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Consider it a privelage...


AFreshStart

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How quick we are to forget that our entry and acceptance into Australia, it's land, culture and people is in fact a PRIVELAGE. Australia owes us nothing, we chose to come here, we chose to be part of this community. We aren't better than anyone else, we are not entitled, we are not special, we are a face in a sea of many all working towards a better, unified country.

We are immigrants who has been given an opportunity many would die for. Our privilege, wealth and stature may have bought our ticket into Australia, but it owes us nothing, we owe it a gratitude for opening its borders to us, our family and loved ones.

As we all go into this week on the back of Australia Day, let's be mindful of that, of that privilege and let's choose gratitude over entitlement.

Edited by AFreshStart
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Of course it is a privilege and I'm sure most immigrants are extremely appreciate of their adopted country.

Having said that I do not feel it helpful to not be honest on this forum about both the good and the bad in Australia. I for one needed information of both the good and the bad before I moved over. For me the experiences I read about before I came over and even now helped tremendously and negative ones just prepared me better.

Many South Africans who move to Australia are extremely positive about Australia, never say anything negative about it and are always pointing out bad things about South Africa. They are also quick to put someone down who has a different opinion to them.

This is not something you see on other migration sites, for instance Pomsinoz where they are brutal both in their attack on Australia and their home country but a lot of the time this is tongue in cheek.

I think it's because for South Africans there are no turning back while people who move here from first world countries have more options.

This is a forum where we can offer our opinions, and it would be a sad state of affairs if I cannot speak my mind. Does that mean I don't appreciate being here? Of course not.

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I do agree with Sibella, this forum needs to tell the truth, otherwise new arrivals or those still deciding, would get a very skewed view of Australia! For me it is the same as people who do not want you to say anything bad about South Africa, well if anyone asks I would give them my opinion, warts and all. So the same goes for Australia. That does not mean that I am not thankful for being here, it just goes to show that I am fitting in.... a true blue Aussie would be quite happy to tell you what is wrong with Australia, sometimes in graphic terms, LOL!

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I believe we should all share our experiences as honestly as we can, but to take a few moments to think about HOW we go about sharing our stories.

I don't want to single anyone out, I've just been seeing negative comments about seemingly trivial things that can be discouraging to those both on and off shore, I guess those that complain about these things will complain about them anywhere in the world.

I just wanted to suggest that we hold the privilege of being here as something not to be taken for granted and try our best to integrate into the Aus way of life.

If that was missed, I'm sorry. If you disagree, you're welcome to, it is of course a public forum and everyone has a choice to participate or not.

Cheers

Matt

Edited by AFreshStart
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I have always supported and even promoted the idea of posting both the good and bad experiences in Australia. It's no use for a potential immigrant to make the decision to uproot their entire lives and move to another country solely based on the good. That's just a disaster waiting to happen.

What does annoy me immensely though, are the South African's in Australia (the country they chose to make home and begged for an opportunity to get in) that do nothing but moan about how bad things are, how they dislike the Aussie's, how terrible life is, bla, bla, bla.

Quite honestly, and I make no apology for this, my response to people like that is "please pack your bags and go back to where you came from."

There are many of us here in forum land (as well as Australia in general) that absolutely love being here and are grateful to her for allowing us the opportunity to make better lives. Things are not always the way we want them to be and we will all go through tough times (I know I have) but it's the attitude with which we face those times that makes all the difference.

Here's to the last 2 years and hopefully to another few more to come in the land we now call home. :ilikeit:

P.S. I'll take bad customer service in Aus over trying to return something to Game or Pick 'n Pay any day. :P

P.P.S I forgot to mention that there are good ways of sharing the bad experiences and bad ways. Let's all try to post on the side of the good.

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I find it hard to think of something about Australia to complain about. That said, having lived here for so long, obviously I get annoyed by the little things which actually you'll pretty much find in any country (traffic, politicians, rude people, hoons...) For me it's not a whinge about Australia, but about the frustrations in life. First world problems in most cases...

It's important that we honestly share the good, the bad and the ugly about Australia. I'd be pretty cheesed off if hundreds of people told me how amazing a place was, only to find out its a dump when I get there.

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AFreshStart I think I know what you are referring to. Examples like the milkshake not being made right come to mind.

My Saffa friend from Cape Town was a bit like with when he first came over: annoyed that the pizza shop didn't know how to make an xyz pizza (whatever the name was in Cape Town) - didn't seem to understand that it was not possible for every pizza shop in Australia to know the ingredients for his favourite pizza and no they hadn't ever heard of it and no they were not stupid because they hadn't heard of it.

I think these are the kinds of little things you are referring to?

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To be honest, I don't like the chocolate, battle with the takeaways and would give my right arm for an Ocean Basket.

BUT, BUT, BUT

I prefer the coke, love the wine, enjoy the cider (starting to sound like an alcoholic). I love being able to enjoy historical houses without being too nervous to even walk through those areas. I love travelling through my neighbourhood and being able to take time to look at the birds instead of watching over my shoulder for "bad guys". I love that even though I'm an unemployed immigrant, I don't feel hated or resented for my very presence on earth. I love feeling positive about my children's future instead of just hopeful.

