Oz vs SA

[Cole]

I'm quite interested to know more about Australia, from the point of view that it's not as exciting as South Africa (for those who have this opinion, or a contrary one)? In what ways does this ring true?

[chzaau]

What do you consider exciting thing to compare against?

[Cole]

Hi Chzaau,

I must admit, my life is not terribly exciting - I live in a small town far away from the buzz of city life. I spend my days working from home and looking after my young children, weekends are spent as a family. So life as it is now is pretty chilled. I've noticed a couple of times where it's been mentioned that folks have found Oz to be less exciting than SA, which is what sparked my question - in what ways have they found it to be less exciting? What was their before and after experience?

[Brad76]

If SA is exciting its for all the wrong reasons!

As for excitement I think Australia would win hands down - there's so much you can do and all without being overly worried about your safety!

[SurferMan]

I'm must be on crack or worse, I have so much to do my money is my issue!!!! Flipping Aus is awesome, and yes so is SA, just this place I will come home alive.

[eitai2001]

SA is definitely more exciting ... it's such an adrenaline gushing experience when you get to dodge taxi's driving at you in your line, it's like a James Bond movie scene

[Mara]

I have no answer for you, as I do not regard living in South Africa as "exciting" these days, I just regard it as a place I am very happy to have escaped from with my life and family intact.

I will take Australia and it's safety any day of the week. I agree with Surferman above, I have the time, if only I had a bottomless pit of money, unfortunately now retired and no longer working, I would travel around this country and go to see all the beautiful places I have only had the opportunity to read about or see on TV.

We live in the north west of Melbourne, in Sunbury, life sounds a lot like yours, pretty laid back, big yard, no high walls, no burglar guards, no problem!

[DXB2OZ]

In SA, you have a common enemy (crime), a never ending topic for dinner party conversation and life has a certain edge. I'm not saying this to demean the harsh reality of life, but in order to adapt, you have to take a certain fatalistic approach. Each day has that sense of living life on the edge.

Here, the biggest problem seems to be money. Not that anyone is trying to take it away at gun point, just making enough to keep yourself going, especially in the early days. It's just not in the same adrenaline class.

Personally, I love the fact that life doesn't feel like a battle but is there to be made the most of. But who knows if I will still feel like that a few years down the line. Right now, am loving Oz and very happy with our decision. Life is calmer, the people are calmer, we as a family are calmer.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go and calmly clean the bathroom.

[Cole]

hahahaha DXB2OZ you had me chuckling at your last comment - I was also on housekeeping duty today. After getting rid of my last unsavoury housekeeper after quite a lot of trouble (an ex-con I came to hear - theft - her brother is still in jail for stabbing someone) I decided to do things myself - not very glamorous but boy have I got it down - I can clean this house in half the time it took someone who was paid to do it, plus my valuables are all still here; my perfume hasn't been used by anyone else, all the sugar/washing powder/spare toiletries etc are still in the cupboard, I didn't have to listen to another episode of Generations, and I got a workout (bonus!)

[SA Aussie]

I think the comparison with the Jones's bring a certain amount of drive, ambition and excitement. You want to to prove that you can also make it, be the best, drive that nice car, buy that nice house. I believe that the downside to the fact that nobody cares about your house or car burst that bubble.So how do you prove you are successful and how do you get recognition from your peers? So you have to redefine success and how you measure it. I know this sounds shallow, but it is what we know - survival of the fittest! If nobody cares that you have these nice things and shows a bit of admiration for your achievements in the form of admiring you "stuff" then all the fun and excitement is gone.

Also everybody is so law abiding. Always driving at the speed limit, always queing in the line, no thinking outside the box to beat the other guy.. No taking risks to get ahead. The the thrill of taking on the challenge and beating him/her at whatever.. sports, driving, shopping, running, your job etc.

It starts small with kids being taught to be happy to lose and just enjoy taking part. They discourage competing to win in case somebody's feelings get hurt.

This is why you will always see the SA kids doing well in sport or against competition because our parents still encourage them to be the best you can be and then accept if you are beaten with grace, but try harder next time. Not lie down and be happy for life to pass you by.

I don't "drive" my kids but I do encourage to do the best they can and let them know that I believe in them 200%!

[Donovan83]

Aus is just the right amount of excitement.

[zamunda]

My wife is a very spontaneous person and when we were back in RSA/Botswana, she used to hate me because even a simple pleasure such as going out for dinner was not something I enjoyed. The thought of having to lock up Fort Knox, then having to navigate through the mad driver infested roads just to have a night out did not do it for me.

Now that we are in Aus, the excitement is back and my wife is not hating me any more

[Mel-B]

My wife is a very spontaneous person and when we were back in RSA/Botswana, she used to hate me because even a simple pleasure such as going out for dinner was not something I enjoyed. The thought of having to lock up Fort Knox, then having to navigate through the mad driver infested roads just to have a night out did not do it for me.

Now that we are in Aus, the excitement is back and my wife is not hating me any more

Hahaha! Glad to hear

[Maligso]

Myself, my wife, my 6yr old boy and my two 3yr old twin boys got our 189 Visa yesterday ... and we are going in a few months ... we are going in search of as little "SA" excitement as we can find.

[Fish]

I think the comparison with the Jones's bring a certain amount of drive, ambition and excitement. You want to to prove that you can also make it, be the best, drive that nice car, buy that nice house. I believe that the downside to the fact that nobody cares about your house or car burst that bubble.So how do you prove you are successful and how do you get recognition from your peers? So you have to redefine success and how you measure it. I know this sounds shallow, but it is what we know - survival of the fittest! If nobody cares that you have these nice things and shows a bit of admiration for your achievements in the form of admiring you "stuff" then all the fun and excitement is gone.

