Misterbean

Re: Cars. The Australian Design Rules (ADR's) dictate that in many instances
Australian car are different from their counterparts sold overseas. Many Australian
purchased cars will have different components from the same "model" that you would
purchase in Europe - though not all. Some 'manufacturing series' of the same vehicle
may never be sold in Australia, or vice versa, in Europe. Particularly so with small
volume cars like SAAB, BMW,FIAT,JAGUAR,VOLVO,PEUGEOT though you will find that the
'elite' manufacturers will usually get the bits for you anyway. Though in the worst
case suppose you can always get parts shipped here especially - now with the Internet
it's never been easier. Believe statistically we have one of the oldest car
populations in the world with an average age of about 9 years. We don't have salt on
the roads to contend with for instance. And Australian cars have become really world
class as far as reliability is concerned. Some of the early Commodores could cost
more to maintain than to 'pay-off' - taxi's avoided them like the plague.
Manufacturers Warranties for new cars are now usually 24months/24000kilometres though
some even get out to 5 years! Warranties on second hand cars are not uncommonly 12
months 20000kms. Here in Victoria there is statuory warranty conditions on second
hand car sales also. (http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/cbav/fairsite.nsf/pag-
es/of_cars_buyused_trader_warranty)

The current Ford Falcon is technically superior to the Holden (GM) Commodore but it's
appearance is way down on charisma. The new model due imminently (see the ford.com.au
web-site) should remedy that. There's also mitsubishi.com.au and holden.com.au - and
nearly every other manufacturer and importers ".com.au" Cars are an expensive
commodity. Wife drives a 10 year old Nissan Auto which cost $6000 and I drive a 10
year old Toyota Tarago 8 seater which cost $7000. Both have power steering, AirCond,
stereos, cloth seats, tinted windows etc. At this age they both have all the
'electronics' so of course 'tuning' is just replace the spark plugs and Air filter.
Wifes car 'blew a motor' when then the timing belt gave way. A "Dealer" seems not to
have replaced the belt at schedule. Second hand - rebuilt motor cost us about $1700.

