Do you have any australian friends?

danotroy

Having been laid up in bed sick and needing something brain dead to take my mind off the cold I watched the Sydney paddies abroad. It got me wondering how many of the people on boards actually have Australian friends? This is not meant to be a bragging thread about which one of us has assimilated into Australian culture the most. I can openly state I have not done one of perceived essential oz experience things to do. Truth be told only twice have I been more than 50km from Melbourne CBD. However I have not sat on my ass in a pub boozing the days away or getting drunk in a backpackers every night.

I came here alone in a sense. I came to live with an ex-housemate from my uni days in the UK who has since moved to London with his Australia girl. I primarily work in hospitality so I have a big circle of local acquaintances I would not call these friends but I can comfortable sit down with any of these workmates regulars and have a drink grab coffee/lunch if we meet spontaneously. I can honestly say after 18 months here I have 5 good friends two Australian guys I used to work with, one Australian girl I met from a hobby, a French guy I got to know through work and a Canadian girl I met. I have a professional colleague from Australia, i.e someone who works in the same field as me, and we meet regularly to discuss issues pertaining to our field.

I have no Irish friends as I do not meet many in my daily life, it can be weeks before I meet another Irish person and with that its usually me serving them a beer. Nobody I would call a friend from my home are out here in Melbourne either so I see no need to track down guys I wouldn’t have talked to in the pub at home on the otherside of the world.

After watching these tv shows it seems that these people come out here drink in the same bars and complain they have no aussie friends. I know if I didn’t work in hospitality I would not have such a big circle of acquaintances however I’m not under any illusion that these are friends if I ever leave Australia I will probably never speak to these people again.

How many of your genuine friends are Australian? Do you find it easy to meet Australians? Where do you meet them? Do any of ye have Australian girlfriends?

L'prof

Been here in Melbourne for less than 6 months. Work with some nice people that could become good friends if I stayed for longer or lived closer to work, but I'd say I have acquaintances moreso than friends. Living with and beside a group Irish, English & Welsh people didn't really help I guess. We mainly drink at home or all head out together for cheap drinks & food. It's a pity really. I think living so far away from work and being in a big city was a major factor in my case though as that's where I generally meet most of my friends back home.

danotroy

L'prof wrote: »

Been here in Melbourne for less than 6 months. Work with some nice people that could become good friends if I stayed for longer or lived closer to work, but I'd say I have acquaintances moreso than friends. Living with and beside a group Irish, English & Welsh people didn't really help I guess. We mainly drink at home or all head out together for cheap drinks & food. It's a pity really. I think living so far away from work and being in a big city was a major factor in my case though as that's where I generally meet most of my friends back home.

What do you work in? where do you live?

As i said i'm hospitality/intern and I live in Parkville with one of the guys i claim is my friend . I hope he has the same sentiment.

I think having no Irish friend makes me less home sick. I go to my one of local Irish pubs once a week and have a Guinness/feed and that does me for the homesickness. missing family is something different I do really miss them but skype, facebook and regular phone calls help immensely.

L'prof

Living in South Yarra and working in the airport in one of the lounges. 2 hours commute every day. I miss sausages, waffles, bacon and takeaways the most.

danotroy

man move to the docklands, west or north melbourne. It would save you so much time rent is cheaper in all those locations better bars and people are way nicer! South Yarra is overrun with yuppie types.

L'prof

Finishing up next week and driving a camper van from Cairns to Brisbane before we leave for Asia,
can't wait. Don't think our rent is too bad to be honest and it's a nice area.

danotroy

L'prof wrote: »

Finishing up next week and driving a camper van from Cairns to Brisbane before we leave for Asia,
can't wait. Don't think our rent is too bad to be honest and it's a nice area.

Enjoy the trip! The area is just so superficial! however the botanical gardens are amazing.

Xavi6

After six and a half years I'd be worried if I didn't have Australian friends!

My football club is mostly English, Scottish and Irish while my work colleagues are mostly Aussies. I have good friends from both so the mix is great.

I don't actively seek out Irish people to befriend like a lot of folk seem to.

My gf is also Aussie.

