British Expats - First Impressions of Oz

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- - First Impressions of Oz (https://britishexpats.com/forum/australia-54/first-impressions-oz-614926/)

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by kporte (Post 7666742)

And all Englishmen are French;)

OI! I resemble that remark

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by AndyR (Post 7666080)

We arrived in Brisbane just over a week ago now as we plan on spending the year traveling while we wait for our 175 to be processed. We spent 3 weeks in New Zealand before we arrived and had the most amazing time, the people there were so friendly that it totally blew us away, so we arrived in Oz really excited.

However, its not exactly been the best time so far :( We had done a lot of research before coming so had our exceptions set and a lot of these (food prices, costs of items, bugs etc) are all as we expected so thats fine, however one this we didn't expect to encounter is the appalling attitude of the people here!!! Things we have experienced so far:-

People are NOT friendly round here. Tried talking to lots of people in shops/out and about and they are just rude as hell. Say hi when you get to a checkout and they ignore you for example.
How many people stare at you with an expression like they have just crapped there pants?
People walk round completely oblivious to anyone else
Constantly getting bumped into where-ever you go, and no one ever says sorry
The way blokes in shops/restaurants ignore women is plain rude
People spitting on the street all the time
Never seen so many people smoking!!
Does anyone ever wash there hands in this country? No wonder swine flu is spreading so quick in Oz! Also seen lots of parents telling there little kids not to wash there hands after using the loo as its only a wee/poo ?!?!?!?
Total lack of manners from people
Racism - WOW! Its so blatant around here. Even had to get off a train early because a group of lads were harassing people on the train who were Kiwi or British, plus saw some very proud Ozzies families on the City Cat acting like complete idiots just to cause a scene.
Never had so many people let doors go in my face
People always squeeze through in front of you and look at you like you were at fault
Been bumped into so many times and they then look at you completely gormlessly!
General gormless attitude of people when you walk round, its like being in Land of the Dead.
The pace of life seems SOOOOO fast. Feel like your getting your heels chomped on the high street people walk so fast and everyone always seems to be in a rush wherever you go.

Hate to moan as we had been looking forward to this place for so long, but its just draining now. Like I say, before we came here we spent 3 weeks in New Zealand and they people there were met, every single one was superb. Never once felt uncomfortable, people were always friendly, if someone ever bumped you in the street they apologized etc.

All it feels like at the moment in Brisbane is London with much better weather and thats a serious shock. Everyone makes such a thing about how nice the Ozzies are but so far the only people which have been polite/civil are the Chinese/Koreans we've seen. Not seen many brits yet but every single Ozzie we have come across has been a total nightmare, and the amount of racism/crude attitude of people is a real eyeopener.

Sorry to rant, just had to vent a bit thats all. Hopefully it'll all change when we get out of Brisbane and into some less populated areas.

Sounds like most big cities, honestly. What you wrote could fit nicely with my city here in Canada and I've been here all my life. I'm just used to it. Here I'd also have to add that if you get cut off by someone and honk at them, usually they roll down the window and flip you the bird for honking. But otherwise, the list is pretty much the same.

But I also wanted to add that we spent a month in Perth in December to validate our visas and never met such kind people (aside from the occasional oddball who just wanted to pick arguments for the heck of it). We were invited to BBQs, met new friends in the park (our kids were playing together...the guy eventually helped my husband land his job), we even housesat for a couple who were friends of my sister-in-law. I guess everyone's experiences of a place are different.

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by AndyR (Post 7666080)

Sorry to rant, just had to vent a bit thats all. Hopefully it'll all change when we get out of Brisbane and into some less populated areas.

A CBD is a CBD. Get out into where people actually want to live. If you lived in Central London I should imagine your rant would be most similar.

Re: First Impressions of Oz

LOL OP, dont come to Canberra then, it's pretty much the same except for the smoking - oh and lots of puke on the streets especially in the morning as the city cleaning bill seems to have been slashed and restricted to just the bus interchange.

BTW dont you realize you have commited a cardinal sin - been critical of Australia in the Australia thread - tut tut!

