Your experience of culture shock in Australia

I've had too many awkward moments to mention. I don't think there is anything wrong with this country, but Australia is not for everybody, for sure it's not for me.

I don't drink and I don't watch sports, and the concept of customer service in Australia is different to the other countries I've lived before.

And the best chance to experience australian culture is on the road, sometimes it gets very interesting!

JC

I need to update my profile. I have left Australia permanently. Was time to move on. Go see it, it has some beautiful sights, it is vast and contrasting beauty and colours from north to south , east to west. Not the place to raise children, they wont think for themselves.its too much of a nanny state, cost of living is high, taxes very high, the mighty dollar rules, racism is extremely high, discrimination is high, I did love Australia for many years, but fell out of love with it. There are other places on the globe with more to offer for a balanced lifestyle. Holiday - yes, 1-2 years - yes to get the feel. then decide. Like JC says above, it is not for everyone, and he's right, customer service overall, needs attention. It's the foreigners that keep the workforce alive and in production. Government handouts are high with too many living on handouts - because they can. Drugs & Alcohol crimes are out of control, with no real deterrents. Law is lenient.  Language is foul and youth uncontrollable. Australia lost its direction a good 10-15 years ago, sad but true. It lags the world in infrastructure & outlook. It was great, Now UK is better, Africa is better. Turkey is better.

Oh Bardie. You have lost focus and vision. I am back in S. Africa after six years in the lucky country Australia. My return, thank you Australia for just 4 years to citizenship (unlike the 10 for cold and unpleasant U.K.) Can't come quick enough. You say Africa is better? Wow on what planet are you on? For a tiny country of 13 million voters we lead the world, and that's why we call Australia home. One never hears about crime in S.A because it'd in your face every day. Joburg is a fortress, and Cape Town too will soon be overrun by the athlone gangs
Throw away your homeland jumpers pull on an Afl team and experience being Australian.  A land of opportunity with no beeee prejudices.  Brian of Melbourne

Hi BNP,  - No -  it is your opinion that I have lost focus etc.... I speak from 39 years of personal experience as a professional. I don't dislike Australia as a country. I cant live there. It does lag behind. travel more and you will see........
You mentioned South Africa - I didn't - I said Africa. It would appear you are a lot younger than me.  I write from my experience - and my initial love for Australia. Australia in 1976 to me - is what you are probably experiencing now. Things change - we have different priorities, different requirements and different loves. I love Africa and visit very frequently - my partner is African and the lifestyle there suits me much better than western society, I first went to Africa in 1994 and was hooked. Enjoy whatever you do and wherever you are, if you don't enjoy it - move on .... I prefer the less developed countries on our planet, the culture and lifestyle. Western world in general is not my idea of living... Things have to be in perspective. Australia is prejudice and discriminatory - this has got progressively worse. Take a look at the way the indigenous are treated............................... Cheers!

I love australia very much even i'm not living there.

To the people who wrote here already and for those who are going to write: I'm really looking forward to reading the answers to that initial question. None of you have answered really...

I think Australia is a good place to live in. Many people would agree with me. After all, hundreds of people come here every year to start a new life.
    Firstly, people come here because life in Australia is easier than in their own country. In Australia, if you have a job, you are paid enough to live on. If you don't have a job, the government puts you on training programs or gives you unemployment benefits. You can also get a study allowance or a pension if you need them.
    Secondly, people like Australia because it is such a vast country and it is very interesting. There are lots of beautiful places to visit. You could travel around for a year and still not see everything and still have much to learn.
    Finally, Australia is a multicultural society*. There are people from all over the world living in Australia. New migrants can come and find others who speak their language and understand their ways. They can also learn about the ways of people from other cultures.
     For all these reasons I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world.

"What is your advice regarding the don'ts and what would you recommend to avoid any mistake?"

The answer to her question depends on the cultural background of the country each migrant is coming from. For example, if you're coming from China, I would say that there are a few things that are acceptable there, but are offensive in Australia, like slurping the food, burp loud and picking your nose in public. If you're coming from Italy, using body language in conjunction with verbal communication can be shocking. If you're coming from latin america, don't be too emotional, australians, like the british, are emotionally impaired.

The best advice would be: When in Rome, do as the Romans.

Hi Christine,

Good question. It is good to read about other people's experience and how they cooped with culture shock.

