# Multicultural marriage acceptance - Please be honest



## chayah

Hello

Having now gained a better understanding  of the right visa to apply for for my husband, I am now addressing the concern of potential racism.

I am white Australian born, I live in London wth my husband who is black British Jamaican, and our son. 

On trying to decide on the best place for us to live, we are finding numerous recent reports of racist incitement and violence 

Like most people, we want to be near the beach, somewhere not too busy but not too far from the city and we want to live in peace and harmony. We want to be accepted and respected as individuals and as a family. 

I personnally am pulled towards north NSW and the Brisbane areas (I am from Perth), but Sydney is more multicultural though expensive. However, most of the racial tension seems to be around Sydney.

Please can anyone give straight up honest advice?

Thank you


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## Wanderer

chayah said:


> Hello
> 
> Having now gained a better understanding  of the right visa to apply for for my husband, I am now addressing the concern of potential racism.
> 
> I am white Australian born, I live in London wth my husband who is black British Jamaican, and our son.
> 
> On trying to decide on the best place for us to live, we are finding numerous recent reports of racist incitement and violence
> 
> Like most people, we want to be near the beach, somewhere not too busy but not too far from the city and we want to live in peace and harmony. We want to be accepted and respected as individuals and as a family.
> 
> I personnally am pulled towards north NSW and the Brisbane areas (I am from Perth), but Sydney is more multicultural though expensive. However, most of the racial tension seems to be around Sydney.
> 
> Please can anyone give straight up honest advice?
> 
> Thank you


Australia is not without racist people and that goes right back to how our own indigenous people were treated from first settlement.
Apart from indigenous people who most people [ who live in cities near coasts ] seldom have association with we are less like the UK and say the USA where there are higher %s of darker skinned people and there is likely more assimilation, there also having been many more years for it to have occurred and to some extent it seems darker skinned peoples from countries like Jaimaica, and in West Indies and Africa have had more opportunity and/or tendency for higher level education.

Any racial tension within the Sydney region is something of a mixed bag affair for whilst there is something of an indigenous enclave centred within the inner suburb of Redfern, you have also got middle/outer suburbs to the west and southwest, there being something of a mix of asian and middle eastern peoples and just like there have always been assimilation difficulties for a lot of people post WW2, it does take time for different cultures to merge and there will be some religious aspects that will always be different.
And then you'll get youth unemployment issues and groups of unemployed youths become gangs and gangs thrive on crime is a bit like it goes anywhere on the planet and Sydney has its share of that, perhaps more so than other cities/regions merely because of population.

But yes, it is also a horribly expensive place to live and NSW has an abundance of coastal towns/smaller cities heading north [ and south ] and likewise Queensland to the south and north of Brisbane.
More international sport and to some extent immigration and local sport is seeing many more darker skinned people from abroad in communities than what there was even twenty years ago and before that it was something of a rarity.

I suppose in a smaller community you might have more of the narrowminded conservative types without there being an overtly racist issue but I do know of various dark skinned peoples employed as medical professionals and though with some refugees being settled in country towns there has been some disapproval issues, by and large I think acceptance in communities far outweighs racist opposition.

Of course you'll want to make a selection based also on work opportunities too and like any newcomer to an area, it could even be a few years to feel settled and even then it will depend on the neighbourhood, your interests and those of others how big a circle of friends you develop.
Many Australians are somewhat transient and my experience is that unless you stay in an area where you keep close contact with those you grew up with, your circle of friends can be somewhat minimal so do not take not having people wanting to know you as necessarily because of race.


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## chayah

Wanderer said:


> Australia is not without racist people and that goes right back to how our own indigenous people were treated from first settlement.
> Apart from indigenous people who most people [ who live in cities near coasts ] seldom have association with we are less like the UK and say the USA where there are higher %s of darker skinned people and there is likely more assimilation, there also having been many more years for it to have occurred and to some extent it seems darker skinned peoples from countries like Jaimaica, and in West Indies and Africa have had more opportunity and/or tendency for higher level education.
> 
> Any racial tension within the Sydney region is something of a mixed bag affair for whilst there is something of an indigenous enclave centred within the inner suburb of Redfern, you have also got middle/outer suburbs to the west and southwest, there being something of a mix of asian and middle eastern peoples and just like there have always been assimilation difficulties for a lot of people post WW2, it does take time for different cultures to merge and there will be some religious aspects that will always be different.
> And then you'll get youth unemployment issues and groups of unemployed youths become gangs and gangs thrive on crime is a bit like it goes anywhere on the planet and Sydney has its share of that, perhaps more so than other cities/regions merely because of population.
> 
> But yes, it is also a horribly expensive place to live and NSW has an abundance of coastal towns/smaller cities heading north [ and south ] and likewise Queensland to the south and north of Brisbane.
> More international sport and to some extent immigration and local sport is seeing many more darker skinned people from abroad in communities than what there was even twenty years ago and before that it was something of a rarity.
> 
> I suppose in a smaller community you might have more of the narrowminded conservative types without there being an overtly racist issue but I do know of various dark skinned peoples employed as medical professionals and though with some refugees being settled in country towns there has been some disapproval issues, by and large I think acceptance in communities far outweighs racist opposition.
> 
> Of course you'll want to make a selection based also on work opportunities too and like any newcomer to an area, it could even be a few years to feel settled and even then it will depend on the neighbourhood, your interests and those of others how big a circle of friends you develop.
> Many Australians are somewhat transient and my experience is that unless you stay in an area where you keep close contact with those you grew up with, your circle of friends can be somewhat minimal so do not take not having people wanting to know you as necessarily because of race.


Thank you once again. 

I have heard a bit about Redfern and other Sydney suberbs. Sydney doesn't feel right to me instinctively. I think I'm gonna go with my gut instict and look into the Brisbane and south QLD area some more.

Being an Australian is a great privilage, I can't wait to take my family there, Just got to find the right area.

Thank you.


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## Wanderer

chayah said:


> Thank you once again.
> 
> I have heard a bit about Redfern and other Sydney suberbs. Sydney doesn't feel right to me instinctively. I think I'm gonna go with my gut instict and look into the Brisbane and south QLD area some more.
> 
> Being an Australian is a great privilage, I can't wait to take my family there, Just got to find the right area.
> 
> Thank you.


One thing about south of Brisbane Chayah is that your beaches are restricted to those of lesser quality in protected waters compared to what you may remember of Perth _[ called Moreton Bay but not so much a fully enclosed bay as waters sheltered by Moreton and Stradbroke Islands ]_ until you get down to the Gold Coast about 90 km. away _[ and not so peaceful or idyllic there in many respects ]_

You're probably aware _[ even from Perth ]_ of its holiday mecca reputation and having lived on the GC myself for a few years either side of 2000, it does have a few aspects you can do without.
Being that holiday mecca, you do have a lot of city standard facilities re shopping, eateries and entertainment at hand and though its traffic peak is nothing like what a capital city like Sydney or Melbourne or even Brisbane or Perth is, it is certainly catching up and because of its layout with waterway realestate reclaimed from swampy lowlands, there are limitations to just how much can be provided in the way of access to the actual coastal strip and so it continually expands to further out west away from the coast.
Some more suburbia type developments are downright bloody awful _[ and have some of those Sydney western suburbs less desirable traits _] though more on the southern gold coast you have some reasonable hinterland areas with acreage developments and less traffic to contend with.

All up, my money would be on the northside from Brisbane with something less of traffic if looking to get to the CBD and areas like the Redcliff Peninsula, perhaps even Bribie Island or Caloundra and even the Sunshine Coast offering a better lifestyle of beaches and peacefulness _[ as much as you can get it so close to civilisation ]_.


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## Skydancer

Hi Chayah

I've lived on the Gold Coast for over twenty years and can confidently say, your husband will feel safe and accepted here! It's a great place to live.

I'm with WANDERER on his advice to you. Either GC or north of Brisbane, especially the Sunshine Coast. Avoid going inland on the Sunshine Coast. These are very much more conservative and people there tend to be a little insular in their outlook.

Along the coasts you'll be happy  

Wishing you all the best


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## Dexter

In a multicultural environment there will always be instances or racial discrimination or hostility. However, this is rare in Australia - you would expect more of it in Europe. I am a migrant from Poland, my wife is a migrant from China. I work among native, usually white Australians. I have never suffered any racial or any other discrimination and neither has she (although we can feel that Asians are not exactly loved by many Aussies).