Hope it gets better for you one way or another!

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by moneypenny20 (Post 7666117)

I don't go to Brissie that often and the only other place I've visited is Sydney but I can say with hand on heart I've not experienced any of those things anywhere. Sorry you have and hope your experience gets better.

Me neither - we spent the first 3 weeks here in an apartment on Kangaroo Point and went into the city a lot to begin with. I am in no way a city girl (more a wild hill child) but I found most people to be great, very friendly etc, and thought Brisbane was quite laid back for a city.

It must be awful to have had such a terrible first experience :(

Re: First Impressions of Oz

I've never experienced any of that living on the GC. My hubby works in Brissy and he hasn't either although maybe it's worth remembering that a lot of people walking around Brissy are workers and are probably on a quick lunch break, hence the pace and need to get from A to B quickly than the tourists sometimes allow ;) And the smokers are usually out in force on the streets because they can't smoke inside.

It's a shame you experienced that. We landed in Brisbane 2 years ago and loved it from the outset because of how nice everyone was.

Hope it gets better for you!

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by man_called_Horse (Post 7666183)

... I agree....I think NZ is a fantastic country probably the best I have ever visited But to be honest its good for a holiday, to live there different story. ...

Totally agree, I lived in New Zealand for five years before giving up and coming over to Australia which was the best move that I ever made in my life, that was more than 30 years ago. In New Zealand I had two jobs and worked around 70 hours a week but just couldn't get ahead, at the time almost everything was in very short supply, had to wait three months to buy an average watch. In Australia I now have a good self funded pension, top hospital cover, good home, good car and can afford at least two overseas holidays every year, we live well, eat well and are very content. Honestly there isn't really anymore that we want. We do visit UK often but have no desire at all to return permanently, always enjoy the trips but very glad to get back home to Australia.

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by quoll (Post 7667757)

BTW dont you realize you have commited a cardinal sin - been critical of Australia in the Australia thread - tut tut!

Did you really need to trot out that rubbish? :rolleyes:

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by MartinLuther (Post 7668021)

Did you really need to trot out that rubbish? :rolleyes:

Thats rich coming from you. :eek:

Re: First Impressions of Oz

We all perceive places differently so it's no use comparing a lot of the time.

your experience is so sad I hope things improve for you :fingerscrossed:

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by sm79 (Post 7666288)

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time of it.

Our experience of Brisbane was the complete opposite of what you've described - in particular we found the people to be very friendly and we still comment on how much/often staff in shops/restaurants spoke to us. From our perspective it seemed like our Scottish accent was a catalyst for coversation as opposed to a hindrance, with 'locals' showing what seemed like very genuine interest in where we were from and what our plans were.

We also felt the pace of life was very relaxed, streets were spotless and the groups of youths our paths crossed were boystrous but respectful. Maybe we were just lucky, or maybe travelling from Melbourne to Brisbane influenced our experiences (bigger, faster etc), either way we loved it.

Maybe your own experiences prior to arrival have tainted your opinion of the place in the opposite way ours did. Maybe getting yourself up or down the coast to get away from the city for a bit will help you find what you're looking for :)

Def agree that your accent can help,im Irish but hang about with a few brits:embarrassed_smile: They open their mouths in a cafe or pub they generally either get ignored or frowned at.Now Bernieboy come's out with the lovely Irish lilt :teeth_smile: and the people lighten up and start conversing,mind you it can be a hindrance too esp if i dont know their dear old gran from Cork or wherever:rolleyes:

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by Pollyana (Post 7666681)

Oh Andy, I so feel for you. I could be reading my own post there. It doesn't improve with time either, sorry :(

Must be a bloody wimmin thing then:p

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by Bernieboy (Post 7668043)

Must be a bloody wimmin thing then:p

Na, just a witchy thing :sneaky:

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by Catch (Post 7666111)

Welcome to Australia mate

Re: First Impressions of Oz

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Originally Posted by Officer Dibble (Post 7668030)

Thats rich coming from you. :eek:

Not really.