20 Reasons Why to OZ

8/8/2019 20 Reasons Why to OZ

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What Its Really Like To Live In Australia.

20 ReasonsWhy YOU

Should Move toAustralia.

www.BobinOz.com

All Rights Reserved Worldwide 2009 Web Products Pty Ltd

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What Its Really Like To Live In Australia.www.BobinOz.com

First Edition August 2009

Contact information:

Author: BobinOz

You can contact BobinOz at:

[email protected]

BobinOz.com is owned by:

Web Products Pty Ltd

PO Box 1042

Kenmore

QLD 4069

AustraliaThis ebook is available free to anyone who enters their nameand email address over at www.BobinOz.com/blog

If you're serious about moving to Australia, where are yougoing to live? Get ideas from www.BobinOz.com

Find out more about BobinOz over atwww.bobinoz.com/blog/about-me/

If you find anything in this book to be incorrect, misleading orupsetting, or even if you just find a typo, I'd be really pleasedto hear your feedback. Contact me at [email protected]


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Legal Disclaimer.

All rights reserved.

No part of this report may be reproduced in any way whatsoever,including electronically, mechanically, or by photocopying, recordingor any other storage media without the express permission, datedand signed by the author or a representative of the copyrightowners.

The author and publishers of this book make no representations orwarranties in respect of its accuracy. They will therefore not acceptany responsibility for any of the consequences of using any of the

information presented.

The opinions given here in are those of the author who is actingunder good faith. These opinions are based on the experiences ofthe author and, in some cases, the research undertaken by him.Users are therefore urged to seek legal advice and alternativeopinions before entering into any contract or making any personaldecisions regarding their future.

This ebook is distributed free of charge and should not be sold.


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My Disclaimer:

Don't blame me!

There, that's covered everything. Although I would like to mention

just a couple more points.

Firstly, before I moved to Australia, I did live in England for almost50 years; it's the only other country I have ever lived in. Sothroughout this book you will see many comparisons with Englandand references back to England.

I hope anyone reading this book who doesnt come from Englandcan find a way to make my comparisons relevant to the country inwhich you do live. In any event, I do hope it does not spoil yourenjoyment of this book.

Secondly, I would like to point out that in spite of the impression Imay give, England was (and still is) a fine country in which to live.It is just vastly different from Australia, and rains a lot.

Thank you.

On with the book.


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Foreword.

Is Australia The Lucky Country?

On the 12th November I boarded a plane at Heathrow that was

bound for Brisbane International Airport. It was a one-way ticket.

I have now made Australia my home after having lived in the UK foralmost half a century. Yes, aged 49 I quit Britain for good. Butwhat's it really like to live in Australia? Does it live up to thedream?

Is Australia really The Lucky Country?

When the Australian author and former editor of NewsweekInternational, Professor Donald Horne, coined the phrase (andwrote the book of the same title) back in 1964, he was being ironic.The full context was 'Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.'

But Australia's nickname of The Lucky Country stuck, with mostpeople using it to describe the wonderful weather, the beautiful

beaches, the nation's good fortune with gold mines, its remotenessfrom world trouble spots and its general laid-back lifestyle.

Even Kylie Minogue, one of Australia's greatest exports, sang IShould Be So Lucky, Lucky, Lucky, Lucky!

So, what's it really like?


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Some may argue, and successfully, that I can't possibly knowenough about Australia yet to answer that question. But few can

disagree that I am not well placed to compare Australia with theUK. Cmon almost half a century! I am very familiar with England.

But in Australia, I am undoubtedly still in the honeymoon period.That's why I have decided to call this the first edition. If, or whenmy opinions change, so will this e-book. That way I hope to keepthe information fresh, relevant and completely up-to-date.

Given my age, I am apparently soon to enter The Grumpy Period.My wife tells me I already have, she even bought me a cup to proveit.

But am I grumpy here?

No, well not as grumpy as I was in England. But I am sure, giventime, my grumpiness will increase. Expect later editions to begrumpier. But let's not worry about that now, this is edition one.

They have a TV programme here in Australia, which I have a feelinghas been running for many years. It's called 20 To 1 and is hostedby a rather surreal looking Bert Newton......


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It's a countdown programme, pure and simple. You know the sort ofthing, Most Embarrassing Moments, Great Aussie Songs, BestAustralian Commercials in 8 seasons and around 50 episodesBert's covered it all!

But he hasn't covered 20 Reasons Why YOU Should Move toAustralia. So I will.

Let the countdown begin!


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Number 20: No More Double GlazingSalesmen

Making it into the top 20 by the skin of its teeth, we have "No MoreDouble Glazing Salesman".

This is powerful stuff isn't it? Youve only read one line of the firstreason and still have 19 more reasons to go, yet you are alreadyscrambling to find the application forms. I just need you to slowdown for a moment, so I can explain.

Double glazing in Australia is quite rare, certainly in Queensland,

although I understand some houses do have it installed. There aredouble glazing companies here in Australia. So I suspect there aresome double glazing salesmen. But I have never met one.

Windows in Australia

As a general rule windows are singleglazed, but an essential addition to all

opening windows would be the insectscreens, which are a fixed meshnetting, to prevent mosquitoes, flies,cicadas, cockroaches and all otherairborne enemies from entering yourhome.


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But guess what?

I never met an insect screensalesman either!

Salesmen in Australia

Salesmen, or generally salespeople I should say, are a lot less inyour face here than they are in other countries, particularlyEngland and the United States. I am sure the following would nothave happened in either of those two countries.

When we first arrived here we needed a newkitchen fitted and we found a store over at a retailpark in Jindalee that sold kitchens. It only hadtwo on display. But we were told the salesmancould show us more designs but we would need toleave our name and telephone number so hecould contact us.

So we did just that. Did we ever hear from him?

No!

We went to a store in Rocklea who also had some kitchen cabinetson display and said they could also make replacement doors toorder. Again we needed to leave our name and telephone number.Again nobody called.


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We found a company on the Internet not too far away from us whospecialised in replacement doors direct. We provided them with allof our measurements and they came back with a quote of around$3,000 which they said included rebuilding the drawer unit.

We decided to go ahead and telephoned to place the order. Aboutan hour later somebody called us back and said "sorry, we got ourquote wrong. We haven't included the cost of rebuilding the drawerunit, so it's now $3,700. Is that okay?"

We didn't think so. So we cancelled the order and I kind of expecteda salesperson to call us back at a later point to try and do a deal.

Did anybody ever call us back?

No!

We found someone called Maurice who specialised in replacementkitchen doors and his advert said that he would come around andmeasure up for free. And he did. He was around our house for morethan two hours with his tape measure.

"I'll get back to you with a quote he said. Did he?

No!

We began to realise that things work slightly different down here.Back in England, we would be pestered by salespeople. Here, if you

want something done, you have to pester the salesman. So we did.

We pestered Maurice for his quote until eventually he admitted "Ican't find anyone to cut the doors for your kitchen".