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## chayah

Wanderer said:


> One thing about south of Brisbane Chayah is that your beaches are restricted to those of lesser quality in protected waters compared to what you may remember of Perth _[ called Moreton Bay but not so much a fully enclosed bay as waters sheltered by Moreton and Stradbroke Islands ]_ until you get down to the Gold Coast about 90 km. away _[ and not so peaceful or idyllic there in many respects ]_
> 
> You're probably aware _[ even from Perth ]_ of its holiday mecca reputation and having lived on the GC myself for a few years either side of 2000, it does have a few aspects you can do without.
> Being that holiday mecca, you do have a lot of city standard facilities re shopping, eateries and entertainment at hand and though its traffic peak is nothing like what a capital city like Sydney or Melbourne or even Brisbane or Perth is, it is certainly catching up and because of its layout with waterway realestate reclaimed from swampy lowlands, there are limitations to just how much can be provided in the way of access to the actual coastal strip and so it continually expands to further out west away from the coast.
> Some more suburbia type developments are downright bloody awful _[ and have some of those Sydney western suburbs less desirable traits _] though more on the southern gold coast you have some reasonable hinterland areas with acreage developments and less traffic to contend with.
> 
> All up, my money would be on the northside from Brisbane with something less of traffic if looking to get to the CBD and areas like the Redcliff Peninsula, perhaps even Bribie Island or Caloundra and even the Sunshine Coast offering a better lifestyle of beaches and peacefulness _[ as much as you can get it so close to civilisation ]_.


Yep, I like the areas that you have mentioned.  As for the holiday mecca thing, even here in England I lived on the East coast in a sea side town for about 8 years and the nightmares that being flooded by tourists can bring are still alive in my mind. However, thankfully, Australia is bigger, more beautiful and so much more worth it!  And I'm sure not as manic.

I really appreciate your feedback, I was starting to feel a bit dis-heartened and like maybe having to settle for life forever here in the UK (not ideal!) but I am feeling much more optimistic again.

Thank you.


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## chayah

Skydancer said:


> Hi Chayah
> 
> I've lived on the Gold Coast for over twenty years and can confidently say, your husband will feel safe and accepted here! It's a great place to live.
> 
> I'm with WANDERER on his advice to you. Either GC or north of Brisbane, especially the Sunshine Coast. Avoid going inland on the Sunshine Coast. These are very much more conservative and people there tend to be a little insular in their outlook.
> 
> Along the coasts you'll be happy
> 
> Wishing you all the best


I really appreciate your feedback, I was starting to feel a bit dis-heartened and like maybe having to settle for life forever here in the UK (so not ideal!) but I am feeling much more optimistic again.

Is the GC/SC multicultural areas or are the people just far more friendly and down to earth?  We are not necessarlily too concerned with being in a multi-cultural area (though it would be a bonus) we just want to live. 

I am looking at different areas along the gold coast and the sunshine coast but which would you say is the most affordable, family friendly, yet not too sleepy place with a great beach? The beach is very important to me, I love to walk and talk to God along the beach, a bit of liveliness is also important to my husband, he like to stay active and be sociable, so does our 12 year old for that fact.

The move is also very important as here in England I suffer with S.A.D (Seasonal Affective Dissorder) and I desperately long the warm Australian sunshine. 

Thannk you so much again.


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## chayah

Dexter said:


> In a multicultural environment there will always be instances or racial discrimination or hostility. However, this is rare in Australia - you would expect more of it in Europe. I am a migrant from Poland, my wife is a migrant from China. I work among native, usually white Australians. I have never suffered any racial or any other discrimination and neither has she (although we can feel that Asians are not exactly loved by many Aussies).


Thank you so much.

Europe definatley has its racism and predjudices, especially in the police. Me myself, my husband and our son have all experienced racism in different horrible forms here in England. The only difference is that it is so very culturally diverse here that racism has become a sly and quiet thing that is disguised by fake smiles. I guess in Australia, it's just the thought of having that on a more open and out numbered scale.

Do you mind me asking what area you guys live in?

All that said, your re-assurance has been a big contributer to a re-newed confidence in my desire to go back home to Australia with my family. 
So a really big thank you. This has been a major issue for me, really wanting to go back home but being unsure for my husband and son, after all, the move is so that we all can be happier as a family and as individuals.