Injunir

One important facet you ommitted: Is the beer anygood?
T. Rogers US


"Mike Rogers" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]
com...
    > I have been in Australia for 6 months on a 1 year holiday visa.
    > I have not been just backpacking; in fact as I have family (and now friends) here I
    > have met real Aussies and have lived in a normal home, in Sydney and in friend's
    > houses on farms and in small towns. I have a spent a fraction of my time with Brits
    > on beaches  so I can comment reliably on Aus from an insider's viewpoint.
    > A bit about me : I am an IT consultant with a mixed-career background with a
    > degree, well-rounded, sporty, well travelled and have lived in Europe and UK.
    > What I like about Australia - SUBJECTIVE
    > 1) people always say "good day! How are you going? How are YOU?" AND SMILE like
    > they mean it..none of this defensive "Alriiiight..mate?". when I come back I am
    > going to make a point of doing that to all English people!
    > 2) weather - you all know about the summer. Australia's winter *in the South*
    > -whilst v cold at night at times (short days) is like a british spring - WHEN
    > THE SUN IS OUT - which is 75 pc of the time - it's 18 degrees or so..but
    > occasionally it can be cold.up on the New England Plateau in NSW (eg. Tamworth,
    > Armidale) it gets v cold. Trust me!
    > 2b) Sport. No more being bored stupid with blokes in the pub talking about girl's
    > games like soccer. It's either Rugby League known as "you can ***** me if you
    > can catch me", Rugby Union ("rah rah" )or Aussie Rules ("Aerial Ping Pong").
    > Also sports are for families- there *is* heckling and good humour- but none of that
    > moronic chanting/abuse like at soccer in the UK. It's not quite so tribal. Women
    > follow the footy and will discuss it in (impressive) detail: whereas in the UK
    > soccer is a "lad's thing".
    > I've played quite a bit.. The sun shines when you play ! Joy of joys!
    > 3)Houses. - but house prices are also booming - but at least you get a whole house
    > on a block of land. Most Aussies build on their block. So in 1 road, all houses
    > will be completely different. I love Sydney suburbs..my cousin lives within 1
    > mile of 2 beaches..and lives on a nice road with a forestry reserve out the
    > back..all the houses in a street are different and have colourful roofs. The
    > rugby pitch is 50m from the beach..paradise..because there are always leaves on
    > trees suburbs look clean and nice. As soon as the sun goes in, you realise how
    > much you depend on the sun because then everything looks quite grey.
    > 4)Work. None of the stressy Politically Correct/rat race.
    > Also it's easy - i'm doing a lot of consultancy work, but I am also thinking of
    > setting up my own company..as I have a great idea! I only have to talk to some of
    > friend's friends and I get referrals for work for small businesses - last week I
    > walked fresh in to a business in North Sydney and was "doing business" inside the
    > hour..how I got the referral - a mate of my cousin called me over to his office in
    > our office complex and a man on the phone there - his friend - was wanting a
    > database..I got on the phone and said I would see him that next day..I wouldn't
    > dream of doing that in London- everyone is so big company orientated.
    > 5) No major issues on TV. Apart from Asia and immigration, there's no complications
    > "with Europe", massive political fights/ infighting and all the politics is
    > naive and funny. They don't take themselves too seriously!
    > What I don't like about Australia /potential problems
    > 1) Any issues or problems same the world over. There are homeless people - poor
    > people - grumpy people
    > 2) If you haven't got a good job then you will have to live in the poorer suburbs.
    > I have seen some of Sydney's West and it can be quite grim but further out the
    > suburbs are bland - but at least you get a nice house etc.
    > 3) The Abo problem . I was amazed at the negative slightly racist comments/line
    > that Aussie take. But as I got to understand the issue, it is basically that
    > the Abos are using the issue/dole money as an excuse to drink all day. Most
    > Abos are actually quite friendly and some make the effort. I realise that
    > there is no PC crap like in US/Europe so all Aussies are doing is being
    > honest.
    > FACTS
    > 1. Australia is BOTH more like America than I expected - and closer to the UK than
    > I expected -as well.the lifestyle is Californian(?) but the culture is UK.
    > 2..I find the pace of life far slower than anywhere in the UK. In the rush hour at
    > 5.30pm in Sydney it is busy but noone is bumping in to you, people walk with a
    > purpose but don't race. Outside the rush hour there seems to be hardly anyone..
    > 3.. FACT Sydney house prices ARE high but still less than the UK. Other cities
    > cheaper but there is a boom just like in the UK.Central Coast, a few hrs north of
    > Sydney (by train), you can pick up a 3 bed house for $230,000 - 250,000.
    > 4. Cost of Living IS lower. In the UK in my IT job I earn 34K - in Sydney it will
    > be 70-80K. Median wage/Average wage = 45-50k - in UK it is 20K?? Forget all
    > this 3-1 business, that only applies if you are spending UK money.so in real
    > terms as I am earning 2+ what I earnt in UK : I do a
    > 2:1
    > 1 schooner of beer $3 = pounds 1.50 CHEAPER All fast food is cheaper - eating out
    > is far cheaper eg. Big Mac $3 pounds 1.50 cheaper Pizza $5 Steak $10-15 - pounds
    > 5-7 CHEAPER
    > Cars:
    > are about the same, but avoid European like VW, and especially Merc, Audi, BMW -
    > they cost a fortune as do service and parts. Stick to Mitsibishi and Toyota.(as I
    > have been told). When I got here I was amazed at the number of Ford Falcon and
    > Holden (Vauxhall) Commodores there are here. Cars have much bigger engines here -
    > like in US, eg a Ford Falcon is a 4.0l engine - in what is a slighter fatter
    > Mondeo. Petrol is 80-90c a litre. Half UK price at my salary. Hardly any sports
    > cars compared to the UK - 90pc of Aussies just drive 4cy and 6 cy Jap cars.
    > And finally the Aussies(culture, temperament)
    > 1. Some are grumpy BUT
    > 2. Most are friendly and the most down to earth, "on the level" people u will ever
    > meet. They will strike up a conversation as if they have known you for years. By
    > contrast, now, I find English people (sorry to bring up sociology) either
    > middle class - prissy, pretentious,or working class - boorish, oikish, grumpy or
    > irritating - in Australia there is exactly the same class system - but everyone
    > is that bit more confident and fairly optimistic - and they all share the
    > lifestyle.
    > From the second I got in the country I fitted in. I noticed that I could talk like
    > Aussies and be myself whereas in continental Europe and UK I always have to hold
    > back my confidence and cheery nature - especially in the PC work environment. I
    > don't consider myself working or middle class - I have always been on the level -
    > confident but not loud, educated but not intellectual, etc. Don't get me wrong UK
    > people are nice and friendly - but there is always a reserve, a tightness, an
    > uncomfortableness with strangers.
    > Case studies to illustrate my point:
    > a. Eg. I met an english girl on train in Sydney going from North Sydney to Central.
    > She was nice. She was friendly - but she had a reserve - a prissiness that was
    > restricting. I told her all the things I had done - and she was "OK", "I
    > couldn't do that" whereas all Aussie girls of all backgrounds are : "Wow" -
    > "That's great" - and it's a 2 way conversation, not just 1 way. Anther girl
    > behind a bar spoke in stilted sentences whereas her Aussie counterpart was "Hi
    > how u going etc???"
    > b. A group of young aussies together will talk for hrs about positive things.
    > Whereas I noticed a lot of English backpackers talking about how negative they
    > were, they seem to compete to be self-effacing: eg. In a bar I heard a group of
    > English backpackers talking about how scared they were of spiders/the wildlife -
    > a whole list of things scary /different about Aus - whereas Aussies just stick
    > to the good things and gloss over problems.
    > b.I got on a boat-ferry after being with Aussies for 3 months without seeing
    > English people. A group of English people got on and they were talking about
    > "nothing", seemed "worried" and being slightly negative and over-polite. It was
    > very noticable. I found it quite a culture shock - especially when they took me
    > for an Aussie! Then some Aussies got on and they were laughing and joking without
    > being boorish, the boys were taking the piss out of the girls etc..
    > My aunt mentioned this - and I see what she means: When I hear backpackers here, or
    > English people on TV, they always have a tenseness in their voices. Just listen to
    > the News readers in the UK - so pompous - and they SHOUT ALL THE TIME! Over here,
    > they are more relaxed. I also find it funny looking at all the English programmes
    > on TV showing 3 bed semi detached houses on housing estates with grey skies - and
    > grimy scenes from South London -quite a shock.
    > Basically what it comes down to is that Aussies are more relaxed and the more u
    > stay here, (if you are the right person) the more you will become like them. I find
    > myself talking in a slightly aus accent already - partly because it is easier !
    > Another thing you will notice is that Aussies will always try to meet you halfway-
    > make your life go easier - hear 2 people negotiating/planning , one will be like
    > "OK mate.. - how about if I do this .we do this.see how I/we go.." ,the other guy
    > is making encouraging noises the whole time..
    > Men and women - some observations.
    > Aussie blokes are confident but only with blokes - the mateship thing. Being a
    > sportsman and ex-services I am in my element. In mixed groups women seem far more
    > confident. In fact I always found women approaching me. Girls seem to do all the
    > talking, leading. The boys listen and take the piss. This is what I love about Aus
    > - no PC crap. My cousin's wife explains this confidence to come from the settlement
    > days when the men worked on the land and were probably too tired to do anything
    > else - yet the women had to do the brains - run the family/homestead/business. .
    > I plan to migrate - partly because If i stayed in London I would be mortgaged to
    > the hilt with no sun, no lifestyle, tense, worried, people and no decent footy!!!
    > Mike Rogers