Maurices business card said "we supply and fit replacement kitchendoors". Amazing!


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In the end, I straightened out all the cabinets, replaced all the doorhandles, repaired the drawer unit and resurfaced it all myself. Isaved about $3200 in the process and, if I have to say so myself, itdidn't look too bad.

Estate Agents

We went house hunting for a brief period, just to see what else wasavailable on the market. We viewed houses being sold from aboutfour or five different estate agents and we told each of them wewere considering putting our home on the market.

Did any of them phone us back to ask what we thought of thehouses they had shown us, or if we wanted to put ours on themarket?

Just one of them did, we've heard nothing from any of the others.

What's This? A Door to Door Salesman?

More popular than double glazing is solar heating.

About a month ago, a guy holding a clipboard walked up our drive. Ihappened to be in the garage at the time so I went out to greethim. "Hey, how are you doing?" I asked. We don't get manyvisitors.

"I am from a company called Smart on Top and we sell solar powersystems" he said.

Well, I was a little taken aback. This was the first ever door to doorsalesman I had seen in Australia. He quickly told me that thegovernment were offering a grant to anyone who installed solarpower. The normal cost of installation is $11,000. But if I signed upfor the work with his company, they would arrange the rebate

directly with the government. The rebate is 80%.


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Only when the rebate was secured wouldthis company ask me for the balance,which would be $2200. They would then fitthe solar panels and I would save, notshould save, not possibly save, butWOULD save 675kw per quarter, which is$200. He then asked if I was interested.

Yeah, sure I was! I already have solar panels that provide all of myhot water, and it works great.

I expressed a good deal of interest but as I was in the middle ofdoing something, I asked him if he had any brochures. "I will emailyou the information" he said. Sure enough, he did the very nextday.

Have I ever heard from him since?

No!

Telephone Sales

What you will get are lots of telephone calls from canvassers, butyou will see it coming a mile off. Youll pick up the phone and say"hello" and there will be a long silence followed by a clunk before

someone says "hello, how are you today?" Followed by .

"Can I speak to the owner"?

Originally, my response would be to ask exactly what the call wasabout but that seemed to just make them repeat "hello, how areyou today?"

Again I would ask what the call is about.


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"Hello, I am calling from mumble mumble how are you?

Me: "Calling from where?"

"Hello, I am calling from incomprehensible mumble again how areyou?

Me: Look, can you just tell me exactly what you want?

"Yes, hello, how are you today?"

Me: "please just tell me what you want"

"Yes, how are you today?"

----------------------------------------------

It's all very frustrating and can only end by putting the phone down.These telephone sales people never actually get to the point. I thinkthey are trained to establish a relationship first. The calls areobviously coming from offshore call centres, hence the clunkingnoise before the connection. Having witnessed the skills ofAustralian salespeople firsthand, I can understand why companiestry to employ foreigners to do the sales job for them. But it doesn'twork.

The good news is you can register your telephone number here, atdonotcall to get these calls stopped. Believe me, you will want to dothat.


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Bobs Oz Tips:

Don't buy a house near the main road, it's not much fun whenyou leave windows open.

Australia is a land of opportunity, especially if you can sell.

Get your phone number registered with do not call.


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Number 19: Hot Holiday DestinationsWithout Grabbing Your Passport

Everybody enjoys a good holiday every now and again. When I livedin the UK I did travel quite extensively around Europe. As much as Ilove Australia, Europe is surely the world's most diverse continent.So I wanted to see as much of it as I could.

But the one downside of every holiday was that it began and endedwith the sometimes lengthy process of getting through border

control and, more often than not, boarding an aeroplane.

With that, of course, would come with the almost obligatory delays,threats of strikes, the usual baggage reclamation nightmares and allthe stresses associated with that.

Whilst you won't want to holiday in Australia for the rest of your lifeif you come here to live, you won't be able to resist it for the first

few years. For how many years that will last, I don't yet know. But Ido know we have plenty to see here.

Do you know how much fun it is to just load upthe car, jump in the driver's seat and hit theopen road? No passports to grab, no tickets tocheck, no foreign currency to exchange, noqueuing at airports, no interrogation byCustoms and no delays.


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No, your holiday starts the second you start your car. No worriesabout whether you'll get to the airport on time, not running out ofpetrol is about as stressful as it gets.

We discovered the joys of this kind of holiday on our first everAustralian road tripwhich I'm sure many of you have read about onmy blog. We covered 4774 km but we have a lot more yet to do tocover this great country.

It's difficult to know how long it would take to run out of ideas. Ifyou visit the Australian Traveller website and take a look at their listof the top 100 townsor their100 things to do in Australia before

you die, that will probably keep you going for many years.

Or simply click on their destinations tab on the menu and check outtheir top recommendations countrywide or by searching each stateseparately.

I do love road trips but depending on where in Australia you liveand where you want to go, sometimes it does make sense to catch

an airplane.

I am in Brisbane, so if I want to see Perth, unless I have a couple ofmonths to spare, I'm going to need to get on a plane. But catchinga plane here is like getting on a bus, just a lot more expensive.

Airport security is still high, but you won't need to arrive two hoursor so before the flight, as you often do with international

departures.

Some Australian holiday destination suggestions are:

The Great Barrier Reef pretty fish and corals.

The Kimberleys stunning scenery, wilderness and gorges.

Broome NorthWest Australia coastal town where bushmeets the sea.

The Great Ocean Road more bush meets the sea plus astunning drive.


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The Whitsundays sailing and access to The Great Barrier

Reef.

The Hunter Valley - wine region and Wollemi National Park

Blue Mountains - glass bottomed sky car and caves.

Phillip Island - Penguin Parade, koalas and surf.

Kangaroo Island - unique wilderness and kangaroos?

Tasmania - just in case you want to be cold again.

This is just a small snapshot of things to do in Australia. I think itmay be a few years yet before I jump on an international flight. Itmay be two or three years before I get a domestic flight.

For our next holiday, I fancy driving north towards Cairns, perhapseven past Cairns and all the way to Cape York. We shall see.

Only when I have exhausted the possibilities that are in Queenslandand New South Wales will I consider getting a domestic flightfurther west.

And if I got on a flight, I might go to

Mount Wellington Hobart


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Perth Western Australia

Adelaide Although I might prefer to drive.


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Darwin sounds nice!

. And wherever this is.


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Bobs Oz Tips:

Rediscover driving holidays, the open roads of Australia reallyare that open.

Plan ahead. There are some fantastic holiday lets available

right there on the beach if you book in advance.

Before you come to Australia, see as much of Europe or

America, depending where you live, as you can before youleave.


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Number 18: Australia Loves Sport.

Australians love their sports and they are passionate about them.For a country with such a small population, they have had someremarkable successes.

That passion for sport seems to be a significant part of Australianculture.

My daughter, who is only five years old, took part in her first sportsday about a month ago. About two weeks before that, she went onher first cross country run.

