TheLoadedDog

Aussie born and bred, and not only do other Aussies ask me where I'm from (had everything from Irish to Russian), as I have to consciously sound Australian if I want to (useful for not getting beaten up in rural places ), I've found I pick up accents to the ridiculous point that, after even only a day working with, say, a Scot or a Kiwi, I'll be sounding so much like them that they'll suspect I'm taking the mick.

You might be used to long commutes, but maybe a shorter one might be nice for a change. I like my suburb of Belmore. It's not too far from town, and is pretty safe (yes, next to the notorious Lakemba, but I've found that pretty safe, too). I've lived here nearly ten years with little drama. You can get a clean, older (mid-century) freestanding home with three bedrooms for around $540pw. Forty minutes on the train to town, but sufficiently far from there that it's easy to park on the street (unlke the Inner West). You're close to decent restaurants and things, too. Not too far from the coast, especially if you drive. Edited to add: the parts of Belmore around Canterbury Road (I live just off Canterbury) are one of the highest points in the metro area (not that it's immediately obvious), so the worst summer days do get tempered a bit by a fresh breeze. It's western suburbs hot, but not Penrith HOT.

My favourite - and I think the best - contribution this country has made to the English language is the expression "flash as a rat with a gold tooth." Have always loved that one.

Have lived in Australia for the 44 years since I was born here, and have never heard "Fabo". Is it pronounced "fay-bo"? If you mean "Fabbo", then I've heard it as a contraction for "fabulous", but it's not common, and I wouldn't have marked it as distinctly Australian. A "bludger" is essentially a work-shy person. To narrow the definition, it is a person who is work-shy at the expense of somebody else, eg "dole bludger". It originated a hundred years or so ago in this second context, as another word for a pimp, though that usage is now lost.

Most of the tourist and "must see" stuff has been mentioned, but I should add my voice to the tumult that Victoria Harbour is possibly the world's most excellent (and I'm Sydney-born, so that's saying something). It beats Sydney's because it is still a working harbour, and not just a playground for the rich. For a dirt-cheap taste, you have to do the Star Ferry, but also catch a longer ferry ride out to one of the smaller places or fishing villages like Tai O. Tourist stuff aside, just immerse yourself in Kowloon. Get off the MTR at Mongkok and go upstairs to soak in the street life. It's one of the most densely populated places on the planet, and the energy is amazing. Try to avoid the train in peak hour though.

91% of these surveys are bull. I do suspect it's a bit skewed though. Number is likely lower. Most people won't admit, "Hey, I made a huge mistake coming here!" Certainly not to some interviewer, and possibly not even to themselves.

Five years ago, I'd pay about $180 for a summer bill, and about $280-300 for a winter one. Now, it's about $500 and $760 respectively. And I live alone in a bedsit. One small heater but no aircon, I have electric hot water, washing machine, and oven. I run a computer but never watch TV, and have energy saving lights. I work, so am out of the house up to ten hours a day, with everything switched off, and nothing on stand-by (all off at the wall). I can easily believe your bill of $1300. We are being told to bend over and take the big one in this country. This sort of acquiescence is an attitude we Australians have that I am not proud of. We just seem to cop it sweet when basics double or triple in price. Gas is next.

