Australia - How Good Is It?

[EvenOlderButWiser]

Hey folks,

I know we have a few GS members from the Southern Hemisphere on the forum, so here's a few very general question from someone who has never been to Australia before.

Im close to changing jobs (same company, new role) and Ive been offered the opportunity to take an assignment in Sydney for a few years.

I was wondering if a few of our Australian members would like to throw out a few comments on what life is like down under. Things like:

General cost of living.
Acceptance of same sex couples in the workplace and in general. (I would be going down under partnered)
Best and worst thing about living in Australia....

Not made a decision yet, just looking at pros and cons for the moment.

TIA
ObW
X

[Crouton]

I don't really know much about Sydney sorry, I've only been there a few times but I much prefer Melbourne.

Sydney and Melbourne though are both VERY accepting cities to be gay. Both have pride marches, mardi gras etc. Melbourne is currently in the middle of a 2-week long celebration of everything queer. And last time I went to Sydney they had a whole street with lots of gay bars and rainbow flags all along the street. Even though we don't have equal rights when it comes to marriage and a few issues when it comes to the Catholic Church I think Australia is a pretty good place to be gay. Especially the bigger cities, Melb and Sydney in particular.

Cost of living is pretty expensive. Things in general just seem to be more expensive in Australia. We often have things on the market like food, electric products etc that are almost double the price of places like the US. Our average wages are a lot higher than places like the US though so I think it might balance out.

Best things
-Friendly people
-Great weather
-Huge country, so lots of places to travel/explore on holidays

Worst things
-Still no same-sex marriage
-We have an election this year to choose between our annoying female Prime Minister or an even more annoying male PM and neither of them are great.

I don't even know. I've lived here my whole life and I love it. I've traveled to a lot of other countries and experienced different cultures but I would never want to live anywhere but Aus.

[Varanus]

Sydney is bloody brilliant.
There is always something going on and soon enough you would be enjoying Sunday afternoon cocktails with friends.
Sydney is so easy for gay men, no one bats an eye lid if two blokes have a quick snog on the street etc.
In ive found where the majority around surry hills, CBD, Elizabeth bay, kings cross etc.
Cost of living in Aus is generally expensive compared to other nations but as i like to say i work hard so i can play even harder so i find it very fair.
The weather is always great and there is literally always something to do within the city every single week.
Theres a lot of gay sports clubs (One of which i intend on joining once i make the move to syd).
Sydney really is your oyster and can be as great as you want it to be or as shitty as any other place.

[Rainbowmum]

Sydney is a great place to live but the rental properties are murder on the wallet.
I would stay away from the western suburbs , way too much crime and ethnic racism.

I would suggest getting a place in the northern suburbs , both Manly and Mosman are great areas and are just across the bay
I used to live and work over there absolutely beautiful.

The weather is really hot in Sydney this summer alone during the heat wave it reached 47c.
It never really gets freezing cold.

Day to day stuff you need is pretty cheap, really no major food prices and as with anything it depends on where you go to buy stuff.

Internet access is available everywhere , electricity ,water,phone and gas prices are reasonable , you would probably get away with a $200 electric bill per month.
Internet between 50 to 70 per month .
Phone depends on you.

Sydney itself is very welcoming , public transportation available , Trains , Trams (cable car) Taxi both road and water and buses.

Oh and we do have most international food chains here.

I think that's about it.

[Counselor]

Mum, you mentioned internet access, and I recall something about Australian internet censorship: is that still going on?

[Pix]

Invading aliens trying to take over the Earth avoid Australia for many good reasons, it's safer to blow up the White House instead of facing things like this:

http://badassoftheweek.com/australia.html



And don't expect them to be polite. Here's a typical sign, one of that their board of tourism doesn't mind you seeing (because the others are worse):



You might now be remembering that Thunderdome is there, but what you didn't know is that's just training on how to handle one's self at their pubs (though if you insult their fauna, expect to be put in Thunderdome with the offended beast, and don't laugh at the roos, they're not like in Winnie the Pooh!).

Oh, and you'll notice that Aussies who are smoking have cigarette packs with disgusting pix of lost, infected, and cancerous body parts (and to show how hardcore they are they call this "plain packaging"! :o ), because you know what, they love it, that's how they sell cigarettes to the locals.

If after all of this you still want to go then there's plenty to do. Consult their "dumb ways to die" instructional vids with the tourist office. If you survive the stunts promoted then congratulations, you've become a real Aussie!

[Nathan]

I'm not from Australia, but i'd like to point this out as one of the goods.

Australians are hot.

[jaxc]

DON'T GO THERE!!!
http://www.cracked.com/funny-5997-the-an...rap-it-is/
http://www.cracked.com/funny-163-australia/:biggrin:

[Pix]

Oh, and this was the Aussie reaction to the Mayan apocalypse thing...

[dfiant]

There is NO internet censorship in Australia and there are no plans to censor the internet.

I grew up in the south of Sydney and lived there for 30 years.

If you get the opportunity to live there for a few years, you would be bloody mad to say no. You would also be bloody mad to no travel to Melbourne, Gold Coast, the Red Centre and even Far North Queensland during the few years you live here.

As for the dangerous animals like Croc's...more people died in the frosts in Europe in 2 weeks than people die from any fauna in Australia all year

General cost of living.
Acceptance of same sex couples in the workplace and in general. (I would be going down under partnered)
Best and worst thing about living in Australia....

Third most expensive city in the world to live, but income are in proportion to that cost of living.
World largest Mardis Gras, over 1 million people attend each year.
Too many best things to count, too few bad things to give a shit