Jump to content

Menu

Any negatives to living in Australia or New Zealand?


displace
 Share

Recommended Posts

There is a Mexican restaurant in Melbourne. They serve cactus! That was just too exciting for words. :lol:

Those are called nopales. We buy them in the grocery stores here, in the produce section.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those are called nopales. We buy them in the grocery stores here, in the produce section.

 

I know, but it sounds funner if I call it cactus. :lol:

 

We can't buy them here. The guy who owns the Mexican restaurant in Melbourne said he tried buying locally, but they weren't nice, so he buys tins from overseas. I guess no one waters prickly pear here, lol. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone mentioned Australian TV programs were bad. I love the ones I've found - even if it's just for the awesome accents!! Mrs. Fisher's Mysteries isn't bad at all. I quite like it. Offspring season 1 was good, especially Eddie Perfect and his music. 

 

 

Edited by wintermom
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That sounds a bit like a pizza I got in China once... it had, among other things, green beans and carrots.

 

Australians don't ruin pizza... do they? Do they? :ohmy:

 

The English, I'm told, put corn on their pizza. And then they call it American....

 

Now, I'm sure American pizza isn't very similar to Italian pizza - but honestly, as a New Yorker, I'm pretty sure that pizza is really an NYC invention anyway, so whatevs.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We used to watch Bert do Family Feud every night.  I think it is the Australian version.  Our 2 year old liked it :)

 

Oh heck. Not him.

 

My grandmother said she'd rather kiss a shark than Bert.

 

 

 

(Half a shandy is all it takes :lol: )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The English, I'm told, put corn on their pizza. And then they call it American....

 

Now, I'm sure American pizza isn't very similar to Italian pizza - but honestly, as a New Yorker, I'm pretty sure that pizza is really an NYC invention anyway, so whatevs.

 

Corn on pizza?!?! That's like......anchoives in mashed potatoes. It's just......WRONG!!!!   :ack2:  :eek:  :scared:

 

Also, I had no idea you were a New Yorker. This is a very educational thread. :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, I had no idea you were a New Yorker. This is a very educational thread. :)

 

I'm also half Texan, on my father's side. We grew up with little barbed wire Texases and stars on our kitchen walls, and random longhorn, uh, horns placed decoratively in the living room. And a flag of Texas. I can assure you, we didn't own an American flag, and I have no idea where I'd get a NYS flag... but we had that Texas flag!

 

It's tough being a Texan expat in New York.

Edited by Tanaqui
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In NZ they had a show on the music channel called At Your Place or something like there, where they'd get NZ bands to go to a random Kiwi's backyard and perform live (and they'd show it on the TV, obviously).  It was great, and so not something you'd ever see here in the same way - the US is just too big for something like that.  Maybe as a local production, but not a national one.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm also half Texan, on my father's side. We grew up with little barbed wire Texases and stars on our kitchen walls, and random longhorn, uh, horns placed decoratively in the living room. And a flag of Texas. I can assure you, we didn't own an American flag, and I have no idea where I'd get a NYS flag... but we had that Texas flag!

 

It's tough being a Texan expat in New York.

 

I was a Texan expat in Missouri.  In New York would be a lot worse.  

 

My dad had (in Missouri) a mailbox painted with the Texas flag, which DH got him when we were in high school and he took a working trip to Dallas.

 

Dad saw the local Missourians as Yankees, which I thought was pretty funny as Missouri was a slave state.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a kid in NC in the 70s we used to go occasionally to the nearby large city for what we considered exotic, authentic Mexican food.........at Taco Bell. Our experience with pizza was the Chef Boyardee box mix (powdered crust mix, little can of sauce, and powdered cheese), and Chinese was La Choy Chow Mein in the can (with the smaller can of chow mein noodles taped to the top of the main can). Not exactly cosmopolitan, so it's not like we have great Mexican everywhere in the US. :)

 

It amazes me that we now have all sorts of different types of international foods, both as restaurants and in the regular grocery stores. 

Edited by KarenNC
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ooh, can I piggyback with a question? A good friend is likely moving to Adelaide. They lived there once before for a couple of years but ended up transferred back to the states. They're excited to go - one of her kids was born there. But... she has no idea what the homeschool scene is like since last time she was there her kids were tiny. Anyone? Or the schools?

 

Parts of Australia seem like they'd get along well with American redneck culture...

HS in Adelaide is easy peasy. Usually I say it is easiest second to Victoria but with their changes coming about SA will soon become the easiest place to HS. Yes we have a home visit once a year from the education department but its a seperate department who are all HS friendly and its no big deal ...if I can pass anyone can 😂

 

Lots of active groups but we dont really do things like co-ops. Because of the smaller number of people HS there arent any " groups" that reject you if you dont follow their faith. Groups are open to ALL ...nothing to sign...just send an email and say Hey Im coming to your group and turn up and everyone is just super happy there is one more HSer. lol

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been told that in NZ, they put beets on their burgers. Beets. On their burgers.

