What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Is it true they are more sporty so dont really hang around the streets like in the uk or is that a myth...

Are they more pleasant or are you still wary of them on public transport etc...

Knife/gun crime, whats that like in oz?


Oh and is it true that as Australia is so big that people use planes like we would use the train so example as teen when they grow up would think nothing of hopping on a plane for a weekend partying in sydney when they live in adelaide? (i know that may sound odd but wondered if with adelaide being great for kids that when they get older most go to other destinations)

Thanks

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

where did you hear this myth? sounds like you're expecting a lively debate below based on a pretty loaded question like that

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Didnt hear it was a myth, its just the impression we get in the uk. Bascially i am really struggling with deciding whether to move to adelaide or not. I have just had a baby so appreciate people being nice to me as i a bit hormonal.

My husband wants to come as he is convinced it is a nicer and safer place for the kids. In the uk i can be scared to use public transport, go to the shops, nightclubs and bars and dread my kids getting older here. However if it the same there then i would prefer to stay put without the stress this is causing me, the spider phobia i have and missing my family.

Honest answers please and i know its perception. Espcially those who have not been to the uk.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Per the other thread you posted you will get completely opposite ends of the scales with answers. Some will say they're better, some will say they're worse.

You shouldn't make such a big decision based on whether teenagers are nice or not. Consider all the facts - you were given a lot of info in your other thread. Base it on a whole family decision. Affordability should be the biggest concern. If you as a family decide that you could afford a good life there then dependent on which visa you are on, research different areas thoroughly looking at all the pros and cons. Asking a question about teenagers should not form the base of such a huge life decision. Teenagers are good and bad around the world.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I know they are but in the uk anti social behavour is such a bad thing. Honestly i think this is my main reason for maybe moving. People do give the impression that it is nicer/safer there and i would seriously hate to have swapped like for like, with or without the sunshine

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Which people? I would be asking them for stats etc, have they lived in different parts of Australia?

I don't mean to sound harsh, it's a huge decision and can be really difficult. You need to do what is best for you and your family, I get that completely...but really you shouldn't get too hung up on things like this. Where are you moving from and to? This would help greatly!

I've lived in all different states of Australia plus England, Ireland and Scotland so I've teen teenagers all over. You get bad teenagers in all places, you also get good. Totally depends on where you going to but of course nothign is guaranteed. Please really don't make a decision based on teenagers.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

From a city in the uk to adelaide.
I keep hearing how good adelaide is for kids, safe etc but them imagine even if it were then my kids may grow up and still go out in places like sydney which i have heard is just like london anyway.
Cant help getting hung up on it, im a new protective mummy ;)

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Well you should move on from being hung up on it! You need to speak more to the person/people who told you about this and who you keep hearing this from. Not sure why you're not asking them for stats? Have these people lived in London and Adelaide?

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Hi there - couldn't help but feel for you when I read that you were a hormonal new Mummy! Bless ya! Mine are 7 and 9 and I am still a hormonal Mummy! :lol: I don't think that changes with age! I can understand where you are coming from. As Mums we will always look to protect our children whatever their age and we will always want whatever is best for them. This is one of the reasons we have chosen to emigrate to Australia. We feel that the whole outdoors living will be wonderful for our girls. There are so many times here in he UK when we can't go out at the weekends due to the poor weather - we are looking forward to beng able to plan things to do with our girls at the weekends! I personally feel so much happier when the sun is shining too:D I think that the world-round you are going to find troublesome teenagers but alot of this depends on how your children are bought up and the opportunities they are given in life. All you can do is go with your gut instinct and if you don't like it you can always come back to the UK :D Good luck with whatever you decide.:fingerscrossed:

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

There is far more organised sport here for Kids out of school hours than the UK. In fact all kids are given encouraged to find a sport they are at least ok at then encouraged to participate in a team environment out of school hours. I would say the participation rate for out of school team sports would be around the 60 pct mark. Kids stick out here as being a bit out of the ordinary if they havent participated in out of school sports on a least a few occasions.

