Originally Posted by gop

And I thought I heard cluster F--K!

Originally Posted by Sally76

........ in fact in many respects, just like the UK, Oz has huge probs.... lets face it, why do you think that the aussies needs so many skilled workers........? I mean its simple maths .......Erm that will be because too many aussies are ignorant, lazy and stupid!!!! I mean a country that has vast crops of potatoes doesn't need to buy them in from another country...do you get me drift? I am amazed at the level of sexism towards women, racism towards anyone who is not a white Australian... the Aussies don't like brits or kiwi's... God help you if your not white!! Comments I have heard from idiots since I moved here 18 months ago..... a bloke said to me that he hates the scots.... because apparently they know it all?????? Another comment: '....asians..I mean they are everywhere, you just can't get away from them', I have heard australians complain with a look of disgust about 'asians' when saying that they had found a lovely coffee bar....BUT it was run by Asians????? I don't get it, I just don't get it? Another...if I hear that pommies are whingers one more time I think that I will explode...I tell ya something pommies might whinge but the aussies don't half give us plenty to whinge about!! Yes Aussies are friendly on the surface but the majority that I have met chat s**t!! I bet you've had the good old... pommies are whingers..erm but not you, you're alright ...for a pommie...... like your supposed to feel honoured by this remark?????

I asked this bloke why the aussies have such a problem with asians.... this guy works in welfare.... he said well if you go to other countries you don't get aussie town (as in china town)! Bull s**t, what about the church in London...what about walk about....? Bloody idiot!!

My husband was having a conversation with a friend a few months ago. This friend is a brit and he works in a hospital in Sydney. The friend was at work one day having a conversation with a few Australian collegues who are supposed to be well educated. They were talking about "wogs". The Brit explained that he was not comfortable with this term and he was informed by the aussies that it was ok "coz wogs like being called wogs"............ these were very well educated supposed respectable members of society???????

What about the girl that was sexually assaulted on big brother.. I don't watch it but let me tell ya I wasn't suprised when I heard about this. Men's attitudes towards women resemble that of cave men times...trust me! I am sick of going into bars here and being groped by aussie man!!!!

Don't come to australia believing that it is the land of milk and honey... its NOT...the grass aint greener. YES they do have drug problems here... trust me their drug problems are massive and ever growing. They have a huge problem with ICE which is crashing the mental health care system. Yes kids take drugs here too, its just like the UK.

To top it all off... I am disgusted at the attitude of white Australians toward aboriginals.... these people have been oppressed and persecuted for over two hundred years and are still being....yet the are expected to just get on with it and accept that they are second class citizens.....according to Mr Aussie man. Its disgusting, absolutely disgusting.

Whats good about OZ......? The sun, cheaper petrol and cheaper meat..... in my opinion australia has a long way to go in terms of moving forward and getting 'with it'....... and before you say it ...YES I am going home...praise the Lord!!! Oz ain't better than the UK and I promise you the grass ain't greener!!!!!

Originally Posted by DunRoaminTheUK

We've only been here 2 weeks now but I have nothing but good things to say about Brisbane. I know it's early days and we need to spend a much longer amount of time here but the whole experience so far is so refreshing (when compared to our comparable experiences the UK).

I like Australia and to be honest I can already see myself loving it.

The people I have met so far have been very friendly and genuinely inquisitive and interested in who we are and where we are from etc etc....

The only confrontational question I've been asked so far is by the guy at the dealership that sold us our car today when he asked "When England play at The 'Gabba' later this year who are you going to be supporting?" I simply smiled.

Originally Posted by geordie mandy

Pleased life down under is going well for you
Mandy

Originally Posted by DunRoaminTheUK

Cheers.

There's so much to do (and we've been hard at it since arriving - and hence the absence from BE for the last 2 weeks) but we're getting there.

I was sh*t scared of taking the leap of faith in coming to Australia but I'm beginning to feel glad we did. So far, so good...

When are you taking the metaphorical plunge then Mandy?

Originally Posted by Sally76

........ in fact in many respects, just like the UK, Oz has huge probs.... lets face it, why do you think that the aussies needs so many skilled workers........? I mean its simple maths .......Erm that will be because too many aussies are ignorant, lazy and stupid!!!! I mean a country that has vast crops of potatoes doesn't need to buy them in from another country...do you get me drift? I am amazed at the level of sexism towards women, racism towards anyone who is not a white Australian... the Aussies don't like brits or kiwi's... God help you if your not white!! Comments I have heard from idiots since I moved here 18 months ago..... a bloke said to me that he hates the scots.... because apparently they know it all?????? Another comment: '....asians..I mean they are everywhere, you just can't get away from them', I have heard australians complain with a look of disgust about 'asians' when saying that they had found a lovely coffee bar....BUT it was run by Asians????? I don't get it, I just don't get it? Another...if I hear that pommies are whingers one more time I think that I will explode...I tell ya something pommies might whinge but the aussies don't half give us plenty to whinge about!! Yes Aussies are friendly on the surface but the majority that I have met chat s**t!! I bet you've had the good old... pommies are whingers..erm but not you, you're alright ...for a pommie...... like your supposed to feel honoured by this remark?????

