Smart things about AUS & NZ ....

Auscast

Gold Class Cinema Seating - Wine/beer/champers and hot snacks in big comfy chairs in the back section of the theatre. All the cinemas also have a bar for a pre-movie drink.

BYO - Bring your own bottle of wine to a restaurant - why don't they do that here???

Food Variety - Food halls in shopping centers have loads of international foods - take Bondi Junction as a great example.

Bottle Shops - The Aussie version of the Offy - they're bigger though (like hardware stores) and have great bargains on cleanskin wines

Clean Skin Wines - plain label wines sold at discount prices - 6 for $10 when on special!

Baby Showers - Any excuse for a party, and it makes the girls feel great.

Yum Cha - not Australian, but now part of the culture. If you haven't done it, try it this weekend!

Other things:

Pizza Hut pizzas are much cheaper
Duty Free in the Airport
Tongs - it's hard to find a good pair of tongs in Ireland
Bikinis - you see them more often down under
Gourmet Sausages - there's more than just pork!

Zambia

mandrake04 wrote: »

I like the SS UTE, but would draw the line at the crewman.

If you require more than 2 seats this is a better option

if anyone wants one go down to ferntree Gully Toyota. They are all being sold off will Hail damage. This would be around 34,000 bucks drive away

blues2

1. Yellow advisory speed on corners on highways. Not compulsary but going much over it and you may end in the ditch!

2. Tomatoe ketchup tubs in takeaways - just squeeze each end and it pops out the middle!

3. Cool road signs to stop u killing the native animals while also getting the point across. More common in Northern QLD.

4. Entertainment book - www.entertainmentbook.com.au has excellent vouchers for restaurants and things to do. Costs about $60 but well worth it.

5. Medicare - if i was an ozzie.

Cant think of any more now.

watna

Hmm, most have been said already. Eftpos, eftpos in taxis, superannuation, if you open a kiwisaver account the government give you $1000 and you can get access to the money if you are buying your first home or leave the country permanenetly (which I will be doing in a year or two - I get all my money, the government money and my employer contributions), yum cha, hadn't heard of it before moving to NZ but go at least once a month, BYO (love it!).

I also like how kiwis buy/sell second hand goods. If you want to get rid of someting it's easy to sell on trade me and if you want to buy something but don't want a new one you can pick it up easily and cheaply second hand. It's great that things are re-used and it's not seen as poor to buy things second hand.

jank

brendansmith wrote: »

Insulation is used for insulation

Aluminum sheeting is cheap, easy to produce and transport, minimalistic, very flexible and workable and more environmentally friendly = Smart

I am a big fan of keeping things simple, over-complication means mistakes and mess ups.

One mans simplier job can also mean taking the lazy way out. Your half way to being an ozzie already!:D

jank

BYO, yes yes yes!!!
Jugs of beer! Why cant they do it at home.
Also licensing hours here should be like its at home.

blues2

$10 steaks - and usually decent quality

brendansmith

jank wrote: »

One mans simplier job can also mean taking the lazy way out. Your half way to being an ozzie already!:D

You're not to far off it yourself mate. That first sentence is a lazy attempt at the English language. Maybe you should go back to school.

brendansmith

Zambia232 wrote: »

if anyone wants one go down to ferntree Gully Toyota. They are all being sold off will Hail damage. This would be around 34,000 bucks drive away

I saw relatively new honda car parked today with hail damage.
It looked like sh1t!
Ill keep my 34 grand.

jank

brendansmith wrote: »

You're not to far off it yourself mate. That first sentence is a lazy attempt at the English language. Maybe you should go back to school.

Who said English was my first language?

spurious

Long service leave - effectively an optional paid career break every 10th yr of work, paid for by the person themselves in increased superannuation.

Smarties123

I love the Aussie money. Dosen't matter if you put it in the wash, still comes out perfect. However one thing Ireland does better than Oz and NZ is comfy pubs, with lovely comfy couches where you can chill out for a quiet pint...ahh, they just dont exist over here

mel.b

Good thread

Things I love about Australia:

1. BPAY - all bills have a BPAY code and you can pay them directly from your internet banking. How easy is that!

2. Annual leave loading - being paid an extra 20% just to go on holidays. Gotta love it (and long service leave)

3. No parking meters in most towns. Seriously, I hate having to pay for parking here and especially resent the fact they won't let me pay for less than an hour of parking.