I grew up in North Avoca, Terrigal, and Wamberal. I went to Terrigal High. The following is all VERY subjective. It's probably about my personality more than the area. I can remember disliking the Central Coast on sight at age FOUR. Coming straight from Sydney, I just wanted to go back to the bustle. Forty years later, I'm still kinda the same. I like BIG cities or tiny, quiet rural areas. The Central Coast, for mine, seems to be the worst of both worlds. You can't just decide to go out to eat some obscure cuisine, or go and see a show, and yet you still have the traffic and the suburbia. I still don't like middling places like Gosford or Wollongong. Give me Hong Kong or Outer Molombollo West (pop. 15). But that's just me, and a lot of people love the Central Coast. When I was in Terrigal in the 70s, the locals described it as a sleepy little fishing village, and I could smell the bull in that even then. I went back for a visit in the 90s, and a shopkeeper tried the same line on me, thinking I was brand new to the area. I didn't have the heart to tell him his shop was roughly where my childhood bedroom used to be. Was up there last year, and had trouble even finding somewhere to park in the maze of one way streets and traffic calming. I could have been in Bondi. The whole Terrigal - Erina - Gosford strip is suburban. Good stuff? The Coast IS pretty (if you can get past all the housing). The good thing about the Avoca - Terrigal - Wamberal area is that it's actually quite small, and if you're not relying on public transport too much (but even if you are, to a point), I'd suggest living somewhere like the south end of Avoca or Copacabana, or even Kincumber or Matcham, and driving to Terrigal. There are plenty of school bus routes. I'm biased because I was one of those kids who hated school (any school), but Terrigal High was passable when I was there. It was brand new then - you could still smell the new carpet. Not sure what it's like as a thirty year-old school now. It's still fairly whitebread up there. Not known for Poms particularly, but a UK accent will probably pass unnoticed. Traditionally, it had a surprisingly big Dutch population (would be second or third generation now). The main demographic you'll notice though is retirees. Lots and lots of retirees. It was like that forty years ago, and I don't think it's changed much.

OK, just had a look. Looks like you can keep the UK licence (if I'm reading it correctly), but it won't be recognised after you have a NSW one. Importantly though, the time limit on your UK licence is THREE months, not six. This might need to be more widely known here, because I've seen the six month figure quoted in multiple threads. http://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/licence/moving-to-nsw.html

Is this actually possible? I know that if you move interstate and get a licence in the new state, the issuing authority has to destroy the old one and notify the authority in that state that it has been cancelled. Is this the same for foreign ones?

I knew some people from Orange, which is about a four hour fast drive inland from the coast. They went to Alice Springs to work. In the Alice, they were asked where they were from. When they replied they were from Orange, they instantly got labeled "Coasties".

Have lived in several small towns in the NSW Central West (not close to Molong particularly, but only a couple of hours away). Housing is dirt cheap by Australian standards, both for purchase and rental. Jobs, on the other hand, are thin. You need to follow the job first, and the town and housing will follow. Expect very ordinary internet, and higher local prices for groceries and petrol, etc. Public transport is generally not good, depending on the town. The people? Again, depends on the town, but I've never much bought into the "country people are friendlier" thing. People are people. Country people are forced to talk to you more, but they can also be terrible gossips, and towns have petty little feuds and things. It's not all bad by any means, but just that it doesn't live up to some people's expectations. If you've never lived in a small town before and only have city experience, try to use a large workplace as a comparison. The same personality types will come up. Also, don't expect the place to be immune from petty crime - depending on the town. Don't expect decent food, especially if you like anything remotely exotic. You can usually get a great steak at the pub (or strangely, at the ubiquitous Chinese restaurant run by fourth generation Aussie-Chinese, There's traditionally an "Australian Meals" section on the last page of the menu, and it's better than their Chinese stuff). All that said, living in the bush can be great. My preference is to live in a small village within a fifteen or twenty minute drive of a major regional town of about at least 30 000. That way, you can kick back on a large block without hearing your neighbours, soaking in the Southern night sky, and all that sort of romantic stuff, yet half an hour later you can be in a cinema or (small-ish) department store.

My error. Apologies.

Why would you want to kill a skink? Skinks are cool. And it's their country. Not yours or your dog's.

The most vertiginous part is actually the lowest section immediately as you leave, under the road. It's a narrow catwalk, and the floor is see-through mesh. However, it's got railings, and you're strapped in the whole way on a yachting-type harness. It's ultra-safe. The high parts are actually quite strange. The arches are very wide, and the edge is quite a distance from where you are (still on that narrow path with railings). You can't see immediately over it. It feels remote from you. I'd say you'd feel fine.

Oh, but the road down the Five Mile Hill to Jenolan... you might want to close your eyes for that bit. Or pray. Or both. But it's worth it. Oh, is it worth it.

