Emigrating to Australia: The 10 most common mistakes and how to avoid them (Book)

[Jon the Hat]

16 hours ago, Paul1Perth said:

Perth is a lot like that actually. England with sunshine that is. If you lived somewhere nice on the South Coast, with decent beaches it could be comparable. Shopping in Joondalup you could be in central Manchester or Liverpool if you closed your eyes and listened to the accents

That settles it, I am definitely staying SoR.

If you are saying all shopping centres the world over are morphing into the same Westfield you are basically right.

[Chortlepuss]

Happy to proof read If you want to message me

[Paul1Perth]

On 08/02/2021 at 18:09, ali said:

I don't think so Paul .. for me it's more like the States.  Hubby thought Tassie was like Wales though

Never been to the states so can't compare. I thought West Coast Highway drive was a lot like where the batmobile used to drive in the old batman series. I think it was California, probably in the 60's.

[Paul1Perth]

On 09/02/2021 at 00:30, Jon the Hat said:

That settles it, I am definitely staying SoR.

If you are saying all shopping centres the world over are morphing into the same Westfield you are basically right.

Not saying there's anything wrong with Joondalup, good and very big shopping mall.

Whitfords is nicer I reckon, bit better laid out. Not so many Northern English accents either and a good brewery.

[Bulya]

On 08/02/2021 at 21:15, calNgary said:

Same here in Qld, certainly not my cup of tea. I wouldnt want to move from one housing estate across the world to another full of pom;s,lol

 Cal x

Exactly.  

[newjez]

On 10/02/2021 at 04:19, Paul1Perth said:

Not saying there's anything wrong with Joondalup, good and very big shopping mall.

Whitfords is nicer I reckon, bit better laid out. Not so many Northern English accents either and a good brewery.

When I came from Perth to the UK in 95, I was amazed at just how foreign a country it was. Since then Perth has changed to become more like the UK over the last 25 years than it used to be from a retail supermarket point of view, but to say that Perth is like the UK is utter tosh. 

You could possibly say that Perth shopping malls are like UK shopping malls. But post covid, there is doubt as to whether the UK will even have shopping malls.

Edited February 13, 2021 by newjez

[Freemantle]

6 hours ago, newjez said:

When I came from Perth to the UK in 95, I was amazed at just how foreign a country it was. Since then Perth has changed to become more like the UK over the last 25 years than it used to be from a retail supermarket point of view, but to say that Perth is like the UK is utter tosh. 

You could possibly say that Perth shopping malls are like UK shopping malls. But post covid, there is doubt as to whether the UK will even have shopping malls.

Totally agree...

[Wanderer Returns]

I've travelled around the US extensively and when you're driving along the highway with a clear, blue sky overhead, and Maccas, Jackers, and KFC signs everywhere, they are times when I think I could be in the mid-west United States, and not Australia. When people who've never visited ask me the difference between here and NZ, I say that in terms of cultural influences Australia seems two-thirds American and one-third British, whereas NZ is one-third American and two-thirds British (maybe a poor analogy, but that's how it feels to me). I've always felt more at home in NZ than here, to be honest, but I know that many people who move to NZ struggle for work. I think I'll just be happy with holidays over there once the borders reopen.

[ali]

4 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I've travelled around the US extensively and when you're driving along the highway with a clear, blue sky overhead, and Maccas, Jackers, and KFC signs everywhere, they are times when I think I could be in the mid-west United States, and not Australia. When people who've never visited ask me the difference between here and NZ, I say that in terms of cultural influences Australia seems two-thirds American and one-third British, whereas NZ is one-third American and two-thirds British (maybe a poor analogy, but that's how it feels to me). I've always felt more at home in NZ than here, to be honest, but I know that many people who move to NZ struggle for work. I think I'll just be happy with holidays over there once the borders reopen.

We haven't visited NZ yet (one on the list of the border re-opening).  I do agree with your analogy of 2/3 American and 1/3 British influence, it's probably how we've found it.

[Marisawright]

17 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

 When people who've never visited ask me the difference between here and NZ, I say that in terms of cultural influences Australia seems two-thirds American and one-third British, 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the European influence.  It just illustrates how big the differences are between states, and between city and country.  

Melbourne used to be the third largest Greek city in the world, (after Athens and Thessaloniki), and there's a big Italian contingent too, not to mention all the Balkan migrants.   Sydney had  a huge influx of Italians, Greeks and Yugoslavians too.  Those immigrants had a massive influence on the social life of those cities, which is now focussed on European café culture rather than British pub culture. They transformed the food, too.  