4. Cat's eyes/reflective markers on the sides of the roads. Driving on most roads in Ireland at night is not fun as you can barely see where the road is and there is no edge to the road as it's a stone fence!

5. The aussie way of buying a house. As others have mentioned you buy a block of land you like and then put the house you like on it. None of this rubbish where 100 houses in an estate are identical.

Someone mentioned that EFTPOS is better than Laser. Personally I don't see/know what the difference is Both take the money out of your 'savings' account and both let you get cash back at the time of purchase. In fact, Laser might have the slight edge as you can use it to pay for things over the phone (have done this with my car insurance) and also on some websites, which you can't do with EFTPOS (would need a visa debit to do this).

watna

mel.b wrote: »

Someone mentioned that EFTPOS is better than Laser. Personally I don't see/know what the difference is Both take the money out of your 'savings' account and both let you get cash back at the time of purchase. In fact, Laser might have the slight edge as you can use it to pay for things over the phone (have done this with my car insurance) and also on some websites, which you can't do with EFTPOS (would need a visa debit to do this).

Well, the reason I think it's better is that there is no minimum charge if you want to use it like many places have with laser back home. If you want to pay for something that's a dollar with your laser, then you can and they don't make a fuss about it. Everywhere accepts it, even taxis, as mentioned above. It's just must easier to use.

Also - my Eftpos card is a visa debit too anyway.

Father Damo

Looking thru this tbh apart from BYO I cant see one thing they have over us. In all honestly, all they have better is

Weather

Cheap cost of living compared to wage (I sometimes make more here than I did back home but pay 60% of the cost of a pint and everything else is so cheap, sweet as!)

A brilliant fast underground road network in Sydney (which i wish they didnt have, Id rather sit for hours on the ute and get paid rather than get from x to y in 10 mins and actually have to work on arrival :pac: )

A quality Prime Minister. Its hard not to laugh when you hear Rudd getting a bad knock in the polls, he is a qalty leader. The only Aussie who actually knows how to organise anything.

Cheap phone credit

More to do whilst sober

Quality nightclubs with quality tunes (excluding Cairns and other backpackery dumps)

And....thats about it. I did a thread a while back on what sucked about here and agreed with alot more of the reples (this is shane86 by the way, no idea what my last 3 PMs were to get the old one back and anyway fancied changin the name )

Superannuaton? Pain in the arse, as if I want to save for a pension fund when I might die before I can use it. Really, apart from the weather, costy of lving and the inherent greed of every business in Ireland we are the ones who could show the Aussies a thing or two about how to make a nice pizza, burger or how to fcuking organise things (as, generally speakng, Aussies cant be relied upon to organise a sh1te in a toilet, Ive now become used to the fact if I request an Aussie to take care of something that is their responsibility, it probably isnt going to happen the first time)

Father Damo

watna wrote: »

Well, the reason I think it's better is that there is no minimum charge if you want to use it like many places have with laser back home. If you want to pay for something that's a dollar with your laser, then you can and they don't make a fuss about it. Everywhere accepts it, even taxis, as mentioned above. It's just must easier to use.

Also - my Eftpos card is a visa debit too anyway.

tbh nothing grinds my gears worse than people using efptos taking ages to buy 2 bottles of beer infront of me in the queue. Carry cash FFS. The only time I use it is if I am too far from an ANZ to bother getting cash, otherwise its a pain in the arse.

jank

Can you give examples on Ozzies cant organize things because I cant see it.

mandrake04

jank wrote: »

Can you give examples on Ozzies cant organize things because I cant see it.

Mate if your going to come and live over here get the lingo correct FFS

This is an Ozzie












and this is an Aussie

Zambia

brendansmith wrote: »

I saw relatively new honda car parked today with hail damage.
It looked like sh1t!
Ill keep my 34 grand.

Trick is you need to buy something that looks ok with a few dents. Like a Hi-lux

hawkelady

I'll tell you what NZ has to offer that Eire can't. Pies,all different types of pies, steak and cheese etc. All Ireland can do is a half arsed attempt at a breakfast roll!!!Can't beat a good pie for lunch..

Father Damo

jank wrote: »

Can you give examples on Ozzies cant organize things because I cant see it.

By your location status Im going to assume you are newly arrived here.

