lynniep Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Why do it? Well I'm not sure whether we are going to stay here, but we're going to give it a full year before we make the decision because its a tough one. I miss my homeland, and I really miss my family and friends, and that overshadows my enjoyment of it here. However it is a pretty enjoyable lifestyle, and we're lucky enough to have landed well paid jobs. I started writing a list of pro's and con's for my blogsite although I keep thinking of other things and forgetting to write them down. So this is my Pro\Cons list. Some of my opinons change day to day, and are generally pretty trivial. But you're welcome to comment! Pros •Food - in general the quality is far better, it’s cheaper and you get more of it. Most restaurants are BYO as well. We eat out all the time now. I love the food here. The cakes are awesome. •Rounding up - they round prices up at the till. So if your bill comes to $9.01, they just knock off the cent. Similarly if it comes to $8.99, they’ll ask you for 9 bucks. Makes perfect sense really. •Fresh Flowers - so cheap. I never splashed out on flowers at home but I do it all the time here - and they know how to arrange them beautifully. Its slightly freaky how long they last though. Three weeks after buying them they're still in full bloom and I have to chuck them out because I'm bored of seeing the same ones. •Transport - air conditioning. 3 tier trains. And you can flip the seat backs to face either direction. Punctuality is no better to be honest. •Wildlife - there are lorikeets, parakeets etc in the trees and they’re all pretty and colourful and exotic. I love Ibis (Ibi – Ibises- not sure of the plural) and I love seeing the fluffy natives, although I have to get to a zoo to do it. Koalas are a big hit. •Greenery – Its very green here. I’m not sure how because it hardly ever rains. I’m not saying I don’t miss the English countryside, but the landscape here is pretty too. •Shopping - clothes are generally cheaper as are shoes. I love the clothes shops here, although I do miss M&S knickers. I love el-cheapo SES shops which are everywhere. I can now manage without Primark for my bargains. •Weather - goes without saying really. Its winter, but we have really sunny days here (although we have bad ones too!) •Schoolkids – so polite. I’m not afeard of getting on public transport with them. (unlike in Edinburgh or South London) And the uniforms are great. Very smart at all times. •Hobbies – they’re big into hobbies here. (although scrap-booking baffles me – why bother?!) This is great for me -I love it. I’m now a hobby-ceramics doer-extraordinaire. •Housing prices (not in inner Sydney I hasten to add which is mega expensive). If you choose to live outside of Sydney (or another state even) you can get a brand new massivo house build for not very much at all. If you want one that is. I’m not sure what I’d do with 5 bedrooms and a rumpus room but I’m sure a home cinema and a pool would be very nice indeed. •Sense of humour. They’re very tongue in cheek. I love the way they advertise property with hilarious descriptions – and I like the no-nonsense tell it like it is – I saw a car the other day with ‘**** service - **** car’ posted in the window. Apparently it’s a popular way of voicing your opinion on a particular dealer. I think it’s great. Cons •I have previously said no decent veggie substitutes - they don't have quorn in Australia or Linda McCartney products or vegemince. All they have is tofu which hubby can't bear, and that nasty dried stuff which you rehydrate and makes my stomach turn. I am gradually revising my opinion of that because there are other things. But I still miss quorn and still prefer our supermarkets - any of them really (Asda, Tesco, Morrisions, Sainsburys and those mega Iceland deals) I miss fabulous deals – its not that cheap to buy food in supermarkets. •Chocolate. I prefer English chocolate - they do have the same brands here but the taste is different although subtle. I think you prefer what you're used to. We do have the English shop though where you can get UK products at highly inflated prices (even my beloved jaffa cakes) •No heating - they don't have central heating (in Sydney anyway) so we had to buy an electric heater (or you can fork out on a gas heater which costs less in the long run). It does actually get very cold here in winter and the Australians notice it more, so I don't know why they don't have central heating. •Wildlife - there are lorikeets, parakeets etc in the trees and they are NOISY F**KERS!! Wake us up every morning. It’s a god-awful cacophony. I’ve never heard anything like it. Seriously you can't know unless you've heard it. I keep meaning to tape the sound just to illustrate