What struck me about it was how excited she was to take part in

both of these events. She particularly loved the long jump and wasvery proud of what she had done. Pride in sporting performance issomething Australians seem to possess naturally.

Schools in Australia take their sport quite seriously and most of theones I have seen have large attached playing fields to prove it.When I was still going to school in England, (which I assure you wasa very long time ago) part of our school field was sold to propertydevelopers.

I know that trend has continued, but what I don't know is howmany schools in the UK still have significant sports fields attached.Not many, I would guess.

Australia's results in the Olympic Games, for example, prove thatthey can punch way above their weight. Since the Olympics started,Australia has won 131 gold, 137 silver and 167 bronze medals.


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The United Kingdom, with a population three times greater thanthat of Australia, has won 219 gold, 268 silver and 255 bronzemedals. I make that a moral victory to Australia. In terms of worldachievement, I believe Australia is the 13th most successful countryin the Olympics.

The whole Australian way of life seems geared for sport.

When the weekend arrives, for many families it is the cue to attachthe boat to the towbar, put the bikes and the surfboards on the

roof, put the kids in the back and head off to have some fun.

Horse riding is also hugely popular over here and you won't need totravel far to get to the nearest stables. Of course, if you live onacreage, you can build your own stables out the back.

NOT my back garden.

Australia's favourite sports include swimming, tennis, cricket, rugby,Australian rules football, golf, the Grand Prix, (with Australia MarkWebber notching up his first Grand Prix win in Germany in July2009) horse racing, basketball and netball.

Surfing, no not the one you do on the Internet, is also hugelypopular and the Rip Curl Pro held at Bells Beach in Victoria is one ofthe top professional surfing events on the calendar.


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Not the Rip Curl Pro

They have even started to dabble in proper football, the one with around ball, which they unfortunately call soccer.

Since the formation of the Hyundai A-League in 2005, theAustralian national football team has qualified for both the 2006 and2010 World Cups. They catch on fast!

Yes, sport plays a major part in the lives of most Australians. Soforget your WIIs, your DSs, forget Nintendo, forget Play Station,when your kids get here you can introduce them to something

called "the great outdoors" and get them to participate in some realsports.

Australia is Actionland!

But despite all of that, Australia still gets thumped regularly by NewZealand (population 4 million) at Rugby. Cant win em all!

Bobs Oz Tips:

If you're a football nut, like me, you may wantto considergetting into rugby or AFL. Otherwise you won't have much totalk about with the Aussies.

Draw the line at cricket though. Youll want to keep your self-respect.

Brush up on "State of Origin" and "The Bledisloe Cup"


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Number 17: Outdoor Festivals andEntertainment.

Outdoor music festivals aren't anything new. I went to my firstfestival over at Reading way back in 1975. Top of the bill wereWishbone Ash. I remember it rained and I had to take shelter in aHare Krishna tent.

The last festival I went to in England was Glastonbury. We can allremember the scenes of revellers sliding around in the mud can'twe? Fortunately for me I went in 1992 when the weather wasabsolutely stunning. It was about. I cant remember but it washot, sunny with clear blue skies.

Would it surprise you to learn that in Australia they have a lot ofoutdoor festivals and entertainment? And that 90% or more of the

time it's hot and sunny with clear blues skies.

Outdoor Cinema

The first time I noticed this was with Tropfest, which I bloggedabout at the time. Basically it is a short film festival which issimultaneously broadcast at seven outdoor cinemas throughoutAustralia.

It turns out that outdoor cinemas are quite big here in Australia.

The biggest ones are at Sydney where they have them at BondiBeach, Centennial Park, the Botanic Gardens with stunning viewsoverlooking the harbour and over at Sydney Olympic Park.

In Melbourne they have the Rooftop Cinema on top of Curtin House,another at St Kilda and they also have one in the Botanical


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Gardens. Brisbane has a couple and there's one in Adelaide andanother one in Darwin.

Music Festivals

I knew music festivals were really big here and I also knew musicfeatured quite prominently at most outdoor events. Greenfest wasall about saving the planet but they still had room for three musicstages.

One of the stages at Greenfest

Here are just a few major festivals that take place in and aroundBrisbane.

Buddha Birthday Festival - South Bank Parklands, it hasperformers, fun for kids, workshops and riverfront fireworks.

Noosa Long Weekend Festival this 10 day festival has liveperformances, food from Noosa's local restaurants, music,dance and film.

Queensland Music Festival a celebration of world music, thisis Australia's largest biennial music festival.


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Valley Fiesta is Brisbane's biggest street party and is a

showcase for musical acts both local and national.

Woodford Folk Festival - is the biggest folk festival inAustralia. More than 2000 performers and 400 events over sixdays. Don't forget to your tent.

Smaller festivals from this year include

Soundwave 09 - about 40 different bands including Nine Inch Nails,Alice in Chains, Bloodhound Gang and more.

V festival 09 - featuring Killers, Snow Patrol, Kaiser Chiefs, and alsoincluding, would you believe, Madness and The Human League.

Future Music Festival with Basement Jaxx, Paul Oakenfold andRichie Hawtin as well as Grand Master Flash.

And that's just a very small sample. On top of that there are a huge

number of venues to go and see live bands in and around BrisbaneCity.

Now take that national. Check this out iflive music is your thing.There is a list of I believe almost 100 different venues of live musicevents taking part across Australia on a regular basis. And I'm surethey still don't have it all covered.

If you love festivals but hate sliding around in the mud or standingin the rain, then Australia is the place for you.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Forget what many years of programming tell you aboutoutdoor festivals, here in Australia they are fun.

Look in your local free paper (you will get one) for news oflocal outdoor festivals.

Ignore the two previous tips if you're thinking of moving toTasmania. (Brrrrr).


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Number 16: The Health Service, Hospitals andParking. Parking?

I nearly dropped this entry and replaced it with something else.You'll see why as you read it.

So, who has the best health service? Is it Australia or is it the UK? Irealised to answer that question would take the wisdom of a"Kinsey" or the authority of a "Lord Stevens" to write a full report,and not the dabblings of a BobinOz.

But dabble I will.

First, my experience of the health service in the UK.

I had the same doctor for probably 25 years and never really had aproblem with him. When I went, waiting time could vary between15 minutes and an hour and a half. But when I did get to see him,he was usually very fast to make his "diagnosis", write out aprescription and say "next!"

As for accident and emergency, somewhere I used to go on a moreregular basis than I would have wished thanks to participating infive aside football twice a week, it's difficult to find anything positiveto say about it.

I once went there at about 8:30 p.m. on a Sunday with a suspected(confirmed) broken leg and got home at ten to six in the followingmorning. I don't think I ever got in and out of A & E in under fourhours.


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I once had an operation on my knee to repair my cruciate ligamentand, not having private medical insurance I waited 13 months forthe operation. Again, that's too long to wait.

I also had a fair bit of experience of being referred to "specialistson account of strange goings on with my sense of smell. Or rather,the lack of it. I found that system excruciatingly slow too.

