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I'm new to this site, and correct me if i'm wrong becasuse i very well could be, it seems that many members are Australian. As you can see I live in the U.S. I was just wondering what it would be like to live in another country. I was specifically wondeing what politics are like. Basic laws and such.

I'm just curious about your country. From what little i know it looks like a wonderful place to live.

Better? lol.

Seriously though, aus is a fabulous country , but the laws are a bit odd sometimes, especially concerning animal welfare. Theyve had odd policies over the years like not allowing animals to be exported even to zoos abroad for their preservation, yet granting licenses to people to hunt them etc. Especially with reptiles the laws just get downright bizarre. Then they built a stadium so that frogs could live underneath it. Very strange. Aussies are a great people though. A bit like english people with the elitist outlook removed. Probably an improvement.

Lol, prbably better. I'm sick of what's become of this country.

I'm an american tht's just moved to australia.

A lot of things are different, there's no halloween, no thanksgiving, obviously no fourth of july. My birthdays gone from middle of summer to middle of winter although there's not that much temp change. The sky is always blue and unless it rains my city is going to be without water next year. The leaves here in brisban never fall off the trees (so this season is never called fall). Pine trees look very different, and the air smells like a cough drop due to all the eucalyptus trees. Kangaroos graze in the fields next to the roads instead of deer, and there are no squirrels.

The shops here in queensland close at 5pm every day excep thursday. Hersheys bars are $2.90 and sold in specialty shops in the middle of the mall, but that's okay because we all know hersheys is yucky compared to stuff like cadbury. Bread tastes like bread and doesnt make me gag. Large pizzas from Dominoes are $4, bananas have finally dropped from their insane price of $6/lbs. Things like rubbing alchohol and epsom salts for muscle or bath soaks are expensive as anything. Many medications we buy in the the health and beauty section of the grocery store are only available behind the counter in a chemist (pharmacy). And girls have their own special set of differences that I won't mention here .

You need a mortgage to have an apartment, rentals in a building are called units. Houses usually have anyware from 2-5 bedrooms but only one bathroom. The toilet is in a seperate room from the bathtub stand up shower and sink. The light switches are more nobby than stick like, the outlets look different obviously. And of all the houses I've been in (adam and I are house hunting ATM) not one of thems put a counter next to the fridge so that you can grab stuff out of the fridge and toss it on the counter. Ovens have little "grills" on the top of them that are a seperate door you open and you can toast bread or melt cheese ect. Hot dogs are never done on the BBQ, and mail is delivered by dirt bike into mailboxes that open from the top. We have ants, spiders, and geckos that take up residence in the kitchen. Mosquitos and flies and killer spiders and snakes are a way of life, not to mention the jellyfish and cone shells and stingrays and ......

You'd think it'd be similar, but most everything is pretty different in its own way. It's pretty hard to get a residency visa for here, even if you're married to an aussie (like I am). You have to go through X-rays, blood tests and be seen by a specific doctor. Get an FBI background check (took me 6 months) and put in quite a few applications (not to mention the few $K's in cost!)
Moving your personal belongings is almost as hard, and just as expensive. They're careful about what comes into the country because of how unique the enviornment is.

AND NO SNOW!

^_^

I'm an australian that lives in america, so there's alot of stuff I love about australia that I miss, but there's stuff here that I prefer.

I'm not used to the amount of holidays here (and as a result, the amount of retail sales that go on). In australia the stores close earlier - which having dealt with the stores here open later, I think I'd find it hard to get used to again if we were to move back.

Getting residency is easier for australia than the USA. Took me almost a year to get residency in the USA, and it takes an additional 5 years before I can apply for citizenship (and a few thousand $$$). But you do have a smaller population to deal with.

Banks are way different in australia. I still can't get ovet the concept here of free checking. Odd I know, but there's less competition in Australia than what there is in the USA.

Most people in australia are more laid back and easy going. In the USA most people are rushing around like mad and getting nowhere fast.

Hershey's chocolate sucks, and its really hard to get REAL cadbury chocolate here, not the stuff packaged and made by hersheys here in the USA.

Oh babel - just go on a road trip down south to the mountains where there is snow But the snow ain't as good as here...

Babel, I'm very impressed by your post! A lot of the things you say just go over my head.......... but that post was so well written, right down to the point, informative & interesting! I loved it! Australia in a nutshell!

You ought to add more to that sometime when you think of more stuff. Those little differences are fascinating to me!

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Kangaroos graze in the fields next to the roads instead of deer, and there are no squirrels.

you have the mighty Possum! isntead!

