Reflections on recent trip part 3 - Epilogue - the down sides

[Cheery Thistle]

If you have managed to get through my first 2 posts - well done!
 

So, here goes nothing, I almost feel I should have a disclaimer on this post - the following constitutes my own opinions and only my own opinions, it has not been designed to be harmful or offensive in any way and should not be interpreted as such! It mostly pertains to QLD but is probably relevant in a wider context too. 
 

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the down sides of a move to Aus - after all this trip was really all about discovering what the compromises are and deciding if we can live with them. So, here are the down sides as we see them: 

1) Distance. Distance between Aus and the UK (and also everywhere else) and also distance between things in Aus. We know we are going to spend more time in the car than we do here. 
 

2) Fashion sense or lack thereof. The QLD uniform seems to consist of baseball cap, vest (or simmit as we affectionately call it in Scotland), denim or board shorts, flip flops. This is ubiquitous regardless of venue or occasion. Do they even wear this to weddings and funerals? I’m curious lol. We felt like the best dressed in Brisbane in even our most casual clothes. Went out one Saturday night in North Brissie and the most dressed guys had checked shirts on that went out of fashion in Europe about 25 years ago which brings me to down side number 3! 
 

3) Time warp effect. Being on the cutting edge in QLD especially means something completely different than it does in the UK. This is also part of its charm and could also be viewed as an upside. 
 

4) Lack of sophistication. The population generally is unsophisticated and uncultured in comparison to Europeans. This is not a criticism but an observation. It is also a generalisation - there are exceptions obviously. They are also generally blissfully unaware of this, probably due to the geographical isolation of Aus. 

5) Hoons/Hooning. Brings me back to the utes and teenagers. We had an incident. Walking along Noosa Parade (basically millionaires row) at about 6.40pm a massive Ute came roaring up behind us, must have been doing about 100kmph. It was SO loud. We didn’t really know what was happening. Just as it passed we noticed a load of smashed glass on the ground and a bit of it hit our daughter on the lower leg. We then realised that as he had gone past he had thrown a glass bottle out of the window at us/in our direction. This has made us quite wary and if we hear that again we’ll be getting well out of the way. The casual attitude towards the hooning does actually concern me, it’s not as if it’s harmless. For the rest of our stay I would watch families walking up and down the parade pushing prams with the pure fear that it would happen to them and a kid would be harmed! 
 

6) Lack of DST in QLD. Don’t think I need to explain further. Kind of leads to an extreme morning culture! 
 

7) House prices and availability. Enough said I think. 

8. Bugs and creepy crawlies 

9) Lack of variety/choice. Same same with food and fashion. 

10) UV strength. 
 

I have my flack jacket on! Hit me! 

[calNgary]

I pretty much would've said the same as you. I remember saying QLD is 10 yrs behind the UK and that's in manyyyy ways, some for the better , some not so much.

Shame about the bottle, hooning is an everyday occurrence ,especially if there's been a drop of rain, lol,, but throwing glass bottles is on another level and not something ive heard of happening much.

   Cal x

[Toots]

That's a fair review of what you have observed.    Hoons are noisy, and very annoying but bottle throwing is just plain dangerous.  I stopped noticing fashion years ago and I was never a great follower of fashion anyway.  Hope you remembered to apply plenty of 30+ sunscreen!

[bluequay]

The picture you paint of Brisbane is very similar to my experience of the regional cities in South Australia, Adelaide itself is fortunately a bit more sophisticated, otherwise I wouldn't move!!!

[Cheery Thistle]

3 minutes ago, Toots said:

That's a fair review of what you have observed.    Hoons are noisy, and very annoying but bottle throwing is just plain dangerous.  I stopped noticing fashion years ago and I was never a great follower of fashion anyway.  Hope you remembered to apply plenty of 30+ sunscreen!

The bottle incident was the worst thing that happened on the trip and I just don’t get the casual, shoulder shrugging attitude about the hooning. I know it’s something that I’ll just have to get used to/accept, but suppose I don’t need to ‘like’ it? It was a bit much to throw a glass bottle at an 11 year old and the end outcome could have been far far worse actually. We were lucky. 

We use factor 50, always do on any holiday. I have to say we did get a lot (and I mean a lot) of could and rain on the trip, interspersed with a bit of Sunshine. it is the least tanned I have been after a holiday!! 