My doctor would write a letter to the specialist and a couple ofmonths later I'd get one back telling me that my appointment hadbeen set for another four to 10 months in the future.

If that specialist then thought I should see a different specialist,they would write back to my doctor and recommend that he writesto the new specialists and there goes another six months.

Now my experiences in Australia.

Waiting times to see my local doctor seem much shorter and when I

do see him, he has more time to chat. The visit itself is far moresociable.

Whilst my English doctor seemed to have a system of OneAppointment = One Medical Problem my Australian doctor seemsto be keen to see if there is anything else he can help me withwhilst I am there.

I no longer play five aside football here in Australia, so fortunately Ihave not yet experienced an accident and emergency ward. But it isslightly different here in so much as they also have emergencydoctor surgeries open from 7am to 11pm as well as hospitals withemergency departments.


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So if you come out in a rash on a Sunday morning, for example,

then the emergency doctor will probably be able to help you. Youwill need to pay, but if you are entitled, you'll get a rebate.

If you break a leg, then you will need to go to the hospital'semergency ward. But here they still talk in terms of waiting three orfour hours. I used to dream of such short waits in England.

They also deal with the "referred to a specialist" scenario differently

here. I've been suffering from dry cracked skin on my hands sincearriving here in Australia, it never happened in England. But thenEngland is not an overly dry place.

Anyway, my doctor prescribed me some medication but at the sametime said he would write out a letter of referral for a specialist. Hetold me this referral letter would be ready the next day forcollection but in the meantime I should call the specialist to makemy appointment.

As he said "it may take a month before you get to see him, bywhich time my medication may have worked. If it does, just cancelyour appointment with the specialist. But if it doesn't, you don'twant to be wasting time waiting."

Now that's different!


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Many people inAustralia haveprivate healthinsurance. A friendof mine put acircular saw throughhis hand a whileback but receivedexcellent healthcarethanks to his $200 a

month contributionto private healthinsurance, whichcovers his family offive.

But he tells me that if he hadn't got the insurance, he would havestill been fixed up. It would have just taken longer.

So which health service is better? I don't know, ask "Kinsey" or"Lord Stevens" for a proper answer but BobinOz says there'snothing much wrong with the health service here.

But my best guess is, if you don't have private health insurance youwill still get treatment. And it might just possibly be quicker thanthe treatment you'd get in the UK under the National HealthService.

Ill leave the last word on that to these statistics: Australians arenow the second longest living people on earth. A baby born inAustralia today can expect to live to 81.4 years of age. Thats 79 forboys and 84 for girls. If you want to live longer, go to Japan.


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Parking

When I considered ditching the health service entry, this was what Iwas going to replace it with. But I decided to talk about the healthservice all the same and keep parking in too. So here we have it, in

joint place at the 16th.

This is something that BobinOz can answer. Parking is definitely

cheaper here and much easier. In fact, parking is pretty much freeeverywhere except the major city centres and outside McDonald's atSurfers Paradise.

The parking report: Australia versus the UK by BobinOz. Australiawins!

There, I have found my level.

Bobs Oz Tips:

If you move here to Australia and want private health

insurance, sign up within 12 months of arrival. You will get abetter rate for doing that: Otherwise your premium is loadedby a percentage for every year you are above 30.

Include dentistry too, because youll be smiling more outhere.

Throw your parking meter key ring timer in the bin.


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Number 15: Swimming Pools That Are FUN ToSwim In.

When I was a young child I went to school in Southend on Sea.There was a little Infants/Junior School in the Southchurch area thatI attended until aged 11. Lucky me! It had a swimming pool.

I can't remember my teachers name, I can't remember any of myfriends names, I can't remember which class I was in, I can'tremember the colour of our school uniform and I can't rememberwhat my classroom looked like.

But I can remember that bloody swimming pool!

I can remember it was an above the ground pool, I can remember it

was situated in the far back left corner of the playing grounds, I canremember that the walls were painted light blue and the steps wereon the right-hand side of its rectangular shape.

But more than anything, I can remember it was freezing! Outdoorswimming pools and England don't really mix. But an outdoorswimming pool in Australia, now that's fun!

Here, swimming pools couldn't be more different. Here, you jumpinto a swimming pool to cool down, not to make your lips turn blue.


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Boxing Day 2005

This was our third holiday to Australia and we were round mybrother-in-laws house

November 2007

Fact: on Monday 12thNovember at 10 o'clock in theevening we got on a flight fromHeathrow bound for Brisbane,via Singapore.

Fact: around 26 hours later, at

9 a.m. on the morning ofWednesday the 14th ofNovember (Australian time) wearrived at my brother in law'snew house, which also had apool.

Fact: at around 10 o'clock in the morning, after my three-year-olddaughter had flown over 11,000 miles, the lure of the pool becametoo much for her and she went in for a swim with her cousins...

err, and a couple of chocolate Labs!


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Our New House.

Just a few days later we were christening our new swimming pool

And in less than four months of living in Australia, my daughter,Elizabeth, could swim without armbands for the first time.

Yes, swimming pools work well in Australia.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Swimming pools are not that expensive to run.

But swimming pool parts are hugely expensive.

Doing regular pool maintenance will help avoid thoseexpensive breakdowns.


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Number 14: Childrens Play Areas and DogParks

Children's play areas are everywhere. Let me just illustrate that byshowing you all the children's play areas close to where I live.

Here is one that is over the road, just a few minutes walk:

Here's one that is just around the corner, about five minutes walk.


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Here's one that's at the top of our hill, which is about seven or eightminutes walk.

And heres the one where my wife will take our daughter along withour dog, Baggy.


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Its got the Brisbane River behind it, which we now call..

The Chocolate River


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They come to this park because it is a lovely children's park. It's gota flying fox, swings, slides, a sand pit and some climbing frames.Children have birthday parties here on a regular basis. There arebarbecue facilities, free of course, the river in the background and.

The Dog Park.

Dog Parks are an absolutely fantastic idea. Not just for the dogs,but for the children too. Here's why. A Dog Park is the only place adog is allowed to run around off the leash.

So we have parks for children and we have parks for dogs. Thatmeans it is illegal for a dog to run around off the lead in a children'spark. How wonderful is that?

Back where I used to live in England, a park was a park. Childrenplayed and dogs walked, very often off the leash.

If you've ever been in a park like that with a young child, and seen

a Rottweiler charging towards him or her whilst the dogs owner isattempting to call it back, you'll appreciate just how good this is.And Dog Parks are excellent for the dogs too. Because instead ofhaving a couple of dogs walking in any one of the 10 surroundingparks, you all get 20 dogs all turning up at the same park.

Do you have any idea how exciting this is for a dog? Instead of justone other bottom to smell, your dog now has a choice of 19 otherbottoms. This is dog Heaven!

I'm not sure about every Dog Park, but our one has a communitynoticeboard and every now and again they put on an event for thedogs. Last year, the dogs had a Christmas party! Each dog ownerhad to bring a doggy present, wrapped of course, and put it in thelucky dip box.