Thanks again, and all the best.


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## Wanderer

I'd not say the GC/SC are necessarily more multicultural than Sydney or other cities and if anything possibly less so for more people have always settled down in Sydney or Melbourne regions with Queensland being something of a late bloomer re growth and has at times been regarded as something of a ******** state.

It has been more warmer climate for retirement that started off a lot of more permanent moves and then there were always the stories of people from the south, more so than Victoria getting up there and not liking it and moving back south.
The humidity can take time to acclimatise to and unlike places further south of the equator or as in Europe, further north you do not get the significantly longer summer nights, especially as you do with daylight saving which Queensland has never had and never looks like getting.
The upshot of that is you do not get winter days where it is still dark after 6am. and the days themselves in winter can be more like a southern Oz or European autumn.
With milder winters and humid but not necessarily hotter summers you've probably got bugs about more often but having come from a southern colder climate myself most of my life it's easy enough to handle life in the north, nearly shorts all year round.

With the GC in particular being more so the destination for foreign visitors, you do get people from a lot of different countries about whereas north of Brisbane it is becoming more settled with permanent residents either wanting out of Brisbane or perhaps even the GC for the GC is becoming more and more high rise territory with each passing year.
The northern regions used to be more of sleepier backwaters but these days it is a lot more active though not entirely big city active.
The GC also has a reputation of being something of a transient population area and just like anywhere you can have longer term locals not really so much open at all even as far as neighbours go.
My wife and I met more friendly people walking our dogs in the local park than what we had as nearest neighbours though we got on well with others nearby, ironically one couple where an Aussie guy had married a Japanese girl and another couple being South Africans ex New Zealand.

Queensland is becoming popular with NZers too, both of caucasian and Maoris races and though you do get more isolated racist things happening from time to time, I do not think it is such a big thing in Australia aside from a few areas.

An interesting example I had once was having a walk on our local beach myself _[ small town well north of Brisbane but becoming more popular ]_ I noticed a really black as black can be girl sitting a bit apart from other beach goers and there having been something in news about then, I approached her to see if she was finding racism issues in Australia and whether that was why she was sitting apart.
Oh no!, she answered in this real cockney accent that dark skinned people seem to have in England more so than the white english and then she told me of how she had some casual work over in Perth [ yes, Perth ] in a social security office I think it might have been [ ironically ] and it was another dark skinned person who gave her a bit of a time of it!

A german girl once told me of her volunteering in Alice Springs at an indigenous child minding centre and it was half caste children who were really treated badly by the full blood indigenous and because she had showed interest in their welfare she was threatened by some indigenous people _[ to the extent she left AS ]_

So racism does make its appearances in various ways!

A great way to meet people other than sports is get yourself a dog or dogs_[ especially one from the RSPCA or Animal Welfare ]_ and have regular walks with it or them.

And you will find the SSC with more affordable options though right on the beach at either GC or SSC can be prohibitively expensive.


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## chayah

Wanderer said:


> I'd not say the GC/SC are necessarily more multicultural than Sydney or other cities and if anything possibly less so for more people have always settled down in Sydney or Melbourne regions with Queensland being something of a late bloomer re growth and has at times been regarded as something of a ******** state.
> 
> It has been more warmer climate for retirement that started off a lot of more permanent moves and then there were always the stories of people from the south, more so than Victoria getting up there and not liking it and moving back south.
> The humidity can take time to acclimatise to and unlike places further south of the equator or as in Europe, further north you do not get the significantly longer summer nights, especially as you do with daylight saving which Queensland has never had and never looks like getting.
> The upshot of that is you do not get winter days where it is still dark after 6am. and the days themselves in winter can be more like a southern Oz or European autumn.
> With milder winters and humid but not necessarily hotter summers you've probably got bugs about more often but having come from a southern colder climate myself most of my life it's easy enough to handle life in the north, nearly shorts all year round.
> 
> With the GC in particular being more so the destination for foreign visitors, you do get people from a lot of different countries about whereas north of Brisbane it is becoming more settled with permanent residents either wanting out of Brisbane or perhaps even the GC for the GC is becoming more and more high rise territory with each passing year.
> The northern regions used to be more of sleepier backwaters but these days it is a lot more active though not entirely big city active.
> The GC also has a reputation of being something of a transient population area and just like anywhere you can have longer term locals not really so much open at all even as far as neighbours go.
> My wife and I met more friendly people walking our dogs in the local park than what we had as nearest neighbours though we got on well with others nearby, ironically one couple where an Aussie guy had married a Japanese girl and another couple being South Africans ex New Zealand.
> 
> Queensland is becoming popular with NZers too, both of caucasian and Maoris races and though you do get more isolated racist things happening from time to time, I do not think it is such a big thing in Australia aside from a few areas.
> 
> An interesting example I had once was having a walk on our local beach myself _[ small town well north of Brisbane but becoming more popular ]_ I noticed a really black as black can be girl sitting a bit apart from other beach goers and there having been something in news about then, I approached her to see if she was finding racism issues in Australia and whether that was why she was sitting apart.
> Oh no!, she answered in this real cockney accent that dark skinned people seem to have in England more so than the white english and then she told me of how she had some casual work over in Perth [ yes, Perth ] in a social security office I think it might have been [ ironically ] and it was another dark skinned person who gave her a bit of a time of it!
> 
> A german girl once told me of her volunteering in Alice Springs at an indigenous child minding centre and it was half caste children who were really treated badly by the full blood indigenous and because she had showed interest in their welfare she was threatened by some indigenous people _[ to the extent she left AS ]_
> 
> So racism does make its appearances in various ways!
> 
> A great way to meet people other than sports is get yourself a dog or dogs_[ especially one from the RSPCA or Animal Welfare ]_ and have regular walks with it or them.
> 
> And you will find the SSC with more affordable options though right on the beach at either GC or SSC can be prohibitively expensive.


Oh my goodness!  Might I as well go back to Perth??? Lol 

I haven't been home since 1998, do you know if it has changed much?


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## Skydancer

Yes, I second Wanderer's advice. Though personally, the only racism I've encountered was very mild verbal comments "behind the back" and directed at Asians. So thankfully they were not aware of it. 

Your best bet is to first take a look around and then decide which place suits you most. Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast have very different atmospheres, again the Hinterland areas are totally different in lifestyle than the area along the beach strip. The Gold Coast, all the way up to Brisbane is more developed, which means more job opportunities. Up till now, traffic jams are moderate and of short duration. Pollution is light. It's an easy life style. Did you take a look at some Real Estate websites? Rentals are also listed there.


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## Dexter

> Do you mind me asking what area you guys live in?


Sutherland Shire in Sydney. This is where 5 years ago there were riots between Australians and guys of Lebanese background.


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## Wanderer

Dexter said:


> Sutherland Shire in Sydney. This is where 5 years ago there were riots between Australians and guys of Lebanese background.


Yes there was something of a racial or more so a cultural tone to that development, but something of a flash in the pan all the same.

The background to it Chayah was that some guys had been down on the beach making pests of themselves re kicking a ball about near girls sunbaking in bikinis [ that kind of a red flag to a bull re Islamic standards ] and one of our very own Bronzed heroes [ life saver ] apparently intervened and then at some stage he was set upon by the ball kickers.

That got more than up the nose of the Aussie lads and via texting etc., Cronulla Beach was bash a lebanese [ or any other meditteranenan looking fella I suppose ] central for one morning and some nasty scenes flashed all over the media with quite a few yobbos out of control and running amuck.
There was also some follow up stuff re assaults by car gangs and quite a bit of ill feeling about.
It had probably not been helped by a couple of rape cases involving middle eastern youths and then then the senior Islamic cleric of the time referring to bikini clad girls as like a piece of rotting meat to flies or something like that.

There is a certain ammount of gang mentality about in the various cities and even Adelaide and Perth have their Bikie gangs, but yeah Sydney and Melbourne have their hot spots I suppose you could say more so than the other cities.

*I was interested in your comment Dexter re dislike for Asians*
Does your Chinese wife feel that directly for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have long established Chinatown sections and many Aussies are partial to Asian foods.
I do know that for many years following WW2 there was a certain distaste for anything Japanese and I would not be surprised if there are still elders about who had experienced POW camps and would not have a bar of them, many people decades back never wanting anything to do with a Japanese car.
And then we have had some problems re Vietnamaese gangs in both Sydney and Melbourne.

