LongJohnny
12-06-05, 07:37 AM
LIFE IN THE LAND WE CALL OZ.
This is a variation of an article that I wrote some time ago. I revamped it to fit in with current times, govt policies and developments. I may have missed some things, so let me know and I’ll get back to people who want closer info as soon as possible. Just keep in mind that I’m a bit scarce on the Web nowadays and it may take a while before I get back to you.
The South African expat communities in Australia (the land we call Oz,) are amongst the largest in the world and are steadily growing. That’s what it seemed like in any case at the time when I compiled this information the first time in March 2004. A year on later, this is even more true.
Here in Adelaide where I have settled with my family, the South African community have increased rapidly over the last 5 years. It’s not easy to make good estimations, but a ballpark figure of a 50% – 60% increase may be close to the mark. Five to six years ago most Saffers here in Adelaide knew each other or were acquainted. Nowadays you just can’t know everybody. It happens more and more that you bump into people by chance, (you hear them speak Afrikaans, English with a SA accent), and it’s people you have not met before on one of Adelaide’s Saffer get-togethers.
If that is true for Adelaide, then one can assume the same for the rest of Oz, if not on a more amplified scale, as places like Brisbane, Sydney and Perth seem to be much more popular with Saffers, than centres such as Melbourne, Adelaide or Canberra.
WHY HAVE SO MANY EXPAT SAFFERS OPTED FOR OZ SINCE THE EARLY EIGHTIES UP TO THE PRESENT?
I think that one or more of the following factors may have played a role in their choices;
Similar weather conditions. Whether you’re an ex Capetonian or North Natalian or if you are from the far north of Transvaal, or Bloemfontein, you will find a place with your favourite weather patterns, or the weather that you can cope with, somewhere in Oz. For example, the weather in Adelaide is similar to that of Cape Town, although I think the winters in Adelaide are not as cold as in Cape Town. Canberra has similar weather to Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, while Brisbane and Cairns have weather similar to that of Durban and Empangeni. The summers in most locations with the exception of Tasmania and Norfolk Island can be real scorchers. The coastal areas are not too bad, but the in interior 40 degrees-plus temperatures are quite the norm at the height of summer. The majority of Aussies live in coastal areas, as that is where most of the big cities are as well as most of the economic activity.
There are many touch points between South African and Australian culture. Like the average South African, the average Aussie is sport crazy. (In Adelaide it’s unthinkable to have a barbeque on a Saturday afternoon without a portable radio or TV nearby - “We don’t want to miss out on the sport broadcasts, for Gawd’s sake!!!”)
The barbeque is an Aussie icon just like its South African Braai counterpart.
Aussies are very much like South Africans, very easy going and their hospitality, especially in the rural areas is legendary.
It’s an easy place to live in respects of costs of living. Once you have a job and you earn Oz Dollars, you will find that the comparative costs to for example, fill a grocery trolley, is much cheaper than in e.g. New Zealand, The UK, and even South Africa.
Between my wife and I we earn about Au$65 000 a year. For our lifestyle and needs that is good enough. When our younger son was at primary school we sent him to a private school where we paid an annual fee of roughly $2 000. Depending on the school you choose, you’ll find that private schools are very affordable over here.
Similar sports such as Cricket and Rugby Union are Australian icons as well. (In Rugby Union, the Aussies don’t mind if you as a South African expat root for the Bokke, but God-and-all-His-Saints help you if you are caught rooting for “those dumbo’s on the other side of the Tasman Sea.” The All Black team is not very popular in any locality west of Norfolk Island and east of Christmas Island…
Oz is a safe place to live and raise your kids. Ok, we have our fair share of crime and related stuff here as well, but probably due to the relatively small population of 20 Million people, it’s on a much lower scale than elsewhere.
Also, crimes and issues that tends to be ignored in SA, or tend to drown in the big picture in the USA, e.g. Gangland slayings, make the headlines big-time over here.
