Things I appreciate about Australia

Hi friends! In this blog post, we take a look at some of the things I appreciate about Australia (I've lived here for 3 years now, originally from New Zealand). And at the end, I've also included a few things that Australia could be better at. I hope you enjoy this post!

Just a quick disclaimer: I generally lean towards the left in politics and firmly believe in the importance of human rights for everyone. We should all enjoy equality, regardless of sex, gender identity, race, or beliefs. I fully support the LGBTQIA+ community.

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Things I appreciate about Australia

• Workplaces are often really good with health or general life things (I've noticed that my partner's workplace is really supportive). But it's not all workplaces, it depends on where you work, I think

• The LGBTQIA+ representation and inclusivity, especially with the training the people get at Channel 10 and the ABC. And DEI stuff too: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• The wildlife and conservationists like Robert, Bindi, and Terri Irwin

• The bird life and how many colours there are

• Left-leaning news sources like the ABC

• Panel shows (just top-tier funny stuff)

• Jan Fran and Abbie Chatfield

• Comedy shows like the International Melbourne Comedy Festival

• Mersey Valley Salt and Vinegar Cheese

• Medicare rebates for psychology sessions (it could be better, but it does make it feel a bit more affordable)

• Public transport - it's mostly good, but I see why people complain about it (especially when there are bus replacements and peak hour travel times)

• Lots of hidden bars in Melbourne

• Novelty things everywhere

• Coffee - the coffee is never bad, even when it's bad, it's still good

• There's a great selection of dietary requirements - like most people will cater for gluten-free, veg/vegan, keto, dairy-free, plant-based based and so on

• Higher pay rates in general and penalty rates on the weekend/public holidays

• Companies that pay super on top of normal wages (not all do this, but it's pretty cool)

• The amount of selection of cuisines - there's literally WAY too many to list

• Spud Bar and Hunky Dory

• There are nature spots all over the cities - even in CBD areas (like Melbourne Botanical Gardens and Adelaide's Gardens right next to the zoo)

• Tax returns

• Multiculturalism

• There are SO many ice cream shops

• The beaches (I will forever be biased towards NZ beaches, but some here are beautiful)

• Education in regards to the scary animals

• Most people are really friendly and will check on you

• Great universities

• Sometimes it's possible to work part-time and still make a decent living with high wages

• Some wine (still biased towards NZ wine though)

• It's warmer

• Healthcare is accessible (NZ I had a lot more free stuff, but health insurance here is great)

• It's warmer

• Melbourne's water has fluoride in it

• Left-leaning Labor policies

• Russell Coight

• Tim Tams

• The HPV vaccine was created in Australia (a good one to get if you're eligible)

• Being general sh*t stirrers - especially towards tourists. The number of people who actually think drop bears are real is crazy. Oh, and there's that conspiracy theory that people think Australia doesn't exist, and Australia just goes with it

• There are lots of markets

• Reality TV is often more wholesome (the likes of MasterChef, Travel Guides, I'm a Celebrity, Gogglebox - not MAFS, wtf is going on there?)

• The Great Ocean Road

• All the big things (NZ has stuff like this too)

• The movies The Castle and The Dish

• Milo

• Tawny (like port/dessert wine) - I know NZ will have some too but Aussie is where I first tried it and I LOVED it, it's like golden syrup.

• Aldi is a cool supermarket

• Pods still exist here

• Most places have fly screens

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Things I think Australia could do better at

• Be less racist (like why did the Yes vote not go through???)

• Traffic congestion

• Having more greens in politics

• Some places have higher crime rates and don't feel as safe as other suburbs (like literally there was a m*rder one suburb over from us the other day, they caught him straight away but gah)

• There are a lot of scam callers and a lot of charity door knockers, I'd feel a bit better if we had fewer of those

• Immigration policies (for me, this doesn't really matter), but for others who aren't Kiwis, it's a real lengthy and pricey process

• The internet can be dodgy and slow and the past week both Luke and I have been hot spotting to work as we are waiting for a new modem (and it's ironic because WiFi was invented here LOL)

• Swooping birds (so scary)

• Suburban areas sometimes feel too suburban - idk how else to describe this

• Driving on beaches is kinda dumb, especially when it impacts the wildlife

• Better safety around train tracks - fences, having level crossings removed, etc.

• No advertising for g*mbling. Like the advertisements for it are so weird "gamble, don't gamble" like wut?

• I get why it's there, but the 501 law is pretty shifty with who Australia has kicked out

• Have more smoke-free areas (NZ is better at this IMO)

Thanks for reading!

Ash x

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