When we were back in England in 2015, that difference struck me strongly.   When we visited European cities like Rome and Vienna on our holidays, I felt they had much more in common with Sydney than any British cities.  However, Sydney does have a hint of American brashness. Whereas now I'm in Melbourne, the European influence feels even stronger.

If Perth and Brisbane are more of an American/British mix, maybe that explains why I don't feel at home there.   

Edited February 14, 2021 by Marisawright

[Wanderer Returns]

10 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the European influence.  It just illustrates how big the differences are between states, and between city and country.  

Melbourne used to be the third largest Greek city in the world, (after Athens and Thessaloniki), and there's a big Italian contingent too, not to mention all the Balkan migrants.   Sydney had  a huge influx of Italians, Greeks and Yugoslavians too.  Those immigrants had a massive influence on the social life of those cities, which is now focussed on European café culture rather than British pub culture. They transformed the food, too.  

When we were back in England in 2015, that difference struck me strongly.   When we visited European cities like Rome and Vienna on our holidays, I felt they had much more in common with Sydney than any British cities.  However, Sydney does have a hint of American brashness. Whereas now I'm in Melbourne, the European influence feels even stronger.

If Perth and Brisbane are more of an American/British mix, maybe that explains why I don't feel at home there.   

I remember when I lived on the Mornington Peninsula seeing safety signs written in English, Italian and Greek, which I found interesting. Sydney is heavily influenced by Asian culture too, in particular Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai. But when you get away from those major cities, Australia is pretty much Anglo-Saxon everywhere else.

[Toots]

13 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the European influence.  It just illustrates how big the differences are between states, and between city and country.  

Melbourne used to be the third largest Greek city in the world, (after Athens and Thessaloniki), and there's a big Italian contingent too, not to mention all the Balkan migrants.   Sydney had  a huge influx of Italians, Greeks and Yugoslavians too.  Those immigrants had a massive influence on the social life of those cities, which is now focussed on European café culture rather than British pub culture. They transformed the food, too.  

When we were back in England in 2015, that difference struck me strongly.   When we visited European cities like Rome and Vienna on our holidays, I felt they had much more in common with Sydney than any British cities.  However, Sydney does have a hint of American brashness. Whereas now I'm in Melbourne, the European influence feels even stronger.

If Perth and Brisbane are more of an American/British mix, maybe that explains why I don't feel at home there.   

Our younger son's partner is 2nd generation Italian/Australian.  Her huge family live in Haberfield (Sydney) which has many Italian migrant families living there since WW11.  Some of the older generation don't speak English in spite of living here for 60 years as they were employed by and worked with other Italians.  We also have Italian friends who live in Leichhardt (Sydney).  Leichhardt used to be called little Italy.  Like you Marisa, I much prefer the cafe culture to pubs.  I don't know about how it is now in those places I've mentioned but we used to eat there often for long lunches and dinner could last until nearly midnight.  It was also great when our sons were little as the Italians love children and they were very welcome in all the restaurants.  Yes, Melbourne has that different feel about it.  Certainly different to Perth and Brisbane.

[newjez]

5 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the European influence.  It just illustrates how big the differences are between states, and between city and country.  

Melbourne used to be the third largest Greek city in the world, (after Athens and Thessaloniki), and there's a big Italian contingent too, not to mention all the Balkan migrants.   Sydney had  a huge influx of Italians, Greeks and Yugoslavians too.  Those immigrants had a massive influence on the social life of those cities, which is now focussed on European café culture rather than British pub culture. They transformed the food, too.  

When we were back in England in 2015, that difference struck me strongly.   When we visited European cities like Rome and Vienna on our holidays, I felt they had much more in common with Sydney than any British cities.  However, Sydney does have a hint of American brashness. Whereas now I'm in Melbourne, the European influence feels even stronger.

If Perth and Brisbane are more of an American/British mix, maybe that explains why I don't feel at home there.   

I went to school in Mt Lawley which had a massive Greek and Italian population who came over after the war, with a scattering of Vietnamese refugees, although the later pretty much kept themselves to themselves. Everyone at school seemed to be related to everyone else.

Places change though. My Lawley went through a gentrification process, and I guess the Italians and Greeks took advantage of the increase in property prices and moved out, because it has a different feel now.

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by newjez