Australia - the negatives

[OneTime]

With a lot of South Africans moving to Australia lately, there's been a lot of talk about the negatives. It seems that people, usually those left behind in South Africa, try to discourage from making the move to Australia with rumours that they've heard. Statements like "my friend's brother in law went to Australia and he says that kids everywhere are out of control..." in my opinion don't help anyone, because most of the time, they're uninformed.

My aim here is to point out some of these negatives "stories" and add my opinion on them. Sure, I'm not the authority on all things Australian, but I've seen a bit and my aim is to get people thinking about these negatives and maybe to put some perspective on the claims.

I'll make it a bit of a work in progress and add to the thread a post at a time over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to join in or comment.

[OneTime]

Australia has crime too:


Of course it does, but the crime level in Australia simply does not compare to that of South Africa. There is a perception that violent crime is on the increase in Australia because of it's exposure in the news. A murder makes headlines, a violent bashing dominates the local news for days on end, but the difference is - in Australia if a violent crime takes place, it dominates the news for the rest of the week because, when these things happen, they are the exception rather than the rule. In South Africa, sadly, there are so many violent crimes that many go un-reported.

Personally, I find that I'm able to do things in Australia that I never would in South Africa - like going jogging alone at 9pm. Going cycling without the fear of being held up. Driving at night without the threat of being hijacked. Of course, things happen, but you have to be very, very unlucky for things to happen to you. Although South Africans are generally "trained" in crime prevention, locking car doors, not leaving valuables on show, protection their houses, etc, there are still those cases that slip through the radar. I hear somewhere that a high percentage of burglars in Australia enter through the (unlocked) front door. There's a thought.

We've still not to this day, in my 2.5 years here, had any form of crime happen to us. Not even close relatives, now that I think about it.

Security in houses in Australia is generally flimsy. We have security gates, but really, they're to keep flies out. The only protection we have on windows are fly screens - you could tear them off with your hands. House alarms are on the increase - mostly for when people go on holiday.

Moral of my story - crime is everywhere, it does happen in Australia, but nowhere near as much as some other countries.

[LongJohnny]

I hear what you say OT. The types of crimes that are prevalent in RSA, are here in Oz too, but the difference is in the levels and frequency.
When LJ junior and his girlfriend were still sans cars, they always walked to each others houses, often alone and after dark. I don't think that would be wise in most parts of RSA.
However, I do notice a certain disrespect among especially youngsters (teens, early 20's) for the cops, but I think that is the trend in RSA as well nowadays.

I do prefer my present exposure to crime, though, a hoon driver or two maybe once a fortnight down my street, instead of my house getting burgled with Mrs LJ getting raped into the bargain.

Cheers,

LJ

[Nyala]

Yup, I recently went on a health spurt where I was determined to walk 8km every day...I did it and I did it from 9.00pm every night. I was never hassled by anyone, never threatened and never felt unsafe.

[Joan]

Yup, I recently went on a health spurt where I was determined to walk 8km every day...I did it and I did it from 9.00pm every night. I was never hassled by anyone, never threatened and never felt unsafe.

Had to giggle on this "health spurt"....... I do love walking, used to walk to work ( 3.5km from my house ) , but found it a little too much in the evening after standing om my feet all day long!
Hope you are still being a healthy one! We only go walking on weekends lately , but then, I must admid the weather in the UK is so miserable at times that we do not go for a walk.

In SA, when and where we go on holiday, we usually go for a walk at about 7pm ( Jan-Feb) and then all is calm and it is not too hot for a long lovely walk along the beach or the lagoon.




Crime is everywhere, we sold our house within ten days in the UK, only to lose the sale due to an attempted burgary............... it does not matter where you live, crime is everywhere. I have to agree though, violent crime and the protection needed in SA does not seem to be necessary in other Western countries