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The Dogs Christmas Dinner and Sniff.

Of course Baggy went, he got a squeaky rag doll, and he still plays

with it now.


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Another park at Cleveland

This park got into a fight with a tree!


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Bobs Oz Tips:

Kids love birthday parties in the park, and so do adults. Thehouse doesn't get wrecked!

Unlike in the UK, teenagers here have not yet started drinking

booze in the parks and smashing bottles.

If you are a dog owner and you like to let your dog cr*p

anywhere, Australia is not for you. Try France!


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Number 13: Forget Pubs; Barbecues Are In!

It took me a while to get into this one.

When I lived in England, going to the pub was quite simply part ofthe tradition. Nobody in the world does pubs better than the UK.

On the other hand, Australia are pretty bad at the whole pub thing.There is no such thing as a traditional Australian pub. Well, if thereis, it's like a Beefeater pub or a JD Wetherspoon's pub. Exceptinstead of the teak or oak tables with solid wooden chairs, you cansubstitute the kind of table and chairs you used to sit on when youate your school dinners.

Yes, most Australian pubs are that bad.

I am probably not being fair here, because I get the impression thepubs in the Brisbane suburbs do not accurately reflect the averageAustralian pub countrywide. Brisbane is comparatively newcompared to the other cities. The pubs I saw in Melbourne weremuch better.

We mustn't forget also that Australia is much more than five or sixcities. There are thousands of small communities with populationsof between 500 and a few thousand people, and central to most ofthose communities is the pub.

If you really want to make the pub a central part of your life, I'd goand live in one of those rural locations.

But let's face it, pubs in England aren't what they used to be,thanks largely to see the big pub chains who are taking over the


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industry. The traditional English pub is now a dying breed.

Enter the Australian barbecue.

Barbecues for breakfast.


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Barbecues for lunch

Barbecues on the beach


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Barbecues in the park..

And barbecues in the mountains.


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With a mountain view.

Of the city.

Even though it was a grey day, we still had a good barbie!


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I no longer miss pubs because we seem to be going to a partyabout every three or four weeks. It's what people do when therearen't pubs to go to, and it is much more fun.

And if ever I do find myself pining for the pub environment again,there is always the local Sports and Recreational Centre.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Buy a great big gas barbecue, charcoal is fun, but notpractical.

If you really think you cant live without a pub, choose your

house based on it being near one. But check the pub out first! Prepare to take your turn hosting some parties.


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Number 12: Australia is a Land of Opportunity

This is quite a difficult one for me to substantiate. But of course, Iwill try.

It seems to me that Australia rode through this worldwide recessionbetter than most countries. The Australian recession was a bit likethe Australian winter. It came and then whoosh! It was gone again,all in a flash.

As I write this, unemployment in Britain stands at 7.8%, havingrisen by another 220,000 in the quarter up to the end of June 2009.The "official" figures for unemployment say 2.435 million people areout of work.

Here in Australia, unemployment stands at 5.8% as at July 2009.Official figures here talk in terms of numbers of people employed,(currently 10.8 million) rather than the number of people out ofwork. But if my maths is correct, Australia currently has around650,000 people unemployed.

One of the unusual things about Australia is that there is no cheap

labour. Britain has cheap labour from Eastern Europe and Americahas its own back garden, with cheap labour coming predominantlyfrom Mexico.

Australia just doesn't have an equivalent. I don't want to getpolitical here, but I'm just trying to underline the situation.


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Australia Has Resources.

Australia has bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium,nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gasand petroleum.

I was having dinner once with an older (and wiser) Australian blokea while back and he said ..

"Yes, Australia has lots of resources, but do you know the oneresource they don't have enough of?"

Putting on my most serious intellectual face I replied

"I dunno.

People he said.

Just to underline all of this, here are some of my experiences sincearriving in Australia.

Gardeners (not landscapers or designers) charging a

minimum of $40 an hour.

It took us eight months to get somebody round to fix ourexterior blinds.

As already mentioned, we couldn't get anybody to supply and

fit replacement kitchen doors. We couldn't find a plasterer to do any work at all.

Salesmen do not sell. (See Number 20 above).

Five months to get someone to fix an exterior roof supportingpost.

A swimming pool company refused a $10,000 renovation jobbecause they were too busy.

Eight phone calls to get somebody to come and look at ourair-conditioning.


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That's all just off the top of my head. I know there are moreexamples.

None of these people are lazy, they just all have more work thanthey can handle. So they just pick and choose their jobs.

Add to that the Australian tradesman's (tradies) penchant for notturning up and you can see what it's like trying to get things donearound here. When I first arrived and I was looking through theclassified ads for people to do some of the work I needed, the salesslogan of many of the adverts was .

"We really do turn up!"

I asked one of the locals here why so many adverts include thatsentence. And the answer was simple. Because so many tradiesreally don't turn up.

So if you don't mind working and you do turn up and especially if

you have a skill, Australia really is a land of opportunity.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Turn up and youd already have the edge on the averageAussie tradie.

Follow up and youd already be ahead of the average Aussiesalesman.

Get ready to do some DIY.


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Number 11: Clothing One Minute and YoureDressed

Getting dressed in Australia is an extraordinary quick affair. Here'show it works for me.

1. Put on pants.

2. Put on shorts.3. Put on T-shirt.

And Im done!

If I'm going out, I will need to find my crocs.

Mind you, I am a bloke. The fairer sex may need to extend mythree step dressing process to a fourth or fifth step.

Where I live, in Brisbane, even in winter my dress doesn't changethat much. Shorts are always still worn during the day but the onlydifference with winter (all four weeks of it) is I might put on some

jog bottoms in the evenings when the temperature drops a bit.

When it gets really cold, I will grab a sweat top.

And it's not just me, take a look at some of these pictures taken ofcomplete strangers, slap bang in the middle of winter. 12th ofAugust 2009 to be precise


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So those were from winter, but this next photograph was takenduring the summer, back in February.


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You see, hardly any difference.

Dress Code: Australian Style.

My 3 steps to getting dressed may be a little tongue in cheek butthe reality is Australia has one of the most relaxed dress codes Ithink I have ever come across.

A suit and tie is a real rarity out here. I have seen them, but I amhard pressed to think where. I haven't seen them much in thebusiness world, that's for sure. Chinos and a short-sleeved shirt

being more common there.

One of the beauties of living in Australia is that you can go to arelatively posh restaurant dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and lookno more out of place than a guy wearing a tie and shirt. You willalso be accepted equally, irrespective of what you wear.

There are exceptions though and some places put up a dress code.

I've seen it in a few places and it normally goes like this.

Dress Code

Tops must be worn at all times.

No thongs allowed!

Let me explain all that to you. You can't enter without some kind ofvest or T-shirt. And thongs, out here, are flip-flops. So, put a top onand don't wear flip-flops. And you're in!

Thats it! How hard can that be?