When you encounter issues like your construction green card not having been sent after a year despite repeated requests (Im still using my one month valid cert), your payslips and timesheets not being sent to you after SIX requests, and wandering around a train station looking at signposts to toilets that arent actually there anymore, come back to me. When I first arrived and encountered this sh1t I used to mutter "typically Aussie" but by now I barely notice, its part of my daily life. Aussies cant organise ANYTHING. Kevin Rudd is, lireally and quite luckily, the only Aussie who hasnt his head up his arse when it comes to getting things done. tbh by now Im immune to it, I see so many dozen ridicilous **** ups in my day its part of life, I cant even see them. FFS, I go to the ticket machine in central station and Im surrounded by begging smackheads, all the while the rail cops are riding the trains trying to catch peop[e using student tickets. Cops with dogs raiding clubs, bars and festivals trying to catch generally decent people with a few yips or some weed, yet they let out of it psycho meth-heads wander the streets all day no hassle. Its not even funny.

jank

Father Damo wrote: »

By your location status Im going to assume you are newly arrived here.

When you encounter issues like your construction green card not having been sent after a year despite repeated requests (Im still using my one month valid cert), your payslips and timesheets not being sent to you after SIX requests, and wandering around a train station looking at signposts to toilets that arent actually there anymore, come back to me. When I first arrived and encountered this sh1t I used to mutter "typically Aussie" but by now I barely notice, its part of my daily life. Aussies cant organise ANYTHING. Kevin Rudd is, lireally and quite luckily, the only Aussie who hasnt his head up his arse when it comes to getting things done. tbh by now Im immune to it, I see so many dozen ridicilous **** ups in my day its part of life, I cant even see them. FFS, I go to the ticket machine in central station and Im surrounded by begging smackheads, all the while the rail cops are riding the trains trying to catch peop[e using student tickets. Cops with dogs raiding clubs, bars and festivals trying to catch generally decent people with a few yips or some weed, yet they let out of it psycho meth-heads wander the streets all day no hassle. Its not even funny.

For a second there I thought you were describing Ireland. Until the mention of Kevin Rudd. As you young pups have now realised there is no perfect country. Seems to me you like giving out.

Father Damo

Giving out? Come on, as if any of what I described above is remotely acceptable.

One thing we could do with importing is the friendliness of businesses to their customers. I was pretty shocked when I was offered a few rolls in a pub once and didnt have to pay for it. In Ireland EVERYTHING is about money.

Mellor

Just going to paly the devils advocate for a bit.

brendansmith wrote: »

3. Timber framed, aluminium sheet roofed lightweight construction - Get er done

Don't be stupid, anyone who is involved with australian construction, should see that it is a lot easier to build here due to conditions. Alu sheets wouldn't work as well in ireland and they look ****e.

Zambia232 wrote: »

Houses

• You buy your land then pick the house and builder you want.

Not everywhere, seleted areas I believe. Dealing with Sydney councils can be a pain in the arse. Some of the hoops you need to jump through to get the smallest thing approved is ridic.

hussey wrote: »

EFTPOS - yards better than laser!

You've been away too long or had a ****ty bank. My laser from home is a visa debit and is identical to eftpos

brendansmith wrote: »

3. Nope, they only have to keep out the weather and in the heat, there is no need to put a ton of slate or clay over your head.

What heat would be be keeping out in ireland?

hussey

Mellor wrote: »

You've been away too long or had a ****ty bank. My laser from home is a visa debit and is identical to eftpos

4 years! last time I used my laser (2 years ago) it took 3 days to get taken out of my account.
I dunno if this is no longer the case, but it used to annoy me when I took money out on wednesday and friday look at my balance, take more money out and realise I'm overdrawn on monday

maybe it has changed since then - but there still is a huge tax on laser at home.
none over here

universe777

I can see nothing good about Australia.

1. We have to pay for banking?? They got rid of that donkies years ago in Ireland, and almost every other country.

2. Laser = Eftpos card, there is no difference.

3. The food, not talking about food in restaurants, but to buy in supermarkets, it's f**kin atrocious. Australians cannot make quality dairy products or quality fresh fruit & veg, it's all rotten and overpriced.

4. Pre-paid mobile phones - If I want to pay $20 for phone credit I should get $20 of phone credit, not more with a lot of restrictions and an expiry date.

5. Work - why on earth are people tripping over themselves to come out here, be it on WHV's, sponsored (if you have a job it's easier), or some other visas. There are no more job ads than Dublin, almost all job ads are from f**kin agencies, and not a lot of them are real. There is no work, I have a proper visa, not a WHV.