And I love being told "no worries".

I agree with AFreshStart that we don't want to be a bunch of "when we's". I've seen it and it is most unpleasant. That doesn't mean we aren't aware of negatives or able to share some basic hurdles to be overcome, but let's put it into perspective. One of the nicest things here is the freedom - which includes the freedom to leave if you don't like it.

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Crisplet,

"The mayonnaise isn't right" or "They don't have X or Y", "This was better in South Africa" etc. Trivial things, things that are inconsequential in the grand scheme and if these are make or break for you, you'll be disappointed.

More often than not it's the same people, with the same complaints. Australia is not South Africa, why should it be, please don't make it Australia's fault you can buy your favourite spices or brand of toothpaste! Think about what you are coming to, the new adventures, a new start more over what you are leaving behind (materially that is).

There is just SO much to be thankful for, that's the point I was trying to drive home. Focus on these things, by all means share your thoughts, both good and bad.

If you're world is really turned upside down by not being able to buy a bottle of All Gold, then perhaps you should stay in South Africa because there are far hard things you'll need to deal with when you arrive and it will take all you have to pull it together.

Cheers

Matt

Edited by AFreshStart
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Afreshstart, you do realize that you have the choice of not reading those posts....I think you are being very harsh on these posts and it's not fair on them....immigration is hard enough on people and I am sure they don't need people being that critical of their "condiment choice" rants by telling them to go back....gees cut them some slack....I'm sure it's not against the forum policy to have these rants....and if it is so trivial by your standards, well then hey don't read it

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Afreshstart, you do realize that you have the choice of not reading those posts....I think you are being very harsh on these posts and it's not fair on them....immigration is hard enough on people and I am sure they don't need people being that critical of their "condiment choice" rants by telling them to go back....gees cut them some slack....I'm sure it's not against the forum policy to have these rants....and if it is so trivial by your standards, well then hey don't read it

Yes, I do, as I shared in a previous post - "If you disagree, you're welcome to, it is of course a public forum and everyone has a choice to participate or not." Likewise I'm able to share my thoughts on seeing the bigger picture, of being grateful and seeing the privilege it is to be able to make the move to Australia and call it home.

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The bigger picture is subjective, so we all cannot have the same bigger picture....I'm sure these people that made these posts are not ungrateful for the opportunity to have come over but forgive me if I'm wrong but you seem to think that people need to be so grateful that they should just be satisfied with whatever is handed down to them in Oz...yes it is quite competitive to get into

Oz but it's not like Oz doesn't gain something in the process so if people don't like the condiments here, they are hardly saying its hell...perhaps for these people it's not about the condiments per se but more about the familiarity that they have had to let go off...it may have a deeper significance and if having their favourite condiments helps them get through this tough time in their life, then I think they should be allowed that privilege

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I'm all for honesty, but I personally find bashing either South Africa or Australia relentlessly in very poor taste. It is important for everyone to remember that we all have different experiences and we don't all share the same point of view - how boring if we did. Having an open mind is vital to grow as a person - there is a term for not being open to other people's views, it is called being a bigot, and I'm sure none of us want to be regarded in those terms. Unfortunately I know some people who won't contribute anymore because of intolerance on the forum. The real issue is how we engage with each other. We can do so politely and rationally, and please learn when to walk away from the discussion. Hurling ciber abuse won't solve anything.

I don't care if you don't like the mayonnaise, milkshake or bbq and if you say so - what you like is all about what you know. Personally I'm likely to never buy aussie sausages for the bbq, but I'm nevertheless likely to buy a cooked snag outside Bunnings - somewhat contradictory I know. In case anyone is wondering, I do agree it is a privilege to be allowed in. It took us 3 years on 457s before we got PR and that uncertainty is very hard. But, Australia is not faultless and as a naturalised Australian who pays a lot of tax I've earned the right to criticise what is not right - silly pollies spring to mind.

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I often see signs in Oz about respect. 'Please have respect for other park users' . Or 'please respect the kangaroos'. I think it boils down to respect. Some may have different opinions ... Perhaps just comment and debate the topic with respect for others.

I found some All Gold tomato sauce at Woolies this past weekend and it made me happy but to be honest, having only lived in Perth for just over a month, I was already pretty damn happy when I found the All Gold anyway :)

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I'm an Aussie and I have a long list of things I don't like :) ...saying that I do agree that here and on pomsinoz it is how you say it that usually annoys people more than what you say....sometimes people pretend they are being picked on for what they said when in reality it is because of how they said it....on the other hand immigration is tough by all accounts and some people are in a fragile state when they post and sometimes venting in an unbalanced and impolite way is the best they can manage at the time so people have to be cut some slack sometimes...not if they do it endlessly for a long time though just to troll...