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I just remembered the last time I saw somebody wearing a suit andtie.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Leave your heavy duty coats at the charity shop if you'removing to Australia.

Leave your not so heavy duty coats at the charity shop ifyou're moving to Brisbane.

Bring your suits and ties if you fancy doing a Charlie Chaplin

impersonation in the city.


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Number 10: The Diversity of Wildlife andPlant Life.

I have talked about the diversity of Australian wildlife a great dealover at my blog, primarily in the category "Australia's Bad Things".

Taipan: RUN!

So there is little need to repeat myself here about the snakes,spiders, sharks, crocodiles, kangaroos, geckoes, bees, prayingmantis, cockroaches, lizards, frogs, ants, wasps, flies, moths,kookaburras, possums, cicadas, cane toads, giant beetles, mozzies,midges and parrots.

Or the stonefish, cone snails, platypuses, echidnas, WHOA!!! Stop itwill you! We get it.

I know a lot of people are concerned, no, very worried, about whatthey might bump into here in Australia. But again, please don't


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worry. I have explained this many times on my blog, you may aswell worry all day about being struck by lightning.

Instead, embrace the beauty of the wildlife here in Australia.

One of the first books I bought when we arrived here in Australia iscalled "Wildlife of Greater Brisbane". It's published by theQueensland Museum. I hope they don't mind me quoting an extractfrom the back cover.

Residents of the Greater Brisbane Region are privileged to live in

one of the richest natural environments in Australia. From highmountain rainforest to the barest cityscape, the region is home toan astonishing variety of wild creatures, large and small, seen andunseen.

Worms, snails, spiders, insects, fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, birdsand mammals, many of them rare or endangered, survivedalongside the region's 2.8 million human inhabitants, sharing theirhomes, backyards, parks and bushland. Whether biting ants,

brilliantly coloured birds, or tiny marsupial mice, our native animalsare impossible to avoid.

And The Plant Life.

Im no Percy Thrower, (he was a famous gardener in the UK from azillion years ago), but even I appreciate some of the plants outhere.

It's difficult not to, everything is so lush and so green for much ofthe time and then becomes so brown and so dry for the rest of it.It's fascinating.

We inherited a garden that was reminiscent of a small jungle. Justtake a look at a few of these plants..


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We also get triffids but they were out of season at the time of writing.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Respect the wildlife but don't be fearful of it.

Learn as much as you can about our creatures so that you knowwhether to say "Ah, that's cute" or to say "Aaargh! and run likeBillyo.

The same with our plant life, some of it is poisonous. Brush up

on the baddies and wear gloves when gardening.


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Number 9: Driving - Less Traffic, Less RoadRage and Cheaper Petrol

I was astonished whilst watching "20 To 1, the TV programmementioned in the foreword, when in at number 17 or 16 in anedition called "Madness and Meltdowns" was road rage.

Road rage? Here in Australia? They have no idea!

The worst I have ever seen, and I have been looking out for it, is awaived fist or a raised middle finger. About three times I have heardsomebody honk their horn, but I've never really seen who honkedor why they honked or who they honked at.

Back in the UK, it was much easier to trace the source of thehonking. Just look for the red-faced driver whose temple was aboutto explode, he'd be the one driving the car with plumes of tyresmoke behind him.

If you're still having difficulty tracking him down, just look in thedirection from where the noisy wheel screeching is almost, but notquite, drowning the sound of foul language which is filling the air.

A Road Rage Opportunity Missed.

When we went to Mooloolaba, there was free parking on the beachin a prime location. So, just like in a car park in England (evenpaying car parks) if someone was about to leave, another car would

just stop behind, and wait to fill the soon to be vacant space.


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It was my friend, Lisa, who was preparing to reverse out of thisparking space. But with three kids to pack into the car it took hersome time. She didn't rush herself either, she seemed oblivious tothe fact that a car had stopped behind and was waiting for herparking space.

And behind that car was slowly building up a long line of cars. Iwatched this situation with some fascination. Lisa took fully fiveminutes, possibly more, before she finally got in the car and fired itup. By this time the line of cars behind her was about 30 to 40 long.

Not one of those cars honked their horn. Not one!

And Australia has a road rage problem?

Open Roads.

To Australians, a traffic hotspot is anywhere where you have to slowdown because there are other cars about. Anything that takes morethan 10 to 15 minutes to get through is a traffic jam.

But from what I can see, these kinds of situation are pretty muchrestricted to the major cities and their immediate surroundingsduring rush hour only.

So here is the major difference. In England expect traffic jams onthe M1, the M25, M6, M5, M3, M anything. Expect traffic if you'redriving from Chelmsford to Southend. Expect traffic if you're driving

from Liverpool to Manchester. Expect traffic if you're driving fromSunderland to Newcastle. Expect traffic.

I have watched the sunset from the M25.

Here in Australia you may find traffic if you are in Sydney, Brisbane,Melbourne, Adelaide (possibly), Perth or Canberra. Other than that,the roads are clear.


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Part of the fun of road rage is that you need a really bad traffic jamwith very long delays to wind you up first. You just can't beat sittingnose to tail for more than an hour in cold, rainy and grey conditionsto put you into the perfect mood for punching somebody's lightsout.

Somehow, driving along an open road, with no traffic, brilliant blueskies and beautiful scenic surrounds just doesn't create the samefeelings of aggression.


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And the petrol is cheaper! What more could you ask for?


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After driving in England for 32 years, driving here in Australia is asheer delight. I love it!

Any Australian reading this will be wondering what cave I live in tothink there is no road rage and no traffic jams in Australia. But Isuppose everything is relative. I'm sure there is more traffic andtrouble on Australian roads today than there was say, 10 years ago.

So compared with how it used to be, perhaps traffic is "bad". But I'dsay you don't know when you have it so good.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Leave your road rage, if you have it, back in England, youwont be needing it here.

Prepare for a major change in the way you feel about driving.

Try not to laugh when Australians complain about traffic.


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Number 8: Schools

They still have "assembly" - they call them parades.

They sing the Australian national anthem.

They instil pride in Australia.

They nurture a passion for sport.

They all seemed to have large playing field attached.

They all look pretty good too.

In the picture of the school above, you can just about make out theschool building, top left. Behind the tennis courts are the largegreen playing fields. This school is 20 minutes from the city centre.


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Playing fields, some climbing frames at the back and the school to the left.

Most of the schools I know of in England are chaos at around 8.45in the morning with cars all over the place, struggling to findsomewhere to drop off their young children.

That same chaos is repeated at around 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

That sort of chaos doesn't happen here. Most of the schools haveplenty of room around them and those that don't have large carparks in their own grounds.

But again, as with traffic jams, schools in the centre of cities maybe different.

Schools are also far more communal here, in as much as they areoften asking for volunteers to help around the school. Parents arealso encouraged to sit in the classroom for an afternoon and help

out.


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They don't have school dinners like they do in the UK, but someschools do run a canteen known as a "tuck shop". Again, these tuckshops are run by volunteers.