The type of crimes one hears about mostly are drug related, e.g. some marijuana (dagga) addicts breaking into and stealing the “capital gods” of an illegal marijuana grower. We also tend to have a fair amount of “ram-raiding” here in Adelaide. We ascribe it to the very high prices of tobacco products anywhere in Oz, and as a result a lot of down-and–outers will nick a car, and ram into a shop that sells cigarettes in the wee hours of night and then make off with as many cigarettes as possible.
Note: If you are a smoker, it’s a good idea to kick the habit ASAP here in Oz, $10.00 for a pack 20 is no joke, and it’s one of the main reasons why I kicked the habit myself.
The same rules of the road applies here with some variations, driving on the left hand side of the road, a 50 km/h speed limit in most suburban areas and some road signs that are blue or green in SA, is the same colour here, but some other sign are in yellow. An interesting difference sometimes is street names. In SA, when a street is named ABC Street, mostly that street is ABC Street from beginning to end. Not so here, often a street that has been ABC Street up to an intersection suddenly becomes CDE or XYZ Street beyond the intersection.
The last reason in my opinion why not only Saffers but people from all over the world make Australia their destination, that it is one of the few First World countries to where migration is still relatively easy.
During the last year or two there have been a definitive push from especially some states in Oz, e.g. Queensland, rural New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, to attract more skilled migrants. A few weeks ago South Australia won a huge contract for naval shipbuilding, and this will lead to a big amount of job creations directly shipyard activities as well as flow-on job-creation. For example, 3000 to 5000 new workers in Adelaide will need houses, cars, services, etc.
THERE ARE HOWEVER, SOME DIFFERENCES THAT SOME NEW ARRIVALS FROM SA SOMETIMES FIND TO BE STRANGE, NEW OR IRRITATING.
One of the most prominent is that Australia is a much more LIBERAL country than SA. Expect to encounter that in all your dealings and communications with Aussies.
Feminism is strong here in Oz. While most women don’t flaunt it and don’t conduct them like female piranhas, they would not take POO from your garden-variety male chauvinists. While my female teacher colleagues don’t mind me holding doors for them (I think they actually like it), I do know that they fully expect that I treat them as equals in respect of the job we do. And why not, I’m happy to report that Aussie teachers both male and female are highly competent and professional at what they do. If a female colleague is getting flack from a challenging kid, I don’t interfere, because I know that she can and will handle the situation.
Although Australia is a very egalitarian society, one may be inclined to divide Aussies into two categories and those are the people who in employment or on social benefits (the dole) but looking for employment as well as another group that are in social benefits but for a range of reasons cannot and often will not try to get off benefits and enter the workforce. The reasons for these are vast and complex, but one sometimes detects “bad-vibe” undercurrents in this respect.
This is something most Saffers have to get used to fast. Especially older Saffers should take cognisance that while Liberalism may have been something derisive in their past mindsets, in a country like Oz Liberal values underpin society as a whole and like citizens of other liberal first world countries, the Aussies take pride in this aspect.
To put it a bit bluntly; it’s YOU who will have to change and meet people halfway, not them.
I know that many Saffers are quite conservative with sound personal values, but it is in their interest to take cognisance of the impact that a much more liberal society and mindset will have on you as well as your family. You cannot isolate yourself from it especially in the long term. If you are a very conservative person, fine, but keep in mind your kids will grow up and are likely to marry an Aussie girl or boy. You may think that a smack on a naughty kid’s bottom is quite in order, but your future son/daughter in law may have radically different views on such matters.
You will encounter this in your place of work, community activities such as churches and especially the media. Tolerance is the watchword in a range of situations. In some instances in South Africa Gay aspects and issues may still cause eyebrows to be raised. Over here people just don’t care what your sexual, religious, political orientations are. As long as you are a law-abiding citizen and don’t try to force your view/s on others, nobody gives a hoot for how you conduct your private life.
The Aussies seems to have refined the methodology of “keeping-your-nose-out-of-other-peoples-business” into a fine art.