Yes it is true re the planes... however that comes down to distance and the only other alternative being stuck in a car driving for at least 7 to 8 hours, Melbourne to Adelaide or 8 to 9 hours Melbourne to Sydney. No decent inter city train service here which is a bit of a disgrace.

In Fact the Melbourne To Sydney plane route is the 4th busiest in the world. With the other 3 busier ones being in Japan and Korea.

Edit... I personally now believe that the biggest cultural difference between the UK and Aus... are the Teenagers.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Yes, more organized sport and a lot of trawling the malls, not so much spontaneous exercise these days (used to see more kids on bikes, basket ball hoops in back yards etc)

Some HS are like bear pits and you wouldnt go into them unless you had to - others are not so bad. Being on a bus with a load of HS kids going to and from school - expect to have your vocabulary increased by a few undesirable adjectives and it is a long time since I have seen one of them stand up for someone elderly unless pressured

Knives and guns - yes to both (it was a machete apparently in Canberra's latest murder but before that we had guns and knives and cricket bats are also a national favourite).

Youth mental health problems and youth suicide - both up there in the world rankings unfortunately.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Teenagers here are the same as teenagers in the UK, some good some bad. I travel on trains full of them every day. Half of them have noses in phones or books, the other half are lurking at the end of the carriage splashing each other with the contents of their coke cans and swearing a lot.
Same kids different bucket.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I honestly see absolutely no difference whatsoever between teenagers in both countries. We hear about teen crime and teen pregnancy and all the other usual issues. I have lived many years here and in the UK and there are good and bad in both places and no more of either in one particular country.
Our kids aren't sporty and neither are their friends, other than one who is soccer mad. In this area it certainly isn't seen as out of the ordinary if they don't participate in out of school activity.
Go to any mall after school and see how sporty many of them look.
I'm sorry but kids are kids the world over, this belief that Aussie teens are in some way different is bizarre at best.
Don't let recent events in the UK make you tar all young people with the same brush, they were a tiny minority.
Believe me we wouldn't be returning to the UK with our 2 young boys if we for one second thought it was a bad place to bring them up.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

where the hell do you live in the UK that makes you scared to use public transport, go to the shop or use bars and nightclubs?

Personally I find no difference between Fortitude Valley and Glasgow City Centre on a Friday or saturday night and I never felt threatened in Glasgow anywhere anyway. If you live in the middle of a council estate in Peckham you may notice a difference, but otherwise IMO there is no difference.

Sounds to me like the biggest part of the problem is you being paranoid.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I made a comment on your other thread about how nice I find the kids here, although my interaction with them is quite limited. I got a bus home at the end of school term and about 50 (I kid you not) teenagers got on they were loud but well behaved. They got off at my stop too, when I stood up the ones nearest the door stood back and let me get off first.

So yes my perception is that I find children more pleasant here, but I cannot believe you would make a decision to move to the other side of the world because you think children might be a bit nicer. You do not seem to have any other reasons for moving.

Seriously you should stay put. I expect most of us on BE were brought up in the UK and turned out just fine, just like millions and milions of others.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I'd stay where you are! It sounds like the last thing you need is to be 16000 miles away from friends and family just to avoid a few hoodies. Besides, you're yet to meet the bogan teens - who - as the others on here are telling you - can be just as bad. Don't get neurotic about the danger from the 'youths' - they're really not a significant threat statistically.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

What I have found is that Brits almost want to believe that they have it bad and that things somewhere else are just better.
When I stayed in the UK recently with friends their house was more or less opposite a secondary school, coincidently the very place I finished by schooling. I would often be heading back at end of school day and the kids would be streaming out onto the street, they looked neat and clean and would just walk down the street in little groups chatting and doing what kids do. I didn't see any hoodies or witness any bad behaviour.
To the OP I don't know who has been telling you kids are different here but I have yet to witness it.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

A couple of anecdotes that give me the idea that teenagers are better off in Australia :-

When we were here camping in 2008 on New years eve the only pitch available was next to a group of late teenagers who were getting into the spirit in the afternoon so I didnt expect much sleep that night, in the early hours they were knocking on the father in laws camper cause his snoring was keeping them up!