Bullying.

Bullying does happen in schools and often if it does, the local policeare called in to lecture the guilty child. In fact, such an incident hitthe national news the other week.

The incident was described like this "An older girl bullied aclassmate in the toilets, while the younger girl took photos on amobile phone.

The State School Teachers Union's David Kelly said bullying shouldnot be taken lightly.

"When the police get involved it sends home a message to all

concerned that it is indeed serious,"he said.

WOW!

Imagine that in the UK.

"Good afternoon Hackney police station, how can I help you?"

"Ah yes, good afternoon. It's the school here, there's been somebullying in the toilets, we'd like you to come down and talk to oneof the older girls. Oh, and bring The Sun with you, this is a bigstory, I'm sure they'll be interested in the scoop ".


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Brisbane Boys College

Bobs Oz Tips:

Get involved, volunteer, be part of your child's school.

Get good at making packed lunches.

It is mandatory to pack sunscreen and a hat for your child.

The motto is no hat no play!


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Number 7: Australia Its The GreatOutdoors.

Somebody, somewhere along the line, called Australia "The GreatOutdoors" - and it is.

I have given Australia Its The Great Outdoors its own position

here at number seven in my countdown, simply because it deservesa mention all on its own. It is so influential in how much I loveAustralia.

But if you look at all the entries so far, and you will also see inentries yet to come, there is a theme of outdoor life in almost all ofthem.

Number 19: Hot Holiday Destinations Without Grabbing YourPassport - all the suggested holiday destinations are of greatoutdoor places.

Number 18: Australia Loves Sport. - All of the sports I talkabout are outdoor sports.

Number 17: Outdoor Festivals and Entertainment - speaks foritself.

Number 15: Swimming Pools That Are FUN To Swim In - I amtalking about outdoor swimming pools.

Number 14: Childrens Play Areas and Dog Parks - all are

outdoors, of course. Number 13: Forget Pubs, Barbecues Are In! - Barbecues may

be "in" but they sure take place outdoors.

Number 10: The Diversity of Wildlife and Plant Life - thatwould be outdoor wildlife and plant life, unless somethingcreeps in to your house!

Number 9: Driving - Less Traffic, Less Road Rage andCheaper Petrol - more great outdoors.

But everywhere has an outdoor life. Back in England there was anoutdoors too! But here is the big difference.


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The outdoors of England would more often than not be either cold,wet, windy or grey. More often than not, for the people who do notknow England, means around 75% of the time. (Source: I'mguessing!) England does have a summer, they had one in 1976. Butsince then, the summers have tended to be more like brief sunnyspells.

You have heard of "Seasonal Affective Disorder" or S.A.D. haven'tyou? Well not many people have around these parts. Because outhere, every day seems to be hot, sunny with clear blue skies.

Gloriously clear blue skies. Like this.


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And because it is so hilly around here, you will often find yourselfdriving past stunning views like this.

It's really hard to wake up feeling miserable here in Australia,thanks to the great outdoors.

Bobs Oz Tips:

Buy a house with a good outdoor eating area.

Buy a hat that you really like. If you enjoy being miserable, youll need to raise your game

to keep it up out here.


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Number 6: Australia versus England onCrime.

Crime is everywhere. So are statistics for crimes. Here are somethat I found..

There were 664 killings and 575 attempted killings in the UKin the year 2008/09.

There were 266 killings and 241 attempted killings in Australiain the year 2006/07.

There were 277 fatal stabbings in the UK in 2008/09.

There were 90 fatal stabbings in Australia in 2006/07.

There were 284,000 domestic burglaries in the UK in

2008/09.

There were 74,200 domestic burglaries in Australia in

2006/07.

Not much in it, is there?

But the statistics get a lot worse for Australia whenyou take a look at the figures for rape.

According to the figures I've looked at, 12,165people were raped in the UK in 2008/09. InAustralia I believe the figure is somewhere in theregion of 16,000, although I don't have the exactnumbers.


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But in a world league table showing rapes per capita for 65 differentnations, Australia comes third (UK 13th), only South Africa and theSeychelles are worse.

According to the same source, Australia is the world leader when itcomes to stolen cars per capita. The UK comes third.

That source also has a category called total crime victims, here'swhat they say about that category.

DEFINITION: People victimized by crime (as a % of the total population).

Data refer to people victimized by one or more of 11 crimes recorded inthe survey: robbery, burglary, attempted burglary, car theft, carvandalism, bicycle theft, sexual assault, theft from car, theft of personal

property, assault and threats. Crime statistics are often better indicatorsof prevalence of law enforcement and willingness to report crime, thanactual prevalence.

SOURCE: UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and JusticeResearch Institute). 2002. Correspondence on data on crimevictims. March. Turin

So who tops that chart? Here's the one two three..

# 1 Australia: 30.1%# 2 New Zealand: 29.4%# 3 United Kingdom: 26.4%

Source: www.nationmaster.com/

I have no idea who United Nations Interregional Crime and JusticeResearch Institute are but I'm sure the figures are reasonablyaccurate, albeit based on old data from 2002.

So now it no longer looks like there's "not much in it" and more likeAustralia has a worse crime rate than England. So why do I have it

in here as reason number six?


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Because (drum roll) it feels safer!

I am aware how pathetic that sounds so I suspect I need to explainit a little better.

First off, I've never been a great fan of statistics and crime statisticsare probably more dodgy than most. If I want to collect statistics onrainfall, I stick a bucket out into the open and I buy myself a ruler.What can possibly go wrong?

If I am collecting statistics on crime, then firstly that crime has to

be reported and secondly whoever it was reported to has torecord it.

As one New Zealander commented about the table which revealedhis country second highest in the "total crime victims" list

I am in New Zealand and while we don't consider crime to be a big issue the low

crime rate means the police spend more time looking for it. You are far more likely

here to be brought before a court for a minor issue than in say UK (where I am alsofamiliar) where you will just be let off with a warning. I also know that a minor

assault in UK is not a 'recordable' offence whereas in NZ it is.

Fair point I say.

Secondly, it's easy for me to say "it feels safer", but what do othersthink? What better place to go to find out than at a forum full of

people who used to live in the UK and now live in Australia.

I found comments from:

A woman who was a police officer in Birmingham for eight years when she lived in

the UK, she said that she found Australia to have less crime than the UK and that shefelt safer here.

Another woman who acknowledged that Australia wasn't crime free but said that she

felt much safer here than in the UK. She was happy to walk her dog in the dark herebecause she would meet people happy to say hello, instead of yobs getting drunk.


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A man who said he had never felt unsafe here in Australia. He also pointed out that

the distance between pubs and houses meant you didn't see drunken louts walking

home, unless you lived right in the city or inner suburbs.

And probably most interesting of all was a comment from a woman who asked her14-year-old daughter what she liked best about living in Australia. On the very top of

this girls list of things was "I feel safe here going out". And these people didn't live in

a "bad" area in England before they moved to Australia.