[Cheery Thistle]

1 minute ago, bluequay said:

The picture you paint of Brisbane is very similar to my experience of the regional cities in South Australia, Adelaide itself is fortunately a bit more sophisticated, otherwise I wouldn't move!!!

We see growth potential in Brissie and we know how to avoid the things we don’t like so much. We can go anywhere really, but the climate of QLD and the growth potential of the next 10-15 years are the main draws to that area. 

[Cheery Thistle]

18 minutes ago, calNgary said:

I pretty much would've said the same as you. I remember saying QLD is 10 yrs behind the UK and that's in manyyyy ways, some for the better , some not so much.

Shame about the bottle, hooning is an everyday occurrence ,especially if there's been a drop of rain, lol,, but throwing glass bottles is on another level and not something ive heard of happening much.

   Cal x

Haha indeed! I can see me ordering from m and s and Next online a lot. 
 

Yeah the bottle incident was a bit of a shock, especially in that location and I won’t lie, I will admit that it is partly what put us off the SC. It makes you realise very very quickly that you’re not in Paradise (though looks can be deceiving!). 

[Toots]

7 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said:

The bottle incident was the worst thing that happened on the trip and I just don’t get the casual, shoulder shrugging attitude about the hooning. I know it’s something that I’ll just have to get used to/accept, but suppose I don’t need to ‘like’ it? It was a bit much to throw a glass bottle at an 11 year old and the end outcome could have been far far worse actually. We were lucky. 

We use factor 50, always do on any holiday. I have to say we did get a lot (and I mean a lot) of could and rain on the trip, interspersed with a bit of Sunshine. it is the least tanned I have been after a holiday!! 

I think Qld weather is at its best in the winter months.  Lovely sunny days not as much rain.  The summers are far too hot, wet and humid for me.

[calNgary]

35 minutes ago, Toots said:

I think Qld weather is at its best in the winter months.  Lovely sunny days not as much rain.  The summers are far too hot, wet and humid for me.

Hubby would agree with you there Toots, but i hate it. As i've got older i just cannot tolerate the cold and love the heat. I pmsl when i first came and saw hats and gloves in shops, now its me that is wrapped up in fleeces and hats, lol

            Cal x

[InnerVoice]

@Cheery Thistle as a long-standing QLD resident, no offence taken. I'd concur with most those observations, with a few caveats...

1. 
2. The climate in QLD is the driving factor behind most people's choice of attire, and dressing up like a dog's dinner is neither comfortable nor practical. That said, most seem to dress smartly for work if they're in a business or customer-facing role, or for special occasions. Generally, Aussies are a lot less formal than Brits and not quite as up themselves about wasteful fashion trends, which personally I feel is a good thing.
3.  It definitely adds to the charm for me, although I appreciate many find it hard to adjust to which is why they never leave the major cities.
4.  I've never got used to the insularity here. It's the one single factor that makes me question whether I really want to spend my remaining days in Australia.
5.  Hooning and other anti-social behaviour is annoying but you can avoid it most of the time. Just make sure you don't live on a main road or busy street.
6.  It's a pain but you adapt to it, and it's not so noticeable during the winter months.
7. 
8. Freaking out over creepy crawlies is definitely a tourist/new migrant thing, but you'll find fly-screens keep out 99% of the nasties and your resident gecko will finish off the rest!  
9. 
10.  Indeed. Unless you live a hermitic lifestyle, an annual skin check at the end of summer should be de rigueur.

[InnerVoice]

14 hours ago, calNgary said:

Hubby would agree with you there Toots, but i hate it. As i've got older i just cannot tolerate the cold and love the heat. I pmsl when i first came and saw hats and gloves in shops, now its me that is wrapped up in fleeces and hats, lol

            Cal x

I've often heard it said that the coldest winter you'll ever experience is your first winter in Australia, and I'd say that's true. Most people tend to migrate during the Aussie summer to miss the British winter, and ensure their kids start the new school year. You feel like summer is never going to end, but it does. I spent my first winter in Sydney, and I remember waking up one morning at the start of May and thinking "Hmmm, this really isn't shorts and T-shirt weather any more!" QLD winters are a lot shorter of course, but you only have to head 20-30km inland from the coast and you notice how cool it gets at night. Brisbane has never record a sub-zero temperature, but it regularly goes below freezing in Ipswich. I recall they recorded -5C there one year.