 

Just let that sink in a minute.

Yes... Burgers without Beetroot are just not burgers...

 

You would probably be slightly shocked by what goes in the "burger with the lot" at the local fish and chip shops...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Roast Beetroot with feta maybe...

 

There is pizza and pizza here. You get to know where to go.

 

I make it with smoked cheese. It's better than feta.

 

 

Can't say I've ever seen roast beetroot pizza in a shop. There used to be a pizza shop in the Vic market that put it in its bases though. Pink pizza base is a fun thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't seen anyone mention this, but when we visit family the biggest thing I notice is the way men and women interact. It seems like women and men in at least my husbands extended family have very defined traditional roles.  They call women girls, which was confusing at first.  I try not to use the word negative when things are different, but this one that kind of bugs me. 

 

We will be heading over in 6 weeks for a one month visit.  I will be washing dishes by hand and line drying clothes the whole time!  Also, eating sponge cake with fruit on top and having instant coffee to go with it.  We are going to have an extended family reunion while we are there too.  That's always fun, no matter where you are. 

 

My husband is from an area that is so gorgeous, but economically struggling.   We have some great friends there and can't wait to see them again.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes... Burgers without Beetroot are just not burgers...

 

You would probably be slightly shocked by what goes in the "burger with the lot" at the local fish and chip shops...

 

So you pickle the beets in slices instead of chunks? That's a great idea!  How does a mom with young ones deal with beetroot blobs on clothes, though? ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

HS in Adelaide is easy peasy. Usually I say it is easiest second to Victoria but with their changes coming about SA will soon become the easiest place to HS. Yes we have a home visit once a year from the education department but its a seperate department who are all HS friendly and its no big deal ...if I can pass anyone can 😂

 

Lots of active groups but we dont really do things like co-ops. Because of the smaller number of people HS there arent any " groups" that reject you if you dont follow their faith. Groups are open to ALL ...nothing to sign...just send an email and say Hey Im coming to your group and turn up and everyone is just super happy there is one more HSer. lol

 

Thanks! I'll pass that on. She was worried that maybe there wasn't much of a homeschool scene at all. They're a Christian family, but of the liberal Episcopalian sort, homeschooling for non-religious reasons, so she'll be glad to hear that it's not a statement of faith type scene either.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ooh, ooh, ooh.

 

I have another one for the positives list.

 

We have Daniel Ricciardo!

 

Go Danny Ric!

 

The Bahrain GP is on here at about 1am Monday morning.

 

We're massive F1 fans.

 

 

 

ETA: When I say 'we're massive F1 fans' I'm talking about my family. I'm not speaking for all of Australia here.

 

But when I say beetroot is great on a burger (or a salad sandwich for that matter), then I think I can safely say I'm speaking for Australia.  ;)

And to clarify, we're not talking about sugarbeets. It's the tinned, sliced, purply, vinegary beetroot.            numnumnum

Edited by chocolate-chip chooky
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends. 

 

Not so much with younger generations. 

 

I hate being called a girl too. To be fair, the same people calling women 'girls' call men 'the boys', especially on the footy field. 

 

It's a particular kind of Aussie vibe. I honestly don't have much to do with that culture. It's a bit like that on dh's side of the family (Anglo Indian - a lot more 'boys will be boys and girls should look after their men' ugh horribleness. We live in another city, so, limited exposure.

 the boy will be boys and girls should look after their men...that's it exactly

 we have 2 family members like this 

 

My daughter and I feel like we are sort of like pets that need looked after and honestly think they think this is being nice.  As long as we stay in our place.

 

We pass the bean dip a lot.  Well, I do my 17 year old is still learning that art! LOL

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a kiwi but have lived in the US more than 20 years. I miss NZ a lot but I doubt I could move back there unless I won the lottery - it is so expensive - homes, groceries, utilities, gas. Most people I know back home barely scrape by. Some of my observations from my visits home are;

 - everything is so green (tho as another poster mentioned, it does rain a lot)

- food is so wholesome tasting compared to the pre-prepared stuff you get in many food establishments here. I love the bakery items - custard pies, dough nuts (which are not really donuts, more bread-like and filled with real cream), pies - especially chicken.

- random people walking around town barefoot

- if it's cold inside, you just bundle up (I have painful memories of getting up in the morning before the wood stove was lit and the house was freezing)

- it's scary driving there when you're used to multi lane highways - I had to re-learn to "overtake" on 2 lane roads. The roads have improved a lot over the years tho.

- my kids noticed how small the cars were compared to the huge gas guzzlers we drive here.

-seems to be lot of cafes everywhere and the coffee is so much better! Plus you get a lolly or wee bikkie with your flat white.

- my parents are semi rural and their internet is sooo slow. I don't know how they can stand it. My cousins in the sticks don't get internet at all.