to the mother-in-law how bad it actually gets. •Insects - oh my god I never saw cockroaches so big. And the house spiders are huge too. I’ve gotten used to it now. Its still ick though. •Shopping - beauty products have a tendency to be pricey, unless you shop about and find the bargains. I miss Boots. I miss two-for-one and three-for-two and just buy this get that free. •TV - pretty bad. We get mostly US cop shows and daytime TV is just a string of awful half hour ads for either kitchen equipment or this magnetic blanket thing - much like in the US. Hubby's gripe is that we can't get Foxtel (equivalent of SKY) in the flat, and they aren't interested in installing it (no worries mate - just move somewhere you can get it). TV Scheduling is appalling in that they can’t stick to it, especially when its ‘big brother’ season. •No Scart - they don't use scart leads here. Annoying. But more of a ‘conversion’ problem really than a con. •Banks - charging you left right and centre. Even to get money out of your own bank. Paying for withdrawals – whoever heard of such a thing. Since I started work at the bank, I can see how much they charge you to take out a loan. Its ridiculous. Bank Fees are scandalous. Scandalous I tell you! I've run out for now. Like I said there are others but I forget them. I'm glad my husband wanted to move here (I never did - it never occured to me) and whatever we decide in the long run I'm glad we came. Moving to Sydney Forum - http://www.sydneyforum.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynniep Posted August 25, 2005 Author Share Posted August 25, 2005 ps I mentioned that the house spiders were huge - I don't want to frighten anyone - I've never actually seen one in the house!! Only in the foliage outside. And although they're big mamas - they just sit on their webs. They don't start jumping out at you or anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydney Boy Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 A few More Pro's ( in Sydney ) -Getting excited when you see dark clouds ;-) -No rain -Sunlight all day -Deep Blue Sky -Deep Blue sea -Not Damp and windy like the UK -the sea is as cold in the winter as the british sea is warm in the summer ( although most southern Aussies wouldn't go near the sea in the aussie winter!) -You can still go snow skiing in Oz. -Not as capitalist as the UK -Shops don't seem to rip off comsumers like the UK seems to do which is probably why you don't often see 2 for 1 or half price offers in shops here. I think its the "fair dinkum" deal mentality in-bred in Aussies. -Aussies are so happy go luck most of the time. -Leisure time is very important. Don't try and get someone to work a sunday ! -Free electric BBQ's in parks -A BBQ with king prawns at Christmas - I feel a lot safer living at the ends of the earth in the current climate of terrorists, bird flu, SARS, BSE , Foot and mouth etc etc Cons; -Drought ;-) -Retail shopping : its a very small population . If you want choice you may need to check the internet and order from abroad ( or as they say here "overseas" -A trip overseas is likely to be at least 10 hours away by plane ( excluding New Zealand) -Don't be offended when an Aussie asks you direct personal questions such as how much did you pay for your house, car, boat etc. Thats just normal here. -Many magazines & books are published in the UK and so you have to pay through the nose to buy them here as the choice from local publishers is limited. -The unions are still quite strong ( although there are signs that they are being weakened) and there are many silly legacy rules that disappeared in the UK a decade or 2 ago. -They havnt invented post office stamp machines here so you have to queue up every time to want to buy one ! -When wanting someone to come over to do a quote or to do some work at home finding anyone who will see you at the weekend is very difficult. You have to take time off during the week.Its very annoying ! -If you are not a morning person youre in for trouble! The sun comes up at 7am even in mid winter, and it gets dark by 8pm in mid summer so many Aussies go to bed early and get up very early to go to the gym, jog , walk the dog etc -TV and radio is essentially a cartel.Theres not really much choice or competition here and the quality is terrible in general. but you shouldnt be watching TV as its sunny outside! -Native Australians (Aborigines) have a pretty bad time of things. Don't expect to see many in the capital cities. Its very sad that many communites just can't fit in with the western way of life and so they are marginalised. Its a can of political worms so i wont say any more. -As already mentioned in other posts Aussies don't really get the concept of a