Houses usually have anyware from 2-5 bedrooms but only one bathroom

... Well, we are in Sydney and have 5 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms. I grant you, only one is a full bathroom. The 2nd is an en-suite off the master bedroom (shower / vanity basin / toilet - but no bath) and the 3rd is downstairs with shower, toilet and vanity). I think it depends on the age of the house. Houses that are less than 15-20 years old will usually have at least the main bathroom, plus en suite and a 2 storey house will usually have at least a downstairs one as well - which sometimes has a shower - but sometimes only a toilet & hand basin. We have a shower downstairs 'cause of the swimming pool.

The shops here in queensland close at 5pm every day excep thursday

In the main, that's true for Sydney too - but some supermarkets (eg Woolworths, Coles where you buy your groceries) are open Mon-Sat until midnight. Nothing much else though - except for late night shopping on Thursday.

mail is delivered by dirt bike into mailboxes that open from the top

Yes to the bike, but I've always had a mailbox that opens from the front and/or rear. That's because mine have always been bricked in. I think the free standing ones that are on poles or sticks open from the top though.

For most workers here, we get a standard 4 weeks holiday a year and get 18.5% holiday leave loading (extra) on our pay when on holiday. Most of us get 5 sick days for the 1st year of employment & 8 days a year for each subsequent year. They are cumulative, but when you leave a job - you lose the sick days - whereas, if you leave a job and haven't taken your holidays - your employer must pay you for the days you have not taken. Some workers may have recently signed "Individual Work Place Agreements" where some of those benefits may have been traded for other benefits - but I hope I am never asked to do that.

all the houses I've been in (adam and I are house hunting ATM) not one of thems put a counter next to the fridge so that you can grab stuff out of the fridge and toss it on the counter

I never thought about this before, but you're probably right Babel. My set-up's not too bad though. It's a U-shaped affair (a 3 sided square with bench top - that's what we call them, not counters. Counters are found in shops/stores). Then there is an extra 4th panel of tall cupboards, that has the wall oven & grill, fridge & microwave built-in. You can see in the pic below that my fridge & microwave are both just a step away from the bench top (counter). I've put a pair of grubby old runners there so you can guage the distance.

I still can't get over the concept here of free checking

What - you mean you're bank accounts are free. Over here, they charge you by the transaction & are really quite rude with their charges.

Sydney has the same water / drought issues as Brisbane & I sometimes feel very guilty about my 50% weekly water changes. The news tonight said something about if no rain in 6 weeks, the farmers are going to lose their water allowance for irrigation. This means the price of fruit & veges will most likely increase.

Some trees do lose their leaves, but even so, we call that season "autumn" not "fall" although we see enough US TV to know what you mean when you say "fall".

It is compulsory to vote and you must enrol to vote once you are 18. You receive a fine if you don't vote and our names are marked off the role when we vote. Australian's elect the political party - rather than the Prime Minister. If we don't like the Leader, this would obviously influence which party we vote for. Whilst there are lots of smaller Party's, the main ones are Liberal (currently in power in Federal Government) and Labour (known as the "Opposition" ). Which ever party is not in power out of these 2 major party's is always known as the opposition. At State level, in NSW it is Labour who are in power and therefore the Liberal's are the "Opposition" . For each major position in the Government, there is a Minister (eg Minister for Education, etc). There will be an "Opposition" member known as "Shadow Minister for Education" ). Amazonia, if you're interested to know more about our political system, see this link for extra info http://www.aec.gov.au/_content/What/voting/faq_general.htm

I think our Gun Control laws are different, but guns are still too readily available here for my liking. Here's a link about our Gun Control http://www.guncontrol.org.au/index.php?article=6

Another difference, is that our good mates over there in the US drive on the wrong side of the road (or is it us that does that).

We have the metric measuring system & I think you use imperial. Therefore, I always have to convert things when I post here - as so many users are US. I think in litres (not gallons) and centimeters (not inches).

We spell the English way, not the American way. I think that is slowly changing - but I'm resisting that change - so often you might think I'm spelling things the wrong way. Although I'm not the best speller, sometimes it is just because I spell the "English/Australian" way. Eg. Your color = my colour. Your program = my programme. Your center = my centre. Your mom = my mum. Lots of others, just can't think of them.

Anyway, that's more than enough for now. Have fun.

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Cheers
TW

If all the stores and everything close after 5:00 pm, how the hell do people get anything done after work/school? I have classes until 6:00 pm or sometimes even 10:00 pm, so I'd be totally screwed if things closed that early. Twenty-four hour Safeway has pretty much been my lifesaver for the past four years.

EDIT: Also, do Australians take their shoes off when going into houses like Canadians do?

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

This is more of a general question but also pertains to AUS and even those of your across the pond from me. One part of my regional dialect other than not ouncing my R’s is when you come across some one that you may or may not have meet instead of saying Hello or Good to see you, you ask them a question as in How’s it going How you been. Generally the response is a Hello. It has always seemed strange to me that instead of just saying hello we find it easier to ask a polite question. So I guess my question is how to you greet people that you are friendly with do just say hello.


and also what do you do when you run out of beer early in the evening?