[Blue Manna]

I've often thought I could get dressed in the dark and still be the best dressed person on the street in most Australian cities.

The only thing I would say is that if they wanted to hit you with a glass bottle they would have. Australians tend to be quiet sporty. Still, I would think this is unacceptable.

[Toots]

1 hour ago, Blue Manna said:

I've often thought I could get dressed in the dark and still be the best dressed person on the street in most Australian cities.

The only thing I would say is that if they wanted to hit you with a glass bottle they would have. Australians tend to be quiet sporty. Still, I would think this is unacceptable.

I thought Sydney and Melbourne people were very smartly and fashionably dressed going to work and on a night out.  

[Toots]

2 hours ago, InnerVoice said:

I've often heard it said that the coldest winter you'll ever experience is your first winter in Australia, and I'd say that's true. Most people tend to migrate during the Aussie summer to miss the British winter, and ensure their kids start the new school year. You feel like summer is never going to end, but it does. I spent my first winter in Sydney, and I remember waking up one morning at the start of May and thinking "Hmmm, this really isn't shorts and T-shirt weather any more!" QLD winters are a lot shorter of course, but you only have to head 20-30km inland from the coast and you notice how cool it gets at night. Brisbane has never record a sub-zero temperature, but it regularly goes below freezing in Ipswich. I recall they recorded -5C there one year.

The winters in Sydney never bothered me at all.  Sure you got cold days but the whole time I lived there I never needed an overcoat.  I used to wait at the train station going to work and I'd be surrounded by other females dressed in thick winter coats, boots, scarves and gloves.  I honestly never felt it cold enough.  I used to look forward to staying with friends in Blackheath (Blue Montains) during winter for a dose of real wintery weather.  Loved it!  

It also helps if you ensure your house is well insulated.  Most of the houses are not built to a decent standard.  Never could understand why they aren't.

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, InnerVoice said:

I've often heard it said that the coldest winter you'll ever experience is your first winter in Australia, and I'd say that's true.... I spent my first winter in Sydney, and I remember waking up one morning at the start of May and thinking "Hmmm, this really isn't shorts and T-shirt weather any more!" 

Actually, my first winter in Australia, I kept wearing my shorts and t-shirts for quite a few weeks, because I hadn't acclimatised that much.  It was my second winter where I was wishing I'd brought more woollies with me, and had to go out and buy a heater for the cooler nights. 

That said, I never felt I needed really warm clothing when I lived in Sydney.  I found the winters absolutely glorious (the summers were always too hot for me).  It was only when I got to Melbourne that I had to go out and buy a decent coat, bobble hat and warm gloves.

Edited March 23 by Marisawright

[Toots]

3 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Actually, my first winter in Australia, I kept wearing my shorts and t-shirts for quite a few weeks, because I hadn't acclimatised that much.  It was my second winter where I was wishing I'd brought more woollies with me, and had to go out and buy a heater for the cooler nights. 

That said, I never felt I needed really warm clothing when I lived in Sydney.  I found the winters absolutely glorious (the summers were always too hot for me).  It was only when I got to Melbourne that I had to go out and buy a decent coat, bobble hat and warm gloves.

Yes I had to get stocked up with cold weather gear for the winters here in Tassie.  My sister brought  over some lovely wool jumpers from Scotland.  She has one more week here.  Hope the Scottish weather is kind to her when she gets home.

[Blue Manna]

3 hours ago, Toots said:

The winters in Sydney never bothered me at all.  Sure you got cold days but the whole time I lived there I never needed an overcoat.  I used to wait at the train station going to work and I'd be surrounded by other females dressed in thick winter coats, boots, scarves and gloves.  I honestly never felt it cold enough.  I used to look forward to staying with friends in Blackheath (Blue Montains) during winter for a dose of real wintery weather.  Loved it!  

It also helps if you ensure your house is well insulated.  Most of the houses are not built to a decent standard.  Never could understand why they aren't.

Same 

[Cheery Thistle]

5 hours ago, Blue Manna said:

I've often thought I could get dressed in the dark and still be the best dressed person on the street in most Australian cities.

The only thing I would say is that if they wanted to hit you with a glass bottle they would have. Australians tend to be quiet sporty. Still, I would think this is unacceptable.