6. Public transport - only experience of the trams, extortionately priced compared to the Luas, and most of them belong in communist Russia.

7. Internet - wake up Australia, the internet has existed for a long time, in normal countries it works when it should, and doesn't cost the GDP of a small country.

8. Laziness - Most Australians are lazy, if you want something done they need to be harrassed.

hussey

universe777 wrote: »

I can see nothing good about Australia.

Why do we have to always have this? We are talking about smart things about Aus & Nz ... why ruin this tread?

This forum is really going down the last few months, before it was a forum where people would ask for advice and receive it.

Now it just seems to be a whole Ireland Vs Australia argument.

Seriously the Ranting and Raving Form is here why not use that?

Also since when is banking free in Ireland - how much is Nama costing the tax payers If I get my wages in my account banking is free - same with nearly all banks. Plenty of banks offer free banking.

Doop

universe777 wrote: »

I can see nothing good about Australia.

1. We have to pay for banking?? They got rid of that donkies years ago in Ireland, and almost every other country.

2. Laser = Eftpos card, there is no difference.

Id agree with you there, banking IMO is more expensive over here

universe777 wrote: »

3. The food, not talking about food in restaurants, but to buy in supermarkets, it's f**kin atrocious. Australians cannot make quality dairy products or quality fresh fruit & veg, it's all rotten and overpriced..

Fruit & veg ?? most of it is grown here and is therefore reasonably priced... most of the sutff in Irish supermarkets has been flown half way round the world, to get onto the shelves in a supermarket

universe777 wrote: »

4. Pre-paid mobile phones - If I want to pay $20 for phone credit I should get $20 of phone credit, not more with a lot of restrictions and an expiry date..

I spend a hell of alot more money on my prepaid mobile inIreland then I do over here...and I can make numerous calls back to Ireland on my mobile from here without costing a fortune. You cant say the reverse ringing Aus from Ireland on a pre pay mobile!

universe777 wrote: »

5. Work - why on earth are people tripping over themselves to come out here, be it on WHV's, sponsored (if you have a job it's easier), or some other visas. There are no more job ads than Dublin, almost all job ads are from f**kin agencies, and not a lot of them are real. There is no work, I have a proper visa, not a WHV..

Congrats on the visa... you must be better then everyone else :cool:
Most jobs go through agencies over here,... thats just the way they do it... and dont kid yourself saying theres work in Ireland. And there IS plenty of work here.

universe777 wrote: »

6. Public transport - only experience of the trams, extortionately priced compared to the Luas, and most of them belong in communist Russia..

Return journey on the luas .. 4.30 euro ($6.46), 2hr tram ticket $3.70
I dont know if you noticed or not but there are only 2 tram lines in dublin.... therefore being feck all use to the majority of people. Yes the trams are rust buckets... but I think the fact you can get almost anywhere in the city on a tram is impressive... and then you have the trains aswell..

universe777 wrote: »

8. Laziness - Most Australians are lazy, if you want something done they need to be harrassed.

No lazy Irish people ? no? All of my Aussie froends are very hard working... but then they must be the exception..

and last but not least... why are you here if ts soooo bad ???

Mellor

universe777 wrote: »

I can see nothing good about Australia.

1. We have to pay for banking?? They got rid of that donkies years ago in Ireland, and almost every other country.

Not really, outside of the EU its common to get charged. The states for example. I agree its annoying, but Aus isn't alone here.

4. Pre-paid mobile phones - If I want to pay $20 for phone credit I should get $20 of phone credit, not more with a lot of restrictions and an expiry date.

Lol, are you serious. If thats something that bothers you then you have issues.

Solutions:
Buy regular credit, you aren't forced to buy a cap
Buy a contract phone, if you don't want a contract see above.

5. Work - why on earth are people tripping over themselves to come out here, be it on WHV's, sponsored (if you have a job it's easier), or some other visas. There are no more job ads than Dublin, almost all job ads are from f**kin agencies, and not a lot of them are real. There is no work, I have a proper visa, not a WHV.

If somebody can't find a job. Then you simply aren't good enough. I was offered 3 jobs in a week. None of which I applied for (I was off work a few days and they heard about it). I took the first one, I have a salary way higher than I'd expect in Ireland. The work situation here is far better than in Ireland.

I know of 5 people in my graduating class still working in the industry. 4 of us are or were in Oz

Xavi6

As said, this is about the good things that Aus/NZ has to offer. If you want to thread spoil then go somewhere else.