Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A "fit to eat" complaint shouldn't extend to poor comprehension of menus.
It wasn't me that made an issue of it- I just observed the spectacle of someone getting angry when they realised they made a mistake, and then letting that anger getting the better part of their demeanor..... it was presented as an example of a proud complaining culture, but us wise antipodeans saw it as a wonderful piece of drama, with human nature as it's theme
Look I wasn't there to state how it was one way or the other. But back to the core issue of the reluctance of Australasians in general to shy from complaint. That I find to be much the case.
In general I do not think that an Australasian (obviously exception to the rule) could educate a European on table manners and certainly not dinner conversation.
But we are getting somewhat off subject.
I'm still trying to come up with a town fitting the criteria the OP sought. Bit of a tall order.
My family of 4 (kids ages 1 and 4) have a permanent residency visa for Australia and are planning to relocate from the U.S. to Australia in 2020. We love our town, but dislike the U.S. and are trying to decide where to start off in Australia. Our only experience so far was our 3 week stay last year in Brisbane, which we thoroughly enjoyed, but we are more used to small town living. I would love any pointers for towns in Australia that are somewhat similar to where we live in the U.S. – Spring Green, Wisconsin. I’ll give you a description of our town here and what we like about it (and don’t like about it), and if you have suggestions of places to research in Australia, that would be amazing!
Spring Green, WI is a community of a little less than 2,000 people. It is about 45-60 minutes from the capitol of Wisconsin (Madison), which also has a very highly ranked university and is very progressive politically. Spring Green is progressive politically and socially (compared to other rural areas in Wisconsin), it has a great community vibe where others really help each other out, and it is very walkable with schools, grocery stores, restaurants, parks all walkable from your house if you live in town. Spring Green is very artsy, focusing on Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, a nationally renowned theater, and many local oriented artists and shops. It has developed a tourist industry with the arts and with several delicious restaurants, that offer healthier foods and gluten free options, which would otherwise be very unusual for a town this size. Spring Green also is situated in a beautiful natural area along the Wisconsin River and within a 30 minute drive to several State parks with access to swimming, hiking, camping, etc.
As you can tell, we love where our town. Does my description remind you of any place in Australia… a smaller town 1,500-10,000 people, within 30-60 minutes of a hospital (and preferably a university), progressive politics, great outdoor options. One thing we would like to change compared to Spring Green is the weather… We do not love winter here (lots of clouds, snow, ice, negative degree weather). We would prefer to live somewhere near the ocean with great swimming, and with a sunnier climate that is enjoyable outside year round. My husband has severe mold allergies, so a drier climate may also be better.
Proximity to work (and one of the major cities) is not necessarily a limiting factor, but there must be high speed internet. Affordable housing is also important, although we found the prices for renting a house/flat in Brisbane to be fairly affordable ($1800-2500/month)
Thank you!!
Well, parts of Brisbane are progressive, but much of Brisbane is conservative, same with much of the rest of Queensland. Parts of Queensland are as conservative as Utah and Mississippi. The South Eastern states tend to be more progressive, yet there are exceptions. You are looking for coastal regions, and the City of Newcastle is progressive, same with the NSW south coast like from Wollongong and coastal towns further south. Inner Sydney and inner west of Sydney is progressive. Victoria is the most progressive state of Australia and is like Massachusetts.
I do wonder if entire locations in the Australian context could be called 'progressive' or simply a few specific localities within certain locations?
As far as cities go Melbourne does appear to have the most burghers possessing liberal thought. Does that make it progressive? Not sure. It is or was after all the most industrialised city in Australia. No doubt plenty of Bogan suburbs still flourishing together with inbred attitudes to a whole range of life issues.
I live inner city Perth. While it is certainly small 't' trendy, rather youngish, quite tolerant, I suspect more in appearance and presentation than in any deep particularly meaningful way. One just unintentionally eavesdrops at one of the cafes to detect a certain mundane and everyday exchange of words between those in close proximity to arrive at a conclusion of the shallowness of exchange . Barely ever hear anything outside the 'ringed fence' being discussed, more day to day matters than any meatier matters of a political, philosophical or worldlier theme which may be over heard in places abroad in similar termed 'progressive' locations.