Cooperspale

Yes.
But I am here awhile now and would certainly hope so at this stage.
Regarding Melbourne, sometimes it can be very where did you go to school? And if your answer doesn't measure up some of the locals will glaze over/ move on. In Sydney, the question tends to be: where do you live? and it will get a similar response.
I have met Australian friends through work, friends of friends and clubs. I'd only have a couple of Irish pals here, the bulk are still back in the old country. I also have a couple of Kiwi friends and they are great people.

catbear

Know loads of Aussie through work and try as I might I just can't get excited about what most are into. Getting up at 5am for a jog around the park etc just isn't going to happen, I'm too old for that ****e. Plus nearly all the Aussies I know are in bed by 9pm, I'll never adjust to that.

CatFromHue

If you're on a WHV it's hard to make friends with the locals really as it's a fairly transient lifestyle.

danotroy

CatFromHue wrote: »

If you're on a WHV it's hard to make friends with the locals really as it's a fairly transient lifestyle.

I would say that being on a WHV is transient only if you want/chose it to be. Living/socializing in hostels/irish areas will make the experience more transient as you will meet many people living such a life. However if you move out of these areas and force yourself to meet people who are actually living their lives with some degree of longevity the transient nature of the WHV subsides.

The Aussie

catbear wrote: »

Know loads of Aussie through work and try as I might I just can't get excited about what most are into. Getting up at 5am for a jog around the park etc just isn't going to happen, I'm too old for that ****e. Plus nearly all the Aussies I know are in bed by 9pm, I'll never adjust to that.

Ha, I still do that. Will be in bed before 10.00 tonight and up turning Crows inside out well before 6.00am.

Great way to make themostof a day.

CatFromHue

danotroy wrote: »

I would say that being on a WHV is transient only if you want/chose it to be. Living/socializing in hostels/irish areas will make the experience more transient as you will meet many people living such a life. However if you move out of these areas and force yourself to meet people who are actually living their lives with some degree of longevity the transient nature of the WHV subsides.

Yeah that's about right and would reflect my WHV experiences somewhat. If you can only get transient work though it gives you a transient lifestyle and so you don't meet many locals.

universe777

Been by myself here for the last year, here in Melbourne just over 3 years.
Aussies are a very difficult bunch to infiltrate and I only mainly meet backpackers through work, they move on. Again I would only call them acquaintances..
Living in Prahran at the minute and I find the area very superficial and fake.

Lucifer-0

I'm finding it difficult to make Aussie friends.
The main reason is definitely my job. I work in I.T. The work I do doesn't involve a whole lot of interaction with others, but my manager has definitely made it worse. Hasn't really introduced me to anyone, treats me like I could be gone next week, just getting a monthly contract that they keep renewing, hate it. Here 5 months and the only Aussie I really know and could call a mate is my house mate.

danotroy

universe777 wrote: »

Been by myself here for the last year, here in Melbourne just over 3 years.
Aussies are a very difficult bunch to infiltrate and I only mainly meet backpackers through work, they move on. Again I would only call them acquaintances..
Living in Prahran at the minute and I find the area very superficial and fake.

Move. Prahran is a utter tripe. There is only one or two good bars in the area and their cliental leaves alot to be desired.

Its going to be hard to make ozzie friends if you primarily work with backpackers.

danotroy

CatFromHue wrote: »

Yeah that's about right and would reflect my WHV experiences somewhat. If you can only get transient work though it gives you a transient lifestyle and so you don't meet many locals.

This is true. But IMO this cycle can easily be broken if you move out of the backpacker areas.

markymark21

universe777 wrote: »

Been by myself here for the last year, here in Melbourne just over 3 years.
Aussies are a very difficult bunch to infiltrate and I only mainly meet backpackers through work, they move on. Again I would only call them acquaintances..
Living in Prahran at the minute and I find the area very superficial and fake.

Drive 5 minutes up the road to south Yarra, it's ten times worse! At least prahran has some good spots. Woods of Windsor is a super little restaurant. Borscht is cool as well

danotroy

markymark21 wrote: »

Drive 5 minutes up the road to south Yarra, it's ten times worse! At least prahran has some good spots. Woods of Windsor is a super little restaurant. Borscht is cool as well

I hung around Borsch alot, so much so I got my girlfriend a job there. Kid bostons is also okay. other than that its slim pickings.

universe777

If we are talking bars in Prahran, the only one I like is Lucky Coq. Maybe I should be on the northside..

danotroy

universe777 wrote: »

If we are talking bars in Prahran, the only one I like is Lucky Coq. Maybe I should be on the northside..