So it's not just me, other people feel safer here too. Including the14-year-old girl of that last quote - and it is her statement that Ithink is the most encouraging in regards to the state of law and

order in Australia.

There is a culture of teenagers hanging around outside of shops inthe UK which hasnt yet taken a grip here. And I don't think it willever take a grip. Housing is so much more spread out here, peopledo not live on top of each other. So you can't just walk for three orfour minutes and join up with the rest of the gang.

And if you could, it probably wouldn't be much fun. There wouldn'tbe enough passing foot traffic to have fun with. Because mostpeople would drive to the shops on account that they'd probably liveat least a couple of clicks away. (Thats Aussie speak for 2kilometres).

You may think a 50 year old man like myself clearly doesn't get intothe kind of areas where trouble is likely to happen. So what do Iknow? Well, I have been to the city many times to uphold that greatBritish tradition of going on a pub crawl.

I've been in the bars until 3 am in the morning; I've got the last bushome at 12:15 am with all the other drunks; I've eaten kebabs inthe streets at 2 am; I've watched the FA Cup final live in the earlyhours with 600 other chanting football fans; but I have still neverseen a hint of trouble.

But thats not to say that there isnt trouble, because in certain

notorious hotspots, there certainly is. For example, on the GoldCoast, at Surfers Paradise, you won't want to be mixing it with the


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kids on the beach, or around the mall after midnight on a Friday orSaturday night guzzling down the alcopops.

Similar trouble spots are at Melbourne, mainly around the centralbusiness district and in Sydney you would probably want to avoid afew areas including King's Cross and the back of Surrey Hills late atnight. Brisbane's Fortitude Valley can turn a bit ugly at times, ascan Canberras Civic, Perths Vincent St and Adelaides Hindley St.

But these are all in major city centres and known for their highconcentration of drinking venues. Kids go there to have fun but endup drinking too much and sometimes it goes pair shaped.

It is everybody's choice to avoid those sorts of areas late at night ifthey wish. I think those choices are reduced in England becausethere are more city centres they seem to be everywhere.

I know this has not been my most convincing chapter. I actuallyconsidered pulling it out, but decided it is too important a subject,

just like the health issue, to skip. So it stayed in and what's more, it

stayed at number six.

Why?

Because just like the others have said above, whatever thestatistics say about Australia and despite those city trouble spots,generally speaking "it feels safer" here.

Bobs Oz Tips:

You can stare at stats all day long about crime in Australia,

but only by living here will you see how much safer it feels.

Avoid those city trouble spots.

Gang culture is not in evidence on the streets.


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Number 5: People per Square Mile.

As we head into the top five, we are entering areas that have beenwell discussed on my blog, for obvious reasons; we are now lookingat the five things I like the most about Australia.

I have certainly mentioned this before, but nonetheless it is at

number five..

Yes, just seven people per square mile.

The benefits of that are endless. We've already mentioned lesstraffic on the roads, parking being easier, but did I tell you the

queues at the Kentucky Fried Chicken are much shorter?

Sometimes you can go to a park and have it all to yourself. When Igo to my local post office, there are never more than two or threepeople in front of me. Same at the bank.

Going to the supermarket in England, for me, used to be a bit of anightmare. Those places would get so crowded. Then, once you

were done with your shopping, it was time to try and "guess" whichof the 16 checkouts had the shortest queue.


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After deciding it was checkout number five, you would make yourway there with great speed only to see two other shoppers appearfrom separate aisles just nanoseconds before you secured your spotat the end of that queue.

So you would choose a different queue, yes the one where the tillroll will run out.

I'm not saying we dont have queues here at the supermarket, butthey are shorter that's for sure.

As I pointed out in my blog post when I talked about the populationof Australia and its size compared with the UK..

The UK (population 60 million) would fit into Australia (population20 million) 31 times.

Nuff said.

Bobs Oz Tips:

None needed here; just enjoy the space.


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Number 4: It's All One Big WraparoundBeach!

I am, of course, aware that the same thing could be said aboutEngland. It is actually a fact that you are never more than 70 milesaway from the beach in England.

But do they look like this.

Or this..


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Or this..


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Australia has 26,735 kms of coastline with 7,000 beaches. If youinclude the coastline of Tasmania and some of the larger islandsthat belong to Australia, it's actually 47,070 kms of coastline.

By my calculations if everybody in Australia all went to the beach onthe same day, it still wouldn't be as crowded as Southend Beachwas when I was a kid.

Southend beach 1964 busy huh?

Without a doubt, Australia is the place to be beside the seaside.


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Bobs Oz Tips:

Beaches are not as commercial here as they are in the UK, so

take an esky (cool box) with some supplies.

If there are lifeguards on the beach, swim between the flags.

You can drive your car on some beaches..


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Number 3: The Price of Houses.

I wrote a post about house prices on my blog and I think it is theonly post I have written that gave me a headache!

Trying to compare house prices between Australia and the UK is noteasy. I got into a right mess trying to prove Australian houses werecheaper. It seemed the more I tried to prove it the deeper the holeI was digging for myself.

What makes it even more tricky is the price differential in the UKbetween some areas, in particular the often talked about at North-South divide.

But here in Australia, in many ways, we have the same thing.Houses up north, where the crocodiles are, are much cheaper.Similarly, houses NOT in one of the six major cities are alsocheaper. If you want to live in a small inland town, expect to pickup a bargain.

So, I decided I didn't want to give myself another headache trying

to compare houses, this time I am going to approach it differently.

Like this.


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Example 1

Detached.

Three bedrooms.

One bathroom.

Garage.

On 1012 square metres of land.

46 km from Brisbane.

Price: $305,000 AUD


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Example 2

Detached.

Four bedrooms.

Three living areas.

Outdoor spa and barbecue area.

No neighbours in sight.

Minutes from M1 and schools.

Beautiful gardens.

Secluded.

On over seven acres of land.

44 km from Brisbane.

Price: $879,000 AUD


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Example 3

Detached.

Five bedrooms.

Two living areas.

Close to shops and beach.

On 556 square metres.

108 km from Canberra.

Price: $290,000 AUD


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The house I used to live in back in the UK can be seen on my blogin another post I did about house prices.

The house I bought here in Australia cost two thirds of the price Isold the one in England for, is on land at leased six times biggerand the house itself is twice as big inside compared to my old one.

There, I will leave it for you to decide, based on where you live, ifhouses are cheaper here or not.

I'm done and no headache this time!

Bobs Oz Tips:

Research house prices for yourself over at thisAustralian Real

Estate portal.

Forget the "south facing garden" syndrome, people here buy

houses based on how shaded the outdoor area is.

If you need help deciding which area to live in, check out

www.BobinOz.com and join the membership area.


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Number 2: The Weather.

This won't take long.

I just love the weather here. The sky (nearly) always looks likethis..


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What Its Really Like To Live In Australia.www.BobinOz.

20 Reasons Why to OZ

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