Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Came on after 5 weeks away and seems forum has hardly moved on, some threads i remember still on top pages. Everyone emigrated?

We are now in Melbourne, after a spell in USA. Youngest kid started UNI, that's going well, aside from needing bottomless bank account to pay for all the extras associated with course.

Been through the rental process, tip, immaculate means trashed, some utter crap out there. If its one of the rare new properties expect fierce competition. The rent is only a guide :blink: many applicants put over the price on their application. Rental inspections often late afternoon or sat morning, the traffic is HELL. Ended up shoving 6 months rent up front, to secure a new unit, very happy with it.

Traffic, rush hour seems to go from 5am to 10am and 2pm to 7pm, aside from that too easy. Trains cheap for students, cap of 3.70 a day, cheaper on monthly pass.

Weather, OK bit of low 20's, but afternoons get really hot. Few 34C days very bad, heat and overcrowded cities do not go well together, pretty awful, none of the 40 stuff luckily, 30 is bad enough thank you.

Lots on, been to drive in, really cool lots of old cars gave it real atmosphere. White night, few meals out, EXpensive!! that sort of thing, but traffic and transport when a big event on is obviously a chore.

Main impression from all of us, is bursting at the seams, such a big country yet, so overcrowded, everyone jammed into a few cities.

Really looking forward to autumn and winter in melbourne the cooler weather will make it seem less frantic. Now rental is sorted, more time to enjoy the events that are on. :thumbup:

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

30 bad? Pah! :lol:

My excuse for not posting is that I am a boring bastard. :p

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Mine too.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

It's been very quiet lately. We've particularly noticed it in the Meetups section, where the only meetups seem to be the Sydney one, and Polly's attempted meet in Brisbane.

That said, we haven't seen a new person in many many months - maybe people just aren't coming at the moment?


S

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

30 in a city that crowded feels much hotter, the air, traffic is insane, pollution factor does not help. Hot air and exhaust fumes not a good combo.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

My excuse for being MIA is moved to a new house and have my grandson (and daughter) visiting - sorry but all good fun

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

We stayed a few nights in a place called Mantra Bell city, its temp accom, and there was a lot of new migrants but none seemed to be Brits/european. A very ethnic mix, mainly Asian or Muslim.

I know in QLD a lot of Brits we met during the kids school years, many drifted back in last 3 years as kids finished school.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

You must be loving it.Enjoy.:thumbsup:

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

A new thread. Woo hoo. How is everyone ? ;)

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

:wave:

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

G'day. I'm not posting as much since I lead a very boring life.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Fair points and the reason I live in the sticks, commute ain't great but not as bad as getting into London from Chatham ... Amen.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

You've been all over my "manor" by the sounds of things...with bell city and the walking distance drive in....your going to have to learn the back roads :)

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Hi, how are ya?

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

We're good - settling in :) Enjoying having my daughter and grandson here - they're headed home Monday though, and back to work Tuesday :(

How's you?

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Not too bad thanks. Have a sore leg but it is getting better. Just working and doing heaps of photoshoots.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Cool - the photo's not the leg :lol:

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

We are 7 1/2 years in- and still loving our life here on the Gold coast!
;)

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Hi Jad

Been quite cool this summer in Melbourne. Maybe 2 scorchers and I was also overseas for them. Anything less than 34 is not hot for me
when you take into account the low humidity.

Melbourne Uni- there are some rat runs which see me get from Port Melbourne to the uni in rush hour with barely an issue.

Don't consider Melbourne to be anything like as busy, or as crowded as an European capital. I have very strict rules of when I drive - I simply refuse to take a car in. That said, yes Australian has large capital cities.

That said I broke my rule only last week and I know it is the first time because I've never used my car in a traffic jam - had my eye glued to the temp gauge as a result!

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Yeah but there was one day a couple of weeks ago around 35C with 80% humidity and thought I was going to die.

Hi Jad. Totally agree about the rental process here. Shocking! We saw some advertised as "available now" and when we went for inspection the workmen were patching up the holes in the walls (and still had about 2 weeks' work ahead of them) and no one had bothered to fix the wires hanging out of the ceiling where the light fixture used to be.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Hi all
Just popping in to say hello!

