I need tips from Aussie dopers.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Aaaggh. Look excuse me while I go all grumpy for a moment here, would you?

I’m not going to go into the merits and demerits of tipping, for a full discussion see the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs. But suffice to say that it is not immediately obvious to all that it is a Good Thing.

So to suggest that it is merely something that Australia is not yet “hip to” could well be viewed as cultural arrogance, which is likely to get up some Australians’ noses.

Yes, this whole topic is a pet peeve of mine. Grumpiness over.

22

Aaaggh. Look excuse me while I go all grumpy for a moment here, would you?

I’m not going to go into the merits and demerits of tipping, for a full discussion see the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs. But suffice to say that it is not immediately obvious to all that it is a Good Thing.

So to suggest that it is merely something that Australia is not yet “hip to” could well be viewed as cultural arrogance, which is likely to get up some Australians’ noses.

Yes, this whole topic is a pet peeve of mine. Grumpiness over.

23

As you’ve been here before, you’re already aware that we have very different attitudes to things such as gun control and abortion.

It’s worth keeping in mind that attitudes here are very divided on the Middle East situation.

24

Another Western Australian chipping in.

Tips: I’ve never done it - even for dinner - and no-one I know tips regularly. It hadn’t even occurred to me, before I got to read a little about the tipping habits of US Dopers. It’s certainly not expected nor necessary.

Pokies: Hey, another reason to come out west: no pokies! Mass gambling (sports betting and lotteries aside) is confined to the casino. There’re no pokies in pubs - a good thing, IMO. (It’s a recurrent political issue, but for the moment the voices of the social welfare groups have outweighted the complaints of the Hotel Association.)

Issues: The treatment of asylum seekers in Australia is a topic to be avoided at all costs. This is the touchiest of isses in Australian at the moment. There’s an outcry even when the UN dares to comment, so an American tourist would best be advised to take the 5th, so to speak!

Word choice: “route” pronounced “rout” makes us giggle like schoolgirls. “Root” and “fanny” are also another funny words, as is the name “Randy”. Speaking of fanny, “fannypacks” (1) have a funny name; and (2) are unfashionable and will mark you as an American tourist from a mile away. :slight_smile:

"Miles": Funnily enough, most Australians have a pretty good understanding of your crraazy Imperial system. I’m a comparative young 'un, but I’m more inclined to use inches and feet to describe the size of an object. The older generations are even more comfortable with the old ways. Miles are well understood by all. ('Course once you start getting into fathoms and hogsheads, then you’ll lose us. :))

Casual insults: Don’t be offended by these. In my experience, Australians take ourselves much less seriously than others. Consider “bastard” and “wanker” to be affectionisms.

Local beers picks: Sydney - Tooheys Extra Dry, Tooheys Pilsner. Adelaide - Coopers Sparkling Ale. Perth - Swan Draught, Little Creatures, Redback. Queensland - XXXX (just for the local ‘flavour’ ;)). Hobart - Cascade Pale. National brands: Crown Lager… and VB if you really must. Even better, try out the local microbreweries. Finer than anything mass-produced, IMO.

Local wines: Hell, go crazy and try as much as you can! It’s cheap (especially with the current exchange rate) and there’s some fantastic stuff. OTOH, wine-in-a-box was invented in Australia, but please don’t be tempted. The decent bottled stuff is just too good to pass up.

(What naturally leads me to) Drink-driving: I’ll spare everyone the safety spiel, but I’ll note that random breath tests are constitionally legal in Australia. This is a major policing issue down here (thankfully!).

Finally, Western Australia! I’ll repeat tritone: it’s well worth the trip out here! Consider this is a state the size of Western Europe with the population one-sixth of that of London! It’s all worth seeing, from the hot and sparse far north down the massive western coast, to Perth and to the cooler forested south-west. This is a beautiful and unique place.

25

If you’re coming to Melbourne and driving, we drive on the wrong side of the road, but seriously, we have a relatively new tollway called City Link.
It will cost you a couple of bucks to use it, but you can’t pay when you get on or off. You have to buy a ‘day pass’ befoe you decide to get on it. If you don’t you’re up for a $100 fine.

Watch out for hook turns in the Melbourne CBD, generally where two trams meet, but not exclusively. Look above the road for the directions on how to do a right hand turn from the left hand side of the road.

It’s winter here now, so bring appropriate clothes. It doesn’t snow in any CBD (er. Central Business District) AFAIK, so you can leave snow shoes behind unless you head to the mountains.

OK, this is an opinion and not fact (and it probably a huge generalisation that’ll come back and kick me right in the arse), but here goes… my group of friends and acquaintences do not care about 9/11. We think it was terrible, but it is gone from our memories. Don’t be outraged if some of us don’t have the same passion for current US events as you do. Not to say we are uncaring, but it was a little bit far away for us to get overwrought on a daily basis.

Oh, and we say arse and not ass. Unless your accent is good, don’t try G’Day, you will be instantly recognised as a tourist.
We don’t have pennies, dimes, nickles and other thingies you do.
We have 10 cent pieces, 20 pieces, etc. We use petrol and not gas. Given you’ve been here before I assume you know most of that.

Oh, and Little Johnnie is our Prime Minister and not a reference to a joke, just so you know.

26

On the football issue - I find it’s socially unacceptable not to follow the footie, so the easier method of dealing with it is to pick a team you can name whenever someone says “Who do you barrack for?”. I choose Essendon (aka the Bombers) back in 1984, and they have served me well. You could use colours to decide on your team, or any other method you like. My mother chose Geelong (aka the Cats) because she likes cats, and my brother chose North Melbourne (aka the Kangaroos) because as a small child he had a toy giraffe that he called Jack Kangaroo. I picked Essendon because a) they won that year and b) because most other people seemed to barrack for them (We do not “root” for our teams, we “barrack” for them).

27

Well some people allegedly root for their football teams, but you really don’t want to pursue that discussion. :slight_smile:

28

Tipping: only do it if you want to. A friend of mine used to work at the Marriot (now he works at Haymen, the luggy bugger) and they’d always look forward to American tourists for the tipping. If they weren’t tipped they’d shrug, if they were it was a nice bonus.

Myself, I don’t tip, just because I like to be able to work out while I order what it’s gonna cost without having to do any more than adding. The only worry I had about GST was that it was gonna turn shops into like they are in Canada with everything 10-30% more than it’s actually marked. Fortunatly I’ve yet to see anything that isn’t GST inclusive.

29

Footy tipping on the other hand (to tie the gambling, footy and tipping discussions together), is recommended. However, since you’re arriving so late in the season, it’s probably too late.

30

Personally I think Little Johnny’s a joke, but YMMV… :smiley:

31

Well, I’ve gotta disagree with this one. Practically every Aussie I met, upon finding out I live in NY, asked me about 9/11, gave their condolences, and to be perfectly honest, I was amazed at how passionate they felt about this. I was extremely touched, because I remember coming back to NY and feeling that the Aussies appeared even more outraged and concerned by the events of 9/11 than a lot of New Yorkers!

That particularly stuck in my memory, and not once was I the first person to bring it up.