for those that struggle to adapt to Oz-I am fascinated to know what is most alienating about the place. What feels the most foreign. Not the the things you miss back home but specifically the things in Oz?

everything in aus is spot on except work laws/rules/conditions.

crap place to work. brill place to live

Didnt think work env. that different to the Uk

Damn good question, only thing I can think of besides of course, it being so far away would be, which can weigh on peoples minds from time to time. It's not much fun working in 38 degrees plus heat.

I myself can't see anything particularly alienating.
the one thing that does strike me though-is how many people on this board talk of missing the family(ie siblings parents)
Aussies seem to be not very family-oriented

what makes ya think that?

from wot ive seen, aussies in general r very family orientated.

In terms of their immediate family (kids spouse)-not parents, siblings-in my opinion.

Very different - do a search on here for things like maternity benefits, for example. Attitudes are different where permanency of jobs is concerned - far more people work casual or temporary contracts - people I work with find it hard to imagine being in a job for more than a couple of years, whereas back home I worked in an office of similar standing - and all 25 people ahd been there 5 years or more. Leave, salary, the whole package is different to the UK.

For me the single bigest thing I find most alienating although I'm not sure thats the right word is:- Adults are treated by authority as children, its an incredibly nanny state and the Australians just bend over and take it with pleasure. I'm all for having laws and rules and regs but here they really do treat you like children.

Do you think that the RTA is beurocracy gone mad?
What about the process of getting a mortgage?

The lack of a decent alehouses ...

... "hic" ... ... "hic" ...



Nowt' else me duck.



Three Legs

It's very third world in terms of systems generally - especially compared to the UK. Banking, retail, skills recognition (but you all know that one!), price fixing (tell me why prawns are $29.95 a kilo whichever shop you go to...?)

If there's a way to do anything which will take a million more forms and a million more minutes to do something which the UK could do instantly, the Australian's will find it. I find this alienating - especially when I ask "Why can't you just do this....?" and I'm faced with blank looks.

And.....before anybody tells me to come back to the UK because I'm moaning, I've just had the most amazing day today in a park outside Perth, which makes me realise what a fabulous country I'm currently in.

BTW what was the holiday for today? Somebody mentioned the queen....

It might (or might not) be true that Australians are not very family-orientated, but what people on these boards are talking about, presumably, is missing their own families (siblings, parents, and so on), who are generally going to still be living in the UK.

I hate with a passion the RTA and dread every time I have to go there. I now go armed with every document I can think of to take just in case and also now a few mogadons to make me not care what happens there. Talk about having a small willy with a big potato on their shoulders attitude.

Its not just price fixing that gets my goat, Where I am they split the areas up too! So for example a termite company wont come to you house and quote you if its in some other companies area so you can't even get more than one price for some things. Even shops wont sell some items just to keep another shop probaly a mate in business.