Lucky coq is a poor mans version of its sister bar bimbos which is on Brunswick street.

Diddler82

I am here 3.5 years and I built up a good network of friends from work and from playing football. The majority of lads I play football with are English, Irish, Scottish and Australian. Of all the Australians I have played football with during this time, there is only 2 I know I will be lifelong friends with. The Irish, English and Scottish lads .. there is at least 10!

The two guys in question are from Western Sydney and I have a lot more in common with them in terms of sport, upbringing and general outlook on life. If that makes sense. The other’s .. I am friendly with them but would not be calling them up for a beer .. some profiles and possible reasons below (to give you a view of Australians in my eyes).

- 24 yr old Bondi kid, Father is a well known barrister who works on high profile cases. He is a Uni student studying civil engineering. Funny thing is I spend the most time with this kid as I get a lift home from football with him 3 times a week for the last 4 seasons. However, he could not tell you one thing about me (girlfriends name, age, where I am from, what I work at) but I could tell you everything about him - why? because he has never asked me a personal question! He is not a bad kid, just consumed in his own little world and his stories usually revolve around his Dad’s friend who owns this or his friend who’s parents own that.

- The “arty/hipster” type.. there is about 4 guys in the squad who are from Canberra (not all friends either) and are all decent blokes but just don’t try to mingle with the others. Again, will chat away but make no effort to get to know you (where you’re from, what you do etc), don’t come out for beers with the team, don’t appear to even want to make an effort to be a part of things.

- The Darwin guys.. They don’t train when it’s cold, they go on the p1ss and then miss games and generally give off the impression they don’t give a feck! 3 really top notch guys to have a beer with and do get involved on occasion, but they are very clannish here in Sydney and generally only mix with fellow NT’ers for some reason!

In work, there is a few people I get on very well with – another guy from out west near Castle Hill, my Manager who is from Hobart and another guy who is a bit older than me (he’s 43) who is from Cairns. Sydneysiders, well I was given a golden rule from a girl from Newcastle (in NSW) when I first arrived over. She told me to steer clear of any female who was raised within 20km's of the CBD as all that comes with them is drama, shallowness, drama, selfishness and drama!

I usually apply this to everyone now, I find people from the Eastern Suburbs and Northern Beaches etc very dull and shallow and I know quite a few. Okay people to have a beer with but similar to the kid I play football with. Consumed in a little world with little awareness of what goes on outside of it.. it’s almost like a subconscious ignorance (if that makes sense?). Maybe they are happy with their own little world and don’t want anyone else in it. But for me it’s the simple things like .. “How was your weekend” or “How is your girlfriend” .. with these people their conversations only ever start with “I” and revolve around said person for the duration!

jackbhoy

Just reading through this thread made me think about my contact with Aussies over last few years.

Pretty much all of my friends are Aussie. I have Irish friends that I have known since primary school but they live on east coast so we only really catch up about once a year.

My experience has been that I get along much better with Aussies that are around my age or older i.e. 30+. I have made numerous friends from this age up and many of them will be friends for life, even if I eventually decide to leave Oz for something new.

I find 20 something Inner suburb Melburnians (where I live) can often be hard work. They just expend so much energy trying to be cool and hispsterish and take themselves so seriously I often find it hard to click with them. They seem to mistake obnoxiousness and strident manner for wit and can be tediously vacuous. There is more than a little bit of the Celtic Cub syndrome with many of them.

Obviously this is all totally subjective and have met some sound folks who are in their 20s as well. But all the 30 something Aussie mates I have are very laid back and confident enough in their own skins to be good craic and a bit self-deprecating.

Maybe I am just getting old and don't "understand the young ones" anymore

statina

Have two very close Aussie friends who I will be friends for life with. The rest would be aquaintances who I wont stay in contact with when I go home. Other than that, the rest of my friends I made out here are Swedish, English and Czech.