8 Things I Hate About Australia
“Hate” is a strong word, but “8 Things I Don’t Really Like So Much About Australia” is a rather cumbersome title. There are many things I love about Australia, but there are a few things I won’t miss.
1. High Prices
Australia is expensive! In America, we have dollar stores; Australia has $2 shops. Fuel for the car costs twice as much down under as it does in Miami and I’ve never paid so much for chicken and bananas in my life. When Theo and I went to see The Avengers, it cost $50 just for our tickets.
2. Poor Restaurant Service
Servers earn a normal wage and do not work for tips. The result is indifferent service at anything but a five star restaurant. Chances are you’ll have to ask for water and anything else you want after you flag the server down. On the bright side, the food will probably be really good.
3. Melbourne’s Fall Weather
It’s no wonder that Melbournians love to talk about the weather. Beautiful days are warm, or cool, and sunny and bright. Every other day is cold and rainy. Then the dark clouds part and the sun shines bringing the promise of a glorious day. Then it darkens and rains again. Mother Nature in Oz is bi-polar.
4. Inadequate & Confusing Tech
Television programming doesn’t seem to run on a regular schedule and I could never tell when one show will end or begin. Internet is limited and public Wi-Fi is almost unheard of. And I totally don’t understand all the telephone companies and mobile plans.
5. The Metric System
Kilos? Stones? Meters? It’s all Greek to me.
6. Change in My Pocket
It seems I could never get rid of the change in my pocket. Australia has 5, 10, 20, and 50-cent coin pieces as well $1 and $2 coins. Perhaps if I were better at math, I could better figure out how to get rid of my change, but alas my coin purse was always too heavy.
7. The Killer Wildlife
Never mind the snakes, great white sharks, and crocodiles because you’re not likely to run into these at home, but the spiders! At any given moment, you’re probably only three feet away from a tiny, deadly spider. To remind you, there are spiderwebs pretty much everywhere.
8. Varying Business Hours
It’s best to check ahead before you go anywhere in Melbourne because “trading hours” vary. Many businesses close on a weekday and have extended hours at least one evening a week. I always checked because I could never keep it straight. Most shops close at 5pm and are not open on Sundays. I understand why and I appreciate that Aussies put living and families ahead of working, but if you’re one of those working normal trading hours, I have no idea when you’re expected to get your shopping and errands done.
Hey, why would you want to get rid of the loose change when you need every cent to go to the grocery store? :-p
Actually, I empty mine out of my purse on a regular basis (usually the day after market day, since I like to have exact change at the market) and I use it when I have to make a contribution to our swear jar. I also parcel some of it out into the car (for parking meters and such).
And the wildlife is certainly something. I got flesh eating bacteria from a mosquito bite the first month I was here. And I thought the mosquitoes in Minnesota were bad! I guess it’s a quantity vs quality thing. And I haaaaaaaate going out to the farm to pull weeds and such because my fiance told me there were snakes out there. Like deadly venomous ones. 8-|
I was always trying to get ride of my change, but I’m bad at math. Every time I thought I was being clever and getting rid of two coins, I’d get at least one back. And flesh eating bacteria?! I didn’t even know about that one. I hope yours was a speedy recovery.
One of the thing I hate about Australia is that it is so darn far away…:(. We I was ther in 1967 they were converting from English to metric. Prices were in Aussie ponds, shillings and pence as well as Aussie dollars. Dollars made more sense to me but they they still used the Aussie pound more than dollar. The same things was with the measuremants etc..
Now they use Aussie dollar, but the metric system messes with my head. So does the temperature since they use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit.
You know the U.S. and Burma are the only 2 countries that still use the English system of mesurement? We being the one of the most techincal and Burma being one of the least… We do need to change but I like you will struggle with it…
Wow. I knew the U.S. was one of the last countries to use it, but I didn’t realize it’s just us and Burma. I wonder if we’ll change to the metric system. I never see any discussion about it.
We really should change… Change is hard… There has been talk about changing ever since I was in high school (1961-1965)… The auto makers were the ones who fought against it backed by the unions. Metric is a better system. All science uses it and even now most of everything on American made cars is metric with the exception of a few nuts and bolts!
Tv and tech was a bit behind the times back then (1967)too. I was a bit leary about the wild life too as I wasn’t familiar enough to know what will kill you or hurt you.
Oh I have learned to identify the deadly redback spider and venomous white-tailed spider, but only if they’re big. It’s hard to tell with the juveniles. In Florida, we have comparable spiders, the black widow and brown recluse, but they’re hard to come by. In Australia, it’s very common to come across these spiders.
$50 for 2 tickets? For the movie? (er….not a play…?). I’m just trying to fathom what could possibly justify that price. Actually, the whole list is an eye-opener, so many things we take for granted in the US…..particularly public wi-fi and later store hours. I guess most shopping’s got to be done on Saturday, since people may not make it to stores after work. I’ve heard they have these gigantic spiders that I normally only see in India – the Huntsman? But they aren’t poisonous. The common poisonous ones sound a bit scary…I mean…then do people routinely die of spider bites there? Well, my aunt’s neighborhood in India is infested with cobras, so I guess things could be worse, ha….
Yep, $50 for two movie tickets. On the other hand, salaries are much higher than in the U.S. and Australia has universal health care. The shop hours are about Australians placing greater emphasis on life and family than work. “Work to live, not live to work” is a common saying there. As for the huntsman spider, it’s true. It’s a big, but harmless spider and I hear it’s timid. As for spider-related deaths, there haven’t been any in more than 20 years since anti-venom has been developed, but that doesn’t mean in won’t hurt!
P.S. I really want to visit India!
Okay, now I’m ready to go again
Well seriously, I have been hoping to go study there….but it’s just a dream for now. Melbourne sounds like a gem to me. Yes, India is something else! I hope you do get to go someday and blog about 
I particularly agree with 8! After 12 years in Paris, I am especially shocked at restaurant and cafes trading hours. How often have I heard from a cafe owner that they were about to close – at 4h30pm… and the other night, we struggled to get food on Acland street at 9pm!
Really? Acland Street is a popular place. I can’t believe restaurants don’t stay open late. Sheesh.
You are so right about the restaurant service in Australia! I completely forgot about that… cafeteria style ordering and complete indifference on the part of so many servers. I guess the upside is that you don’t have to tip?
Cafeteria style service! I had forgotten about that. I was also surprised at how many restaurants don’t bring the bill to the table. You just pay at the till upon leaving.