vegatarian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest redbus Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 Hey, thanks for posting that. I am a brit dying to move down but unfortunately at the moment I have no way of making that happen. I have visited twice fairly recently though and it was good to hear both sides of your experience of living my dream! I hope it all works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dodge Posted October 15, 2005 Share Posted October 15, 2005 pros blue sky great swimming beaches white sand topless girls less traffic more nature better beer cons no depressing grey sky no freezn ur tits off beach no pebble beach no girls dressed in tracksuit pants no relaxing in long traffic jams warm beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzer Posted November 29, 2005 Share Posted November 29, 2005 8 ) Go to Jimmies beach ,just north of Newcastle , at Tee gardens,and then tell me it's not the best.......or take a drive down south to Crunella ,then take seat in one of the street cafes hope you find what your looking for (I can't wait to get back there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ABCDiamond Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Cons• and still prefer our supermarkets - any of them really (Asda, Tesco, Morrisions, Sainsburys and those mega Iceland deals) I miss fabulous deals – its not that cheap to buy food in supermarkets. •No heating - they don't have central heating (in Sydney anyway) so we had to buy an electric heater (or you can fork out on a gas heater which costs less in the long run). It does actually get very cold here in winter and the Australians notice it more, so I don't know why they don't have central heating. •No Scart - they don't use scart leads here. Annoying. But more of a ‘conversion’ problem really than a con. I've been here for quite a number of years now, and sort of know the system better now Supermarkets are expensive. We do our main shopping at other shops, and save at least 30%-50%. In the UK we are conditioned to use Supermarkets because they are cheaper, but that isn't always the case here. I lived 10 years in West Sydney before heading north for the cooler QLD bayside Heating. Most of us have reverse cycle air con. Just the one unit that cools us in Summer and heats us in Winter. Scart sockets: They are beginning to appear. Our last TV we bought had 2 Scart sockets. I had to hunt high and low for a scart converter to get it back to the normal Australian system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jaibee Posted December 4, 2005 Share Posted December 4, 2005 Heating - is a big problem - reverse cycle air conditioning (or known as a heat pump!) is fine in Queensland where it hardly ever gets really cold but in the southern states and Tasmania they are useless. If it gets really cold then a heat pump spends nearly as much time warming itself as it does you + it is not really warm just a noisy draught. Good for drying your hair though as the heat is gentle and you can use both hands. Seriously the south needs proper heating - Central heating is available in Melbourne where they have mains gas but it is still not common. Someone could make a killing setting up a proper heating installation company in Tasmania. They don't even have oil-fired Stanleys or Rayburns only wood - it's madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marcus34 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 For all the pros and cons, Sydney is still the finest city in the world. I like it when I'm farewelled by " See ya later" maybe never seeing them again. Knowing a millionaire dressed like a pauper. Being a pauper and able to afford to live next to a millionaire , Not being asked when seeking a job, what school did u go to? Laugh when told 'tis freezing" when sitting in the sun at 19c on a winters morn Ashamed when reading the UK newspapers"they are only working class people" No class systems in OZ, only in the silverspoon areas! Doing a "uieee" in the middle of the road {that is doing a 180 degree turnaround} Making everyone laugh when I am eating my cold pork pie Telling them I like my pies cold and my beer warm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gdaysydneysider Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 This has been a great read! Have to say the skart lead/socket comments have me confused (they're in all the $2 shops, JB HiFis, Dick Smith etc or am I completely misunderstanding what you're saying??). Hear about the supposed inferior chocolate and tv all the time :-) Houses definitely not built for the winter months! and yes we do complain once it goes under 20deg. eek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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