This is a variation of an article that I wrote some time ago. I revamped it to fit in with current times, govt policies and developments. I may have missed some things, so let me know and I’ll get back to people who want closer info as soon as possible. Just keep in mind that I’m a bit scarce on the Web nowadays and it may take a while before I get back to you.
The South African expat communities in Australia (the land we call Oz,) are amongst the largest in the world and are steadily growing. That’s what it seemed like in any case at the time when I compiled this information the first time in March 2004. A year on later, this is even more true.
Here in Adelaide where I have settled with my family, the South African community have increased rapidly over the last 5 years. It’s not easy to make good estimations, but a ballpark figure of a 50% – 60% increase may be close to the mark. Five to six years ago most Saffers here in Adelaide knew each other or were acquainted. Nowadays you just can’t know everybody. It happens more and more that you bump into people by chance, (you hear them speak Afrikaans, English with a SA accent), and it’s people you have not met before on one of Adelaide’s Saffer get-togethers.
If that is true for Adelaide, then one can assume the same for the rest of Oz, if not on a more amplified scale, as places like Brisbane, Sydney and Perth seem to be much more popular with Saffers, than centres such as Melbourne, Adelaide or Canberra.
WHY HAVE SO MANY EXPAT SAFFERS OPTED FOR OZ SINCE THE EARLY EIGHTIES UP TO THE PRESENT?
I think that one or more of the following factors may have played a role in their choices;
Similar weather conditions. Whether you’re an ex Capetonian or North Natalian or if you are from the far north of Transvaal, or Bloemfontein, you will find a place with your favourite weather patterns, or the weather that you can cope with, somewhere in Oz. For example, the weather in Adelaide is similar to that of Cape Town, although I think the winters in Adelaide are not as cold as in Cape Town. Canberra has similar weather to Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, while Brisbane and Cairns have weather similar to that of Durban and Empangeni. The summers in most locations with the exception of Tasmania and Norfolk Island can be real scorchers. The coastal areas are not too bad, but the in interior 40 degrees-plus temperatures are quite the norm at the height of summer. The majority of Aussies live in coastal areas, as that is where most of the big cities are as well as most of the economic activity.
There are many touch points between South African and Australian culture. Like the average South African, the average Aussie is sport crazy. (In Adelaide it’s unthinkable to have a barbeque on a Saturday afternoon without a portable radio or TV nearby - “We don’t want to miss out on the sport broadcasts, for Gawd’s sake!!!”)
The barbeque is an Aussie icon just like its South African Braai counterpart.
Aussies are very much like South Africans, very easy going and their hospitality, especially in the rural areas is legendary.
It’s an easy place to live in respects of costs of living. Once you have a job and you earn Oz Dollars, you will find that the comparative costs to for example, fill a grocery trolley, is much cheaper than in e.g. New Zealand, The UK, and even South Africa.
Between my wife and I we earn about Au$65 000 a year. For our lifestyle and needs that is good enough. When our younger son was at primary school we sent him to a private school where we paid an annual fee of roughly $2 000. Depending on the school you choose, you’ll find that private schools are very affordable over here.
Similar sports such as Cricket and Rugby Union are Australian icons as well. (In Rugby Union, the Aussies don’t mind if you as a South African expat root for the Bokke, but God-and-all-His-Saints help you if you are caught rooting for “those dumbo’s on the other side of the Tasman Sea.” The All Black team is not very popular in any locality west of Norfolk Island and east of Christmas Island…
Oz is a safe place to live and raise your kids. Ok, we have our fair share of crime and related stuff here as well, but probably due to the relatively small population of 20 Million people, it’s on a much lower scale than elsewhere.
Also, crimes and issues that tends to be ignored in SA, or tend to drown in the big picture in the USA, e.g. Gangland slayings, make the headlines big-time over here.