A couple of days later at another site we turned up & the pitch was enormous, again a big group of kids next to us with cars parked everywhere - just as I was thinking it was going to be a nightmare they came running out apologising & shifted the cars double quick.

Now we are living in Canberra & 16 year old daughter has a great bunch of mates, they all have evening/weekend jobs to earn thier own money, are respectful & can hold a conversation with adults, meet up at the mall for coffes/shakes etc but aren't hanging out at the park or street corners getting bladdered like her mates in the UK.
On one of her friends 16th birthday they had a big fancy dress party from mid afternoon til late - she got dropped home by another parent who apologised at the state of the kids, they were all hyper because of the amount of sweets they'd had!

Walking with my wife one evening encountered a few "Hoodies" lurking in an underpass, I feel my wife tensing up & confess that I was preparing myself for trouble but as we passed just got the traditional "how are ya"

I'm know that there are some anti-social kids out there, the murder Quoll mentions was by a 17 & 20 year old for a mobile phone and $27, but certainly my kids are doing better socially than they would have done back in the UK
Maybe we've just been lucky?

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Surely anyone anywhere can give good and indeed bad examples of teens ? 3 of our friends in England have teenage kids and without exception none of them are hoodies standing around on street corners getting 'bladdered'. I think it is 95% down to the parents and upbringing. Coming to Australia won't make a bad kid being bad and going the UK won't make a good kid bad.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

What about the average kids, which are the majority.

Personal anecdote... 6 years back took our kids back to the UK. We were staying at my Cousins place in an average part of Milton Keynes.... Galley Hill Stony Stratford to be exact. So we let my then 7 year old son out to play with his similar aged Cousins who he had only met a couple days before. Within 2 hours they all had been throwing stones at passing cars. This is something he has never done before or since. We were totally shocked.

So a play on Phil and Kirsty ....Environment. Environment Environment...

God knows what he would have been up to had he gone up to the supposedly bad estate next door.... Fullers Slade.

How does it work exactly though... Two Adjacent Estates.... one Suburb/Town..... Ones really rough and one not so rough... is there a entrance exam or something ?

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Yes the average kid is as good as they are anywhere.
I have never had a rock thrown at my car but I have had my car keyed, here, in Australia.
Are the kids that throw rocks and lumps of concrete at cars off overpasses here Brits ?
We can all give examples good and bad things and we all see what we want to see.
The consensus in this thread at least seems to be that kids are kids wherever they are which of course makes perfect sense.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

More teen smoke here, as they still see it as 'being cool' , an observation on mine and my teens part. (sorry for this totally useless piece of information).

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Well I still think they seem better quality here, compared to inner city children in UK. ;)

But I do agree that it is completely barking for OP to move when she clearly has no desire to other than for this "better for kids" codswallop.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I have no real experience of inner city kids here or in the UK to be honest.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Disclaimer: none of the below is based on fact; it's all anecdotal.

I think teenagers here are 'nicer' than in the UK - I find them less intimidating and yes, I tend to find them politer and more able to hold a sensible conversation. I also do think they are 'younger' than in the UK.

However, I have been shocked at the casual drug use here, and I'm not a prude, nor am I that removed from the scene (I was 23 when I moved here, and was shocked then). I know plenty of people who use drugs in the UK, but almost everyone I know here can't get through a night out without something. The personal trainers in my gym are almost all regular drug users - can't get over that. I'm talking about people in their 20s and 30s here, not teenagers, but still relevant.

