Life in Australia

Alright, I'll be honest.  I was saving this post for a lot later but forgot to write something for this week and had already started on this so you're getting it now.

I've been living in Australia for almost 5 months now and throughout that time have noticed some interesting things about everyday life.  Seeing as I've lived roughly 23 years in the US, obviously my comparisons are mainly to life there.

The Interesting:

• Alcohol here is expensive.  Whereas in the States you will 100% be saving money if you drink at your house, going out for a drink in Australia can cost about the same as it would to drink at home. Alcohol is highly taxed here which means the prices are substantially higher.  It's slightly confusing but here is an article from a few years ago that sums up the taxes nicely.
• You know when you see those special price tags at the grocery store that say "2 for $10?"  In the States, if you only buy one of those items, it will be $5.  In Australia, you only get the discount if you buy both. Get only one and it will be $6-7.
• Most rent payments in Australia occur every week as opposed to once a month.
• Payday is not on a set day (i.e. the 15th and 30th).  It's up to the employer when/how often employees get paid.  At my first job I got paid weekly and at the current it's every fortnight.
• Granted I've only had 2 jobs but I have yet to do a job interview in Australia.  Job trials seem to be more the norm (at least in the service industry).  Trial shifts are used to assess if the person is capable enough to do the job. These can either be paid or unpaid (although most are supposed to be paid).
• As opposed to paying every month, most utilities here are paid every 3 months.
• At least at the jobs I've had, clocking in/out of work is done by recording on paper versus an electronic system (although I know people who do use an electronic system).
• Stores and restaurants tend to close pretty early (at least in Adelaide).  It is rare to see a place open past 9. That said, bars and clubs stay open until at least 3am if not much later.
• I remember this from when I was here in July and working at the club, the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis is played a lot late at night at clubs.
• The only place to get alcohol is a bottle-o.  Grocery stores/servos do not sell it.
• Hardly anyone uses a tumble dryer for clothes.  I've actually only seen one house that owns a dryer.  Most people line/hang dry their clothes.
• I've gotten more used to it but 18 year olds are legally allowed to drink.
• Traffic cameras are everywhere.  Many are permanent fixtures but there are also portable speed cameras all over the place and they all actually work. 
• Labor laws.  There's a bunch of workers rights laws but they don't seem to be monitored/enforced that well.  A former coworker of mine who had previously worked at a very well known company said she got paid about $10/hour which is about half of the national minimum wage.  

The Good:

• Voting in Australia is compulsory; citizens are required to vote or they face a fine.
• All part and full time jobs put money into what is known as a super fund.  From my understanding, this is essentially a retirement fund.  The employer pays percentage (in addition to normal wages) into an individuals super account.  At age 65, an individual can access their retirement fund.  This means people are saving for retirement starting with their first part time job.
• Cigarette packs here have horrifying images on them in an attempt to prevent smoking.  Not sure if this works very well because it seems like a fair amount of people smoke but it is a nice addition.
• Most things banking wise here are very simple.  Transferring money to someone's account can happen almost instantly.  Paying with a card is incredibly fast using features like PayWave.
• Gumtree is Australia's version of Craigslist and it works very well.  Although I've only used Craigslist a few times, it always seems to be full of scams/people who flake out. People on Gumtree actually respond quickly and are legit (for the most part).
• People are normally incredibly polite.  Even when upset, most still have manors.  It's actually a little hard for me to take angry people seriously because of this.
• This is not Australia wide but is practiced in Adelaide.  For transit tickets, they have peak and off peak times.  Peak times are standard commuting hours and Saturdays. Off peak is everything else. Travelling on public transit during off peak is incredibly cheap.  The regular adult fare is $1.91 off peak and that gets you unlimited rides for 2 hours.
• A fair few bars have events known as "Sunday Sessions" which are basically just another excuse to go out on a Sunday afternoon.
• Self service checkouts at supermarkets are fast.  In the US, every time you scan something that annoying woman says "please place the item in the bag" and then pauses for what feels like an eternity.  Australian's don't have time for that and self checkout is way smoother.
• Wages here are amazing.  I did a post related to this a few weeks ago.  

A wild emu from last week

The Not So Nice:

• This is probably a thing that happens everywhere but I've noticed it more here.  Bars and clubs over serve alcohol a lot.  Almost every time I go out I see someone who is noticeably intoxicated and yet they're still being served.  Once while I was working at the club I had to get a security guard to help a guy leave since he was pretty much passing out standing up.  The security guard had passed by the person about 20 seconds prior.
• At least in Adelaide, people are horrible at walking on sidewalks.  I absolutely love living here and most the people are great but I just want to scream every time I'm walking somewhere.  There will always be someone walking in the middle of the sidewalk who then goes from one side to the other just as you're trying to pass them. Then there's the groups of 2+ people who somehow manage to take up the entire sidewalk leaving no passing room and maintain the pace of a snail.
• Flies.  Oh dear God the flies.  Yes, there are the normal houseflies which are annoying but then there are the bush flies.  Bush flies could possibly be more annoying than mosquitoes.  These little flies go straight for your face and will not stop.  You swat them away, they come back 2 seconds later.  And they always go for the face. Apparently trying to swat them away is called the "Aussie Salute."

- - - - -

Not a whole lot new going on but some quick updates from the past week:

• I'm absolutely loving my new place.  The location is great, the house is nice, and my housemates are awesome.
• Had a work party on Monday which was both fun and hilarious.

That's all for now.  Bye.