I asked this bloke why the aussies have such a problem with asians.... this guy works in welfare.... he said well if you go to other countries you don't get aussie town (as in china town)! Bull s**t, what about the church in London...what about walk about....? Bloody idiot!!

My husband was having a conversation with a friend a few months ago. This friend is a brit and he works in a hospital in Sydney. The friend was at work one day having a conversation with a few Australian collegues who are supposed to be well educated. They were talking about "wogs". The Brit explained that he was not comfortable with this term and he was informed by the aussies that it was ok "coz wogs like being called wogs"............ these were very well educated supposed respectable members of society???????

What about the girl that was sexually assaulted on big brother.. I don't watch it but let me tell ya I wasn't suprised when I heard about this. Men's attitudes towards women resemble that of cave men times...trust me! I am sick of going into bars here and being groped by aussie man!!!!

Don't come to australia believing that it is the land of milk and honey... its NOT...the grass aint greener. YES they do have drug problems here... trust me their drug problems are massive and ever growing. They have a huge problem with ICE which is crashing the mental health care system. Yes kids take drugs here too, its just like the UK.

To top it all off... I am disgusted at the attitude of white Australians toward aboriginals.... these people have been oppressed and persecuted for over two hundred years and are still being....yet the are expected to just get on with it and accept that they are second class citizens.....according to Mr Aussie man. Its disgusting, absolutely disgusting.

Whats good about OZ......? The sun, cheaper petrol and cheaper meat..... in my opinion australia has a long way to go in terms of moving forward and getting 'with it'....... and before you say it ...YES I am going home...praise the Lord!!! Oz ain't better than the UK and I promise you the grass ain't greener!!!!!

Originally Posted by geordie mandy

2009 seems so far away :(
Hubby is going to have a meet up with some army bods while we are in Melbourne in Oct so hopefully he will glean some useful info for our application.We are hoping to have the paper work started in Jan
Mandy

Originally Posted by whoever

Your post makes me laugh...

Firstly, I don't think you understand Australian culture enough. Calling someone a Wog is NOT considered offensive like it is here in the UK. I grew up in Australia and I had many Greek friends and I called them wogs... to their face... which is normal.

Ever heard of the movie ' wog- boy' ? It's made by wogs, for wogs and everyone else. There is a culture in Australia called wog culture and wogs are very proud of this, and as they should be because they are an awesome element to Aussie society.

Also... I think you are just over- reacting. I have moved to the UK recently and I've found that MANY English men I've met are EXTREMELY sexist and backwards in their thinking. But you know what? I put that down as an individual thing, not an ' English thing'. Maybe you should take a leaf out of my book?

As for the Aboriginals, I think maybe you should take a trip to Darwin (where I am from) and experience their culture first hand before you lay judgements on white Aussie's feelings towards them. You obviously have no idea how much we are trying to help our beautiful Aboriginal people. Why don't you research this before laying judgements?

Most of all, don't generalise a whole nation based on a couple of negative people you've met. Believe me I could sit here and lay blame on ' the English way' for many things that I've noticed since living in London, but I know that I can't do that... every single individual is different, some good, some bad.

An open mind is key!

Originally Posted by whoever

Your post makes me laugh...

Firstly, I don't think you understand Australian culture enough. Calling someone a Wog is NOT considered offensive like it is here in the UK. I grew up in Australia and I had many Greek friends and I called them wogs... to their face... which is normal.

Ever heard of the movie ' wog- boy' ? It's made by wogs, for wogs and everyone else. There is a culture in Australia called wog culture and wogs are very proud of this, and as they should be because they are an awesome element to Aussie society.

Also... I think you are just over- reacting. I have moved to the UK recently and I've found that MANY English men I've met are EXTREMELY sexist and backwards in their thinking. But you know what? I put that down as an individual thing, not an ' English thing'. Maybe you should take a leaf out of my book?

As for the Aboriginals, I think maybe you should take a trip to Darwin (where I am from) and experience their culture first hand before you lay judgements on white Aussie's feelings towards them. You obviously have no idea how much we are trying to help our beautiful Aboriginal people. Why don't you research this before laying judgements?

Most of all, don't generalise a whole nation based on a couple of negative people you've met. Believe me I could sit here and lay blame on ' the English way' for many things that I've noticed since living in London, but I know that I can't do that... every single individual is different, some good, some bad.

An open mind is key!

Originally Posted by MikeStanton

Let's cut to the chase, Oz appeals to The Sun/Daily Mail-type readers. It's nirvana for not very bright bigots. In terms of race relations, Oz is about 25 years behind the UK.

