Re: How will Ireland survive without Dougal?
Father it is 15 years since my last confession...:rollin
I am back a good while now Father..I lived in Perth for about 10 months and travelled around for the rest.
The very rough guide to OZ....
Rented accomodation is cheap,especially when compared to here.
Sydney - rented accomodation is usually twice the price of Perth, with Melbourne being in between the two.
I assume the rates below are per month for a house/apartment
Perth - AU$250 - $500
average - basic 2/3 bedrooms (€150 - 300)
Sydney - AU$400 - $700+
average - Basic 2/3 bedrooms
Melbourne - AU$300 - $600
average - Basic 2/3 bedrooms
Weather
Perth is the best place for the weather, this is where the pensioners retire to.
Sydney's weather is mixed April/ May rain, a lot of rain.June to October rain on and off.
Melbourne is your typical ' four seasons in one day' weather. One day it can be 65 next 96. Though throughout summer it is nearly always warm.
Up north (Tropical end),Brisbane and up- The good season, weather wise is late July thru to about mid October, after this date the weather may stay good for a while, but the sea will be full of jellyfish
Jobs/economy
Australia is a real boom and bust economy, it seems to go in cycles, though it seems to have stabilised these days. Taxation is done through self assessment. You fill out the forms and they send you the check if you are entitiled to a rebate. For jobs it is probably best to ask someone who has more recent experience. There is usually a list of preffered occupations that Australia looks for, when I was out there it was Pastry Chefs..?? Not that I am one..
Cost of living
I am too long out of Oz to comment well on this, but it is about half of Ireland, but so are the wages...
Nightlife
Top spot goes to Melbourne, has a bit of an Irish attitude about it, because the weathe rican be so unpredictable they go out and enjoy themselves, as the weather could be deprsessing the when they wake.., next is Sydney. A lot more diverse than Melbourne and a little less friendly and then there is Perth. Plenty of nightlife, but compared to the other 2, it is the poor relation, but the weather more than compansates.
Australians.....
As a bloke I use to play footbal with once said (while drunk) 'the worse thing about Australia, is that it is full of Australians !!! ' all joking aside, Australia is made up of many nationalities. Brits, South east asians, chinese, Serbs ,Croats,Greeks,Italians, Kiwis , Irish and Japanese who mainly own Queensland :rollin
One thing to get straight Australia is not full of Mick 'Crocadile' Dundee's.....or beautiful bronzed blonde girls, then again maybe they knew what days I went to the beach...
Health and safety, they are big into and one area that is top of their list is sunscreen for the children. A child playing on a beach without a hat is a big no-no and if the child had no sunscreen on it is close to child neglect and ine step away from social services.They have a decent public transportation system, the cops are very strict, speeding is a big no-no. They have a decent heath service so I am lead to believe...It is a big place so having a driving licence would be a good idea.
In general, Australians are a bit like Americans, believe it or not with their attitude to work, very work orientated. The would never go out for a drink on a Sunday night knowing that they had to go to work the next morning. They are also similar in the way they treat the native inhabitants too. One odd thing about them is that they pull you up for not speak english correctly, even with my thickish Dublin Brogue they have some cheek..yeah I know we do not pronouce our 'th's, but some of my friends who live over there years go insane when their children come in and start saying the words below like Australians..the main words they and I cannot stand are..
No, Know Aussies say it like a bit like a person from Belfast -
Noy
- another word is
don't again, Aussies say it like a bit like a person from Belfast -
doyint. This may sound petty, but after a few minutes of it, it will drive you insane.
All that said, when you become friendly with an Aussie they will help you as much as they can.
Places to visit
Whitehaven Beach - Whitsunday Islands
Airlie Beach
Magnetic Island
Melbourne Cup
Circular Quay/ Sydney Opera House
Cycling Tour of the wine regions around Adelaide
Kakadu Park
Green Island off Cairns
Rain forests above Cairns
Great Barrier Reef, learn how to scuba dive
Ayers Rock, but I believe they have stopped people climbing it ??
Sports
Golf #1
Cricket
Swimming
Ironman/Triathlons
Lawn Bowls, big in Perth, with the pensioners..
Aussie Rules,Horse Racing
Rugby Union and league is mainly an east coast thing, though it played a little in the west.
Tennis,Greyhounds
Basketball,Baseball, Football, Netball