- boring animals (aussie got all the good ones)

- this  

 

 

Edited by tiddles
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Mexican thing is funny. I think we Americans forget how Mexican influenced our everyday food has become. It was the thing I came to miss the most when I lived in Asia, just because there was *nothing* like it. At one point, I started buying tortilla chips in Hong Kong and making salsa and no one would touch it. It was way weird to them. Weirder than "western food" restaurants for sure.

 

I also once bought okra in Hong Kong at a specialty market. It was labeled, "Exotic African Food." I'm guessing anywhere you could find it in Australia would be similar.

 

But... I'll be you can get rambutans! Right? Oh my gosh. For ages, they weren't even sold in the US. They were illegal to import and they can't be grown here. Now I see them sometimes - dried up and nasty. But... they were everywhere in Mexico when we visited so I'm hopeful about the global spread of food.

 

Putting beet on a burger is shocking and wrong on every level.

 Can I say that we ( our family) put grated beetroot on our tacos  :coolgleamA:

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ananemone has some confusion about Maori relations here in NZ.  Nz is a bicultural society not a multicultural society from a political point of view.  The founding document of the country and the policies since then have put Maori on equal footing to the europeans from the beginning (minus some really nasty wars).  Asians are a more recent immigrant group and do not have the same standing in the government or country.  

 

You don't sit on desks or tables or counters etc because a long time ago, people wore grass skirt without anything underneath them and it was unhygienic. So now it has entered the culture that it is a very rude thing to do.

 

The tall poppy cultural approach to achievement is alive and well although fading.

 

This is a hydroelectric country so it is a good thing that it rains!  When we had a drought a few years ago we also had a power shortage!

 

The government here is *very* functional.  It is not like America, where nothing can get done because of the partisan bickering.

 

NZ is not patriotic like America.  My ds who is in the middle of studying for the SAT essay has found that he can almost always use 'appeal to identity' because there is a strong American overlay to almost all of the essays, appealing to a sense of who Americans are. The free. The powerful. The brave.

 

NZers is not a backwater because 30% of the working population is from overseas.  Immigration here is managed for economic improvement (my dh works at Immigration NZ). In addition, I would say about 60% of NZers go on an overseas experience in their 20s, and come back more worldly.

 

Yes, things are expensive here.  But people don't want as much.  

 

Houses have little insulation.  So put on a polarfleece or a blanket.  No need to waste energy.

 

Schools here are way better than in America.  The highschool curriculum is way better and more consistent.

 

Universities here are entry by exam, so no need to do that whole senior year application nightmare that is the American university admission process. 

 

Insurance is expensive because of the earthquakes.

 

Health care is very good and a part of the tax system.

 

It takes forever to fly anywhere, and so is expensive.

 

++++++
 

I'm sure I can come up with more!  

 

Ruth in NZ

 

 

  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, magpies.

 

I have to walk under a magpie's tree on the way to the main street. I carry an umbrella right through their nesting season.  :glare:

 

 

Long before bike helmets became commonplace, kids would walk to school with plastic ice-cream containers on their heads during nesting!

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a root beer craving tonight, and DH was trying to be sweet and brought me home a fancy bottled root beer. The label says it's from Australia! I had a good chuckle as I've been following this thread with interest. Well, I took one drink, and tasted...licorice! Noooooo! Yep, right in the ingredients list, there's licorice. Why??? Is this an Australian thing? There is a nice variety of flavorings like molasses, ginger root, vanilla, and of course sarsaparilla that are ruined by the licorice.  :huh:

Edited by ifIonlyhadabrain
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a root beer craving tonight, and DH was trying to be sweet and brought me home a fancy bottled root beer. The label says it's from Australia! I had a good chuckle as I've been following this thread with interest. Well, I took one drink, and tasted...licorice! Noooooo! Yep, right in the ingredients list, there's licorice. Why??? Is this an Australian thing? There is a nice variety of flavorings like molasses, ginger root, vanilla, and of course sarsaparilla that are ruined by the licorice.  :huh:

 

What brand?

 

 

The only root beer I've ever seen here were cans of it imported from the US with HFCS and all. :ack2: Oh, and the Pancake Parlour used to sell a very tasty, not HFCS version. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What brand?

 

 

The only root beer I've ever seen here were cans of it imported from the US with HFCS and all. :ack2: Oh, and the Pancake Parlour used to sell and very tasty, not HFCS version. 

 

It's Bundaberg and even has a cute kangaroo on the label. https://www.bundaberg.com/en-us/brew/root-beer/   It was made with cane sugar. Yay, Australia! Yes, the US's drinks are filled with HFCS.  I agree, gross. My English MIL tracks down and buys the kids sweets made without it and often the treats are not made in the US.  

Edited by ifIonlyhadabrain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have lovely magpies here. The cockatoos are more trouble! Hundreds of them, they're noisy and will clean your fruit trees!

We also have galahs, kookaburras, rosellas, lorikeets, fairy wrens, finches... beautiful. The birds are one of my favourite things about this place.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...