And whilst you can always get people who will have a dislike of Asian people for whatever reason _[ maybe some in our cities fear being overrun because there always seem to be so many about but then Asians are probably more so always out and about cities because that is how they live in Asia, in closer quarters, there being a greater population density and so it is then somewhat alien for a suburbanite making a less infrequent trip into the CBD ] _ I think there are many who once they know some or have even just interacted with asians without problems will have a different view.

*And as for change*


> Oh my goodness! Might I as well go back to Perth??? Lol
> 
> I haven't been home since 1998, do you know if it has changed much?


Perth has probably had a more dramatic change in the past decade than the eastern states in some ways for the latest resources boom has both made for a lot of opportunity over there we're led to believe of late but also a sky rocketing re housing prices, sort of catching up to if not surpassing prices of eastern states in some housing categories.
Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have been more of the same with a more continual steady increase in sizes and expansion of the urban sprawl along with new shopping centres but lacking behind in other ammentities that are usually associated with more established suburbs, and then of course there is always the increased traffic congestions.
So if you had been familiar with the eastern states you might notice less of a change than what Perth has had.

I was wondering why you're thinking eastern states rather than returning to Perth because once away from Perth itself, I'd reckon you'll sure have far less built up areas and many more less developed beach areas than what you'll find along the east coast other than the smaller coastal towns regions. And Perth will not have the same humidity as Sydney or Brisbane.
The only issue Perth really has is its water supply, not that it has not been an issue in the east of late with a long drought period and other than Hobart, Canberra and Darwin, I think just about all capital cities are at some stage of looking at desalination plants.


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## Dexter

> I was interested in your comment Dexter re dislike for Asians


Wanderer, dislike for Asians comes out in conversations with the locals but in 99% remains there and does not turn into actions. As I worked in quite a few places, dislike for Asians or Indians came up from time to time. I think it happened 2 or 3 times to my wife when she worked in a shop and spoke in her mother tongue to another Chinese lady. In each case a middle age/elderly guy commented 'we are in Australia, we only speak English here, go back to your country'. I personally had a similar situation when I worked in a supermarket as customer greeter. One of older Aussie customers approached me and said 'I'm glad to see at least one white face. There are so many f*** gooks around'. From his side it was supposed to be a complement at me - I suppose. 

What causes dislike for Asians is usually their lack of English skills and arguments about every single cent and the fact that our market is flooded by Chinese products (isn't it like that everywhere?). I also met quite a lot of dislike for Indians in IT and Telco Industry. Mainly because of their poor customer service and annoying telemarketing calls when they speak for 5 minutes before you can find out why they are calling. This is less racial though and more cultural. It does not refer to locals of Asian or Indian background but only to certain group of immigrants (again, not all of them). I cannot say that I don't understand it - my feelings about these issues are the same.

Eating Asian or Indian food or the fact that Chinatown has been around for so long does not change things although I am sure that people are much more tollerant than they used to be 20 years ago or at the time of White Policy. Maybe because children of these Asian/Indian immigrants have grown up and have fully joint local society bringing a few new things into the culture.

Despite all these facts, we both find Australia as the most friendly country we have been to and we couldn't get ourselves a better place. We compare it to Asia and Europe where we have been to.


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## Wanderer

Dexter said:


> Wanderer, dislike for Asians comes out in conversations with the locals but in 99% remains there and does not turn into actions. As I worked in quite a few places, dislike for Asians or Indians came up from time to time. I think it happened 2 or 3 times to my wife when she worked in a shop and spoke in her mother tongue to another Chinese lady. In each case a middle age/elderly guy commented 'we are in Australia, we only speak English here, go back to your country'. I personally had a similar situation when I worked in a supermarket as customer greeter. One of older Aussie customers approached me and said 'I'm glad to see at least one white face. There are so many f*** gooks around'. From his side it was supposed to be a complement at me - I suppose.
> 
> What causes dislike for Asians is usually their lack of English skills and arguments about every single cent and the fact that our market is flooded by Chinese products (isn't it like that everywhere?). I also met quite a lot of dislike for Indians in IT and Telco Industry. Mainly because of their poor customer service and annoying telemarketing calls when they speak for 5 minutes before you can find out why they are calling. This is less racial though and more cultural. It does not refer to locals of Asian or Indian background but only to certain group of immigrants (again, not all of them). I cannot say that I don't understand it - my feelings about these issues are the same.
> 
> Eating Asian or Indian food or the fact that Chinatown has been around for so long does not change things although I am sure that people are much more tollerant than they used to be 20 years ago or at the time of White Policy. Maybe because children of these Asian/Indian immigrants have grown up and have fully joint local society bringing a few new things into the culture.
> 
> Despite all these facts, we both find Australia as the most friendly country we have been to and we couldn't get ourselves a better place. We compare it to Asia and Europe where we have been to.