pommie bastard

) people always say "good day! How are you going? How are YOU?" AND SMILE like they
mean it..none of this defensive "Alriiiight..mate?". when I come back I am going
to make a point of doing that to all English people!

Yes Aussies are like yanks smile because the lights are on nobodys home , the only people that are trust worthy here are the Brits.

1 schooner of beer $3 = pounds 1.50 CHEAPER All fast food is cheaper – eating out
is far cheaper eg. Big Mac $3 pounds 1.50 cheaper Pizza $5 Steak $10-15 – pounds
5-7 CHEAPER

a schooner is not a pint ,a pint of drinkable beer is $6.80 .
Steak at $10-15 dollars get real $25-$30 near the mark plus because grazing is poor very not that great.
As for fast food who needs it the over weight?

Sport. No more being bored stupid with blokes in the pub talking about girl's
games like soccer. It's either Rugby League known as "you can ***** me if you can
catch me", Rugby Union ("rah rah" )or Aussie Rules ("Aerial Ping Pong").


The girls game is the played by more people in Australia that any other sport,every one here apart for dead head Aussie Rules people wanted Australia to be in World Cup.


Most Abos are
actually quite friendly and some make the effort. I realise that there is no PC
crap like in US/Europe so all Aussies are doing is being honest.


No PC crap like Europe ,are you living here or just dreaming nearly all goverment services are divided into Abo and none Abo.
Most Abo's are friendly depends how much money you hand over when they stop you in the street and time of day ,at their best before the bottle shops open.

I also find it funny looking at all the English programmes on
TV showing 3 bed semi detached houses on housing estates with grey skies - and grimy
scenes from South London -quite a shock.

Its called drama , then there are programs like Heartbeat,Born and Bred,Monarch of the Glen to name a few that show the beauty of Great Britain.Just had Aussies friend come back from the UK with 25 rolls of flim telling me how wonderful it was.

