• Barley Background
  • Farewell UK
  • Melbourne Magic
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Guestbook

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

3/7/2011

2 Comments

 
Well we have now been in Australia for just about eight months and it has been a while since I (Steve) have committed my thoughts to paper (or the electronic equivalent thereof) so we decided it was a good time to post some thoughts about what we do and don't like and a few things that even after this time we just don't get. So here goes....

We like:
- being within walking distance of about 1,500 restaurants/cafes/bars etc so as you will see from our restaurant reviews we are never short of choice
- the ease of getting tickets for major events. To name a few we have been to the Ashes, Aussie Open Tennis, Aussie Grand Prix, various AFL games and a Kylie concert without too many difficulties in getting tickets for any.
- most aspects of AFL including being able to support the Tigers. Highlights to date have included watching Richmond beat Essendon at the MCG as part of a crowd of 83,500. Also the fact that each club has a song which is played immediately after the final hooter if the team wins and which the team then sings in the locker room. Although it has not been heard too often this season it is widely agreed that RIchmond has the best song.....Click here for the Tigers theme song
- being able to drive for over an hour down the coast and still being able to see the building we live in
- the weather. Although it is true that Melbourne gets four seasons in a day it is difficult to complain when it is still 19 degrees on the shortest day of the year. And for any Aussies reading 19 degrees is not cold enough to require a scarf and gloves!
- the fact that we are an hours drive from the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsular, two good wine producing areas so we can just pop down for a tasting on a Saturday afternoon and the knock-on effect on the choice of wines in bars/restaurants
- the Friday drinks trolley which delivers wine and beer to MInda's desk at about 4.30 every Friday
- generally how easy it is to get to places. We live 25 minutes walk from the major sporting stadiums and 10 minues from the CBD, we have never really struggled to get a cab and the public transport system works well to get from one place to another (but see later for a gripe about paying)
- the fact that there is no 'requirement' to tip everytime you eat, drink, get a cab, have your haircut etc.
- 'Living away from home allowance' - basically good tax breaks for foreign nationals who are working in Australia but who are not intending on staying here permanently.
- markets like Queen Victoria and South Melbourne and the quality of fresh produce that you can get there
- internal flights. It is as simple as boarding a bus and you really only need to arrive at the airport 30 minutes before departure
- being able to sit in Federation Square in mid-December in blazing sunshine and mid-30s temperatures, drinking beer, eating sushi, watching england hammer the Aussies in the Ashes on a big screen with a choir singing Christmas carols in the background.


We don't like:
- the price of books meaning that an average paperback fiction book costs about 30 dollars
- the price of beer. There are none of the loss-leading buy two crates of beer for 20 quid favoured by English supermarkets
- the fact that you can't get a proper pint of ale. The Australian brewing industry's view of ale is that it is apparently a slightly darker lager, is still gassy and is still served highly chilled.
- the number of ad-breaks on TV meaning that it takes about 90 minutes to show a programme that would last 45-60 minutes in the UK.
- the fact that pedestrians have no concept of what is going on around them. I'm sure it can't be a Melbourne thing but the number of times we have had to take evasive action because people just stop in the middle of the pavement is most annoying or they walk in a row of three or more blocking the way
- taxis smell here (according to Minda)
- the quality of driving, particularly amongst the smelly taxi drivers (see above) is sometimes poor and often dangerous
- Australian chocolate - it just isn't as good as the chocolate at home
- always needing to prove your identity. Best example so far - needing to produce a passport to post a parcel to the UK
- the quality of the football. Being a Hull City fan means that I do not have particularly high standards but even against those some of the play that you see in the A-league is almost laughable (a goal being scored from a free-kick because the keeper had put the wall in completely the wrong place.)


We don't understand:
- the wide-spectrum of buskers. Admittedly there are some very good perfomers. However you can apparently get a buskers licence to be an opera singer that sounds more like a cat being run over by a lawnmower or to look like a tramp and sit crossed-legged on the pavement shouting into a microphone.
- driving on Australian motorways. There is simply no concept of staying to the left unless you are overtaking and a huge number of drivers join the motorway at a juction, pull immediately over to the right hand land and then cruise there at a couple of miles an hour below the speed limit. As a result undertaking is a common occurence which, having never really experienced it in the UK, is pretty dangerous as you have to remember cars might be there.
- a tram system which, whilst efficient and effective when getting around, is designed in such a way that pretty much the entire population of melbourne fare-dodge on a daily basis.
- the fact that avocados are an accompaniment to any meal.
- the medical system in that there is no such thing as free health care and you have to have insurance to cover it and apparently without that insurance you are not allowed to call an ambulance.

I am sure that there are more things that don't leap immediately to mind but these were just a few thoughts at this stage of our stay. Let's see whether things stay in the same categories or whether things are added as we move towards the end of our first year here.....
2 Comments
Sarah
6/7/2011 08:01:14 am

I love the fact that Steves inner geek put tax benefits in as one of his favourite things.

Reply
Jacqui
11/7/2011 07:47:26 am

As a born and breed Melbournian - I think your observations are spot on, Steve! Particularly the cost of books (cheaper to buy online), tram fare evaders and people driving in the right hand lane slowly are just plain stupid and don't deserve their licence!!
PS - You can call an ambluance without insurance, you'll just be hit with a massive bill at the end of the trip. Though I am not sure that homeless people and drug addicts who overdose would ever be charged..what would be the point?!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Authors

    We are Steve and Minda and we've been given the opportunity to move to Melbourne for two years. We arrived November 2010 and passed that two year milestone and are now Australian citizens! This is a blog of our experiences as we move to this new country, settle in and have fun!

    Follow @mindabarley
    Blogging Buddies

    An American in Liverpool
    Beauty Ling
    Lovely Ling
    The Demerys
    The Keenes
    Talented Katie
    Tom and Katie
    Zoe's Culinary Adventures

    Archives

    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.