"No whammy, No whammy, No whammy, STOP!!"

1984-Michael Larsen On Press Your Luck

"we see enough US TV to know what you mean when you say "fall". "
You might know but someone who shall remain unnamed kept ducking every time we drove past a leaf. And durring a heavy fall he ducks quite a bit.

"Twenty-four hour Safeway has pretty much been my lifesaver for the past four years."
I know I miss my 24 hour grocery stores, it was great being able to buy grapes at 2am before driving down for a dive trip.
Pharmacys also close early, which bothered me the time I went to the hospital and couldnt get a prescription filled because it was 10pm. Even the hospital pharmacy was closed . Considering that adam didn't have a very well stocked medicine kit I made getting bandaids and first aid cream ect a pretty early priority .

I used to take my shoes off in my house, just cause I didn't like tracking dirt all through the house. But since I tend to get stung by the mozzies non stop if I go outside I have to be unaustralian and wear shoes!
That's another thing, some people I won't mention tend to buy very large tv's barefoot.

TW, a few of the newer houses we saw had a spot for the microwave near the fridge, but of course had it set up with the fridge door opening the wrong way .
Accents in australia are changing, too much american tv IMO. The way I figure it Aussies and brits stress the vowels, americans stress the consonants, and americans do say their R's a lot which is why so many misounce Cairns and Melborne.

Thanks for filling them in on the politicall system, luckily I can't vote till I become a full citizen in 7or so years. That fine sure is scary but it's easier for aussies from what adam tells me. In the states you have to go to a specific polling place to vote, sometimes it's the school closest to your house, but sometimes you have to drive to one 10 or 15 minutes further than the one that's close to you! If you've moved away for uni or a job ect and haven't' changed your address you still have to drive two hours home to vote, or risk your vote not counting. And you can get called for jury duty even if you've moved to the other side of the planet...which did happen I was called for jury duty for 2 weeks after my flight .

I do hope you're putting that WC water on your lawn . I feel guilty about our tanks too, but we do conserve otherwise. Adam takes even shorter than 4 min showers it seems (although we don't have a shower timer yet so I'm not sure) and I always turn the water off when I dont need it. I've switched to a phosphate free enviro friendly laundry detergent for all but adams work clothes and run around the lawn dumping buckets of gray water around on the dry patches (doing laundry is so exhausting ! !) Another difference is the laundry. Back in Maryland almost no one had laundry lines for drying. We did sometimes but almost everyone always had a dryer. It was just too humid for anything to dry in summer, and freeze dried clothes wrinkle bad in winter.


How people greet each other here.

"how ya going"

Which always strikes me as ...umm I'm driving Often they stick a mate on the end.
As for the beer issue, I'm not sure on that one someone else will have to chime in since I don't drink. Oh and all those "fosters, australian for beer" ads, they're not true! No one here really drinks the stuff .

And on that note, Master Adam and I are off on a snorkeling and fishing trip .

^_^

If all the stores and everything close after 5:00 pm, how the hell do people get anything done after work/school?

Most people in australia are more laid back and easy going. In the USA most people are rushing around like mad and getting nowhere fast.

If I miss out on buying something today - what does it matter - there's always tomorrow. But as I said above, most Coles and Woolworths in Sydney are open until midnight. My local BIG W store (similar to Target & K-Mart) is open Monday to Friday until 8pm & 9pm on Thursday - I forgot to mention that one. So I think there is enough open to help out for those emergency times you REALLY need something. Having said that - I make a conscious effort NOT to go to the shops, other than my once weekly major grocery shop. The more often you go, the more money you spend. A few years back, there was a Coles near me that did open 24hrs - but it was ghost town after 11pm. No-one's interested in shopping after that time. We also have the 7-Eleven chain that have extended hours - but you wouldn't want to buy much from there, as everything is twice as expensive as at the supermarket. Most petrol stations are open late (some 24 hrs) and most have small stores attached - so you can always grab that milk or bread you've run out of.

and also what do you do when you run out of beer early in the evening?

Well- there is always the Bottle-o (the liquor shop attached to pubs). Also most Woolworths & Coles have liquor stores attached to them and scattered here and there, there are the odd shops that stay open the extra hour until 6pm. Not a big issue for me (don't like beer anyway).

how to you greet people that you are friendly with do just say hello

I don't think there is a standard greeting - we all say different things at different times. Sometimes, it's just a "morning all" as you walk past people's desk in the morning, especially as you see them on a daily basis. If it's a been a while since you've spoken though, you might say any of the below:-

Hi - how goes it?
Hello, how are you?
Hi, how's it goin'
or any number of similar greetings.

