chippy

Do we British integrate into Aus society (when in Rome etc.), or are we all a bunch of little Englanders ? Do we have a choice?

Just wondered what the general consensus was.

wengerboy

i for one would love to fit in with the aussies

WBB

or little wales as we watched on the down under show.

cadman

We are determined to integrate into Oz society and not hang around with poms just because they are English too.

RichS

I do try really hard to get on with the locals, and on a superficial level we manage quite well.

However I find that the friendships we have that are the strongest are from either UK expats or from Aus/NZ folk who are not from Sydney.

podgypossum

I think it depends on the type of person you are.. if you have the ability to adapt and not see "your way" as always the right way then it will be much easier to fit in.
There is nothing wrong with seeking out likeminded people (poms) for help and moral support. The fact that they have experienced the same problems and done the trip the same as you have, automatically draws you to them. It only becomes a problem if you exclude everyone else.

One thing that i feel is a real piss off to non Brits, is a pom who is a snob and thinks they know better than everyone else.

bondipom

I get on best with Aussies who are first or second generation immigrants. The Aussie stereotype is rare in the Eastern burbs but I get on with them at work.

Banksia

About three or four years ago, a lady based in Canberra decided to set up a club or society for English people on the grounds all the other ethnic groups had them and the Brits had been overlooked. It got some publicity in the Sydney Morning Herald and even on ABC TV news.

Shortly after that initial enthusiasm, it died for lack of interest.

janeyray

One of my closest friends here is an Aussie

owieb

At the end of the day people are choosing to live in a different country and therefore they should make every effort to adapt to the Australian way of life and to the Australian culture.

IMO if people aren't going to make the effort to integrate then they shouldn't be here!

Otherwise the place will end up with pockets of communities that are no different from the countries they originated from.

jayr

It is a little pointless going to all the bother of moving half way around the world and then not fitiing into the culture. I have friends and acquaintances through work and social who are Aussie, British, Canadian, South African, American etc. etc. I have a 4x4, I wear singlets, shorts and thongs. I increasingly talk with a raised inflection at the end of sentences and shorten as many words as possible to end in 'o'. As an englishman abroad that is probably about as integrated as I will get, there's no need to look foolish by pretending to be Australian is there?

RichS

The last post raises the quiestions:

1. Will you ever think in your own mind that you are Australian?

2. Do you think that Australians will ever think you are anything other than a pommie bastard?

I can only answer for myself -
1. I'd happily embrace Aussie culture/laws etc, but I'll never pass the Tebbit Test.
2. Not a hope in hell

MrsDagboy

Still trying to get my head around that mental image.....

bondipom

I agree with Owieb but aspects of immigrants culture have also enriched Australia. Half the country is of post war immigrant stock. If one was being argumentative you could say Aussies should integrate with aboriginals because the local culture was originally theirs.

owieb

1. No not at all. I'm not sure where the "pretending" bit of jayr's post came from? It's not about pretending it's about integrating.

2. I doubt it very much, but you can certainly earn respect and I think that is important.