The other day I read that Oz's indigenous people (the real Australians) has the second worst standard of living on Earth. And as recently as 2005, the UN has found Oz guilty of practising racial discrimination against its own citizens.

It always reminds me of the time I lived in Manly, Sydney. It was named after an aborigine's appearance. Yet, in the years I lived there, I never saw one aborigine.

Still, think like an Aussie; who gives a sh*t about genocide, when there are more important things like beer, BBQs and AFL...

Originally Posted by whoever

Just a note about the Aboriginals in Australia. I am 22 and I went to a high school that was filled with 500 Australian kids and 500 Aboriginal kids in the Northern Territory.

These aboriginal kids went to my school to learn english, and the basics. Some would gradutate, but not many.

Unless you really know Aboriginal culture, then to be fair, you really don't understand it. In my view Aborginal people are stuck between two cultures. We build them houses but they prefer to sleep outside. It's a very difficult situation because we have run out of options. All Aboriginal people automatically receive government benefits they don't go through the ' normal' dole applications. But giving them money is easy... giving them a good standard of living is MUCH more complicated when our expectations and needs in life are SO different. I think new people to Australia, and even those Australians who live down south don't actually realise this.

Kids at my school would go to school, but take off suddenly for weeks... Usually the Aussie kids couldn't get away with this. My Aboriginal friend's parents had completely different outlooks on life compared with mine. They believe the child, no matter how old/young can make their own decisions, whereas my parents would MAKE me go to school. I think for many Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory their culture is still so strong within them that we cannot expect them to adapt to our ways. Instead we need to accomodate for them, but this does unfortunately mean that many do miss out on a lot of things that other Aussies get because we cannot FORCE them to live life as we do.

In places like Darwin my aboriginal friends had many many opportunities, they went to private schools for free, had unrestricted University places in the best Universities in Australia, but many just didn't grab the chance. I think this is because it's just not what they valued in life. To them, the land, their family and space was what they lived for.

Two very different cultures colliding. They wont have houses like ours, and they wont live like us unless we kill their culture. Obviously the state and federal governments don't want to do this... thus we stand still.

Originally Posted by Sally76

........ in fact in many respects, just like the UK, Oz has huge probs.... lets face it, why do you think that the aussies needs so many skilled workers........? I mean its simple maths .......Erm that will be because too many aussies are ignorant, lazy and stupid!!!! I mean a country that has vast crops of potatoes doesn't need to buy them in from another country...do you get me drift? I am amazed at the level of sexism towards women, racism towards anyone who is not a white Australian... the Aussies don't like brits or kiwi's... God help you if your not white!! Comments I have heard from idiots since I moved here 18 months ago..... a bloke said to me that he hates the scots.... because apparently they know it all?????? Another comment: '....asians..I mean they are everywhere, you just can't get away from them', I have heard australians complain with a look of disgust about 'asians' when saying that they had found a lovely coffee bar....BUT it was run by Asians????? I don't get it, I just don't get it? Another...if I hear that pommies are whingers one more time I think that I will explode...I tell ya something pommies might whinge but the aussies don't half give us plenty to whinge about!! Yes Aussies are friendly on the surface but the majority that I have met chat s**t!! I bet you've had the good old... pommies are whingers..erm but not you, you're alright ...for a pommie...... like your supposed to feel honoured by this remark?????

I asked this bloke why the aussies have such a problem with asians.... this guy works in welfare.... he said well if you go to other countries you don't get aussie town (as in china town)! Bull s**t, what about the church in London...what about walk about....? Bloody idiot!!

My husband was having a conversation with a friend a few months ago. This friend is a brit and he works in a hospital in Sydney. The friend was at work one day having a conversation with a few Australian collegues who are supposed to be well educated. They were talking about "wogs". The Brit explained that he was not comfortable with this term and he was informed by the aussies that it was ok "coz wogs like being called wogs"............ these were very well educated supposed respectable members of society???????

What about the girl that was sexually assaulted on big brother.. I don't watch it but let me tell ya I wasn't suprised when I heard about this. Men's attitudes towards women resemble that of cave men times...trust me! I am sick of going into bars here and being groped by aussie man!!!!

Don't come to australia believing that it is the land of milk and honey... its NOT...the grass aint greener. YES they do have drug problems here... trust me their drug problems are massive and ever growing. They have a huge problem with ICE which is crashing the mental health care system. Yes kids take drugs here too, its just like the UK.

To top it all off... I am disgusted at the attitude of white Australians toward aboriginals.... these people have been oppressed and persecuted for over two hundred years and are still being....yet the are expected to just get on with it and accept that they are second class citizens.....according to Mr Aussie man. Its disgusting, absolutely disgusting.

Whats good about OZ......? The sun, cheaper petrol and cheaper meat..... in my opinion australia has a long way to go in terms of moving forward and getting 'with it'....... and before you say it ...YES I am going home...praise the Lord!!! Oz ain't better than the UK and I promise you the grass ain't greener!!!!!