Sophie Louise

We're moving to Brisbane in May (I'm English, boyfriend is from there), and I've never been. We're headed out for 3 weeks at Easter before making the 'permanent' move.

I've been reading the 'moving back to the UK' threads to try to get a different perspective on things, as my expectations at the moment are admittedly a little unrealistic. (Mainly involving getting up early in my huge house for a swim in the pool, going to work, skipping about in the acres of gardens in the evenings swilling Brown Brothers Tarrango, with lots of new friends, while kangaroos bounce around at my feet and lorikeets settle on my arms Cinderella style.... well maybe not exactly like that, but you get the drift...)

There are two things on these threads that I don't understand, and maybe someone could clarify for me....

The first is the common theme that people have found Oz 'bland' or 'boring'. I've always been of the opinion that you make your own entertainment, and that a place in itself cannot be boring. Also the things I like doing include going to the cinema, theatre, restaurants, gym, bars, parties, etc. and - as I understand it - all these things are available, plus a lot more in the way of 'outdoor' pursuits, such as cycling, walking, swimming, etc. I don't understand. What is it people are looking to do that they can't do? At the moment I'm part of a theatre group, go to the gym, and play for a netball team. I don't have time to do much more, and I know all these things are there in Oz - so why would it be boring or bland? Please explain this to me!!!

The second is that several people have mentioned not fitting in because they don't enjoy 'scrapbooking'... ????? I'm guessing this is the art of making scrapbooks? Even Aussie boyfriend is baffled by this one, saying he doesn't know anyone who gets up to anything involving scrapbooks... is this a local thing to some areas?

Thank you!!

Sophie

Merlot

Hi Sophie

Life is what you make it wherever that may be, so don't be too put off until you have given it a go. They say you make your own fun!!!

I enjoyed living in Sydney for 4 years as the options for entertainment, the great outdoors, etc are all there. Downside is the traffic but hey we can't have it all.

We then moved out of Sydney up the NSW Central Coast and I really disliked it to the end. Personally it was not my cup of tea, a little too sleepy. Very popular place for families and to retire.

Towards the end of my time my friends and I would go to Sydney every weekend to browse the shops, see the sights, theatre, chill and have fun. This is why for the return Melbourne is looking a possible.

Good luck
Merlot

Amazulu

I think when you see some of the endless, identical, brand spanking new & sterile suburbs with the houses built on top of each other, you'll understand why some people find it bland. It's not all like that though.

eatstatic

You will have to move there before you can experience the reality of the clash of cultures between the UK and Australia.

The geography of a lot of Oz contributes to the isolation and blandness of the place. For what it is worth here is a few of my observations.

No decent pubs, in some suburbs no pub at all.

Locals see you as a pom, nothing more nothing less, comment on any issue and you are a whinger.

Going to BBQ after BBQ and being asked "So what do you think of Australia", translated into "Aint the UK a shithole, bet ya cant believe your luck to be in Australia"

Plastic shopping malls, no decent town centres

Forget driving 10 miles and seeing a nice village/town different to your own. Think driving 12 hours to find a modern looking lifeless sprawling suburb that is a mirror image of the one you left.

Merlot

Yes I lived in suburb hell the last 12 months, like you said a lot of great spots if you look.

Amazulu

Exactly. Sometimes I wonder how Australians think when they all live in these kinds of suburbs. For a country with so much space it's kind of weird when they are all living on top of each other in some faceless (& not exactly cheap) suburb.

Merlot

I remember my early morning walks around the suburb I lived on and I wanted to cry towards the end, it was just not my cup of tea, so souless and empty. Like waiting for God feeling.

As I said, some are content with this, I wasn't.

M

ABCDiamond

Yes, not sure you get the Kangaroos and lorikeets like that in many places.
But it reminded me of the first house we looked at up here when we were moving here, they did have wallabies wandering around the garden, we rang the agent to get the price of the property while we sat outside, but it was twice our budget But it did come with a ride on lawnmower to keep the grass down.

After living in Australia for 14 years, the first time I heard about scrapbooking was on this site !!

Badge

If you look properly you do find the exception to this rule in Australia.

Eaty, me old mucker, the UK is the same - Major City - Suburbs - Country OR, Market Town - suburbs, outer estates - Country.

If you never go to the country, then UK is also surburbs and little estates. You just get less for your money. Not all UK pubs are great.

Its all about where you can go based on jobs, and money.

Badge

G'Day

I don't know what the go is but from what I'm reading here you'd forgive me if I got the idea that only countrified gentlefold were immigrating from the UK to Australia. I certainly get that impression when I read disparaging remarks about subburbia - didn't you all live in boring old subburbs in the UK? Or were they all spiced up with grafitti? All interesting and fantastic?