Plenty of good kids here, plenty of good kids in the UK.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

My friend was telling me about a recent party her 13 year old went to. It was a strictly timed 7-10 pm get-together, limited guest list, parents in attendance, in a very expensive Perth suburb. Halfway through the evening, the mum answers the door and there's a bunch of 13 year old girls there, clearly drunk, wanting to come into the party. I can't remember if my friend said these girls were invited or not. Anyway, the host mum told the girls that they couldn't come in because they had been drinking and that she would drive them home. The girls had walked to the party, but the host mum was concerned about them walking back home. The girls refused to tell the host mum where they lived. The host mum, presumably with help from other adults, searched the girls' bags, and found cans of Red Bull and bottles of water filled with vodka:blink::eek:.

Just one Perth anecdote, but there would be similar stories elsewhere. There are good and not-so-good teenagers everywhere, I can't see how it's better in Australia and worse in the UK.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

It is just my personal opinion but I honestly think that quite a few want to believe kids are better for no other reason than to make themselves feel better and happier. Like I said just my view.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I would agree with that. Teenagers are teenagers the world over. They will experiment with drink, smoking as I am sure my generation and the generation before that did. The difference to me is that the teenagers I come into contact with here in my area are generally more articulate and polite than the teenagers I came into contact with in my area of the UK.


You see what I am doing there Chris955, comparing my area here to my area there. Not broadbrush generalisations about Australia and UK.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Harsh but true.

I'd say the OP needed therapy before anything else.

Or to stop reading The Daily Mail.

Kids around here are pretty good (compared to my old urban haunt in the UK) but this is 'the sticks' and street corners don't really exist ...

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Exactly right.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

We're on the gold coast, and have been here for 4 years now. Our daughter was 16 when we arrived, and did her last 17 months of schooling here.There is definitely more for them to do that where we lived in the UK. She used to go down to Burleigh beach with friends often, did marine studies at school, so went sailing with friends from time to time. Also got herself a part time job, and worked 2 evenings a week, and one day on the weekend, which kept her out of mischief. We have been happy with the teens we have met here

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I agree with you. In Canberra we now have cages on our bridges because of rock throwers - and the Hume has had them for yonks. That doesnt say much about our nice civilized Youf (whose parents probably think they are with their nice friends, not getting bladdered LOL)

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Lets see what the UK Yoof are listening too





Have a go at finding some Aus Versions.... that the kids know I mean.

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I think that's called clutching at straws. :)

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

You don't much like Australia do you - still at least you tried it!

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I'm not quite sure how you deduced that from my post :huh:
I actually like aspects of Australia very much indeed, I have after all spent the majority of my life here BUT we have come to the realization that this country at this time doesn't offer us what we want.
People who know me know my true feelings about this country ;)

N

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Post(s). And I was being stupid.:p

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Bugger, I should have known :D

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

I live on the Sunshine Coast. My observation is that teens seem younger here. More like children at 16 than 21 year olds. I am from a rough area in the UK though. A lot of kids stay at school until 18 here and I dont really see any kids hanging around on the streets. I am sure some do but I couldnt even begin to think where.

There is no real basis to any of this, its just my initial thought on the subject.

I think its a valid question though, I am sure the poster isnt basing their decision just on the answers here - its just one research component and I cant see why anyone would think that its not a valid question. It doesnt mean that any decision or answer posted here will make any difference at all. If you have never lived in a country and want to find out more - why wouldnt you just ask people who are there and have made the move what they think?

Re: What do teens get up to in oz?
 

Well I have one male teen (14) and another almost-teen (12). What do they do? Probably the same as teens the same age in the UK. They play computer games and watch viral videos on Youtube that they've swapped on Facebook. They want to go hang out near Westfield Mall ... they go for sleepovers and have their friends over for the same (watching movies, mostly). They also have to do homework very night. This morning (Saturday) at 7am we were up taking them to their school football games (even though my kids take after me in hating sport, at least they take part).
In the summer we go out to Clovelly or Redleaf for a swim, or up to Palm Beach to walk up Barrenjoey. In the cooler months I drag them out to my favourite eating places on the weekend. I don't know what kids in the UK do, but on my last trip back to Leeds I was surprised to see so many kids just hanging about outside (especially given the weather - haven't they got Playstations to go to?) looking bored and looking for trouble.