Cheers
TW

People who tend a garden may be interested in
bulb planting Aussie style
http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/newreply.aspx?id=33886

Tulips and the like are possible in some parts of Australia but we need to babysit them a bit more!

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Tulips and the like are possible in some parts of Australia

They sure are and some states have an annual Tulip Festival. This link gives details for the Tuplic festival in NSW.

http://www.tuliptime.net.au/

Cheers
TW

do Australians take their shoes off when going into houses like Canadians do

Babel Quote - I used to take my shoes off in my house, just cause I didn't like tracking dirt all through the house. But since I tend to get stung by the mozzies non stop if I go outside I have to be unaustralian and wear shoes!

I think this an individual thing - not a cultural thing. My family take their shoes off, but many others don't (including my brother & sister in their own home). Outside our sliding glass door leading to the backyard, we have a basket of thongs. When we go outside we grab these. The storage cupboard under the stairs (near the front door) also has a supply of thongs & shoes for exiting via the front door. The garage has internal/external access, so again, I have a stash there. The theory for this is, it is no point going barefoot in the house for cleanliness, if your feet are dirty from walking around barefoot outside.

Babel - hahahah for the jury thing. I have been on the jury role once (you remain on it for 3 years I think) but I was never actually called up for duty.

Yeah, the chemist thing is an issue. When I was younger, there were a few 24 hour chemists around, but they seem to have vanished. Most close at 9pm, but ones attached to Dr. surgerys that have extended hours are usually opened until surgery closes - but this is generally before 11pm & often before 10pm.

Yep, I do use the water on the lawn. We also have 2 water storage tanks here, that we use for topping up our pool (evaporation) and watering our garden & lawn.

It is pretty much standard that every Aussie backyard has a clothes line. Previously it would always be the rotary hills hoist, but more often now, people are going with smaller clothes lines.

Yep, I agree that "how ya going" is a common greeting.

Enjoy that snorkeling trip. Hubby & I were on the Gold Coast in February and we did a little snorkeling. It was fun.

Cheers
TW

Any self-respecting Australian isn't gonna run out of beer ! Most guys I know have 2 fridges (refrigerators) one for food & oj, water etc & one for beer! Now the beer fridge is sacrosanct,putting food in the beer fridge is almost a capital offence. Being a country boy I guess we've got used to stocking up on things. Australia is the land of the long weekend. We love to have a public holiday,be it for a horse race or the Queen of another countries birthday.There is always a big whinge about shopping hours over long weekends because somebody in the city wants to buy a printer cartridge,but,all the shops are shut. I reckon shop assistants deserve some time off too.
As for greetings my standard greeting is " gidday mate "
If it's a lady it might be "how ya goin ?"
Yes,we are pretty laid back.I was talking to an older American tourist recently & he said he loved the people in Australia,their easygoing nature & friendliness. He said it reminded him what it used to be like in his home city.

"if you're goin swimmin,watch out for the noahs"

Shoes of at the door?

I do at my own home so I tend to in the homes I visit.

But it depends on floor coverings and culture really.

I sit on the floor at my house so don't like dirty shoes coming through. I have bamboo floors which are not as robust as tiles. I live in a unit (apartment) and don't like clomping to disturb neighbours.

Mostly it is a cleanliness thing for my own home ... but I admit it is only a thing a became more conscious of after world travel.

Because we don't need a 'mud room' we can wear our shoes through in most seasons.

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Clarification of term 'thongs'
In Australia this means flip/flops on the feet.
What some people call thong underwear we call 'g-string'.... but everyone has heard of thong underwear through popular culture... including The Thong Song.... now you can't get it outta yer head can you. ha!



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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

There is always a big whinge about shopping hours over long weekends because somebody in the city wants to buy a printer cartridge,but,all the shops are shut.

Hi Ace, I a city girl, so for the most part, our shops are still open on public holidays, but they might open a little later eg. 10am. There are a few public holidays shops don't open for eg. Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and I think Anzac Day. Some of the big City stores (DJ's & Myers) even open on Boxing Day.

Babel - I keep meaning to ask about a comment in your earlier post.

You need a mortgage to have an apartment.

Do people usually pay cash in the US? BTW, a unit isn't just for rentals. An apartment you buy is also a unit.

Cheers
TW

Tankwatcher; I noticed the unit/apartment comment too

I researched this once. Thought perhaps unit means each dwelling has its own laundry.
And if flat means laundry facilities are shared.
No definitive response on that... seems the terms are interchangable.

Apartment is being used only recently due to American-isms sneaking in.
Flat/unit is the term used prior.

I live in a 'unit'. (but I say apartment bec I think it sounds cooler)
Some in my block are tennented and some are owner occupied (common to find a mix). All are referred to as units.
So renting doesn't make it one or the other in Sydney.

I guess we need to remember that Babel's concept of Australia is from the city/state she is in. In other parts of the (very big) country things will differ.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~