every time I think about having a smoke. I've had six celery sticks already and I don't like. After nearly 50 years of smoking the damage probably has already been done - daughter says if I give up she will put me into training to do a half marathon - I've never done any exercise in my life - my joints are so stiff it takes me 5 minutes to get moving in the mornings. And what about Melbourne's endless winter - I always warn people don't come Melbourne if you expect the good Aussie weather experience. 9 months of winter, 3 months of good weather if you're lucky. Anyway, must stop moaning and have another celery stick.

I know in Victoria you need to do a sub-agents course to work in real estate sales. Cost is $595. It is over 5 days or 4 days (Sundays) over 4 weeks. It's probably the same in Adelaide.

I love Melbourne fish and chips. My usual order is a piece of Flake (shark), a couple dim sims, a chiko roll, a couple of potato cakes and chips. Regarding sport, AFL is a much more spectacular and entertaining game than football - the season has just finished and I am going through withdrawals already. Melbourne has the world's best coffee. Melbourne is an events city - there's always something happening. All of this may be irrelevant if it's not the Richmond in Victoria where you are going - I know there's a also a Richmond in NSW.

He's got a point. In our area vast acreage of farmland is now thousands of new houses and another two huge new suburbs are planned - but nothing is being done about the roads that just can't cope with the traffic. Immigration is really driving the economy and pushing up property values. My daughter's house in Carrum Downs has gone up so much in value due to demand from Indian immigrants who want to live near the Hindu Temple. Anyone who sees their property values rising rapidly won't be complaining about immigration levels.

You said it yourself - you have great life here - your wife and kids love it here. I would be thinking about my family's happiness rather than my own.

PIO timeshare?

I looked up the price - $6,200,000. Unfortunately it's already sold.

http://www.century21.com.au/property/344740/

This is my future retirement home at Sunshine Beach, Queensland. Now all I have to do is win the lottery.

Don't even bother catching trains to work. It's much better driving in. Several years ago I had to attend a course in Collins Street which is the centre of the city for a week, my wife said I was mad to drive in but it was so easy. I really enjoyed the daily drive in from Frankston which only took less than an hour. At least I wasn't standing, stuffed in a carriage with a couple of hundred strangers pushing against me. I could listen to 3AW talkback radio, have a coffee and a snack, a smoke and just relax. If you go by train you have to first drive to the nearest station and then try and find a car park. If you drive you just get in your car and go. There are regular breakdowns and accidents at railway crossing that means you will be unloaded off the train and then wait forever for a bus which will make you many hours late. I know there are occasional accidents on the road that can hold you up but I would put up with that any day rather than take a train.

I think you will be pushing it to find something that ticks all your boxes within your budget. This was the best I could find.

http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-narre+warren+south-123482542

Having no Muslims helps.

Exactly.

This is an old Wanted Down Under which featured a bloke who went to Perth to be a butcher and ended up a policeman in Kalgoorlie.

Who will get the funding for the Vote No campaign? Hard-core Christians and Moslems? Whoever it is I'm sure most of it will be siphoned off for administration expenses and salaries. It's a total waste of money so I'm happy that it probably won't ever happen.

You have probably seen more of Oz than most young Australians - they are more likely to go off to Bali or Thailand for their holidays. They can't boast about going to the Gold Coast for two weeks - it just doesn't cut it. Back in the day I saw most of Oz in a series of road trips. Now it seems, judging from my daughter and her friends, they don't drive any further than Melbourne Airport. You chose a good area to travel this time of year - it's bloody cold in Melbourne - I've kept the log fire burning for the last four months!

Thanks for this. I do quite enjoy afl so that shouldn't be a problem. I just need to figure out who to support.

Would you have any recommendations on the best places to buy a second had car? Reliable and affordable sites or dealers?

This is the best site for cars. Something like this gives you peace of mind of still having 3 years new car warranty but you can get much cheaper cars that still have new car warranty remaining.

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Kia-Cerato-2014/OAG-AD-13249733/?Cr=0

St Kilda has the buzz young people are after. It's a magnet for backpackers, artists. bohemian alternative types and the gay community. It also has a seedy side with druggies and street prostitutes. It just depends on the lifestyle you are looking for. There's nothing wrong with Frankston but it's not as lively as St Kilda. Frankston does have 10 kms of Melbourne's best beaches but you'll only use them in summer. There's much to do and see in Melbourne and Victoria but you really need a car to get around. The best way to integrate in Melbourne is to pretend you are interested in learning about AFL - people will then insist on taking you to a game and adopting their team - then you will be in like Flynn.

It's a nice area. The Royal Botanic Gardens are next door and is the only place I have seen wild bandicoots - they are just about extinct everywhere else. Good luck.

There are a couple of women in jail in America for killing their kids by force feeding them salt.

It won't happen without foreign money. That Chinese bloke is pretty keen and a billion would be small change to him. If it is prone to flooding they would just create a network of canals and charge a fortune for waterfront property. I don't know if the Disneyland would ever happen - there's enough theme parks already.

Build it and they will come.

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/northern-gold-coast-cane-fields-on-market-to-build-vast-new-city-and-set-land-sale-record/news-story/745db3689ff68c4c3fd81145d0cdf602

Literally the first hit on google offers whinging as an acceptable, though less common, variant.

 

Language is evolving peeps, which is why some words supercede others...

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Whinging

 

At least you realised the irony Lambeth! I'll let the Pom thing slide...

I still think it's whinge not whing as in hinge not hing. Anyway, I now claim the world record for using the word whingeing the most times in one sentence.