I think what they mean, Sophie Louise, is that you get "bland boring" sunshine most days over here with the occational bit of "weather", unlike bland boring rain and grey skies back in the UK. Also here you get "bland, boring" brick, wood and other types of houses on decent properties as opposed to the ever-popular bland, boring upstairs-downstairs-with-a-yard-you-can't-swing-a-cat-in of the good old UK. Then there is the "bland, boring" food. Choices vary between the "bland, boring" Japanese cuisine, Thai cuisine, Chinese cuisines, American cuisine, French cuisine, Aussie cuisine and the ever popular, never boring meat-and-two-vegs or fish-'n-chips from the good old UK. God-forbid that we should be expected to venture into anything as "boring" as a stylish night club or bar to drink anything new or different from the "ussual"! No give us a good old boring stuffy pub with the same-old-same-old, just like good old England.

I think anyone who complains that Australia is bland or boring whilst in the same breath whinging about there not being any decent pubs around is an unimaginative idiot.

Australia is a facinating country that combines within it's states the weather and pleasures of Bali, the weather, wine and pleasures of Cape Town, or the Med, the joys and glories of deserts accross the globe, and it even has Perth, which doesn't really fit in anywhere but is probably as close as you'll ever get to a major city posing as a small town in your life. We have country towns that are honest to gosh country towns, farms so vast they bring the cattle in with choppers, underground cities in Coober Pedy. Very few other countries have the diversity in people and climate that Australia offers. It has amazing architecture and art, many musicians and artists have made it their home and wouldn't be anywhere else.

I don't know what the go is with scrapbooking, since I've never come into contact with it in two years of roaming the place so all I can guess is that it was posted by someone without an ounce of appreciation for other people's hobbies in their soul, who happen to have been in the position of meeting someone who does this for a hobby. I didn't know it was a group-thing but who knows....

It is what you make of it, but it certainly has a hell of a lot of potential to start with. Certainly it doesn't have huge mountain ranges, but the Grampians & Blue Mountains are plenty beautiful for those who care to get out of the pub and out into life.

Ceri

I feel most of Brisbane is very bland, and before anyone shoots me, I have wallabies ( which come out at night - very nervous creatures), koalas and countless birdlife on my property - I don't live in one of these built up estates, neither did I in the UK - but it doesn't make up for the total blandness of Brisbane. I spend most of my freetime, ie my weekends in the great outdoors, watch very little TV - same as I did when I was in the UK. come hail or shine

A lot of people in Aus do live in built up estates - roof after roof. I could name a few of those hideous estates , but I probably would upset a lot of people who live in them.

Scrapbooking - done by bored suburban housewives.Never tried it, as I don't fit the category, I'm not that bored, and I'm not a housewife, and I don't live so close to my neighbours that I can hear them fart . But if you walk around some of the shops such as "the warehouse" you will see an aisle where it's packed by bored housewives buying scrapbooking things . Not quite sure what it is, do they make books, picture albums or something?

"bland to me" is lack of culture, lack of drive. I love " melting pots" - Grit, dirt, languages, oomph, everything. Yes it is very bland here. Sorry coming from Asia to here - I personally find it is bland , very bland.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I've always quite fancied South America myself for a few years, before I settle back to my homeland.

It's so exciting here , that many of the people who say they love it, spend most of their time posting here 7 days a week telling people how great it is. I often wonder when do they go outside, or are they tied to their computer

Yes life is what you make it, but when a place does not suit you , like it when it makes you fall asleep with the total blandness of it all - it's time to say it's bland , bland, bland!

Good luck, it may suit you - it suits many, others it doesn't. It depends what you are looking for. We are not all the same.

There is no right or wrong.

G'Day

I suppose it could be like that in Brisbane, haven't had the heart to go there yet but I hear it's rotten with expats so maybe that's why it's so bland but not like that in Melbourne, no ma'am. Too many different Asian peoples over here to get boring.

Are you at work right now?

Ceri

Yes , or I would not be on this site.

I've never been to Melbourne Sir /Ma'am.

The work is here , serving the east coast of QLD . The main headquarters is in NSW.

Can't say it's brimming here with expats myself. Most of my friends, workmates, and neighbours are so called Aussies.. there again I don't look for the expats, ( except for a banter on this site , which breaks up the day) don't tend to hang around in those circles. :scared: I'm not that bored either.
I would think Melbourne has a higher influex of (British) expats than Brisbane.

wombat42

Most migrants don't find OZ bland or boring, only those that are bland and boring people themselves find it that way.

ABCDiamond

Figures from www.homepriceguide.com.au -Postcode Snapshot - Demographics

Melbourne
Country of Origin
Australian born 65%
Born Overseas - Top 5
United Kingdom 5%
Italy 2%
Viet Nam 2%
Greece 2%
New Zealand 1%


Brisbane
Country of Origin
Australian born 74%
Born Overseas - Top 5
United Kingdom 6%
New Zealand 4%
Viet Nam 1%
South Africa 1%
Germany 1%