The type of crimes one hears about mostly are drug related, e.g. some marijuana (dagga) addicts breaking into and stealing the “capital gods” of an illegal marijuana grower. We also tend to have a fair amount of “ram-raiding” here in Adelaide. We ascribe it to the very high prices of tobacco products anywhere in Oz, and as a result a lot of down-and–outers will nick a car, and ram into a shop that sells cigarettes in the wee hours of night and then make off with as many cigarettes as possible.
Note: If you are a smoker, it’s a good idea to kick the habit ASAP here in Oz, $10.00 for a pack 20 is no joke, and it’s one of the main reasons why I kicked the habit myself.
The same rules of the road applies here with some variations, driving on the left hand side of the road, a 50 km/h speed limit in most suburban areas and some road signs that are blue or green in SA, is the same colour here, but some other sign are in yellow. An interesting difference sometimes is street names. In SA, when a street is named ABC Street, mostly that street is ABC Street from beginning to end. Not so here, often a street that has been ABC Street up to an intersection suddenly becomes CDE or XYZ Street beyond the intersection.
The last reason in my opinion why not only Saffers but people from all over the world make Australia their destination, that it is one of the few First World countries to where migration is still relatively easy.
During the last year or two there have been a definitive push from especially some states in Oz, e.g. Queensland, rural New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, to attract more skilled migrants. A few weeks ago South Australia won a huge contract for naval shipbuilding, and this will lead to a big amount of job creations directly shipyard activities as well as flow-on job-creation. For example, 3000 to 5000 new workers in Adelaide will need houses, cars, services, etc.
THERE ARE HOWEVER, SOME DIFFERENCES THAT SOME NEW ARRIVALS FROM SA SOMETIMES FIND TO BE STRANGE, NEW OR IRRITATING.
One of the most prominent is that Australia is a much more LIBERAL country than SA. Expect to encounter that in all your dealings and communications with Aussies.
Feminism is strong here in Oz. While most women don’t flaunt it and don’t conduct them like female piranhas, they would not take POO from your garden-variety male chauvinists. While my female teacher colleagues don’t mind me holding doors for them (I think they actually like it), I do know that they fully expect that I treat them as equals in respect of the job we do. And why not, I’m happy to report that Aussie teachers both male and female are highly competent and professional at what they do. If a female colleague is getting flack from a challenging kid, I don’t interfere, because I know that she can and will handle the situation.
Although Australia is a very egalitarian society, one may be inclined to divide Aussies into two categories and those are the people who in employment or on social benefits (the dole) but looking for employment as well as another group that are in social benefits but for a range of reasons cannot and often will not try to get off benefits and enter the workforce. The reasons for these are vast and complex, but one sometimes detects “bad-vibe” undercurrents in this respect.
This is something most Saffers have to get used to fast. Especially older Saffers should take cognisance that while Liberalism may have been something derisive in their past mindsets, in a country like Oz Liberal values underpin society as a whole and like citizens of other liberal first world countries, the Aussies take pride in this aspect.
To put it a bit bluntly; it’s YOU who will have to change and meet people halfway, not them.
I know that many Saffers are quite conservative with sound personal values, but it is in their interest to take cognisance of the impact that a much more liberal society and mindset will have on you as well as your family. You cannot isolate yourself from it especially in the long term. If you are a very conservative person, fine, but keep in mind your kids will grow up and are likely to marry an Aussie girl or boy. You may think that a smack on a naughty kid’s bottom is quite in order, but your future son/daughter in law may have radically different views on such matters.
You will encounter this in your place of work, community activities such as churches and especially the media. Tolerance is the watchword in a range of situations. In some instances in South Africa Gay aspects and issues may still cause eyebrows to be raised. Over here people just don’t care what your sexual, religious, political orientations are. As long as you are a law-abiding citizen and don’t try to force your view/s on others, nobody gives a hoot for how you conduct your private life.
The Aussies seems to have refined the methodology of “keeping-your-nose-out-of-other-peoples-business” into a fine art.