How is Australia?
Has anyone traveled/ lived there? What do you think? Thanks
Answer:
G'day,
I guess I dun have to crucify Koyak more :) BTW... 'koyak' in Indonesian language means "torn".
Also Koyak, you have absolutely no idea what racist is until you come and live in a country where you are a minority and treated like 2nd class citizen all your life, no matter how good you try to be. You will always be the scapegoat of everything that gone wrong in the country.
I know this because that's how I have been treated in the country where I originally come from. I am an immigrant and have been living in Melbourne for 16 years and never regret the move at all. I do not have Anglo-Saxon appearance, I speak English with an accent and I still feel like I am born in this country all along. My neighbors are combinations of immigrants and true blue Aussies and we are getting along very well. Racism will always be there in any countries, but I definitely do not feel it here.
Now... back to you Sunluvr :)... this is what I can say about Melbourne:
1. First of all... some people do not like the weather in Melbourne (you can have 4 seasons in one day). However, if you read the first article from The Age newspaper, you will find out that the weather is still more preferable than the other cities. Sure you can have 42C day in summer, but almost immediately you'll get a much cooler weather pretty soon afterwards. It is very rarely that you got 2 or 3 consecutive days of hot weathers (unlike Sydney, Brisbane or Perth).
2. Melbourne is a city of diversity. If you are a newcomer, and you do not look 'Anglo-Saxon', you do not feel like an 'alien', since you can find almost every race in the world walking in the city. They are both immigrants and overseas students.
3. THE FOOD!! Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Thai, All-you-can-eat, African, Lebanese, Mexican, Sea Food... anything else? All available and lots of them in a very-very-very affordable price
4. Pretty good public transport system. With one ticket, you can switch from train, tram and bus. They do not always come on-time, but still reliable and improving (www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au).
5. SHOPPING! Original branded clothing sold very cheap. There are even shopping tour, where the participants are taken to retails outlets just for shopping. Big temptations for ladies.
6. Crime rates... just read the second article on the bottom.
7. Cost of Living... I'll say it's second most expensive city after Sydney. Altho I have to say that some cities in Queensland can be more expensive to live.
8. Tourist attraction. This is the area that I think Sydney is better than Melbourne, since it has most of it's attraction within its suburbs. Most Melbourne attraction are pretty much out of Melbourne, such as the gold mines in the cities of Bendigo and Ballarat, The Great Ocean Road, Lakes Entrance, Grampians, skiing in Mt. Buller etc.
In regards to schools there are 3 choices: Public/Government, Christian/Catholic and Private. Public schools have pretty much the same standard wherever you go and they are the cheapest alternative. You usually just enrolled to the one closer to where you live. The list of government schools are here: http://www.vic.gov.au.
Private are the most expensive, since on top of the tuition fee, you will still have to buy books, uniform, etc. The list for non-government schools are here: http://www.isd.com.au/
I certainly hope this helps. Yes, there will be some time needed for adjustments, but there will be helps and supports along the way since Australia is built by immigrants (yes, this include the Anglo-Saxons and the Aborigins, so I was told).
Welcome to Australia and enjoy.
Australia
"Romper Stomper," an Australian motion picture that depicts savage
violence by Skinhead toughs, has brought worldwide attention to
Australia's Skinheads. Although the story on which the film is based
is imaginary, there are indeed racist Skins Down Under and some of
them actually liked the film. One such Skinhead has been quoted
thus: "Up to a point it's against Skinheads ... but it's good
publicity for our cause. With unemployment like it is, they're
asking for trouble letting all these Asians into the country."
Ive been there a couple of times in the Melbourne area. It is WAY different, like a culture shock. If you are a liberal you would like it probably but some of the guys are still pretty conservative. I would say visit there before you go but then again if you are embarrassed by our country I guess it is a good place to go .
I love Brisbane and Hobart. Perth is too remote. Melbourne and Sydney are just big cities. The "Gold Coast" is great for a party lifestyle. I'd like to visit Cairns some time.
It's an expensive place to live. I converted the US dollar to AS dollar and compared car prices. I found them to be 25% or more higher.
Last time I was there was 1992.
To Koyak - Romper Stomper is a movie from 1992 - so 15yrs ago, a bit hard to make a comparison about that movie to now.
I am an Australian - yes there is some racism still around, but its like most countries, being an American you shouldn't have too many issues unless you show pro-Bush support.
But Australia is like America, we seem to follow them a lot in what they say and do, such as going to War. I guess its a nice country here, but I have just return from travel to USA and Canada and have a desire to move over there - maybe its just a case that we want something different to what we are used to.
If you do decide to move over here, good luck, but I would suggest that you travel over here for a couple of months 1st to get a feel for the place. Each city is different and you will get a different experience where you go - Perth is one of the most beautiful cities in Aus, but as with Sydney, it has a higher cost of living, especially housing prices. Melbourne is the culture capital of Australia, its got the best Art Galleries, Theaters and things like that. Brisbane has the nickname of Brisvegas, so ya can get an idea of what thats like and Sydney, unless your earning big money its hard to live there cause of the cost of living.
Why are you embarrased to be an American? There is nothing to be embarrased about.
ive actually thought about moving too! Australia is on my list of places to go. My mother in-law just went to australia and new zeland and stated she would go back to new zeland in a heartbeat.. but im with you. I am getting more and more tired of the politicans going against what the american people desire and want. I don't understand the direction this country is going in right now!!
I can see why you are feeling like moving. I had an old buddy who went to Australia. He seemed to like it very much in Sydney. I've always wanted to travel there since hearing him talk about it. I wonder what the immigration policy is? Is is a point system? It's hard to tell whats going to happen here.
We are not called the lucky country for nothing and we are laid back and have a wonderful lifestyles especially for kids.
We aren't perfect and we do have some prejudice here but it doesn't really affect our way of life because most people will give you a fair go.
The best thing about Australia is its people and we will do everything to keep this the lucky country for all our old and new citizens so come on down-under we have it all ahead of us.
ummmmmmm Koyak you're a friggen wanker mate!
anyway back to the question at hand ..
I am an australian .. and I consider myself lucky to have been born here.
BUT ... no matter what people tell you ...no matter how we may convince you to come here( or in the case of Koyak try to convince you NOT to) .. this is something you have to do yourself...
Can I suggest you visit for a working holiday...spend some time here before you make the decision to move here.. see for yourself...
There is ONE thing though That i want to say in defense of Australia .. a few people may carry on about our DANGEROUS CREATURES .. yeah we have a few and yeah some of them are the deadliest of their kind .. BUT .. we have NO RABIES .. .we have no Bears ( and No the Koala ISN'T a bear) , we have no lions, tigers or wolves etc .. so please don't be put off by the scare tactics :)
Great alternative!
If you are just going to AU for not liking USA, that cannot drive you for a long time. But, just try to live there for a couple of months before deciding.
The Immigration information post by website user , MyTend.com not guarantee correctness.
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