Ive overheard a few conversations of late in which Australians in London have discussed the prospect of moving home and how unattractive it is, which brings me to one of my favourate questions; why?
After all, an English colleague of mine recently returned from a business trip to Brisbane (of all places) and was singing its praises. So what, especially at this rather grim time of year in London, is so unattractive about the prospect of Australia?
There seems to be two major arguments against it, both of which seem to be based on the premise, these are:
1) That Australia is only good for settling down; and
2) That there is nothing attractive/exciting happening in Australia.
Both of these seem to be based on the valuation of the things that London offers when compared with Australia, such as good restaurants and cheap travel, rather than the things that Australia does best, such as beaches and space.
It is true that being in London enables you to fly to Venice in less than 2 hours for a weekend away, and that there is always a new club opening or restaurant to try, but do the negatives of London and the positives of Australia not outweigh this?
Dont long winters, hilariously incompetant beaucracy, crowded trains and impersonal people take the shine off the occassional night out / weekend away? And what about the ability to go for a surf after work, or even drive to work?
Apaarently not. As one friend told me; "going to Bondi after work is great, but there is only one Iceberg restaurant on the harbour".
So what does this mean for Australia? What does the country have to do to attract back its brightest and best? Advertise itself as a bustling city? Promote the various cultural activities, or does this work against its 'outdoor' image?
3 comments:
Good question Dyl. I have no idea how to answer it really. Improve housing affordability? Magically reverse the continental drift so we are a bit closer to the Rest of the World? I dunno.
There are many wonderful things about Australia - as you say, the beaches and the space, but also the food, the light, the relative safety, better opportunities for a healthy lifestyle (especially for kids), some good design, etc. But at this minute I'd give all that up for a ride on a red London bus, an almond croissant at Madame Bertaux's in Soho, an afternoon of shopping in Oxford Street, a drink at the ICA, or an hour at the National Gallery.
I have to say that I am not remotely interested in going for a surf after work or in driving to work. Bad examples, mate!
I can't speak for London, but the restaurants in New York don't compare at all to the restaurants in Melbourne (unless you want to spend $100 on a meal). Food and coffee are all completely average here, and overpriced to boot.
I think it is primarily another example of the Australian cultural cringe.
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