It was 38 degrees here yesterday but has cooled right down to 26 today

Our renting days are nearly over as we are building a house!

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

That's exciting :)

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

There are a few humid days in Melbourne every year. You can count the humid nights on the fingers of one hand (or 2 if that!). I don't mind them as we have a pool. On the worst nights, and it has been a few years you can jump in the pool then dry off and go back to bed!

In 2010 we had a long stretch of them - some sort of Pacific weather system ending up down here....

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

I've been busy lately so haven't posted as much as I used to. New job (same place just different responsibilities), living on my own now and looking for a place of my own to buy.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

I'd thought the same ...

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Went through Coburg many times, busy place:thumbup:. Rented in new complex in Keilor in the end, central to what we need for now. Aside from attempted break in next door all is fine.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

If the freeway is blocked and you have to get across rather than into town.... "Mascoma St" .... Then over to Gaffney St... Thats a real quirky rat run... Capable of taking 40 mins of a journey.


You end up going past/near this place which has a special place in Australian Movie History.

See who can work it out....

http://lukehimself.net/wp-content/up...thecastle5.jpg

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Thanks for any road tips. We have basically parked the car and left it in garage:lol: Bikes, legs, buses, train, anything but car. Went into city today, train, crowded but interesting:blink:.

Keilor is just somewhere to rent, main reason, reasonable distance to where kids need to be and it was a brand new unit, after the horror rental viewings new became very important.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

I don't post very often, because my experience as an expat has been different from the experiences of just about everybody on this site. I was born and bred in Oz, left for an around-the-world trip at age 23, and never went back to settle. On my way home via Canada my national loyalty went missing, and I became a "permanent expat" sometime in my late 20s - 50 years ago.

11 or 12 years ago, we became citizens of a notional entity called "the British Overseas Territories" and on the strength of that we became naturalised UK citizens. When I let my Aussie passport lapse I became (to all intents and purposes) a British expat instead of an Australian expat. I've never actually renounced my Australian nationality (what would be the point?), and my wife still renews her Oz passport. So does our son renew his, though a Permanent Resident in Norway, with Norwegian children.

We have lived in the Cayman Islands (British colony) since 1978. That makes us "immigrants", but the local politicians here, encouraged by the British Foreign Office, don't accept us as full citizens - so we remain expats in their eyes.

I keep in close contact with a cousin in Melbourne whom I've never met, and an old friend in North Queensland whom I used to work with, and some former schoolfriends and relatives in various places. But most of my current friends are British - expats or former expats. I feel much more English than Australian. That's why I'm here, I guess.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

Change the heading to 'Forums are a bit quiet' and you're on the money. Every forum I go on has become way quieter than previously, regardless of subject.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

I'm still here too. Drama still follows me around, latest drama involves a Landcruiser landing in my bedroom last weekend. We even made the news :) Separated from husband and desperately looking for work. Glad to see some of the old faces still around.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

:fingerscrossed:It can only get better for you.

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They are a dying breed, largely because of Facebook I think.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

:nod:

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

I thought it was facebook that was dying?

Or maybe it's just that the old fogies have moved into facebook, which means the college age have moving out?

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I think its more to do with the fact that far less people are migrating these days. its not as cheap as it once was, and Aus has tightened the rules and raised the fees a lot over recent years. Facebook probably has had a hand in it but even the BE immigration forums are slow these days,nand the info on there isn't easily available on facebook.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

The Palace boards are still going strong...just turned over 12,000,000 posts with 114,000 members. 360 users online at present.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

My mates and I have moved to Slack for our socialising. It's so much cleaner than Facebook, and is also instantaneous.

It's revolutionised our social lives!


S

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

I get the fact the immi forums (which I never visit) are quiet (migrations is not for many now, and I've been saying that for years) but this is the slowest start in the Barbie and the main section to a year for a while, I reckon.

Re: Australian forums a bit quiet
 

It's quiet all over too :(