I can understand all that Dexter and I suppose older people find change harder and perhaps have little appreciation of how it is still easier for people from the same country to communicate in their own language at times, but still doesn't excuse them for being rude or just outright racist.
If they had ever travelled, they would probably be surprised at how many english speaking people were speaking english because they had minimal ability in the local language and I even know of people not prepared to travel through Europe because of language!

I must admit I do also find it annoying with call centre operators at times and I have experienced various rude attitudes of their own, for instance if they are shooting something off so quickly and when they take a breath, I say can you please slow down and start again or just tell who you are from and what is it you are wanting to sell, I often get a hang up.
Other times I have had some delightful conversations because of far less accent and a slower pace, but that has more likely been when I have initiated the call.
But I do not see it so much as disliking people because of their call or their english speaking and more just an irritation for the usually nondescript company behind it.

And for some reason or other, it seems that people with their own language have to seem to be shouting it at times [ usually males ] when using mobile phones and that can also be damm annoying but the same can happen with any lout in english too.

But good that you still feel Australia is overall a friendly place to call home.


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## Dexter

I couldn't think of a better home for myself and my wife, to be honest.  I have pointed a few things out but they are no major thing to me or my wife. As a matter of fact, we find Aussies to be friendly, tolerant people and I personally enjoy working among Aussies of various backgrounds.


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## gismo

Some interesting comments here. My wife is Japanese and we've been toying with where to live in Australia for some time...actually 12 years! I'm originally from Brissy, and love the area as I know it so well but my wife hates it for some of the reasons mentioned. She finds it very uncomfortable when we're home and avoids going shopping or just being in public due to the fear of racial attack (abuse). She experienced it a few times in Brisbane, once from a woman with a European accent, saying that asians don't belong here and go back to 'China'. We recently spent a couple of weeks in Melbourne as part of our search of 'where would be a nice place to live' and was pleasantly surprised. We lucked out with the weather there, beautiful warm, sunny days and long twilight. I'm sure if I said to my wife, how about living in Melbourne, she'd have the bags packed in a flash...however we don't have the money to forfill that dream so it'll just have to wait. Anyway, my suggestion is, if you like or seek a multicultural environment with good beaches (depends on what type of beach you seek...I like calmer waters for windsurfing and kayaking), then Melbourne isn't a bad spot and climate won't be too far from what you're experiencing in the UK. If your heart is still on Brissy, then I'd suggest run with that as you'll probably always wonder, 'what if'. Hope this helps.


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## aussiegirl

Hi all,

I just started reading this thread and was interested by some of the things I have read. i myslef am half-Asian, and in fact am a first generation Aussie - both my parents were born OS and migrated to Australia.

My mother is Singporean Chinese and has lived in Australia more than 35 years. It was terrible when she first came over, with bad memories still in people's minds from the Vietnam War. Some people used to make round-the-bush comments about "boat people" directly to her face, but she just ignored their stupidness. Things have changed and Oz is becoming much more cosmopolitan and open-minded, but recently I feel another stage of anti-immigrant/ foreigner ferver building.

In my experience as an English teacher, I have taught a lot of Asians from all over - China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Korea, China, Taiwan. They all generally like Australia and enjoy the lifestyle, but those who have lived or studied there for a while seem to agree that they feel more racism and discrimination in Brisbane than other cities like Melbourne or Sydney. Possibly this comes from Queensland's conservative past? Pauline Hanson rose to infamy from the depths of our state, so there must be something about the Sunshine (oops, Smart) State that fosters these racist leanings? I still get flack from Asians about Pauline Hanson and her shocking run in politics, some even thinking she is or was our Prime Minister! 