While perhaps appearance over substance with many, it should be considered that life is so much harder in Australia these day. With many folk having colossal debt paying off over priced real estate , with material values firmly installed in so many of the young, it is not easy to be abstract or philosophical with Hecs fees to pay off, stress in the work force to contend with, along with long working hours (Australians work some of the longest hours in developed world together with high cost of everything.
Last edited by the troubadour; 08-02-2019 at 08:19 PM..
I do wonder if entire locations in the Australian context could be called 'progressive' or simply a few specific localities within certain locations?
As far as cities go Melbourne does appear to have the most burghers possessing liberal thought. Does that make it progressive? Not sure. It is or was after all the most industrialised city in Australia. No doubt plenty of Bogan suburbs still flourishing together with inbred attitudes to a whole range of life issues.
I live inner city Perth. While it is certainly small 't' trendy, rather youngish, quite tolerant, I suspect more in appearance and presentation than in any deep particularly meaningful way. One just unintentionally eavesdrops at one of the cafes to detect a certain mundane and everyday exchange of words between those in close proximity to arrive at a conclusion of the shallowness of exchange . Barely ever hear anything outside the 'ringed fence' being discussed, more day to day matters than any meatier matters of a political, philosophical or worldlier theme which may be over heard in places abroad in similar termed 'progressive' locations.
While perhaps appearance over substance with many, it should be considered that life is so much harder in Australia these day. With many folk having colossal debt paying off over priced real estate , with material values firmly installed in so many of the young, it is not easy to be abstract or philosophical with Hecs fees to pay off, stress in the work force to contend with, along with long working hours (Australians work some of the longest hours in developed world together with high cost of everything.
You are right there are bogan suburbs with people with outdated and politically incorrect views in Melbourne. That the same with some regional areas of Victoria However Victoria is the most Labor friendly area of Australia and the leftist Labor minister Daniel Andrews easily got reelected in the last state election. Victoria is now the first state in Australia to allow euthanasia.
You are right there are bogan suburbs with people with outdated and politically incorrect views in Melbourne. That the same with some regional areas of Victoria However Victoria is the most Labor friendly area of Australia and the leftist Labor minister Daniel Andrews easily got reelected in the last state election. Victoria is now the first state in Australia to allow euthanasia.
Its might be worth considering that qld has had state labour governments for 25 of the last 30 years. So what happens at state level is not really that indicative.
If the good people of Melbourne wish to take in the "progressives" who glue themselves to the street in the middle of peak hour, they are very welcome to have them.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 08-03-2019 at 04:16 AM..
Its might be worth considering that qld has had state labour governments for 25 of the last 30 years. So what happens at state level is not really that indicative.
If the good people of Melbourne wish to take in the "progressives" who glue themselves to the street in the middle of peak hour, they are very welcome to have them.
Well, Pauline Hanson One Nation does better in Queensland than other states especially in the federal elections and she has called for a ban on Muslim Immigration. Bob Katter who always wins elections in his electorate once stated there are no homosexuals living in his electorate. It's also the place of Fraser Anning who blamed the Christchurch mosque shooting on Muslims themselves and wants to return to the White Australian Policy.
Well, Pauline Hanson One Nation does better in Queensland than other states especially in the federal elections and she has called for a ban on Muslim Immigration. Bob Katter who always wins elections in his electorate once stated there are no homosexuals living in his electorate. It's also the place of Fraser Anning who blamed the Christchurch mosque shooting on Muslims themselves and wants to return to the White Australian Policy.
True indeed, just pointing out that as a state level we have very little problem electing centre left governments.
Anyway, the OP has not come back to tell us what they mean by politically progressive. If they are talking about things like abortion on demand, gay rights, low levels of adherence to organised religion, recycling, they are pretty much the norm in most places here. Things that the inner city councils focus on, such as bike tracks and tree removal policies are really more of issues in an urban area than a small town. School curriculums are state based as are many medical services. Availability of gluten free food is pretty much a supply and demand issue but I think the food in most regional areas is great compared to how it was in years gone by.
I don't necessary consider voting Labor in a state election as a sign of being progressive. More a centralist party than left these days, apart from holding the banner on a few issues , they often these days attempt to prove their economic conservative agenda to arrest criticism on that front.
As for Federal elections, who knows how far Labor will reform previous electoral manifesto to a much watered down version. That went some way (last election) to dispel progressive policies win elections in Australia.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
