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The hot dog complaint is just a personal pet peeve of mine. For such simplistic food, it's hard to find a genuine place. There used to be one in the city, but they closed down. Burgers are easy to find, so I'm surprised hot dogs aren't.
Internet's a big hit and miss to me. Oftentimes I see ISP's advertise certain speeds only to find them under deliver in at least one area (either the upload or download speed ends up not meeting the requirement).
I'm at least partially comparing customer care to the likes found in North America, in which case the discrepancy becomes all too obvious, but it goes beyond that as I find staff service in big retailers lacking.
I think that sort of simple food here tends to be the kebab/HSP. Lots of those around the city where they can quickly whip one up for you. Hot dogs though, yeah they're fairly hard to find.
I am getting NBN in June so that should fix my problem but there's a bunch of other people who hate life as far as internet is concerned lol. Can you explain exactly where customer service is lacking? I don't have much to compare to in terms of other countries as I haven't experienced them or taken notice of anything exceptional.
Quote:
Originally Posted by other99
Yes Australia can be known as a nanny state. Like you need to ask permission from the council to cut down trees in your own yard, cyclist get fined without wearing a helmet or having a bell, plus you need a permit to play soccer or cricket at a public park, any gatherings of over 20 people at a beach need a permit as well, plus an adult having a bicycle needs a photo identification with them.
Australia was never always like that, and there was far less restrictions in the 1970's and it was much more of a carefree country, where you could bend the rules and no one cared.
You have no idea what you are on about, apart from the helmet thing I can do and have seen all of those things without council intervention. You're probably cherrypicking from about 2 councils in the entire country too. **** off.
Actually I am likely to get into a brawl with all the cockatoos that like to attack our outdoor furniture! And we live in the middle of Sydney. A nice kangaroo might chase them all away.
I think the rationale for the ban on over 12s riding on footpaths is, rightly or wrongly, to keep pedestrians safe.
I am sure Australia is not a good fit for everyone. Which is not a problem as more and more people are saying that we are full! Mostly because of the house prices and the traffic in Sydney and Melbourne.
Great thing about Australia is that it is more than Sydney and Melbourne. Of course those are great cities in their own right but you have got places like Cairns, Townsville, Darwin, Alice Springs, Broken Hill, Kalgoorlie and Broome etc. which are fairly small without much traffic I imagine but still great places to live with a high quality of life. Just pure awesomeness
Yes Australia can be known as a nanny state. Like you need to ask permission from the council to cut down trees in your own yard, cyclist get fined without wearing a helmet or having a bell, plus you need a permit to play soccer or cricket at a public park, any gatherings of over 20 people at a beach need a permit as well, plus an adult having a bicycle needs a photo identification with them.
Australia was never always like that, and there was far less restrictions in the 1970's and it was much more of a carefree country, where you could bend the rules and no one cared.
Some of those regulations sound more municipal rather than Federal. Are they?
Just for fun I looked up if we need permits for gathering on Vancouver beaches...couldn't find anything except in relation to hosting an official type event. I've seen drum circles of nearly 100 people on the beach and I doubt they had a permit or need one.
However, San Diego has a city rule that gatherings over 50 on the the beach must have a permit so I'm sure many cities do.
As for cutting down trees, or removal of existing trees, most cities, including Vancouver have restrictions even on your own property.
We have a bike helmet law ( usually not enforced ) here Vancouver as well.
None of these things make me feel I live in a nanny state.
Interesting all the talk about Australia the nanny state.
My general impression and probably that of a lot of people is that Australia would be a bit less of a nanny state than Canada is.
Would be interesting comparing....but we'd have to define what laws or regulations are considered nanny-like.
Also...as I mentioned earlier, aren't most of these laws and by-laws municipal? You probably would see a wide range across both countries since bigger cities tend to need more by-laws than smaller towns.
Im from the US, and Australia has an amazing reputation here
I want to make a trip there since AA started Sydney but I want to do more research of which areas are best to visit.
My perception of Australia is that is a progressive, fun, humane country that welcomes everyone. Australia is probably one of the more Favorited english speaking countries. Such a big country, lots to see and do. And they know how to handle gun control
Only thing I like better in America are the cities. (Miami, Boston, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, NY, Hoboken, Seattle)
Would be interesting comparing....but we'd have to define what laws or regulations are considered nanny-like.
Also...as I mentioned earlier, aren't most of these laws and by-laws municipal? You probably would see a wide range across both countries since bigger cities tend to need more by-laws than smaller towns.
Yes, they are council by-laws and the strictest are in the areas where parks and beaches have iconic locations. These areas are very popular for weddings and other events and the permits are ways to regulate their popularity. Also to help with the cost of cleaning up and so on.
There are very many parks in Sydney where it is common to have large gatherings without a permit. My grandson had a party of about sixty at a local park, just roll up and reserve the picnic tables. But in Waverley Council, parks which look,straight over the harbour to the opera house and are popular for weddings do require a permit and a fee.
Yes, they are council by-laws and the strictest are in the areas where parks and beaches have iconic locations. These areas are very popular for weddings and other events and the permits are ways to regulate their popularity. Also to help with the cost of cleaning up and so on.
There are very many parks in Sydney where it is common to have large gatherings without a permit. My grandson had a party of about sixty at a local park, just roll up and reserve the picnic tables. But in Waverley Council, parks which look,straight over the harbour to the opera house and are popular for weddings do require a permit and a fee.
Exactly. If it's in some random residential area, noone gives a stuff. People see Bondi Beach and think it's the same literally everywhere else
Now that you mention it, I do remember several restaurants I ate at that had very slow service and some of the wait staff seemed grumpy. However, I never had a problem with any of the food I ate there and never got food poisoning. So, I think they must have pretty good hygiene standards. In fact to this day, the best fish and chips I have ever had in my life was in Australia. Barramundi was delicious!
I think you just need to understand the system. You go to a restaurant sit down and a waiter comes to take your order. There’s probably some dividing of the tables of for organizational purposes but a waiter isn’t “yours” in the sense that he or she would be in North America (because there is no gratuity relationship with a single server). Sure the waiter who takes your order will not give you the level of personal service that they would in North America, but you can ask any waiter for something (or for your bill at the end) without feeling like you have to wait for “your server”. On my last trip, I noticed that you could often go up to the bar to settle your bill so when you are ready to leave, you are out of there in 5 minutes or so.
I’ve been to Australia twice and to many different parts and didn’t stay long enough to get past the honeymoon stage, but based on my experiences, I think Australians are more pragmatic and have more sense of civic responsibility in general than people in my own country. I’m sure I would see some things that irritated me if I lived there (like any person with any place) but it’s hard to imagine that they would be as bad as what we are dealing with in the USA now. I also like the sense of space - the western US used to be like that although climate, flora, and fauna are completely different. And the fact that there is so much subtropical and tropical coastline and such a small population spread across a huge country means that these coastal areas are not overrun with people like they are in the USA.
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