As Skydancer said, if you are white or look Caucasian, you can go through life in Australia never feeling any racism. But, for bi-racial Aussies like me, we see the best and worst of both worlds, and sometimes feel the snide, masked racist comments the most. I look obviously like I have "Asian influence" and often get asked "Where are you from?" I usually answer that I'm from Brisbane, but I remember one stranger was not satisfied with this, and asked about my parents. So, I eventually relented and told them that my mother is Singaporean. "Ah, so that explains why you don't look Australian". What the f*** does that mean?! (Excuse my language ) So, clearly my experience shows that the notion of the sun-bleached, blonde haired, blue-eyed Aussie still exists. And even if you have been born and raised in Australia, have a broad accent and don't even know your immigrant parents' language, you are still not seen as being a 'real Australian'.

I just hope that with all this talk of immigration policies from both parties our society and community doesn't go back to the dark days of the past. We all need to work at upholding our reputation as a free, relaxed and multicultural nation. I love Australia and Queensland, the state I was born and raised in, and I hope that anyone who is granted the privellage of living there (whether by birth or immigration) will be treated with respect and be considered a valued member of Australian society.


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## Dexter

Aussiegirl - do you feel that culturally you are slightly different from caucasian Australians? For example by what sort of food you eat or how you spend your time off? I have quite a few Asian Aussies at work and they are slightly different in those matters.


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## Wanderer

I think Dexter you'll often find what peoples food tastes are will be connected with what they have been used to and some tastes may linger no matter for how long someone has been in Australia.
My wife, with quite an accent too was working at a place where there was a mature aged woman originally of Malay/Chinese heritage and they went lunchtime shopping once and off to a special asian food deli it was and Chicken feet etc.
I just caught the shorts of a chap doing a food show in Vietnam and it was to include eating the prawn shells too, probably the cooking softens them and when I was in Vietnam once myself, another Aussie there who was engaged to a Vietnamese girl was telling me about the fish soup and how it would include eating the bones and probably a few Vietnamese restaurants around where you might be able to get that on the menu.

*Aussiegirl*
I missed your much earlier post and re


> I look obviously like I have "Asian influence" and often get asked "Where are you from?" I usually answer that I'm from Brisbane, but I remember one stranger was not satisfied with this, and asked about my parents. So, I eventually relented and told them that my mother is Singaporean. "Ah, so that explains why you don't look Australian". What the f*** does that mean?! (Excuse my language ) So, clearly my experience shows that the notion of the sun-bleached, blonde haired, blue-eyed Aussie still exists. And even if you have been born and raised in Australia, have a broad accent and don't even know your immigrant parents' language, you are still not seen as being a 'real Australian'.


Whilst there are always going to be the ******* or just literally insensitive type of people about with their view of the stereotype Aussie of 50 years ago _and even then there we had people with Asian and I suppose mainly Chinese heritage about but not so many, though they first started arriving in goldfield days and then also others associated with pearl farming _ and Queensland has been known as something of a " ******* " state , some people can just be genuinely curious in perhaps seeing an opportunity to learn a little of another country/culture.
I know I fall into that category myself and more so if I hear an accent and I suppose it is possible to be a bit clumsy in speech at times and you just have to be conscious of offending people.

Immigration that has been on the political agenda of late comes from a merging of two not too well managed areas and one is driven a bit by the GFC and what employment outlooks may be but it is also good I feel that something concrete be addressed about what needs to occur for an Australian population growth to have infrastructure development adequately managed rather than just let the growth happen as keeps property developers happy.
Like Queensland has always been thought of as a tropical state and you would never have thought water restrictions would be needed but the last ten years has shown that is far from the truth and then you have a Federal minister canning a new dam and the premier saying desalination is the alternative and they need a huge ammount of power and she says no new power station unless the CO2 can be captured and stored and that's in the never never!
Other states have problems just as significant too.

And then the second area is the current influx via people smuggling and whilst Australia has had a good refugee program for many years it is not just that which is being threatened but also the timely processing of family/skilled visas that we are seeing the reults of in posts on the forum about extended processing times.

So whether it is the dark days of the past or just some hard decisions that need to be taken re policies and implementation, without the latter in all areas I think we could see attitudes of more harden some.


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