Also everybody is so law abiding. Always driving at the speed limit, always queing in the line, no thinking outside the box to beat the other guy.. No taking risks to get ahead. The the thrill of taking on the challenge and beating him/her at whatever.. sports, driving, shopping, running, your job etc.

It starts small with kids being taught to be happy to lose and just enjoy taking part. They discourage competing to win in case somebody's feelings get hurt.

This is why you will always see the SA kids doing well in sport or against competition because our parents still encourage them to be the best you can be and then accept if you are beaten with grace, but try harder next time. Not lie down and be happy for life to pass you by.

I don't "drive" my kids but I do encourage to do the best they can and let them know that I believe in them 200%!

You make it sound like all of us Australians are virtuous angels ...there are plenty of social climbers, house comparers here still, and we even don't let the other guy win at sport occasionally You need to move to inner Sydney or Melbourne I must admit I was freaked out when I met a south african guy and he starting quizzing me on what my job was in what appeared to me a strange and shallow way...wondered what was wrong with him until I remembered what you guys had explained

Edited September 4, 2014 by Fish

[HansaPlease]

My wife (Aussie) usually comments that she tends to feel "more alive" in South Africa.

I do agree with this - when you constantly feel like something is going to eat you, rob you, rape you, kill you, crash into you, or rip you off, you do feel a lot more alive!

I can't put it into words, but Aus is a fair bit calmer like that. I like calm. When I need a bit of excitement I go out trail running in snake infested bush and dodge angry territorial kangaroos. Plenty of dangerous things around to keep the blood pumping

I'd much rather go and find excitement when I'm after it than have it follow me around 24-7 and threaten to harm my family. I think that's the key, and that's also why the planes flying towards Aus are usually full and the ones flying back to SA are not.

[DXB2OZ]

It is definitely a case of "different strokes" and sometimes you have to do a lot of soul searching to find your stroke.

I still miss Mountains. Real, big mountains that were always there, solid, comforting and gorgeous. But I've learned I can survive without them.

[Bronwyn&Co]

You make it sound like all of us Australians are virtuous angels ...there are plenty of social climbers, house comparers here still, and we even don't let the other guy win at sport occasionally You need to move to inner Sydney or Melbourne I must admit I was freaked out when I met a south african guy and he starting quizzing me on what my job was in what appeared to me a strange and shallow way...wondered what was wrong with him until I remembered what you guys had explained

It always make me laugh on here Fish. There seems to be this idea that there are no tall poppies here, nobody is looking at your house or car..hahaha.

If that's the case then why do people buy those nasty Porsche Cayennes and $7 million houses on the river?

If you think that, you're just moving in different circles to someone else. Yes I know it's not the majority, blabla. But it is naive. There is a huge amount of snobbishness with regard to which school your kids go to here in Brisbane, for example. And I know for a fact, that is the case in other states too.

It depends on your income & social circle, just like anywhere else ☺️

If you think there are no social climbers in Aus it's only because you haven't been invited to their drinks 'do'. Lol.

Edited September 5, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[HansaPlease]

Hey, what's nasty about a Porsche Cayenne?

[Bronwyn&Co]

Hey, what's nasty about a Porsche Cayenne?

Just being facetious I'd kill my neighbour for one.

[Sibella]

We've lived in 3 countries (so far ) - South Africa for 30 something years, the UK for 4,5 years and Australia for 3 years.

If you take crime out of the picture our lives in South Africa was really the most boring. On weekends we went to the mall or in summer to the Botanical Gardens some times. And now and then the rooftop market at Rosebank. There seemed to be less to do and we also had less money.

The UK was the most exciting in the sense that travel was easy (except having to apply for a visa for every single trip!). So we went away often and even now I long for a quick trip to Bruges for beer and chocolate, or enjoying the mountains of Switzerland - so magical and each European country so very different.

But winters in the UK were loooong and boring.

Australia is just right, exciting enough when you want it to be, with lots to do, some of it free of charge.

[Mel-B]

I prefer being a little bored in Melbourne vs being too scared to open my darn window on a HOT summers night. Crime infested countries suck. It sucks the life from you. We can't get going to Australia fast enough actually. Spent 2 days back in Pretoria and my daughter has gastro - where/how?? Probably from her school. My husband got in a fight with a Nigerian at pick and pay. And he is really not a fighter, he would rather just leave things be than get aggro about anything. Its so hot at night and I can't open the window. Still trying to get over being robbed in my sleep the last time I left a window open. *sigh* I've posted a lot about Melbourne being maybe a bit boring and not having a WOW but honestly I'd like to change my vote. I want to get back there. My poor daughter wants to go the park across the road so badly and I just can't let her. There are permanently weirdo's loitering there. And we bought in a "good" neighborhood to avoid weirdos.

Australia for the win.

[SurferMan]

Hey B...easy tigress, I drive a Cayennes twin sister....!!! LOL. I don't have a 7 million house but I live like I have 7 million, hehheehe.

[VanTonderFamily]

Hey hey... Stop it, I like it

I drive a pregnant Porsche - AKA Getz, but boy does she do it for me!

And yes, we live like we have 7 million too, but we don't know the Jones's

Let me tell you, it is great standing around the fire or 'barby', being silly and talking crap with my friends (because I don't know the Jones's - so we can't COMPARE diamond ring sizes or botox injections), drinking a glass of wine, and go to bed but forget to lock the door.

[SurferMan]

I. Love. Cayennes