baggie

just a few observastions my wife and i made while in perth can anyone shed any light on them

why do the cars have big 3litre v6 engines when fastest they go is 100km/h

why do young drivers thrash the nads off their cars in 2nd gear then when they reach the speed limit go right into 5th and potter along.

why do aussies south of the river not seem as friendly as in the north

why do aussie kids seem ignorant my 4 year old spoke to endless children and mostly got snubbed except by english kids.

why are there mainly 2 supermarkets dewsons and woolworths seems a general lack of competition which normally brings prices down seems a bit dodgy between the main 2.

where do the kids hang out after school we didnt see many groups kids about after 5ish

what northern suburbs are classed as 'rough' by people over there wanneroo seemed bit more down market than other surrounding areas.

we never saw anyone gardening but most of the gardens were pristine.....

like i said these are just observations dont flame me for airing my views and i apoligise for anyone who enjoys trying to blow there car up by doing 60km/h in 2nd gear



.....

jad n rich

Made a few of these comments myself, about aus in general. Speed limits are very low, have never been able to see the point in big cars, pointless. The only people who drive fast are the teenage hoons hence the high fatality rate.

I dont think aussie kids do play out that much, parents here have exactly the same concerns about perverts as anywhere else, its quite bad actually. Plus if you had come in summer it would have been too hot, the stats show aussie kids spend more time on electronic games/Tv than outside.

Ive not found aussie kids ignorant, far less polite but not ignorant, also found my kids mix in well with them, but weve been here almost 5 years, they sound aussie now, but find in general many english stick to themselves, especially socially.

You got the supermarkets right, the lack of competition out here attributes to the high cost of many things unfortunatley. Food prices especially seem to jump weekly. Check out an airfare from here to UK compared to what the UKers pay.

Cant help with the rest as its Perth specific.

baggie

i apoligise you are right less polite more than ignorant thinking about it that could be said for a lot of aussies but also most people in citys around the world i suppose......except florida.....have a nice day...

Simone

If you think Woolies and Dewson are the main 2, then that shows you weren't in Perth long, and not living here/or were mainly in one area. And that's probably why some of your other observations seem generalising too.


Woolies and Coles are the main two big ones, though Action is another wide spread big one.

Then there's the bit smaller/open 7 days ones, which include Dewsons and Super Valu.
Then there's a few others, and deli's.
You're right though, there's not that much competition.
(btw, I have all these supermarkets all within 10 minutes, but that's because I live in the middle of the city practically, not in an outer suburb.)

South vs North. With thousands of people living in both area's, I can't even believe anyone could make such a sweeping generalisation. It must be a coincidence and/or, you're already biased to North.
You probably didn't speak to hundreds of people in each suburb, and probably didn't even come close, so.....


Does your 4 yo have an accent?(what you think might not be a strong accent, could be a very strong accent to other kids)

I don't know where kids hang out, but it gets dark at 6 now, so....?
Driving home after work I see kids at skateparks and at shopping centres, and playing sport in parks. The rest will be at home watching tv/on the computer/doing homework I pressume. Same the world over?


Don't know about the cars, I find it strange as well. Must be a status symbol of some sort.
Lots of people have 4wd's (including a lot of the immigrants), but don't even go out of the city much. Maybe it's for that odd one time that they do....

baggie

sorry i meant coles not dewsons....

i did use supavalue and some other convinence stores but i mean supermarkets where people do a full weekly shop not just CONVINENCE shopping...

the north south thing was just an observation like i said mainly shop and cafe workers that seemed less friendly in the south then the north except at the zoo where the elderly workers were the most chatty people we met...

as i said in the post i was there for 2 weeks so the observations may seem sweeping but i havent got the advantage of living there on a day to day basis like yourself...

samnrob2

The car thing is the same in Brisbane. Cars right up your arse from the lights, then hit the speed limit and slow down!

Also, loads of middle lane drivers over here - no wonder there is so much swerving from one lane to another.

Minor irritation - certainly not enough to warrant a return trip!

Rob