I know this is a reoccurring subject here at BE, but I've been here about 15 months now and I want to know how to befriend an Aussie. There have been times when I have come close to befriending an Aussie but it just hasn't worked out. I'll have a chat with them at work and on the study course I did, but while they seem friendly, it seems that they all "have-enough-friends-thank-you-very-much". I'll talk about them and what they're up to but if they do ask about me, there's that old vacant expression on their faces again. The light's on but nobody's home. It seems that Perth people (what is the plural for Perth people anyway?) are insular and shallow. I'd love to be proved wrong though.

How did you make friends when you got here?

Most of our friends are English anyway in Perth. The Ozzies we have met don't seem to have our sense of humour, so what we laugh at and enjoy, they just look miserable and vice versa ...they also struggle with our accent.
But we are not bothered either way if we have Ozzie mates or not, there loss

Mugs? South Africans? Miners? Brummies?

Perthites?

Maybe you should target the Great Aussie passions, they seem to love sport so maybe joining a sporting club might be a good idea, doesn't have to be competative, maybe something like canoeing or swimming, a friend of mine emigrated alone to Aus and met her future Aus husband at the swimming pool. Maybe learn to dive or sailing, meeting other novices sharing the experiance might help. Sporting events would be good, like aussie rules footy or cricket, people will probably be more likely to open up. If you have a particular hobby or interest find some courses or clubs, like minded people tend to bond quicker. Again drinking and eating tend to be high on the agenda, go to as many BBQ as you can. I would also imagine having kids will be a good way of meeting Aussies, kids make friends easily and you can get to know the other parents. Otherwise smile a lot, ask people questions about themselves and be a good listener, people like to be flattered.

Cheers

Hi we've been here 7 weeks this week and i really miss my friends, have 2 children at the local school but my daughter is 15 this year so it's not cool for mum to collect her from school !!! my son is in year 4 at primary and i feel the same way people dont seem interested in wanting to get to know new people around here, i suppose things will be different when i find myself a pt job and i'm hoping not to be so friendless.
We haven't even met the neighbors yet !!!!
So if anyone out there is local to Thornlie and fancies a coffee give us a shout i promise i only have 1 head and am not that ugly lol
Lack of friends but still waiting to meet some Tracey xxxxxxxxxxx

How sad do i sound sorry !!!!!

I'm not particularly sporty but I like the sound of your advice. Good common sense stuff there. Thank you.

No problem, hope you meet some nice people. I think from my limited experiance Aussies tend to quite outgoing and laid back so initial contacts should be easier, i guess trying to go beyond that may be difficult, anyway good luck

Can't help with the making friends bit as I'm not in Perth yet, but people of Perth are called "Perthites" these days. (In the past, they were referred to as "Swanites" and more recently "Sandgropers".)

On a general level: making friends has always seemed easiest through a shared interest. Maybe there is an "activity" that you enjoy? Then you can probably find some sort of "club" of like-minded people - and one or two or three of them may then become friends in time.

Gina

There are two ways I go about meeting Australians and making friends:

a) I joined the local scrapbooking club. I'm not a "crafty" person and had never done it in my life but it seemed a good opportunity to meet people in my age group and it's a huge thing over here, most Aussie women seem to be into it!

b) Just get chatting to people and ask them if they fancy a coffee. I've made good friends with several people this way, including my local Avon lady.

Dont know if it's different in Perth, but down here you can get chatting to pretty much anyone and you soon find out if you "click" with the person or not.

How about having a BBQ at yours and inviting the neighbours/people you work with/ whoever?

Strictly speaking Sandgropers are anyone from WA not just Perth. Perthites is an unofficial term but widely accepted. The radio stations were running an unofficial theme about what Perthites should be called last year.

Maybe because so few people in Perth are actually from Perth it is a redundant question. Even the local guys I work with are from Australind, Geraldton, Collie...

Most importantly though, you are either an Eagle or a Docker over here

shouldn't be to difficult for me to find a few friends then,eh cock,,,