Edited by Fish
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For me it's not about the rants about "condiment choice", I'm the first to say that Aussie spices are tasteless and terrible. In fact we buy mixed spice from the South African shop in Noosa and Ina Paarman's spices from Coles just because we can. I also can't stand the the fact that my neighbours don't pick up the free newspapers that get delivered each day and it annoys me to no end that the rubbish bins in our area stand on the pavements, sometimes on a Friday afternoon, until Tuesday afternoon when they are only emptied on a Monday morning at 7:30am. I also can't stand Telstra, who blatantly rip off customers and have shocking (at best) customer service with call centers in Vape Town, India and the Philippines. Rather employ Aussie's to do the work dammit, and they give Telkom a good run for their money when it comes to holding times.

As Riekie said, it's more a rant about the frustrations of life rather than the process of immigration and I'm going to repeat myself here, If all some people can do is moan about how bad things are, how they hate the Aussie's, how terrible the process is and how much they miss South Africa, bla bla bla. I have to ask myself if they really want to be here and whether or not they should just pack the stuff and leave. Doesn't have to be back to South Africa, it just has to be somewhere where they are going to be happier than here.

P.S. The worse that the Aussie butchers make is disgusting. :P

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Well... I still cannot do without Mrs Balls Chutney... will definitely buy All Gold Tomato Sauce when I see it... Bokomo Rusks, my mouth waters... Koo fine apricot jam... and my big bugbear is mayonnaise, I have yet to find anything that touches Cross and Blackwell, for that I will drive to the South African Shop to stock up!

Righto, my rant is over!

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HEOJJ,

That's really the point I was trying to bring across, somehow it got side-tracked by pizza, spices and all gold. In my initial post I said I didn't want to point our specific things, that it was more an approach, cultivating a mindset of gratitude.

I understand there are frustrations in moving, many of us have experienced it first hand, but it's your attitude that counts.

We've only been here 3-months, though my family has a long history in Australia. I'm a dual national and am blessed have been born with birth rights to Australia, though I grew up in South Africa. I was born into that privilege and am thankful daily that it has allowed me to start a new life here in Australia with my family.

Having suffered from anxiety and depression in the past I lifted my emotional state by taking the advice of many forumites and tried to integrate into the Aussie way from the get go.

Within the first week of arriving I knocked on doors, introduced myself, invited the neighborhood over for a meal, started a community garden and joined a Church where I now lead a music team and will be hosting a Bible Study.

Being a Stay-At-Home Dad I've opened up our home to the neighbourhood kids, turning a room into a playroom and we often have 5+ kids doing arts and crafts here, parents pop in for coffee, I entertain with a meal etc.

We've entertained at least one neighbourhood family once a week since arriving. And you know what? We are now starting to get invited to meals and events. Last week we had a barbeque over at a neighbours place, on Australia Day were invited to the beach, yesterday we were invited to a Picnic and on Sunday have a lunch date with friends from Church.

We are already building a community around us. Do I miss my friends and family in South Africa? Of course, but they aren't here now, and most won't be, so my options are to pine for the way it was or forge a way forward building a new community around our lives here.

Neighbours help by taking our kids to the park, I can dash off to the shops and leave the kids with them, which is huge help as we have one living relative in Australia, which is one more than others but it's not a network we fell into but built around ourselves.

It's been particularity hard with both our young kids being out of school since our arrival, so it's been juggling them, the move and finding a new routine, which is constantly evolving.

I could easily have slipped back into an anxious state and be filled with deep, dark depression, but I took the advice I received here and have tried my best to put myself out there, to settle quickly and enjoy our new friends, Church family and opportunities that have arisen through it.

This (new) life is what you make of it.

Edited by AFreshStart
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Could not have said it better. :ilikeit: We have been trying to make friends here but it seems that the South Africans in the neighbourhood enjoy each others company more than ours (not that we only focus on making friends with Saffa's) and the Aussie's are a lot more closed here than I expected. Our community is predominantly made up of people from all over the country and world. There are very few locals who grew up here (if any at all) so most people just keep to themselves. Our new neighbours moved in a couple of weeks ago and we've introduced ourselves but that is pretty much as far as it's gone.

Things have been rather tough emotionally and financially over the last 8 months or so. I've recently started my own business (which is of course a whole other thread on it's own) but I do agree, it's all in the mindset and attitude. We can either lie down and be defeated or rise and fight. We've come this far and been through alot to get here, there's no choice but to fit in and make our new lives work.

Thanks for sharing and being honest, there are many out there that benefit from it without us ever knowing about it and we are firm believers in "do unto other as you would have them do to you".

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You'll find them everywhere:

The Saffer who moves to Oz and love it to bits (the occasional whinger)

The Saffer who moves to Oz and hates it (the constant whinger)

The Saffer in South Africa who has no idea about Australia (the "they say" whinger)

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And it's always the last one who "knows" the most about life over here

Tell me about it. :P They are also the ones who don't want to move because of the deadly spiders, snakes and frogs.

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Tell me about it. :P They are also the ones who don't want to move because of the deadly spiders, snakes and frogs.

Don't forget the flies!.....

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Agreed! A colleague here in SA said " I would never move to Oz" & pulled a face! I asked, have you been? She replied "No"!!!

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