Well a bit of the glass did hit her. And I saw lots and lots and lots of un-sporty looking Aussies! Unless you count exercising your right arm for the remote and a beer bottle!!

[Cheery Thistle]

4 hours ago, Toots said:

I thought Sydney and Melbourne people were very smartly and fashionably dressed going to work and on a night out.  

Yes Sydney did not suffer the same fashion epidemic that we witnessed in QLD. And it was not that much cooler there so the extreme heat is not an excuse for being scruffy! Sorry @InnerVoice not buying what you’re selling there. 

[Cheery Thistle]

4 hours ago, Toots said:

Yes I had to get stocked up with cold weather gear for the winters here in Tassie.  My sister brought  over some lovely wool jumpers from Scotland.  She has one more week here.  Hope the Scottish weather is kind to her when she gets home.

Hmm 5 degrees and actual sleet here, plus some gale force winds yesterday for good measure. Not sure if you class that as kind or not? I had my big winter jacket and woolly hat on to walk the dogs yesterday. 

Edited March 23 by Cheery Thistle

[Cheery Thistle]

[Toots]

4 minutes ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Hmm 5 degrees and actual sleet here, blues some gale force winds yesterday for good measure. Not sure if you class that as kind or not? I had my big winter jacket and woolly hat on to walk the dogs yesterday. 

I've just given my sister the good news!  

[InnerVoice]

1 hour ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Yes Sydney did not suffer the same fashion epidemic that we witnessed in QLD. And it was not that much cooler there so the extreme heat is not an excuse for being scruffy! Sorry @InnerVoice not buying what you’re selling there. 

Well I'm sure if you compare Coogee Beach, one of the most affluent and bourgeois suburbs in Sydney, with regional QLD (which the Sunshine Coast is), you're going to see a significant difference in attire regardless of the climate. I worked in Brisbane CBD for several years in the mid noughties (nearly 20 years ago) and people dressed smartly for work in the city, even back then. If you'd travelled to regional NSW or VIC you'd have found plenty of fashion disasters, weird haircuts and bad tattoos there too, so it isn't just a Queensland thing.

[Cheery Thistle]

12 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

Well I'm sure if you compare Coogee Beach, one of the most affluent and bourgeois suburbs in Sydney, with regional QLD (which the Sunshine Coast is), you're going to see a significant difference in attire regardless of the climate. I worked in Brisbane CBD for several years in the mid noughties (nearly 20 years ago) and people dressed smartly for work in the city, even back then. If you'd travelled to regional NSW or VIC you'd have found plenty of fashion disasters, weird haircuts and bad tattoos there too, so it isn't just a Queensland thing.

No, agreed, we stayed in Coogee beach but we did go to Newcastle, Port Stephens and Byron as well. It was not quite as bad. However, if it is a regional thing then it can’t just be related to the QLD heat, can it? On a side note, plenty of bare feet in Coogee shops and cafes as well, so clearly even rich people can be quite minging as we would say in Scotland. Can’t even manage a flip flop! 
To me fashion and/or clothes are not a frivolous thing as such. I wouldn’t say I judge people on their clothes but it’s all about being appropriate. To me, being scruffy in certain circumstances shows a lack of respect (for yourself and for those around you). If you’re out with your wife/friends on a Saturday would it kill to make a bit of an effort? At least brush the mullet/man bun and put on a clean pair of shorts? Lolol. I’m talking upscale suburban North Brissie here, not the sticks!! 

[ramot]

2 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said:

Yes Sydney did not suffer the same fashion epidemic that we witnessed in QLD. And it was not that much cooler there so the extreme heat is not an excuse for being scruffy! Sorry @InnerVoice not buying what you’re selling there. 

I’m getting a bit fed up with you having nothing good to say about where I live. It’s a lovely place with plenty of interesting people, who don’t have tattoos or mullets, of course some people do dress as you describe, but not everyone has a lot of money here, and it is a hot climate so buying food is a priority. No one I know dresses anything like your dress code description. Of course your experience with a  bottle thrown from a car was totally disgraceful, an awful experience, hooning does go on here unfortunately,, but seems to take place in certain areas, but I have never ever experienced anything like you unfortunately experienced, since living here. 

Edited March 23 by ramot