Aussie blokes are confident but only with blokes – the mateship thing

Mateship god that a over used word here means bugger all ,no social groups or sence of community here mainly because there are no meeting places .Pubs here show the Aussies as they are slow witted and lacking conversation ,get yourself down to average local in UK you will find people chatting and inter acting , here some are like chapels of rest
with wax work dummies.

Anyway nice to read about the hidden Australia few of us see,might move to Sidney if I can get about 1.5 million together for an avarage inner city home I'll keep dreaming.

Robert Edwards

you have to ask about Oz Beer? where have you been all your life "Injunir"
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > One important facet you ommitted: Is the beer anygood?
    > T. Rogers US

pommie bastard

Yes no taste slightly better that water ,suits none drinkers most here prefer UK brewed ales .Can not understand why Fosters is top larger in UK must be hole in the ozone up there .

hongwee

hey mike..thanks for sharing your experience. i'd like to borrow your thread to talk about my own concerns, and hopefully can get something constructive out of it.

all my life, i have always lived in this very protected island, Singapore. Moving to Australia will be one heck of an experience for me. My wife thinks i'm a scary cat, but this is something that i'd admit.. i AM scared.

being an asian (chinese), i am conscious on how the caucasians perceive me. i really do not want one to the "odd one out" and will try my best to fit in. sometimes i've heard from friends (who studied in UK,US,Australia..etc) that the reason why asians don't seem to "fit in" is because they tend to stick with their own "skin color". now, that was college days..i'm not sure on how the adult world is like.

my only real encounter with caucasians is those colleagues (from US,UK, Australia) that I work with. But what we talk about, is mostly work related. There is very little opportunity for non-work stuff. Even if we go out for dinners together, i still feel it's too stiff and "work-like". It's kinda..pretentious.

so..how about some frank talk about it? i'd really like to know what are things that i should not do or say so as not to piss the people around me.

Terry R Brooking

Saw on teletext this morning a survey that claimed 54% of English want to emmigrate.
First choice is US, followed by Australia. Think these two countries can swallow up
30 million brits? <g>

--
Regards -Terry

SuzeM

hi Hongwee
Try being yourself, intelligent people can see beyond skin colour, and the ones that can't arn't worth bothering with.
Sue

hongwee

Thanks Sue.. sometimes it's really difficult as what's fine with one culture may not be fine with another.

Chris

"pommie bastard" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

[bullshit and moronic fluff snipped]

    > Anyway nice to read about the hidden Australia few of us see,might move to Sidney

That might be a bit much, seeing as you can't even spell the name of the place.

Chris

rajj

Mike
Your message on the whole is generally informative and interesting. Thanks.
However, your analysis of "Abos" is very incorrect, naive and ignorant. Dont know who tainted your mind with that garbage in your 6 months there, but frankly a huge number of locals downunder still remain uninformed about their own history and the brutality towards the indigenious population. Controversial but true.

Robert Edwards

Could end up in Canada like those UK Tourists who wanted to go to Sydney Australia,
the agent booked them to Sydney in Canada

"Chris" <travelchrisg[nospam]@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > "pommie bastard" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
    > [bullshit and moronic fluff snipped]
    > > Anyway nice to read about the hidden Australia few of us see,might move to Sidney
    > That might be a bit much, seeing as you can't even spell the name of the place.
    > Chris

Misterbean

Hi hongwee' What struck me is don't try to hard - be yourself. You'll always look
Chinese I think. There are quite a few people that have a bit of an anti against
Asians here because over the past few years a large number have arrived .
Particularly with the Vietnamese boat people after the collapse of Vietnam. That
feeling tends to be stratafied - the less educated are the most vocal. But it doesn't
get beyond a bit of name calling. Generally all new migrants 'stick together' a bit
and that's so understandable. Must be nice to have familiar people around you. Some
suburbs in each capital city have very large concentrations of nationalities.
Richmond in Melbourne was once the second or third largest Greek city in the world by
population. That was back when the flavour of the time was being 'anti-Greek' In the
1960's it was being 'anti-Italian' Think it will be nice to have work things to get
the conversations rolling initially. But , taking the 'piss' out of people is a
National pass-time here; together with irony and our rather silly sense of humour!!

pommie bastard

Great would improve both countrys , Brits have proved with the biggest Empire the world has ever seen that we travel a bit ,any way I thought these countrys are British.

pommie bastard

Just a small point here , have you met an Australian who can see beyond some ones skin and race if you have they are not living here.