Originally Posted by Sophie Louise

Just woke up and have to go to work very soon...

Thanks for all your answers - I think I understand what you're saying now, although it won't be truly clear until I go over there. At the moment I'm renting in a very bland area of the UK. All the houses are brand new, identical, and on top of each other and this is one of the things I'm hoping to get away from by moving. We're looking at moving somewhere with acreage, so although the new Aussie house may look similar to the neighbour's house, hopefully we won't see it as it'll be too far away and surrounded by trees..

I think I will miss the charm of the English pubs, and boyfriend says he will too, but I'm hoping there will be new things to do and to look at that will have their own charm in a different way. I do think life is what you make it, and that choices may seem limited if you go to a new country expecting only to do the things you did before, but I can't speak with any real authority as I have yet to go!!!

2 weeks on Friday... can't wait, and will hopefully understand it all first hand then.

Sophie

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by 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.

Originally Posted by eatstatic

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


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"

Originally Posted by kiwichild

I wish you and the b/f both well in your adventure. Australia is simply a place where it works for some and not for others. This is always a personal take I think. I think though, in attempting to answer your original question, that bland isn't really about housing at all.

Bland is mainsteam contemporary australian culture (if it can be called that).
Life here is about the buck and being ahead of or at least equal to your neighbour in terms of socio-economic standing.
Perth goes beyond this and is visualy bland, brisbane also. They can appear souless and though I found brisbane people reasonably friendly, perthites are a very detached and aloof lot.

When youv'e been to the beach a few times and burnt your bum on the sand and your skin on the sun, when the beer you're drinking has no flavour(most don't), when you've gotten used to spring in brisbane being humid and 30c at 6am, when you've done the postcards to home thing, and when you see that people here really don't give a toss or have a genuine interest in developing meaningful friendships and that by and large australia is an unsociable beast, then you can retire to your large bland house on the outer suburbs, admire your new 4x4 in the double garage, stare into the pool, and wonder if this is really what life is all about?

Hopefully that won't be your experience, just be prepared that it coudl be and is for a number of people here; and they are the ones who are doing "ok".

Originally Posted by ShozInOz

As for non-Brits, or (more importantly) non-ex-pats on here... I just say take them with a very large portion of salt. They are coming from an *entirely* different position, and often are just provocative/inflamatory (or try to be, in fact they are hilarious). For instance, Wombat's views come from a self-confessed background of never having visited Europe, never mind never having lived there!!! (And I really don't get WHY a non-Brit or non-ex-pat would be on a British Expats forum! Quite bizarre! I am open to explanation. Answers on a post-card please)

Originally Posted by kevinbloomfield

Maybe they should get a life, rather than whinging on here perhaps they should get out and meet people

Just my thoughts

Kevin