elice_in_oz

Agreed! I have 20-odd first cousins, most of them in France, all of them aged between 13 and 25 so all much younger than me. A few have dabbled in joints and the odd silly behaviour -I have witnessed some of it, but none bar one (diagnosed with schizophrenia) have ever been in trouble with the police, a few are excellent musicians and sports(wo)men, most have gone to uni and are now architects, lawyers, accountants... So in just one extended family situation, all grand-children (ie descended from one couple, my grandparents) have managed to get through their teenage years without being off their faces on drugs, spending their life watching the box or shagging everything in sight (though can't be sure on that last one as they certainly wouldn't do it in front of me)
Maybe Kim and I just move in different circles than the lot of youse

ETA - yes, I do have a large family

Alienfeet

Thanks for all of your opinions guys.

One thing I have taken from this thread that I hadn't condsidered is the supposed dope culture in Queensland. Is this a problem in Queensland as a whole or particular areas? We'll be living near to Brisbane CBD (The Gap, Bardon, Alderley etc.) so was wondering if it's an issue there.

Not that it's a major problem with me. I come from a fishing town in the UK and dope (and everything else) is everywhere. The problem is that there is nothing to do for the kids so they either stay in getting stoned watching tv or hang around shops drinking cider. Add to this a general lack of discipline and morality and you have problems, I think.

As some people have said it's the parents and how they live their live that will be the greatest influence over the children. Living in a decent place will just enhance what can be offered to them.

ozzieeagle

It's been a very good thread this one.... Quite often threads like this turn into slanging matches.

Re the Dope Culture... it could be more widely accepted in Aus... god knows it's so easy to grow here. I guess there are worse things you could be exposed to. I personally feel that dope is more of an issue in country towns rather than Cities.... although thats open to debate as well Probably not as big an issue, especially as you have similar issues where you live.

IvanM

Some great ganja ere man.

chris955

I have Police friends in Brisbane, in fact one recently left Brisbane because he didn't want to bring his kids up here and I have heard all the horror stories but as in the UK you aren't likely to be exposed to them. Brisbane, like any city or town has a drugs problem whether it be hard or soft drugs. The suburb or area makes little difference really.
Kids or people in general will often take drugs as a release or because they are bored or whatever, it is unfortunately a universal problem.

fish.01

I imagine you will find the same drug use amongst teens you might find in any other higher socio-economic area anywhere else. Mostly a private affair as I haven't seen one teenager hanging around the shops doing anything bad, let alone drinking cider The streets are very family orientated.

Alienfeet

Wow! This suprises me. As mentioned, I come from a fishing town in the UK and I'm expecting what your friend views as horror stories I see as pretty normal. I'm hoping that's the case anyway.

It's amazing the cross section of views you can read from the same city. I have some friends in Brisbane and they absolutely love it and would never dream of moving back to the UK. Yet I see Police officers wanting to leave the 'horror stories'.

If this thread were to be flipped around ie. Someone in Brisbane wanting to know about my area in the UK then it would pretty much be unanimous and say: not a lot to do and when you do plan something the weather will probably spoil it apart from a couple of weeks in summer, job/career prospects not good and probably going to get worse, terrible gang culture on the streets, energy and fuel prices going through the roof.

Grayling

...and the weather forecast for this summer will probably spoil it here as well....just like it did last summer.

I think a lot of people in Brisbane would swap their summer for an English one.

fish.01

There are "far" more weekends across the year in Brisbane where you can plan outdoor things with more confidence than the UK.

Grayling

In your opinion.

It is not just the rain....it is also the heat and humidity which can be a problem.


....and just how does the weather in England stop you doing outdoor things?

fish.01

For a big part of the year heat nor humidity nor rain are a problem. And those periods when it is hot/humid/rainy have some good periods as well. So all up far more weekends can be planned over the course of the year.

fish.01

Bardon is a lovely area. It is green and hilly being in the foothills of Mt Coot-tha. It is full of lovely family character homes, parks, fantastic govt and private schools (some of the best primary schools in Brisbane). For a suburb only 6km from the CBD it is amazingly peaceful and green.

The odds are that you have a higher chance of being bored by the civility of the place than being worried by anything happening on the street.

PunkDebutante

My teenage daughter says she sees and hears about less drug use here compared to her school back in the UK. It still exists but doesn't seem to be as prevalent. Saying that it isn't a huge issue anywhere we've lived. The drug of choice seems to be weed versus some of the pricier drugs she heard a lot about in her old schools. Private schools always seem to have higher than normal drug usage around the world compared to their counterparts.

odyssey

I dont like mid summer here but the other 10 months are good. This year sounds fun again: http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au...wet-is-coming/

I think my children are better off here than in Wales, the one thing I notice is that there seems to a more community approach to teenage behaviour. So residents dont seem prepared to put up with children who are out of control, who are drinking on the streets, who play up at school. Its still very much a parent - school united front rather than one expecting the other to resolve issues. I have never seen kids hanging out playing up on the street although i know some do at the skatepark.

Dope is everywhere in the world. I think you just have to try to set up good guidelines and moral fibre and then even if they do try it, which is probably inescapable, it wont become a part of their lives.

Where I lived in wales though is very very rough. and so it couldn't help but be better.

commonwealth

UK and Europe will probably experience what the Japanese had as "lost decade(s)" of stagnant growth.

Australia, on the other hand, will continue to feed the resources needed by the growing Asia-Pacific for many decades, probably our lifetime. I can say that because these growing economies will take a long time before they reach high standards of living in the first world, and that's what they're targeting.

#justsaying