Originally Posted by chrissystevo

A few, but I thought that would do for now.

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus

Really?. I'm hurt now.

Originally Posted by paddyo

I say it again, you are not getting the point...Gypsys and Travellers are two seperate groups. Travellers are without exception, filthy, lawless, aggressive non tax paying carbuncles on UK society. Gypsies just have dubious australian relatives!!

Originally Posted by Bermudashorts

Well as somebody recently granted PR, I thought that was a useful first post by OP. It would have been nicer if you also had something good to say, there must be something surely? Nevertheless I thought it was helpful so thanks.

This Paki thing seems to come up a lot on BE. Maybe people from UK have to adjust to a different use of the word here but by the same token perhaps others could cut some slack to new immigrants whilst they adjust. I would recognise new immigrants to the UK need time to adjust, whilst ultimately I think all immigrnats need to. It is very ingrained in UK culture that Paki is a bad word and that is not going to change the moment one gets onto a plane. I have a Pakistani girl working for me now, if I referred to her as "the Paki girl" I would fully expect to be fired on the spot. If one of the other team referred to her like that I would report it to HR and would be expected to do so.

Whilst it might be an acceptable shortening in Australia, surely in the circumstances described by OP it was not just a shortening, i.e. two young girls swearing at Asian men for no reason and without actually knowing their country of origin. That some seek to defend this only adds credence to OP's claim that many in Australia are racist.

Originally Posted by WillBlack

It shows that Britons are bring their crap with them. Probably brought binge drinking to go with it.

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus

Unlike the Yanks who have no problem calling a spade a spade?

Originally Posted by chrissystevo

I have been discussing these things with my wife and a couple of friends over the past few weeks and have decided to put them down in writing on here. I am prepared to take all the flack and criticisms that come my way, but remember they are only my opinions.

1) This is my biggest bugbear and the thing I think all people interested in coming to Australia should seriously consider. Everything has a cost, and every cost seems to be excessive. We have had to pay to have all of our utilities connected from phone line, broadband, electricity etc. I was gobsmacked when I was told by our electricity company that I could not give them a meter reading over the phone, they would send somebody out to read it and charge us $30. Our children will be starting school in a couple of weeks and as well as the 2 new uniforms we knew we would have to buy we also have to shell out $100 each to cover books etc. Perhaps we were spoilt in the UK as these were provided by the schools. Groceries, clothing, books, dvd's, cd's etc arer all hideously expensive here.

2) Lack of choice. In addition to, and probably causing the above, there is little choice when it comes to things like groceries, utilities etc. There are one or two massive companies (Woolworths, Coles etc) who have a monopoly and can afford to charge what they like and the suckers who live here are forced to pay it.

3) Go slow attitude. Even though you have to pay for everything, everything seems to be done at such a slow pace. Phone to get the phone line in your house activated, takes three weeks to send somebody to do a 10 minute job.

3) Drink. From what I have seen there is a massive drinking culture and problem here. Go to the Bayside area parks at the weekend or the Currumbin Rock Pools for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon and every other person will have a bottle of beer in their hand. I was on a train around 10pm on Friday late (so not too late) and I lost count of the number of drunk people on the train swearing and shouting the whole time. My wife was on a train Saturday night to be greeted with the sight of a young girl filling carrier bags with vomit whilst her friend took pictures of her!

4) Racism. Sorry but I think the Australian people are very racist. In the time I have been here I have seen things said on television and written in newspapers that we would never see and hear in the UK. Ok perhaps we have gone too far but I think the Australians have some way to go. Again on the train on Friday night a bunch of drunk teenagers were giving grief to the security guards (both asian) and calling them pakis. When one of the group told them this was a bit out of order they justified it by saying "we're aussies, this is Australia, this is what we do, if you don't like it, f%&k off!". This seems to be the common response here.

5) Weather. One of the big plusses for Australia. It is wonderful to be able to go out in the warm sun and not worry about wrapping the children up in layers etc, worry about getting rained on etc. However it very often becomes too hot and humid to go out anyway and the only thing you feel like doing is sitting in an air conditioned room. When you are out you can only spend limited time in the sun for fear of burning and are then scrabbling around looking for shade. The constant need to put sunscreen on also becomes a bit tiring after a while.

6) Wildlife. The varied and abundant wildlife is fantastic. However when you have fruit bats and crows scrambling about on your roof at 4am it isn't so wonderful. Checking your shoes and toilet seats for spiders is a pain, spraying insect repellant that doesn't work is a pain, getting bitten by mozzies and flies is a pain, having to be on guard that your dogs don't try and eat a cain toad as they will die is a pain etc etc!!!!

7) Others. I HATE having my bag looked in when I leave a shop and generally refuse to show them. It is as though everybody is considered a shoplifter and needs to prove otherwise. The place is stuck in a 1980's time warp. I haven't seen as many mullets since I last watched UK Gold! Poor infrastructure - I hate the fact that you can't use your debit card at lost of places such as train stations, food courts etc. Australian TV and radio is crap!!!! And why do they stop a film or programme every 10 minutes to put on a commercial, which are also annoying?

Anyway there you go a summary of my thoughts and opinions. Feel free to comment or discuss

Originally Posted by Pollyana

Having a spotty youth poking around inside your bag will NEVER make sense. Little tip for the OP - place underwear, tampons, condoms, or something of the same ilk on top of the contents of any bag. Works a treat and can give hours of amusement.
Alternatively, when they say "I want to see whats in your bag".....show them....ALL of it. By emptying the bag onto the counter. Again gives hours of amusement as they say "oh no no I don't mean empty it" and you reply "you want to see whats in it, well here ya go......"
I get particular pleasure from doing that in Coles, when I pop in to buy a tin of something on my way to work. They find themselves dealing with the contents of a full rucksack AND a laptop bag, all spread across the counter, and they have to wait ages while I repack it all properly. Some of the staff there have now seen sense and no longer ask "What's in that bag?" Maybe if more of us took a stand against it, instead of the meek Aussie "she'll be right" attitude of compliance, things might change.

Originally Posted by Mr Grumpy

Ultimately the country does not exist to please YOU.

Immigrants, from anywhere and everywhere have to learn this simple lesson.

YOU ARE NOT KING SHIT.

This country does not exist to serve your needs and wants, atleast not exclusively. Things are the way they are because the majority of people want it to be that way.

If you do not conform then you must leave. Simple as.

Originally Posted by paddyo

Haven't you said just what the foul mouthed kids said but without the swearing???? Pakis is insulting, just because you think it is acceptable shows your own ignorance and lack of social conscience.
If people dont like something Ozzies always come out with that retort, yet, they never see fault in their attitudes.
DON'T go home, bring attention to the issues and force change because Ozzies are too apathetic to make change themselves. This is exactly why people from outside ozzie culture see how it is so far behind other civilised societies, it is still a backwards country with backwards people who have this inherent 'wild west' lawless attitude where gangsters are media celebrities!!
Oh, by the way, if you are originally from the UK you should be ashamed of yourself!!

Originally Posted by aussietobe

Spot on. These threads and the people who start them are my *bugbear* about Australia. I have lived in the UK for years and I could write pages of my annoyances.... seriously some people need to GROW UP.

Originally Posted by IndieG

And all the stuff is made in China and the quality leaves much to be desired. So just can't justify the extortionate prices at Bob Stewart.