As a Sydneysider, born and bred (but these are just one bloke's opinions): The opera house... yair, it's OK. I prefer the high 60s interior to the exterior. The Harbour Bridge... I love it with all my heart, and feel like a giddy new tourist each time I see it (and I've been seeing it over forty years). Drive over it, walk over it, catch the train over it, do the South Pylon, and do Bridgeclimb. Walk under it. Sit in one of the little pubs nearby in the Rocks and watch your beer glass skitter in its puddle as a train roars by overhead. Damn, I love that bridge. Bondi Beach.... meh. Great in the old days (I used to live there), but now full of tossers. There are better beaches. Jenolan Caves.... DO THIS. It's an easy day trip from Sydney, and is one of the most atmospheric places there is. You'll never forget it. Do the Lucas or River Caves.

I'm not familiar with the UK system, but I was a primary school kid in NSW in the 1970s, and that was an utter nadir in education. It made me jealous of older friends (esp. Pommy ones) who had the traditional education of Fr. Lat. Geog. etc. What I copped was a bunch of hippie teachers stoned out of their gourds telling us all to "sway like a tree" or do finger painting while they hid in the staff room and smoked Benson and Hedges Special Filter and talked about how many Harvey Wallbangers they'd knocked back the night before. Honest to God, I never even learned my times table by rote (my sister, two years ahead, did), and it was only when I learned German in high school that I got a basic understanding of simple grammatical concepts. Our German teacher (who WAS German) was astounded at our lack of knowledge of our native English language. I believe it has bounced back a little from those bad days, but my sister has primary school kids, and she still tells me some horror stories.

I'm a Sydneysider, so my knowledge isn't great, but Upper Gully is quite nice, even if it is a bit further from the city. It has yer ackshual trees, an' that.

Aussie checking in here, for what it's worth... I have a Pom mate who has lived here since the early 80s. He has done his damnedest to lose his accent, and to take pride in calling Australia "home" when he visits the UK. Honestly, I think he tries too hard. As an Aussie, I just don't care where you may be along the continuum between Englishness and Australianness. Do what feels right for you, and don't try to be what you're not.

Yes we do. Well, we do if we were watching after-school TV in the 70s or 80s. I've heard of Blue Peter, but no idea of its format, but we had the Curiosity Show, which was a couple of young, nerdy science teacher types with bad haircuts who would do experiments of the "get mum or dad to help you with the scissors" variety. They may or may not have knocked off "here's one I prepared earlier" from the British show, but they certainly used it.

Telling Poms about tea is a bit like telling your grandmother how to suck eggs (an expression I've never quite understood either), but from a native-born Aussie point of view, dunking in tea? Ewwww. Don't get me wrong, I am a tea fiend. Love my cuppa. But dunking biscuits in my tea seems about as obvious as pouring tea over my biscuits. Maybe it's just because I drink black tea - I love to dunk in cocoa.

Hmm.. OK. Will start this post by way of disclaimer, just to get it out of the way. I am (conservative version, or) I self-identify as (long-winded leftie version) a conservative. This doesn't mean I have to automatically love whatever main conservative party is on offer, but basically Ra! Ra! Howard / Thatcher / Dubya / etc.... Now then... I voted for Mr Rabbit. I wish I hadn't, now. The Liberal government has lurched too far to the right for my liking. As a man though, I still don't think Toned Abs is a bad bloke. I think he's quite decent. I also don't think he's stupid. Like Dubya, he's a little inarticulate, yes. Stupid? No. His main problem, I think, is that he's a little suggestible, and is led astray by asreholes within his party. No, the truly evil, malevolent S.O.B. is one Joe Hockey. Never been able to stand him. Never will.

My understanding of things in Brisneyland is that the bar and club scene is pretty crap compared to down south, but that does have a certain positive side: apparently the best times to be had in Brisbane are in private homes, as a direct result. Brisbane parties go off, so I'm told.

Try not to be a shop steward with an outrageously hammed up north country accent, and you should be fine (ie. you won't get beaten up). You're welcome.