We have only moved to Australia with our family three months ago and we are still in our honeymoon fase. But we did have a first moment of culture shock already.

How an envelop can give you a culture shock. For the answer you will need to read the whole post:

europe2australia.com/2015/08/12/this-is-the-envelop-you-do-not-want-to-receive/]How an envelop can give you a culture shock[/url]

How did we dealt with it? Friends and family all replied in different ways that this is no better at home. And I guess they are right. So we ended up paying, but I probably stop way too early now.

Best regards,
Willemijn

Good point, Willemijn!  Traffic cameras are EVERYWHERE.  Since the locals know where they are, they only drive sensibly near them.  Otherwise, Australians are aggressive, dangerous drivers.  It cost me a small fortune to learn where the cameras are!

I had more of a shock about coming to England that I ever will by going back to OZ... I am retired and travel the world doing house sittings in the UK and France lately.... What you wrote about Australia could be perceived as correct in places... But I will tell you that you would not see me dead in England particularly.... Such a drab place, very expensive  and grey... The people is grey, the houses are grey... Lined up like in ghettoes or the elitist priced properties within the all of a region..You do not get good value for money for whatever you decide to purchase. Why do you think a very large contingent of brits moves to France... They love the health system there as it is more efficient that the one reputed to be good in the Uk .... For the majority of them, they will never move back to live in the UK... Some might as they rather be close to their family ...yes family, not the country. As for driving around, It can be exaspering at times... road signs hidden by vegetation too often on major roads... Give me the sun, space, cold beer, and all that Australia offers to so many who wants to migrate there ... People go there to work in the UK but come the time they choose to go back to OZ..... as it happen I am a frenchman who migrated there since the late sixties .... This a real paradise.

First time I wrote here I was asking for people to tell their experiences, so this time I'm going to tell you all about mine.

It's been a month so far, so I'm still loving it but there's one thing that I'd like us to talk about to see if maybe some of us are biased or what's the general feeling here...

Many people have told me that ozzies are racist, and I've seen that same comment here. The reasons go sometimes from experiences to what we all sense at times when interacting with them, specially when we have a misunderstanding.

In my own experience I have to say that I think they're very open minded and welcoming people in general (of course they must be exceptions to this, but I've been lucky enough not to encounter one yet) who know their country is full of other cultures and who still want to feel like they're not losing their own. People are extremely polite with me (which makes me feel left out a little bit) because they know that they don't know a thing about my culture and way of thinking. For example, the other day I was on a trial shift at a restaurant and the manager was teaching me some stuff while trying to handle a busy day at the workplace. Every once in a while he would swear a bit and right after that he'd APOLOGIZE to me, like I'm the holy virgin mary or something of the like. I found it hilarious because peruvians swear a lot, we just do it in spanish (I'm very peruvian=I swear all day everyday) but still, as I was the one looking for the job, I tried to keep looking all professional and stuff and didn't say a thing.
The same happened with other people, they just don't know how to act around me but they try really hard to avoid making me feel bad, so they treat me with extreme care (and again I feel awkward inside, but just laugh about it). It's only when they already know you that they treat you as you're just the same as them, and then they sometimes point out the differences between you and them, but it's never really been in a negative way, more like in a "I know you now" way.
I'm guessing for some people this might be shocking, you're either being treated differently and feel awkward around them, or they like you and treat you already as if you were one of them, and maybe there comes the culture shock (the other day I found a guy's phone on the floor at the disco and gave it back to him, he felt compelled to buy me a drink as a way to say thank you but all I wanted was water = culture shock = "why isn't she accepting my free drink?" for me, he didn't need to pay me in any way, it's just not my phone, of course I had to look for the owner and give it back, that's what I'd like people did for me if I was ever in that same situation, so I do it for others).

You are coming from Peru, and I don't know how shitty (or not) your country is. we usually compare Australia to the place we're coming from, and of course, if you're coming from Kenya, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Sudan, Australia might look like the closest thing to paradise. So far you are in a honeymoon with Australia (enjoy it while it last) but it would be interesting to know how you feel in four years. If you don't drink alcohol, that's already a red flag. Hope you like footy...
There are always exceptions for every rule, but we talk about the general feeling we get of a place. Australia is a nation of sociopaths, they are intellectually challenged, can't hold an interesting conversation, have a problem with alcoholism, and are lazy.